Restaurant Dining Experiences

Waffle House - Louisburg

2008-10-05T00:45:00.003-04:00

Location: 343 S. Bickett Blvd., Louisburg, NC

Date visited: Thursday, October 2, 2008 for breakfast (morning)

Ordered: All Star Special Breakfast with milk

Ok, first off, I have to reiterate, this is a Waffle House. So the general rules of Waffle Houses as you know them do apply here. It's not a 4 star restaurant experience. With that said, I think this one in Louisburg is ok. I would go back. My first visit was not that great, but that was early on - only about a week after they opened. So I'll review here my second visit. They are open 24 hours a day, serving mostly breakfast fare (i.e. the name Waffle House, duh) but also have some "real other" food.

There was, I will tell you, a situation with some flies on my first visit, but it seems with this second visit, a few months later, they have that under control (good to know!). Smoking is allowed in there and it's really small, so if someone is smoking and that bothers you, this could be an issue. Both times I went none of the patrons were smoking so this was not a real issue with me either time. The general cleanliness - floor, tables, bathroom - I was impressed with at this visit (the bathroom was especially extra clean).

As far as the food...it tasted really, really good! The All Star Breakfast is 2 eggs, grits, 2 pieces of toast and your choice of 1. waffle or biscuits with gravy and 2. sausage or bacon. I made the waffle/bacon choice. It's a lot of food for the price, I think.

My bacon was a little greasier than we normally have it at home, but that was remedied with a paper towel blot.

My toast was also a little more "burnt" than I tend to like it, but I think that was just me (I believe had my husband been there he would have deemed it just right). I switched toast with my Mom & we were both happy.

The waffles were cooked to absolute perfection. Only my husband's are better when he makes them on Sunday morning :) It was a big waffle, too.

The grits were amazingly already buttered up and salted to perfection, just the way I like them. I don't think I have ever eaten anywhere, ordered grits, and they were already salted and buttered. My Mama taught me if you don't put the salt in when you are cooking them, grits will never have enough salt, no matter what you add after the fact (and this holds true!). So salting to me is crucial. Plain grits on my plate for me to salt at the table at most establishments never make the cut.

I don't know if I am a weirdo or what, but I always order my eggs "fried, well". People always give me a funny look. Basically, I like my egg fried flat, the yolks busted and fried until there is nothing "runny" when I cut into it, but yet not browned. These were exactly that! Again, only my husband and my Mama have ever made me eggs that perfect. I myself, on the other hand, cannot cook a "good" egg to save my life. I guess I'm just a "bad egg" cooker.

http://www.wafflehouse.com/

Red Robin

2008-09-27T18:32:00.003-04:00

Location: 11420 Capital Blvd., Wake Forest, NC 27587

Date: September 20, 2008 lunch

Ordered: Monster Burger with bottomless fries

This place has a very kid friendly atmosphere, but they have a bar - go figure. There is a TV in the floor in the waiting area as you come in! TVs in the bathroom play cartoons and there is a lot for kids to look at and keep them entertained in the dining area.

Anyway the burgers are HUGE and awesome. The bottomless fries come with every burger. The fries are the fat kind, like steak fries. We ordered the Monster Burger - AKA – the Open Wide Burger - Two beef patties, American cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, mayo & Red’s pickle relish (read below for deal tips) and shared it. It's huge. I could barely open my mouth wide enough to take a bite (and I'm told I have a big mouth, but maybe that's just figuratively speaking). I had to smush it down to be able to eat it! I love the fries and I love the sauce that comes with the onion rings. So I asked our server if I could have some of the onion ring sauce and she said, "Sure!" Oh so yummy.

The burgers are a bit pricey - most are in the $10 range, but it's not anything remotely from the same planet as those fast food burgers out there. It's really a "treat yourself when you can" kind of burger place. They have lots of cool beverages, too, of the non-alocholic as well as alcoholic variety.

They can tend to get really busy, but we have never really had to wait very long. We usually go for lunch or that in between time on Saturdays when lunch can double as dinner.

My recommendations:

Crispy Chicken Tender Salad - "...fried chicken breast tenders, hard-boiled egg, tomatoes, Cheddar cheese and bacon..." Just your basic fried chicken salad, but it's huge and delicious.
The Banzai Burger - "Marinated in teriyaki & topped with grilled pineapple, Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo..."
Bleu Ribbon Burger - "...basted with a tangy steak sauce and topped with crumbled Bleu cheese... onion straws, lettuce, tomatoes and zesty Chipotle mayo on an onion bun."
Red Robin Gourmet Cheeseburger - "...crisp lettuce, fresh tomatoes, pickles, onions, mayo & Red’s pickle relish. You choose your favorite cheese: Cheddar, American, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Bleu, Provolone or Pepper-Jack."
Towering Onion Rings - "13 rings tall...sweet yellow onions — seasoned, breaded & crisply-fried. Served with tangy Campfire sauce and ranch dressing for dippin’." Absolutely delicious and it's really a big tower of onion rings! I love the tangy campfire sauce.

DEAL TIP - you can sign up on their website and enter your birthday. On your birthday they will email you a coupon for a free burger, which includes a free sundae, too (a serenade from the gang is required for the sundae). The burgers are so huge you can split one with a friend (which is what we normally do), and if you tell your server you want to split it, they will cut it in half for you. And get this, when you do that, the fries are still bottomless!! So with the B-day free burger, we split that, and only had to pay for our drinks! What a deal.

http://www.redrobin.com/

Johnny's Barbecue

2008-09-27T16:56:00.002-04:00

Location: 8446 NC 56 Hwy West, Louisburg, NC

Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008 lunch

Ordered: Barbecue sandwich combo

In a town with limited "worthy" local fare, this one ranks up high. Not a fancy place, just your regular barbecue joint. They are a little bit out of the way, but won't be for long with all of the new happenings on that end of town.

For all of you out there keen on barbecue and its various styles, this would be classified as Eastern style pork barbecue. I think it ranks really high in my experiences for barbecue and how I like my barbecue. Not a lot of "bad meat" in there, if you know what I mean. Not a lot of fat and it's usually cut up pretty well, so you don't have to use a knife and you don't bite into some big hunk of meat while eating your sandwich that you can't figure out how to gnaw into politely in mixed company. Don't get me wrong now, it's not chopped up into iddy bitty pieces either. It's just right. It's seasoned to perfection, no additional sauce necessary, however they do have a vinegar based thin sauce available on the tables if you wish to add it. It's already sauced up to the extent that it is flavored, but not too much where you end up with a watery mess in your plate.

I am a huge fan of the barbecue sandwich, except, I never get mine with slaw as is the norm around here. I just want some good old mayonnaise, preferably Duke's. I'm not sure if they use Duke's here, but it worked for me.

Their barbecue sandwich combo is served with fries, but I think you can substitute one of several vegetables available daily for your side. I was, however, a little disappointed that the combo did not also include hush puppies. If you get the barbecue plate, on the other hand, you'll have hush puppies and two vegetables of your choosing, you just lose the bun.

It's the sort of place you walk up to the counter and place your order, they fix your plate right there and then you pay & get your own drinks, sit where you like. I guess you would call that cafeteria style. They do have smoking/nonsmoking sections, but it's really all just one open room, so be careful where you sit if that sort of thing bothers you.

Other noteworthy items:

They are probably the only restaurant in Louisburg to offer Caffeine Free Diet Coke.
They cater or you can just order a 5 gallon bucket of slaw
They also have fried chicken, fried shrimp plates (good) and run a "special of the day" which remains the same each day to the week. For example Tuesday's special is beef tips and rice.
They are not open on Sundays or Mondays. Some people might find that to be a weird schedule, but being closed on Monday is common around here, especially with BBQ restaurants.

I couldn't find a website listed for them, so here's the old school contact info 919.497.5997

Pig Pickin' Ball Style

2008-09-21T00:49:00.004-04:00

Location: Ball Airport, Louisburg NC (i.e. almost in my back yard) Specific relation necessary for attendance.

Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008 for dinner

Ordered: Everything they had to offer!

Yes, I know, this is not a restaurant. Maybe this should just be the Dining experiences blog. Every year, my mom's family has a family reunion. It became an annual event probably almost 10 years ago. Us ladies get together, usually at the Texas Steakhouse in Wake Forest for a planning session in August and we all come together to bring various things and discuss what worked/didn't work in previous years. And of course, gossip. Then the men cook the pig.

For the men, the day starts early, usually about 7am. The pig goes on, the fire barrel is stocked and all fired up. A big shovel helps them add hot smoldering ash and such to the pig cooker to keep things going. They hang out all day and I guess they gossip, too. (The women get together the night before for the pre-cleanup so the club house is ready for visitors). The pig is usually ready around 5 or 5:30 in the afternoon. With a wonderful blessing, usually by cousin Jerry (or brother Jerry, or Dad Jerry, or son Jerry, husband Jerry - you know it's a family reunion so he's related any way you look at it) the eating is underway.

Every year the weather takes a turn right before this event, it seems, and it's always the first evening we are out and notice we need a jacket. It was nice tonight, kinda breezy, you could smell and sense fall was in the air.

The airport was founded by my great uncle, the late Joe Ball, Jr. mainly as a crop dusting business. He was a pilot in the War (joined when he was too young to do so but he lied about his age and they kept him because he was good). He went on to become a pilot trainer for the military. There is another pig picking coming up next month in his honor, but that's a later post. Mostly vintage 2 seater airplanes take off here - you pilot the from either the front or back seat. There's a cool club house and shed which is the focal point of the gathering.

I think the Ball family originated from Alert - isn't that where the world began? Well, at least originated from there after they sailed over here. Anyway, onto the food. Here are some favorites that show up every year:

The pig! Cooked by a group of the men, led by my Dad. He built the pig cooker himself. He chops up all of the meat at the end so you get a good mixture of meat from all areas and you don't have to use your knife. You must top it off with some sauce. There are usually several varieties of this available ranging from your basic BBQ sauce to some hot stuff and this year I saw something labeled stump water. I was too scared of that to try it. You go through the line and he just piles up some pig on your plate until you say "when". If you ask nicely you can get some of the crispy skin to chew on, too.

Baked beans - usually a couple of these. I always go for the one with the bacon slices in it. Yummy!

Potatoes - they really work at these. I do not think they buy the canned potatoes, they actually have a potato peeling party. It's the deal, all buttered up and boiled with onion. I always put sauce on top of mine, but that's just me.

Deviled eggs - last year these were the must have item. I think we had 3 dozen and people were looking for more when they ran out. Seems like they intended to make 6 dozen this year. I really, really love deviled eggs and I knew they were doubling the quantity this year, so I got twice as many on my plate as I normally would. Hmmm, guess if everyone did that we'd still be in a pickle....Don't worry, there are many to choose from, some with paprika and some without, some with pickle, some with none.

Slaw - Once again as with the potatoes, I believe they have a cabbage shredding party. I don't think this is store bought.

Cucumbers in vinegar - is there a technical name for this concoction? I was so happy to see this in the spread this year. Kudos to the thinker-upper of that! I love them so much. We always had them at home in the summer when I was growing up. These had been in the vinegar for a mighty good while and were sufficiently marinated.

Sweet Tea - made in the 5 gallon cooler. We had to put someone on guard at the tea station this year. The kids just love to run by the cooler and push the button to make the tea squirt out and last year I think they did it so much there was no tea left at eatin' time!

Slice of Bread - I don't know what it is about pork barbeque, but I always must have bread with it and my favorite (after the hush puppy, is that bread??) is a soft fresh white slice of "loafabread".

There are usually hot dogs for the kids with all of the trimmings and desserts out the wazoo. Here are some of my favorites in the dessert category:

Cousin Ann's Banana pudding - I think she inherited this recipe from her mom. It rocks! How one can make such a big banana pudding, I cannot tell you. It is in one of those huge pans like they use in the cafeterias. It's hardcore.

Uncle Alex's (pronounced "ell-lick") peach cobbler - He picked these peaches himself, peeled them and cut them up to make this cobbler. He said he got the peaches "on halves" - the worms got half of them and he got the other. This was probably the best thing I put in my mouth tonight.

There are always pies - chocolate, coconut - and a cheesecake. This year the cheesecake had optional cherry topping on the side. I just wanted to abscond with the whole container of cherry topping. Would that have been wrong?? Cakes abound and usually a plate of cookies. Watergate salad, it's like a dream dessert land.

Here's an item that caused much discussion. The fire barrel is always on a certain side of the pig cooker, every year. And every year the wind seems to blow in a certain direction that blows the fire smoke to the gathering area and puts you, literally, in the line of fire when you line up to get your pig and begin your journey through the myriad of food. I wondered why this did not change from the prior year and found out it's because the fire stoker access on the pig cooker is on that side. So why then, the question came up, don't we just start the line on the other side? Big pause, light bulb, ok, duly noted. We'll see.

Don't be frightened by the lady in the bathroom. She's been there a lot longer than you and she's seen it all. I still get a big chuckle (after my initial shock - I don't know why, I knew she was there) at the mannequin in there. She moved from the shower to beside the sink from my last visit. I think she has a name, but I forget it. There's always some new photo, joke, parable or other paraphernalia in the club house of interest, too. It's like the house is one giant scrapbook for everything that has ever happened there. Lots of my kin and folks I know grace those walls.

So unless you have some Ball stock in ya or you marry one, we won't see you next year, but you can read about it on my blog.

NC State Fair

2008-09-20T23:09:00.003-04:00

Check it out - I'm the guest blogger for the NC state fair with a list of everything I ate at the 2007 NC State Fair!

http://2008ncstatefair.blogspot.com/2008/09/fair-fan-jean-marie-odom.html

Stay tuned for my updated listing and comments on this year's fair!

Lilly's Pizza

2008-09-20T21:46:00.000-04:00

Location: 5 Points, Raleigh, NC - near the Rialto Theater

Visited: Saturday, January 26, 2008 for lunch (and many times before & after that!)

Ordered: House Salad ("side" version), blue cheese dressing and the Big Shindig pizza - small

This is a really cool place. It's great for those of us getting too old to remember how cool we used to be. It's a really kooky, cool atmosphere & the pizza is awesome. There's as much to look at here as there is to eat. It usually has a pretty good crowd, but not so busy you can't get in there to eat. Their produce is hand picked daily by local vendors and most of their stuff is organic. They deliver if you are in the area.

The house salad (I ordered the "side" version which is a miniature version of their full blown entree size) "An oversized bed of organic mixed greens, organic mushrooms, organic baby carrots, vine-ripened roma tomatoes, monterey jack, roasted pecans & our homemade croutons. Served with your choice of our homemade salad dressings on the side: balsamic, raspberry, ginger-soy & pear vinaigrettes, bleu cheese, honey mustard, ranch & lemon tahini." The side version comes in a regular size bowl for a side salad, but I have no idea how they pack so much stuff in that little bowl! I had the blue cheese dressing.

The Big Shindig Pizza "Homemade organic tomato sauce, organic mushrooms, mozzarella, organic green peppers, organic red onions, pepperoni & black olives" - we ordered the small and it's enough for 2 people to share since we both got side salads, too. The pizzas are really good, flat crispy crust.

Everything about this place is just different. You walk in, go up to the counter and give your order. Then you go over to the side and get your own fork, knife, napkins and paper plates. Sit wherever you like. When your pizza is up, they walk out and call you by name and bring it to your table. Want a refill? Just ask the cool chick at the counter next to the manequin standing on the bar. Want a box to take the rest home to eat it for breakfast the next morning? Just jump right up and go over to the old refridgerator (door removed) and grab yourself a box. There is art work all over the walls by local artists that I believe is for sale. This is most certainly a place to check out. Don't be shy if they guy that waits on you has more piercings than you and your sisters put together - every one there is nice!

Other items to note:
You can also order pizza by the slice.

http://www.lillyspizza.com/

Cafe Capistrano

2008-08-09T00:28:00.011-04:00

Location: 8471 Garvey Road, Durant Station, Raleigh, NC - US 1 south, turn right on Durant road and it's on the left up in a little strip center.

Date Visited: Lunch, Friday, August 1, 2008

Ordered: Tostada "A crispy, corn tortilla shell (made here) piled high with meat, cheeses, beans, greens and smothered in our fresh pico de gallo. Served with rice and your choice of beans. Beef, Pork or Chicken." - I had the beef.

This is a small, unassuming restaurant in a row of strip type office locations with "big window store fronts", if you know what I mean. They serve up what they call California Style Mexican Cuisine. It's like an upscale Mexican restaurant - white table cloths, but you can still come in your flip flops. They make everything themselves there, even the salsa. It's just not your run of the mill Mexican place.

Back to the Tostada. The plate arrived with a crispy tortilla shell on the bottom and the meat and such was on top - not some big fat dish that you feel like you must eat because you paid for it, but you know you will be miserable - it was the perfect amount of food. It was really, really good. A perfectly sized lunch portion.

The salsa is really good - it seems to have a little extra cilantro in comparison to your regular Mexican restaurant version. I like it better. The heat is there, but not so much that you can't taste your dinner because your tongue is so burnt after the chips and salsa.

Since this visit, we have since frequented this restaurant and added it to our favorites list. We have mostly been there for lunch, but a week or so ago had dinner there for the first time. It was crowded! We didn't have to wait too long to get a table, though. Several parties that came in had reservations, so I would recommend that if you want dinner on a weekend night.

Other items of interest:

Tortilla soup -"a hearty chicken soup bursting with flavor and zing ... topped with toasty corn tortilla strips, Monterrey jack cheese, cilantro, chicken and a squeeze of lime!" to die for! This is so lime infused it's mind blowing. You just have to experience this for yourself. I came right home and searched for a recipe like theirs (couldn't find one) and tried to duplicate it. I think I came pretty close, but mine was way too salty. Might take a few more attempts there.
Fresh Guacamole - while I am not a guacamole fan myself, I wanted to be when I saw this come out when my husband ordered it! It was a beautiful side of fresh guacamole, very impressive. Each one is made with an entire avocado, made fresh and is very chunky.
Quesadilla -"Two flour tortillas filled with a mound of three cheeses and the meat filling or bean filling of your choice topped with our fresh pico and Santa Fe sauce! Big eaters only! Beef, Pork, Chicken, Vegetarian, Grilled Chicken Fajita, Shrimp or Fish. (served with a creamy lime sauce)" I didn't get this one myself, but one of the other diners with us did. Beware - this dish is HUGE! Truly, I would say there is enough for 2 people, maybe 3. They looked delicious and she enjoyed them.
Mexican Salad - "A bed of fresh greens, spring mix & romaine, rice, black beans, meat of choice, cheese and pico de gallo served with Santa Fe or California Lime Dressing surrounded with fresh tortilla chips." Get the Santa Fe dressing. Awesome salad. Bigger than I could eat that night.

http://www.cafecapistrano.com/

BoneFish Grill

2008-05-10T23:23:00.004-04:00

Location: 4421 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, NC – right of the new “mall” area at North Hills, in the section with the Harris Teeter

Date Visited: Saturday, May 10, 2008 for dinner (they do not serve lunch)

Ordered: Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer, Caesar Salad, 10 oz. Sirloin and my husband had the special of the night, the Imperial Stuffed Mahi

This is the most awesome restaurant ever. I just cannot say enough good stuff. Suffice it to say, you need to eat here at some point in your life.

This restaurant is normally packed and there is a long wait unless you have a reservation. Normally we try to either have a reservation or get there right at 5pm when they first open. This particular night we just decided on the spur of the moment to go and we didn’t get there until about 6 or 7pm and they told us it would be a 1 ½ hour wait for a table (well worth the wait, I might add, if you have the time). The secret is the bar area and outside are both first come first serve and both are non-smoking. We waited about 5 minutes for a couple to leave at the bar and we sat right down. You can order from the full dinner menu at the bar and they are more than attentive to you there. They also have some high-top tables in the bar area, too, that seat about 8 people each - you can share with some other people if you don’t mind that.

Ok, on to some background information. The key to this restaurant, as you might have guessed by the name is seafood. They pride themselves in fresh seafood. Meaning, whatever you eat tonight was swimming this morning. No frozen, no leftover fish from yesterday, no refrigerated fish – F R E S H. Before eating here, I was not really into fish at all. I am rather sensitive to “fishy” tasting or smelling fish – don’t really like it. But this is like a whole other world – fresh, succulent, moist, wonderful fish. It’s the real deal.

All of the fish, steaks, chicken and pork are cooked on wood-fired grills. The main part of the menu is a varying selection of fish, wood-grilled, including such items as Snake River Rainbow Trout, Longfin Tilapia and Gulf Grouper, to name a few. Once you make your fish selection, you add a sauce – Warm Mango Salsa (my favorite), Chimichurri (new), Pan Asian (my husband’s favorite) or Lemon Butter – then add a side – we always get the Potatoes Au Gratin which are to die for (these may be better than the fish!) You can choose to add a Caesar or House Salad to your dinner for a small extra fee.

One tidbit to note, everything is made to order. If there is something on the menu you like, but want to alter just a bit – they will do it. If the Lemon Garlic Caper sauce would seem better to you without the capers and garlic, just ask and they will say, “ok”. Just as simple as that. On one of our visits the special of the night was made with a particular fish that we just weren’t crazy about, so we said, “we want the special, but can we have it prepared with the grouper instead?” and they just said simply, “Sure.” Bam!

This particular visit, we started out with the Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer. “Tender, crispy wild gulf shrimp tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce.” Don’t let the term “wild gulf shrimp” scare you away. I generally don’t like “two bite” size shrimp. When they get really big and you have to cut them with a knife before you eat them, they have a different taste to me. This shrimp is the perfect size. Not popcorn size, but one bite size – one good mouthful of shrimp size. They are piled in a small dish – piled high like a mini mountain. I would say you get about 10-15 shrimp – the perfect amount to share before your meal arrives. They are lightly battered and fried and then smothered with just the right amount of a spicy creamy almost Cajun sauce that vaguely reminds you of a horseradish feel, served on a bed of lettuce, topped with green onions and served with chopsticks for a fun eating experience. The spice effect is just the right amount – enough to make you wipe your nose a couple of times and rely heavily on your water, but not so much your eyelids sweat.

I added a Caesar salad to my order, which they brought out after the Bang Bang shrimp. Even though it was salad for one, it was still enough for us to share. It’s probably the best Caesar salad of anywhere we have ever eaten. It has crisp, fresh lettuce, with just the right mix of parmesan cheese (a generous amount), croutons and dressing. You can even add the actual anchovies if you desire (we did not). My only complaint this particular time was there were not quite enough croutons. We love them and we had to divvy them up to be sure we both had some. Normally there are more.

My husband decided to have a beer with while we were waiting for our entrees (he almost never has one, so this was a rare occasion) and when he finished it, the bartender asked if he would like another. He said, “Yes, I would, but I would like to wait until our entrees arrive.” She said, “Sure, no problem.” Not sure how she remembered that….but sure enough, when the server brought our entrees, there she was with the beer! It was great, impeccable service.

Normally I get a fish dish, but this particular night, I was in the mood for steak. Since we had the Bang Bang Shrimp, I had already satisfied my need for seafood. The 10 oz. Sirloin is a “center cut” sirloin, seasoned and wood-grilled with the optional added Gorgonzola butter (which you know I added). I don’t like to see red when I eat steak, so I always order mine medium well, which in a lot of places is a big risk. It generally means you either get a burnt steak, or it’s cooked perfectly, but now has the consistency of shoe leather. Not here! Also, you might think a seafood restaurant wouldn’t be able to get a steak right – here you would be wrong!! This steak was cooked to sheer perfection. It was the dictionary picture version for new chefs of what medium well should be. It was so moist and tender, even though it was cooked medium well. It wasn’t super-thin, either. It was a nice thick steak. I shared some with my husband, who was not provided with a steak knife since he ordered a fish dish, and he was able to cut it with his “butter” knife (or table knife, whichever term you prefer)!!! It was topped with a nice little pat of Gorgonzola butter that I was able to ration out to each and every bite of steak. My only complaint (if you would even call it a complaint) was the seasoned rub they used was a tad bit salty to my pallet, but still oh so yummy. The potatoes Au Gratin are the best I have ever eaten. I could come in and just order a bowl of those and be absolutely happy. It’s sliced potatoes baked with a cheese sauce like you would expect, but it’s not a runny, thin cheese sauce. It’s like the kind of cheese sauce you normally see on top of baked macaroni and cheese when it just gets sort of crunchy but still somehow maintains its chewy cheesiness. WOW. If only I could make these at home! They also “garnish” the plate with a few sautéed vegetables, usually consisting of zucchini, squash and a bit of cooked tomatoes. I think you can order this as your side instead of the potatoes if you so desire.

Each night they have an appetizer and entrée special. My husband ordered the entrée special, which was the Imperial Stuffed Mahi – Mahi stuffed with grilled shrimp, scallops and crab, wood-grilled and topped with a sauce, which I forget the details of now, but he proclaimed as wonderful (I sampled and agreed). He also always gets the potatoes Au Gratin and would probably marry me all over again if I could master that recipe.

This place is a tad pricey, but not as much as you would expect. It is a white tablecloth, sort of dimmed lights kind of situation, but it can either be a special event reason to eat out and you dress up really nice and call for a reservation, or you can just pop in at 5pm in your shorts and flip flops and still feel comfortable eating there. It is absolutely the ultimate when it comes to treating ourselves. We let the little one play with the G’rents when we go, though, it’s not an atmosphere that would readily accept and love her squeals of delights as much as we do.

http://www.bonefishgrill.com/

El Matador Mexican Restaurant

2008-05-06T21:45:00.004-04:00

Location: 32 Golden Leaf Drive, Louisburg, NC (Behind the new Bojangles)

Visited: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 for Dinner

Ordered: The Number 4 combination with an added side of Spanish rice, cheese dip for the chips and Steak Fajitas

The Number 4 combination consists of two hard shell tacos, one enchilada and one cheese quesadilla. For the tacos and enchilada you have a choice of beef or chicken and I always get beef. The tacos are served with lettuce and cheese. The enchilada is the rolled up thing sort of like a burrito, but it's covered with sauce and melted cheese, for those of you that confuse your Mexican menu items like I do. The cheese quesadilla I always give to my daughter - she's not quite 2 yet and she loves cheese. I think it's a great medley of the something crunchy, something saucy and something cheesy. I always add a side of Spanish rice just because I am a rice junky - how can something so plain be so awesome?? - and I take the salsa they give you and dump it in the rice and mix it all up - so good! If we've had a good payday, then I'll get a side of sour cream and mix that up in there, too. It's like $1.25 extra for that on this dish, so I can't do that every time, but you do get a big bowl of it when you ask to add it like that, so the whole table could share it if you wanted (just use a clean spoon and don't double dip). We also add the cheese dip if payday was good - that's an extra charge, but oh so yummy to dip your chips in while you wait. For those of you keeping score, that's good mixed up in the Spanish rice, too.

Everybody gets chips and salsa upon entering - gratis (free). The menu is setup with a "lunch special" section (I've never been for lunch, so can't really add any comments there), a combination section like the number 4 I ordered (they have every imaginable combination of tacos, enchiladas, burritos, chalupas, quesadillas, etc. - some with rice, some with beans, some with guacamole and some even come with sour cream), a "dinner" section with things like "steak a la Mexicana", "steak fajitas" and "nachos supreme" and then an "a la cart" section where you can just get a taco or some rice or whatever. The menu is expansive. It's good reading. They even have the definitions to the common items on the back, so if you really don't know what a chalupa is, you can look it up. It's like a three page fold out, front and back.

My husband always gets the Steak Fajitas - grilled steak strips, grilled green peppers, grilled tomatoes and grilled onions with refried beans, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream (a dollup) and tortillas. This is one of those deals where the meat and veggies come out on a sizzling skillet and you make up your own fajitas. You can cram in too much meat on the first one, have double veggies on the second one, or whatever floats your boat. He loves it. I've tasted the grilled tomatoes and I thought they rocked (he's not much on tomatoes unless really cooked up like in tomato sauce).

Our daughter gets milk and eats the cheese quesadilla from my order and she shares in the chips, too (no salsa for her, she's not a dipper). She has a fun time biting the quesadilla and watching the cheese string away.

These guys are always on the ball, they have chips and salsa out for you before you are able to get your seat warm. Tonight when they saw us coming in the door, they had menus and silverware out before we even got inside good. They also already had a highchair at our table for the little one. They are very friendly and personable and so attentive it's unbelievable. There has never been a long wait for the food, but if for some reason there was, you still have the chips and salsa. What is it about chips and salsa? You can just eat and eat them and still somehow always have room for your entrees when they arrive. They are constantly bringing us hot sauce to sample and always have a sucker for our daughter (I don't have the heart to tell him she's not old enough for one yet) and lately we have gotten a free pen on each visit (always a plus).

The restaurant itself is very open, nice & clean. They have a bar area and serve cerveza y margaritas, although we haven't ordered either just yet. Probably their only fault is that they are not right on the main road, they are back behind Bojangles, so they probably don't get as much business as they should because a lot of people don't realize they are back there. I'm not sure if they are smoke free or not, but I think they are because there doesn't appear to be separate section for that and we have never encountered smoke while there. That's a plus for us because of the wee one. Their only fault is there is no baby changing table in the bathroom, but we're usually able to make it home before that's an issue :)

We eat here probably 1 to 2 times a month. We like it - it's great when you get a hankerin' for Mexican.

Gianni & Gaitano's Trattoria Pizza & Pasta

2007-11-11T22:16:00.000-05:00

Location: Wakefield Commons 14460 New Falls of Neuse, Raleigh, NC (We call this Wake Forest - it's off of US 1 in the shopping center with the movie theater & JellyBeans skate rink)

Visited: Sunday Lunch November 11, 2007

Ordered: Spring Salad with Frisee and New York Style Pizza with Pepperoni and Mushrooms

They brought tiny yeast rolls to the table while we were waiting for our food, they looked like thick pretzels tied into tiny knots, smaller than your fist. They were good!

The Spring Salad with Frisee was totally happening! Shaved Bartlett pears over a bed of spring greens with dried cranberries, honey glazed walnuts, fried goat cheese croquettes with a blood-orange vinaigrette. We told the waitress we wanted to share the salad and she brought it out in 2 separate bowls - always a plus. The lunch portion of this salad only comes with one goat cheese croquette, so the kitchen actually cut it in half for us and put half on each plate! It was so good - I just don't think I can even tell you how good! The goat cheese croquette was lightly breaded and fried - no probably more like sauteed. The cheese was so soft and tasty - yummy! My only complaint was it was only one croquette! It was about the size of a 50 cent piece, but I was able to break it into really small pieces to get a sampling into almost every bite. The blood-orange vinaigrette was so tasty - you could really taste the orange flavor.

They have several styles of pizza, we ordered the New York Style and they come in 4 sizes, we ordered the smallest, 10 inch. They have "regular" toppings - your basic traditional American pizza stuff - and "gourmet" toppings like roasted red peppers and goat cheese. We opted for the regular toppings this time (the gourmet toppings cost a little more). You order your pizza by the style and then each topping you get has an extra charge. We had pepperoni and mushrooms. The mozzarella cheese on the pizza was to die for. Really soft and it was the kind that just strings all over the place when you pull your slice out. The 10" pizza was the perfect size for us to share. The crust was really thin and a little crunch in the middle, but thick around the edges. Yummy!

The restaurant is set up with a casual dining side - really open, you can see pretty much everything happening in the kitchen - and a fine dining side. The fine dining side has a separate menu - we haven't eaten there yet. The casual side is nice and loud so no one notices when the little one wants to test out her vocal cords. They have some separate rooms available for private parties.

They are getting ready to open a new restaurant at Triangle Town Center in the building near Barnes & Noble that was once an Asian restaurant. I assume they will carry the casual/fine dining separate themes over to that one as well - it has an upstairs & downstairs dining area. It's a really big space - looking forward to it!

http://www.gianniandgaitanos.com/about_gaitano.php

California Pizza Kitchen

2007-11-04T00:45:00.000-04:00

Location - Raleigh, NC - Triangle Town Center (chain restaurant)

Visited - Saturday, November 3, 2007

Ordered -
Half Portion Field Greens Salad - This salad rocks the house!! It's a blend of field greens, pears and candied walnuts tossed in homemade Dijon balsamic vinaigrette. It is available in a whole portion or what they call a half size. The half size is huge. You could make a meal out of it by adding shrimp or sauteed salmon (for an extra charge), but we usually split the salad and add the optional Gorgonzola cheese ($1 extra). The candied walnuts are really crunchy and sugary and the pears taste like they are marinated in the balsamic vinaigrette for a while - really tart. The Gorgonzola (blue) cheese give the salad the perfect mix between sweet, savory and tart. If you are afraid of blue cheese, then opt out, but we love it. The ruder the better.

The Works Pizza - This time, we broke out of our routine where we normally order the Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Pepper Pizza (I'll save that for another review... it is awesome!) and instead ordered The Works Pizza - a new item on the menu. It has sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni, sautéed mushrooms, Mozzarella cheese, mild onions, green peppers, black olives and their own tomato sauce. The pizzas there are not very big (good for 2 people), but not really small (too big for one person unless you are super hungry) - I would say about 10" and I think they cut it into 6 pieces. We always share a pizza. I am not a big fan of sausage on my pizza, so I asked them to only put it on half and they were happy to accommodate. I don't like olives either, but they are easy to pick off and my husband loves them, so I just put them on his half. The pizza was really good, but I think the Goat Cheese pizza is still my favorite. All of their pizzas have a thin crunchy crust.

We really like this restaurant and eat there a lot when we are at the mall. They have one at Streets of Southpoint Mall in Durham, too (outdoor seating is available at both). If you want to eat dinner on the weekends, you should probably get there early if you don't want to wait a really long time. We ate at about 4:30 because we had a really early lunch today. They are kid friendly, but if you have a stoller (since you are in the mall), once again, you should get there early. They have a no stoller in the aisles policy, so there are only a few tables you can park your stoller at. If you are ok with it, they can park your stroller for you in a corner near the hostess stand (separating it from you and and the little one goes in a highchair). This particular time, the little one was asleep, so we needed to keep the stoller with us.

They cook all of the pizzas in a real live hearth oven where you can even see the fire inside from the bar area. It's neat to sit at the bar (where we used to sit before the little one - they have high stools for seating there) because you can see all of the food being prepared from there and the pizzas get prepared right in front of you. You can see each pizza being loaded in the oven on the wooden peal. It's the real deal. They have all sorts of "non-traditional" pizzas, we haven't tried very many of the "weird" ones just because I like my pizza to taste like pizza. I'm just not very adventurous when it comes to pizza.

They have sugar free Italian sodas (free refills) which I think I will try next time. I was hung up on the diet root beer this time. And they bring you bread and butter while you wait - a big plus - but if you are doing weight watchers, just say, "no bread please" and they won't be offended. We always get the bread, though, we figure the walking we do at the mall negates those points :)

http://www.cpk.com/

George's Oxford Village Family Restuarant

2007-11-02T21:59:00.000-04:00

Location: 104 E. Industry Drive, Oxford NC (down the street from Wal-mart)

Visited: Lunch Friday, November 2, 2007

Ordered: I had one of the specials of the day, cheese ravioli. It was really good. It was 4 really big ravioli, stuffed with ricotta and other cheeses. It had a fresh tomato sauce over it and came with garlic bread. I just loved it and the bread was not too garlicy, just right.

Don't be fooled when you drive by this restaurant. From the outside, it is very unassuming and doesn't really look like a whole lot. Not like it looks bad, just doesn't stand out either way. Once you are inside, it's like you have stepped into an Italian Villa. It is really "done up" inside and looks neat. They actually have 2 spearate dining areas, so I guess you could have like a private party on one side. It's sort of semi-forma dining. Elbows off the table here. But the lunch crowd was accomodating of the little one.

The one thing I found odd was there was no pasta on the menu. For an Italian place, I thought that was weird. But they have a pasta special each day. My husband had a steak & cheese sub and it was huge. We could have shared that and been full. They don't normally have milk for kids, so bring your own if you need it. They happened to have milk that day because they needed it for one of the specials, so the waitress brought us some. That was nice.

Vanah's Mainstreet Diner (lunch)

2007-10-24T22:38:00.001-04:00

UPDATE 9-20-2008 SORRY - THIS RESTAURANT HAS SINCE CLOSED.
Location - Garnett Street Henderson, NC

Visted - Wednesday, October 24, 2007 for lunch

Ordered - Garnett Street Burger - 1/2 pound burger with American cheese, bacon, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato on a Kaiser Roll. All burgers come with fries, but I substituted a side salad (romaine lettuce, shredded cheddar, tomato) with Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing. Diet Pepsi. I tasted one fry from my husband's plate - it was good. I would say the fries are in the Wendy's category - kinda fat and crispy.

My burger was absolutely awesome. You could tell from the imperfectness of the patty shape that it was hand made there. No store bought pre-made patties here. It tasted like a backyard grill burger and was cooked perfectly. For those tomato fans out there - it was the biggest slice of tomato I have ever seen on a burger. The bason was really tasty. Sometimes when I get a bacon burger, I don't really notice the bacon taste as I eat the burger. There was a distinct separate bacon taste in each bite. Bacon and mayonnaise are a wonderful combination (ok, maybe that's just me).

All of the burgers were named for streets in the city - kinda cool - but they were still your classic burgers. I think they have chicken sandwiches & salads, too. Ok, sorry - this is my first review, next time I'll gather more info. I was in the mood for a burger, so I really just looked at those.

No caffeine free diet coke here. Not a bad thing, just something I always look for. Also, no milk. So if you are bringing the little ones, bring your own milk from home.

The atmosphere is a little weird. The restaurant setting seems rather formal, but the menu seemed more casual. Tablecloths on the tables with glass tops sort of formal, metal vintage signs hanging on the walls were more casual, so I'm not sure which type of feel they are trying to convey. Semi kid friendly (they did have high chairs) - lunch crowd was oblivious to our little one's squeals of delight, but I'm not sure how the dinner crowd would take it. Surroundings seem to lead me to believe it might be a serious quiet dinner crowd. I think there is a bar, so not sure how the night life would go. There is and outdoor seating option for those nice days.

They have a separate dinner menu, but I neglected to study it. That's for another post.