As I’m sure we’ll have many new additions, I wanted to share a post I wrote for my other blog 52 Ways To… which outlined our doings on our March 2010 visit to the Triangle – Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Wake Forest, Chapel Hill, Research Triangle, etc. This is only version one, many more will be penned in the future.
Excerpt from “Living the Dream”
Favorite meal of the trip was at Poole’s Downtown Diner – I really love this place. It represents everything Raleigh to me. It’s a tiny diner with a tin ceiling and graphic words painted on the back wall. It’s a perfect balance of good olde south and modern. I had fried oysters and a kale side-dish. Local, well prepared and delicious.
Another favorite haunt is the Raleigh Times Bar. I love it because it used to be a newspaper office, I can almost hear the sharp sounds of typewriters tapping out the latest news. It also has great food. I had an amazing Country French Salad – pears, roasted beets, candied walnuts and goat cheese (special request). They also have an extensive beer list, which always gets a A+ from the Crawfords.
Best breakfast by far was a NOFO at the Pig. Really cute shop and restaurant serving up modern southern breakfasts. I had the special of pulled pork hash, poached eggs and biscuits along side a cup of black coffee with one packet of raw sugar.
A surprise favorite was the Duck and Dumpling. Really inventive and tasty Asian food. We had a starter of dumplings and I had a dish with duck prepared very simply. It was so good because the duck was prepared unceremoniously, just like chicken. I liked that because usual duck is prepared so preciously that you feel bad eating the poor thing.
For some FANCY BBQ we went to The Pit. It was really good, but a little fancy for my barbecue tastes. Really liked the collard greens that I had…did I mention that I’m a southern girl trapped in a western girl’s body?
In Durham, we met with a friend for drinks at the Pinhook which is a great, funky bar downtown. Then we took her advice and went to Dos Perros for dinner. It was a great upscale Mexican bistro. The most wonderful part of the meal was handmade churros with a rich, Mexican chocolate dipping sauce (MMMM!). A favorite lunch stop for us is Parker and Otis for a little bite. I had a rich egg salad sandwich and too much shopping.
We did stop in at the famous Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen – pretty dang good and the biscuits are made with shortening instead of butter (I’m lactose-intolerant so this is very good news). We got them take away, as it is the only option, and stopped in the hippie-chic Caffe Driade for coffee and people watching.
Coffee was usually taken at The Morning Times. Nutty, rich coffee and simple morning pastries. Has a beautiful upstairs lounge, which we missed on our first trip, but enjoyed on the second.
Classy cocktails is getting a second coming. With tiny, dark bars springing up around the South, getting sauced is getting saucy.
