GogglesPaisano's Profile
Israeli Couscous in Triangle
I saw 16 oz containers of Israeli couscous at A Southern Season yesterday. Store brand. May not be more economical though ($5.49 if memory serves).
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A Southern Season
201 S Estes Dr Ste 101, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
The Meat House - Chapel Hill
Driving up Franklin Street (near the Estes intersection, across the street from Il Palio) today I saw a sign hanging on a building saying The Meat House was coming soon.
I wasn't familiar with the Meat House so I Googled around a bit and discovered it is a franchise butcher. Anybody familiar with this chain? Reason to be excited or just meh?
best sushi in raleigh triangle area
Thanks, veganhater, please do. Mrs. Paisano and were sooo disappointed when Tomo left Kurama -- we had only discovered the place a couple of months prior. I wish like crazy we knew where he was going so we could stalk him. ;)
On another note, Archira Sushi and Thai opened in East 54 in Chapel Hill. We went last night (I had sushi, Mrs. Paisano had Thai). It came in below the Kurama (and Haru and Waraji) level on the sushi front but about on par with Hayashi and substantially better than most of the sushi places in Durham & Chapel Hill.
The restaurant itself is attractive -- sleekly designed in the spare, modern style that is so popular in big cities. It has a very large sushi bar and the fish has not been pre-sliced in the refrigerated cabinet (my first litmus test for a new sushi joint).
The nigiri I had (escolar, squid, scallop) were pretty good, but served too cold. The presentation was very pretty, and most pairs of nigiri dotted with roe or thinly sliced lemon that worked nicely, for the most part. The thinly sliced lemon was still a bit too thick and I would have liked to see some shiso under the ika. The rolls were mostly of the typical sort of over-wrought, gigantic, Americanized style that are generally unloved on this board. I don't mind them myself (I'm not generally a sushi purist) and they were fair representations of that breed.
Mrs. Paisano's pad thai was especially promising with an uncommonly generous number of shrimp and a nice roundness of flavor that avoided the sickly-sweet pad thai you find all too often. Mrs. Paisano also had potstickers which were served in a cream-based broth/sauce presentation. I was a bit put off by the sauce at first blush, but liked it pretty well after all.
Service was exceptionally friendly, but a little uneven. The pacing was a bit off, but they have only been open a few days, so it seems unfair to judge them too harshly on that front. The pacing problem is also pretty common any time a table orders from both the kitchen and the sushi bar, so maybe it is just too much to expect it to be more precisely calibrated.
All in all, we thought Archira was promising and deserves a couple more trips before deciding whether it has a place in our normal rotation. It's not going to cure anyone of the missing-Tomo blues, but on first blush could be a welcome addition to this side of the Triangle.
Where Buy Whole Bean Coffee In Charlotte?
Another vote for Counter Culture. They have a great online mail-order service. Fresh beans are the best beans and I've found that at some grocery stores if the stock does not rotate quickly enough you can end up with some pretty old beans. Counter Culture stamps the roast date on their bags. I mail ordered my beans from them for years before I lived close enough to a ready supply of fresh ones.
Carrboro/Chapel Hill: Jade Palace Revival
Thanks for the report. I live in Chapel Hill but work in Cary. Is Superwok pretty good? I have thought about trying it but have never gotten around to it. Your post makes me want to head over.
Cypress, Chapel Hill
My wife and I recently had dinner at Cypress on the Hill. We were really excited to learn about this place opening; she and I are both huge fans of Magnolia Grill, so learning that the Cypress chef and co-owner was the chef de cuisine at MG was welcome news.
They have done a beautiful job with the interior. It is light and airy with an open kitchen at the back of the restaurant so that the noise level is low but you still get the vibrant feel of the open kitchen.
We only had wines by the glass, so I didn't spend a lot of time studying the bottle list, but there were good options available by the glass. I had a sesame crusted tuna appetizer, grilled quickly and left mostly a beautiful ruby red inside, properly cut into tuna sashimi style chunks. It was great, served with pickled ginger and a light vinaigrette. Oddly, there was also a small ball of wasabi, but no soy sauce or other liquid to mix it with. I understand reasonable people may disagree on this, but I am not a fan of placing bits of wasabi on the fish directly. Imo it overpowers the fish.
My wife had coquilles St. Jacques for an appetizer, which was a special that night and served in a ramekin. She reported that it was very good, an excellent version of the dish.
I had the whole grilled fish entree which was also great. It was scored so that it was easy to pick the flesh off the fish with just a fork, and nicely spiced and seasoned with chilies as the predominant note. It was not, as reported, very spicy. I overheard two waitpersons describing it as a 7 or 8 out of 10 in spice level, but I found it to be a 4 or 5. I like spicy food, but I'm not one of those people who prides himself on eating fire and then acting like it wasn't hot. This was a well executed dish (with roasted green beans in a soy demi-glaze), just not terribly hot. My wife had an entree featuring a white fish steak (type of fish escapes me), which she reported was good, but not exceptional.
For dessert we had a roasted banana napolean with a brown sugar semi-freddo, which sounded a lot better than it tasted. It wasn't awful, it just wasn't anything special. The banana flavor overpowered everything else, and it really would have benefited from incorporating a contrasting flavor, perhaps something tart, or texture.
The house made bread served throughout the meal was fantastic. The service was uneven; there was one server (not ours) who was obviously knowledgeable, engaged, and skillful. Our server was pleasant and trying hard, but just not up to speed yet. When I asked for a recommendation between the whole fried fish and the short ribs, she said "I would go with the fish, because you just don't see whole fried fish in restaurants." A well-meaning, but patently absurd, recommendation. I later overheard this person explaining to the neighboring table that the vegetarian dish on the menu was really only for vegetarians and needed to be saved for vegetarians. Probably a directive from the kitchen (and not a bad one) but inartfully and awkwardly communicated.
By the time we left the place it was packed, with many people obviously and vocally fans of the chef from his time at MG. Overall, considering that it hasn't been open very long and making room for the possibility that we got a bad draw in the waitstaff and with our dessert selection, I would definitely go back. It is a very strong addition to the Chapel Hill restaurant scene and presumably will only continue to get better as they get some of these kinks worked out.
Charlottesville, VA
The Flat is a cool little creperie in Cville. No seating, just service from a window and some very fine crepes. Feast is a nice, high-end grocery with a great cheese counter. Albemarle Baking Co turns out some very fine breads, which combined with a little cheese from Feast can make superb picnic. And Ten, while definitely not casual and unfortunately trendy, has really superb sushi.
Best Coffee Shops in Raleigh area?
There is a place in Cary called Crema Coffee Roasters that, imo, makes the best espresso in Wake County, now that Pheasant Creek in Apex is no longer among the living. Depending on how fussy you are about your coffee (I throw in with the Driade regulars) you may be slightly offput by the fact that all of Crema's drinks are served in paper cups. I'd encourage you to give it a try, though.
The owners are super nice, they roast their own coffee on site (quite good, if a notch off from Counter Culture -- on par with Larry's Beans), they offer free wifi, and have lots of comfortable seating. Crema is on High House, directly next to an Irish bar (Connolly's) so you can alternate espresso shots with Guiness pints, as well. ;)
3 Cups - Chapel Hill, NC
There is a sign in the window now saying "open Monday 7am" -- presumably this Monday, 10/27.
"Lantern" Restaurant's Salt and Pepper Shrimp Dish
Hmm, sorry you didn't dig it. Maybe you got a bad batch? That dish is one of my favorite appetizers at Lantern.
Pie (Orange, Alamance, or Durham NC)
Yeah, the fruit pies at Weaver Street are really good. I'm not a big fan of cream pies, so I can't fairly evaluate theirs.
Cary, NC - Domo (Sushi)?
I hadn't even heard of it but I work near there and will give it a try.
Milltown - Carrboro, NC
I've had the exact same up & down experience at Milltown. I really want to like the place, and when it's on, the food is far better than Tyler's. When it's off though, it is pretty bad. Soggy fries, bad nachos, and general poor execution.
We've tended to veer toward Tyler's more frequently as a result; the food is unspectacular but reliable and the draft beer lineup is pretty great.
bakeries that delivery
Cakewalk: www.cakewalkcarrboro.com
They deliver and the cupcakes are excellent.
is magnolia grill a must-not-miss if coming to Durham?
I would say yes, it is not to be missed. It is the one place I always make sure to take my big-city hound friends, because it is not only fantastic but just as important the feel and the flavors are authentic and local.
Ben and Karen Barker are in attendance and hands on seemingly every night (I've never been and not seen Ben presiding over the kitchen) and they have a deserved reputation for doing inventive, interesting and excellent things with food.
MG is a casual, open kitchen kind of place -- if you miss out on reservations they keep an array of tables open every night for walk-ins -- and it is one of the best restaurants we have to offer in NC. The menu is as likely to feature riffs on southern dishes as it is to pull some NY classics (Karen's blackout cake is ridiculously good). The dishes are complex and use a lot of different flavors, which they somehow manage to do in a disciplined and restrained way.
Hope you can make it and (now that I've given you the hard sell) hope you like it.
Carmine's Chapel Hill-The old Sal's location
Mrs. Paisano and I did takeout from Carmine's last night. We ordered a caesar salad, garlic bread and a margherita pizza. They only opened on Friday, so they are still very much working the kinks out, but first impressions were promising.
The caesar was a notch or two better than your average pizza joint caesar salad. They tossed the salad with an appropriate amount of dressing, though the croutons were your basic mass produced little bricks of styrofoam bread.
The garlic bread was foccaccia that had been rubbed with garlic and brushed with oil -- an approach I generally like, but which in this case was a bit too bready and not quite toasted enough.
The margherita pizza, however, was quite good. They used fresh buffalo mozzarella slices, fresh basil and fresh roma tomato slices. There was still a base of sauce that was a bit on the sweet side, but not bad. The crust was excellent. (And they offer a whole grain crust -- as if that transforms pizza into health food -- but good to know the option exists.)
They had a fairly standard list of toppings available and their largest pizza is 16" -- I'm from NY originally, so I have to get over my prejudice that pizzas should be 18" to provide the appropriate size slice, but that is neither here nor there.
We will definitely continue to work Carmine's into our routine. The pizza was better than Alfredo's in UMall (our current go-to, close to home, pizza joint), but not as good as the new crop of upscale pizza places -- Rockwood Filling Station, Pop's Back Door, and (I understand, but have not personally tried) Broad Street Cafe.
Give it a try.
Friday Night in Raleigh: Poole's or Betski's?
It's going to have to be Poole's next time. Didn't see your post until after I was already on my way to meet our friends.
Just to come full circle on this thread: had drinks at the Umstead (I work in Cary and friends live there) out on the patio. A little disappointing that they have no beers on tap, but I was drinking Grey Goose martinis anyway. The patio is a very nice setting and was a great way to start the evening.
Had dinner at J. Betski's, which was very good. I had the smoked kielbasa appetizer and a duck breast special entree with white cabbage and spaetzle. The appetizer was very good and the duck breast was great, as promised by our waitress. Mrs. Paisano and I shared a Beatrix torte for dessert, which was competent but didn't really knock my socks off.
All in all, dinner was very enjoyable. There is something about the food at J. Betski's that reminds me of Enoteca Vin and Lantern -- which I suppose makes sense since I think the chef worked in both those places. I'd be hard pressed to identify what is similar though...
Poole's (and dessert at the Globe) is going to have to wait for our next dinner our in Raleigh.
Thanks for all the input!
Carmine's Chapel Hill-The old Sal's location
Thanks for the report. Have you been to Alfredo's pizza in U Mall? How would you compare Carmine's to that?
Dispatch from Chapel Hill
Thanks for the update on Bliss and the reminder on SandwHich. Mrs. Paisano and I are in there once a week or so; the Nueske (sp?) bacon and sweet corn sandwich they ran during the end of the summer was unbelievably great.
Dispatch from Chapel Hill
I've never had the chicken but it has been on my list of things to try there. They do so much of the bistro stuff so well, it's a bit of disappointment to hear that the poulet roti is not great.
Agreed, they do great things with fish and the fries are very good (though still a notch behind Enoteca Vin's, imo).
Friday Night in Raleigh: Poole's or Betski's?
Now, there's a thought. Cocktails in one place, dinner in a second, dessert in a third. Maybe a Sullivan's, Betski's, Poole's lineup would work...
I am not, in most respects, a fan of Sullivan's but I will cop to loving their blue cheese stuffed olives in a martini.
Friday Night in Raleigh: Poole's or Betski's?
Nope, it will be a kid-free evening. Thanks for the rec.
Dispatch from Chapel Hill
Good to know. We haven't been to Vin Rouge often enough to experience that, but Mrs. Paisano would be pleased for their macaroni gratin to become a regular feature in our dining life, and I love their hanger steak.
Friday Night in Raleigh: Poole's or Betski's?
My wife and I are going out tomorrow night with a couple of friends in Raleigh. Our friends have a young kid and don't get a chance to go out as often as they would like.
We have narrowed our choices to Poole's or J. Betski's. Wife and I have been to J. Betski's (about a year ago) and liked it a lot; we haven't been to Poole's yet, though all four of us wish we could clone Ashley Christensen and keep her at home to cook for us every night.
Any input on which place we should hit?
Dispatch from Chapel Hill
Agreed. I usually pick up a batard from Weaver Street as a pretty tasty, but different, substitute.
Dispatch from Chapel Hill
Interesting. That explains a lot. I should have also said in my prior post that I keep going to MG because in addition to great food it also has the most consistently knowledgeable, well-trained and professional waitstaff of any of the restaurants I frequent in the area.
Dispatch from Chapel Hill
I initially found it stuffy, as well. They won me over, though, by showing genuine care that their guests have a great meal and by doing little things that make up for me not being able to wear jeans there.
For example, after having not seen us for 6 months or more, last weekend Tina remembered my favorite cocktail (Hendrick's martini) which was very thoughtful. And every time we have been in they have been very generous about sending over an extra dessert or cheese plate or comp'ing a round of drinks or some such thing. I really like that.
Magnolia Grill, which is my favorite restaurant in the area and at which we dine at least twice as frequently as Bonne Soiree, has never remembered a drink or comp'ed a cocktail or dessert. That said, we keep going because those people know how to cook.
Dispatch from Chapel Hill
Agreed. We are very lucky in our neck of the woods. That said, I think Weaver Street and Guglupf are at the head of the class on your list. I'm not a fan of the Fresh Market or Whole Foods bakery and haven't yet made it to Miel Bon Bons. As others have noted on here, as well, the bread turned out by Rue Cler's bakery is outstanding.
Best Burger in Raleigh?
I would second the RTB suggestion, with the caveat that I haven't been there in ages (moved to Chapel Hill) and that in general I thought the food there was much better when Ashley Christensen was more involved.
