Peace China

At last my dreams have come true and good take-away/eat in Chinese food has come to downtown Raleigh. Since moving here I have struggled to find good quick Chinese food. I tried all the gardens and other quick delivery Chinese restaurants and kept having the same darn problem….the meat just wasn’t really meat! Then the clouds of frustration parted and a ray of light emerged and showed me the way to Peach China Restaurant in Seaboard Station.

A couple of weeks ago I went there to give this new restaurant a whirl and see if they actually could satisfy the deep yearning inside me for Chinese food. I ordered my usually test run dish, Mongolian Beef, and my significant other ordered Sesame Chicken much to my shock, awe, and utter joy real meat come out on those little plastic dishes! The meal was absolutely everything I had been missing, great seasoning, great prices, great meat, great rice, great great great! Then as if real good food wasn’t enough of a reason to go back to Peace China the service was friendly and the restaurant is actually opened on a Sunday, which is something extremely difficult to find in downtown Raleigh!

Inside or outside dining, wide selection of all the typical Chinese dishes, awesome hours of operation, ample parking, friendly staff, clean restaurant, and good food this place has all the makings to become a local favorite!

Capital City Grocery

When thinking of places to grab a quick bite to eat one usually thinks of bars, delis, or other low cost restaurants which usually have at least one thing deep fried on the menu. Seldom does someone think about going to the local grocery store for gourmet style sandwiches and a drink but that is exactly what you get at Capital City Grocery.

Located off of Peace Street in the Seaboard Shopping Center is a great little grocery store that offers so much more then your typical Harris Teeter, Kroger, or even the yuppie Fresh Market can. Capital City offers made to order sandwiches that are large enough to fill the biggest appetite and then diners can grab a glass of wine or a cold beer pull up a seat either inside or on the comfortable patio and enjoy. Yes, you read that correctly it’s a grocery store with a liquor license so that means you can peruse their very impressive beer selection (which by the way if they don’t have something you want put in a request and usually they can/will get it) or grab a glass of wine to sip on if that’s more up your alley.

This grocery store goes above and beyond by having specialty foods, beers that no college student would touch (yes what I mean by that is actual beer), meat that will allow you to cook like the chefs at Prime Only or prepared meats that allow you to fake it and sandwiches that are worth writing home about. On top of the amazing food there is also live entertainment on Friday nights…all in all this is so much more then your local grocery store.

TriRaleigh Restaurant Week

TriRaleigh Restaurant Week got me more excited about eating out then I have been for some time. I had fallen into a pit of a habit of going to the same small handful of restaurants time after time and this gave me a great opportunity to try something new and not pay much, what a great concept.

As soon as I checked out the website and saw which restaurants were brave enough to participate I knew where I was going first, The Globe. I had walked by The Globe about two week prior and thought about going in but nothing about the restaurant made me put forth that extra effort to actually walk through the door. But hey three course meal for $25 heck yeah I’ll walk through the door for that and that is exactly what I did.

Saturday evening I walked over to The Globe with my significant other and was prepared to be dazzled and delighted by this swanky new restaurant. We walked in to an empty hostess stand and a relatively empty restaurant. Oddly enough we took this as a good sign and glancing down at the unattended reservation book saw that we had a marvelous shot at eating without reservations. When the perky hostess sauntered back from seating the previous table and asked us if we had reservations we confessed that we did not but were very excited about trying this new restaurant. Much to our shock perky hostess then informed us that she had no room for two people but if we wanted we could sit and eat at the bar. Utter confusion then set in due to the relatively empty restaurant and then sparsely spotted reservation book. So we glanced at the bar that we could dine at, backless stools facing a wall so we could dine staring at the exciting paint but sadly it wasn’t even drying paint it was just paint.

Upon weighing our options a bit more my significant other and I hung our heads in disappointment and walked out of The Globe. Then an amazing thing happened…no perky hostess didn’t chase after us. I picked my cellular phone up and dialed 411. Oh the ever so helpful people at directory assistance were more then happy to connect me to The Globe in Raleigh, NC. When perky hostess picked up the phone and I asked if I could make a reservation for two that night for five minutes from now…wait for the shocking twist….wait for it….Yes yes perky hostess said that wouldn’t be a problem and she will see us in five minutes.

Well, after these events unfolded my significant other and I decided to try a different new restraint because thanks to TriRaleigh Restaurant week we found one place that we will gladly not return to, The Globe. However, still a huge fan of TriRaleigh Restaurant week and can't wait for it's return next year!

--PB

Cafe Luna

And the runner-up is….

In the way of Italian restaurants in downtown Raleigh there is not very much to choose from. Then if you want to narrow it down even more to good sit down Italian restaurants in Raleigh you end up with two. Café Luna is one of the two restaurants that fall in the narrow niche. Café Luna has an attentive staff, an ideal location, large sitting areas, flexibility, and decent menu.

I have ventured to Café Luna multiple times, sometimes for special occasions, or lunch, and often for dinner and have almost always had a wonderful experience with the staff. Ahh yes you attentive reader I did drop in that daughting word “almost.” The only times that I have had a less then enjoyable experience at Café Luna is when I have had the audacity to come to the restaurant with friends of mine with children. Oh, yes if you want a good chuckle, show up at the restaurant with a stroller their eyes all widen as if you just strolled in buck naked. There is no assistance provided by the staff when trying to finagle a stroller up the front step around the pillar and through the door and if you still keep coming then they just get flustered and don’t know what to do with you. Now I know it’s a nice restaurant not typically stroller land but it’s right near the children’s museum, it’s Italian and what kid doesn’t like that, and for not being a fairly casual nice restaurant it seems a bit silly for them not even to have high chairs.

The location for Café Luna is ideal, it’s right across the street from Moore Square. This means it’s close to the parking garage (which is free if you leave after 7pm) and walking distance from several downtown neighborhoods. This location also makes it convenient to people who take in a movie at the IMAX, delight a child at Marbles, or even catches a free movie in Moore Square during the summer.

Flexibility is also one of the great aspects of Café Luna. The first time I had the pleasure of eating food from the restaurant was when I was staying in a hotel and really could not eat out but wanted some good food. I called the restaurant after looking up the menu online, http://cafeluna.com/, and asked if I could place an order to-go. They took my order and had all the little goodies, right down to the free bread, packed up and ready for me; great idea for the free movies in Moore Square, think great food without having to tip. Then there is the flexibility of all the private parties that Café Luna is willing to accommodate. I cannot count how many times I have tried to eat here and been turned away because the restaurant was shut down due to a private party, yes it’s frustrating for me but for the people having the party it’s great.

Overall, I’d say hands down this is the second best Italian restaurant downtown. The biggest reasons why Café Luna is stuck playing second fiddle is the slightly lacking menu, perhaps being too accommodating for private parties, being closed on Sundays, and not very child friendly. However, what they do have on the menu is delicious and often served with a smile.

Written by: PB

Sullivan's Not what I expected.

Large tables, comfortable booths, softly lit rooms, cigars it all sounds like the perfect ingredients for a top notch steak restaurant. Despite having these ingredients Sullivan’s is forgetting the most important component, a good cut of meat.

Yes the wine menu is impressive and it’s a great restaurant to go to if your goal is to be seen but if you are the type of person who really enjoys a good cut of meat which melts in your mouth then Sullivan’s will leave you wanting.

I was very eager to go to Sullivan’s for my birthday because I had heard that it was one of the top places to go in Raleigh for a good steak. Upon arrival we were greeted by an indifferent staff, were amused by the three different members of the staff it took to open a bottle of champagne, and then sorely disappointed by “so-so” sides and fatty filets.

Now, I don’t want to say this place is all bad, perhaps steak just isn’t their strong suite. If you want to ogle at scantily clad female servers, savor wonderful sauces to try to cover up the mediocre cut of meat, pick from an extensive wine list (which I must say the champagne was worth the wait), and feel important because you are eating at Sullivan’s then logically this is the right restaurant for you, just try the seafood because for steak this is not the place.

Written by: PB

A Nice Date Night

Taxes on homes increasing, gas prices increases, wedding and vacation season quickly approaching; disposable income is becoming more and more of a mythical creature, similar to a Griffin. And just as the Griffin is a symbol of divine power, occasionally we all want to be treated as if have a divine power.

With that being said usually a wonderful way to treat yourself is by going to enjoy what is commonly referred to as “fine dining.” However, it is very rare to actually go to a restaurant and not feel as if the main goal is to flip the tables, even if you are dropping $500+ for a dinner for two. From working in the “fine dining” and eating at “fine restaurants” in a variety of cities, states, and countries I became blown away when I discovered that one of the best dining experiences in Raleigh would be at the little Italian restaurant in downtown Raleigh known as Vics.

Yes it known that Vics is the place to go for pizza, pasta, killer Caesar salads, and Italian beer but who knew that on the last Thursday of every month Vics breaks out the table clothes, requires reservations, and fully embraces what dining out should be…an experience.

For about $40 per person you will be dazzled with a five course meal paired perfectly with the appropriate glass of wine for each dish. The service was better then the service I have received from any restaurant in Raleigh, there is no table turning those who make reservations for the evening are the only ones that will be served that night. The food was better then the Italian food served at any of the Italian restaurants in Raleigh. This was a three hour dining experience that I truly cannot wait to repeat.

The menu is a set menu, which is a great way to expose oneself to new foods, the wine can be purchased at a discounted price at the end of the night, and it is truly a family affair with an Uncle providing the musical entertainment, he is very enjoyable. This is the way to dine out regardless of if you are pinching purse strings or if you are unaware your purse even has strings. Once again Vics comes through to Wow.

Written by: PB