fastsix's Profile
Fresh, Live Lobsters in Seattle or Eastside?
I'll 2nd Uwajimaya. IIRC they almost always have them in stock. Not sure how "fresh" the lobsters are, but they are alive...and they are expensive, which is annoying after reading so many articles about how cheap lobster has become. Uwajimaya tends to have good prices on seafood, and also has the advantage of having plenty of parking either in Seattle or on The Eastside.
Salumi - Seattle
The Metropolitan market on Queen Anne sells unsliced Salumi Salamis (1 lb - $15). Not sure how that price compares to buying at Salumi itself, but if you're near a Metropolitan market it might be worth checking out.
Real New York Deli near Wilmington, NC?
Same experience. It's a nice place to have in Topsail, but not worth a special trip. If you're there, and tired of seafood, definitely give it a try.
Oysters on the Coast between Tillamook
About 45 minutes south of Tillamook is Cape Kiwanda (near Pacific City) where there are some pretty cool looking sandstone cliffs. Doesn't take long to see them, it's just a short walk down the beach and up to the top of the cliffs - the best views are on the side you can't see from the beach.
Here's a pic.
http://www.djensenphotography.com/images/coast/cape_kiwanda_horiz.htm
Korean Fried Chicken
http://www.ams.usda.gov/poultry/pdfs/AMS-PYST-2002.pdf
Rock Cornish game hen or Cornish game hen.
A Rock Cornish game hen or Cornish game hen is a young immature chicken (usually 5 to 6 weeks of age), weighing not more than 2 pounds ready-to-cook weight, which was prepared from a Cornish chicken or the progeny of a Cornish chicken crossed with another breed of chicken.
"Locals' Food" in Raleigh
Two that I haven't seen mentioned.
Fins - In North Raleigh. Kind of a Pacific Rim Fusion restaurant, i.e. our local take on the PNW type restaurants (I lived in Seattle for ten years from '92 on). It's actually in Raleigh, it's actually in a strip mall, and its setting does make it a little strange, but the food is great, and once you're inside that atmosphere is fine. Best sashimi I've had in the area, and some really wonderful items on the menu, although a few can be a touch on the sweet side for me.
Saffron - (http://www.saffronnc.com) great Indian restaurant in Morrisville (about a 15 minute drive from the airport) - also in a strip mall. I just returned from a trip to India and the food at Saffron compares very favorably. For the poster above who complained about being short changed on the heat, give the Chicken Chettinad at Saffron a try. I personally wouldn't ask them to make it 'hot', as it was already hotter than most of the Indian food I had in India. YMMV though, so if you ask them to make it really hot, let us all know how that turns out, should be a fun read.
Once you get out of the actual downtown areas of Raleigh and Durham, the restaurant in a strip mall idea is pretty common. If you can get over the idea of it, you'll find plenty of great restaurants sitting uncomfortably close to a Food Lion or Harris Teeter. As for the "In Raleigh", "Not in Raleigh" argument, you didn't say where you lived in Washington, but the traffic in Seattle 6 years ago was worse than the traffic in RTP today, so driving from Raleigh to Chapel Hill or Durham outside of rush hour is really no big deal, esp. if you're staying somewhere close to or north of the Beltline (i.e. 440 that encircles downtown Raleigh). If you have a say in it, somewhere close to the the RBC center probably wouldn't be a bad choice for exploring the area as a whole - http://www.rbccenter.com/about/218.asp.
