This is in my backyard?

I don’t know how many times I have driven by Gypsy’s Shiny Diner on Buck Jones Rd in Cary, NC…. atleast 100 and for some reason I never stopped there! This past Sunday my parents and Aunt Barbara were in town and we were looking for a good place to go for breakfast when we got out of church at 10am. As we were driving back up Buck Jones Rd from Hope Community Church my dad suggested that we try the shiny diner…literally. We were all a little hesitant but we decided to go for it! The cute little diner was packed. It only has 12 or 13 booths and 5 or 6 seats at the bar so it’s kinda tight and you have to wait to get seated. We only had to wait 5 minutes or so before we got our corner booth at the end.

Each booth has it’s own juke box and when your inside you really feel as if your in a 1950’s diner. We had a lot of fun in the diner and the food was pretty good too. I just got a breakfast sandwich which was nothing special but good. I did try some of my dads blueberry belgium waffle and I have to say it was delish! Overall we had a good time and enjoyed the food.

The coolest part of Gypsy’s Shiny Diner is that their open 24 hrs a day on Fridays and Saturdays, not that I’m typically up at 3am on a Friday night/Saturday morning, but if I were Gypsy’s shiny Diner is where I would be!

The holiday season is a great time to stay in and spend time with your family and friends. At a community meeting the other day our Human Resource director Teresa, made these scrumptous brownies! She made a ton of them and we had some leftover so what else do you do with a bunch of leftover brownies then take them to our Department Christmas Party! (That’s me in the pic at my boss’s house pretending to eat the entire plate, attractive I know!)

 So this Holiday season enjoy the local food of your friends and family….it’s always good!! What are some of your favorite family dishes???

So I know I said a long time ago I would be doing some video from the different places I go and I never did..the time has come! I finally have some video from Stone Wolf Coffee! I tooks this video on a weekday afternoon while stopping in there for some coffee. You can see Stone Wolfs cute atmosphere, drinks being made, flavor choices, but don’t think that’s all they have! I didn’t get a chance to shoot everything, but they also have great breakfast wraps and sandwiches, lunch/dinner sandwiches and salads, and of course great drinks hot and cold, including Milkshakes!! So check out my video, just click play (you might want to hit pause and let it buffer through )!!

I had to go back! The food and service was so good the first time I went to the Seaboard Cafe, that I had to go again. Once again Rick and Kevin are there to greet you with a smile and get your order which starts the experience off just right. I took my family with me this time and they loved the cafe and the food. This time I tried the Turkey Club which was delicious, like I should have expected any less. For dessert, I decided to switch it up, instead of the Chocolate Chip Cookie I tried the English Toffee (I think thats what it was called). All I know is it was amazing…. it was so soft and chewy, (which is the only way a cookie should be) and so tasty! If the cute store, the great service, and the awesome sandwiches isn’t enough to make you go, then the cookies otta do it!

Also, I was talking to Kevin while I was there and he told me that the Attorney General gets his lunch from them almost everyday. Well he doesn’t actually get it, but his security guys pick it up and take it to him which I think is pretty cool!

One of my all time favorite places in Raleigh is the Village Draft House in Cameron Village and last night we went there for my sisters birthday! I’ve been going the Village Draft House ever since I discovered it when I was a freshmen at NC State, seeing as how it was only a hop skip and a jump away from campus it made it nice! I love the atmosphere of Cameron Village and the atmosphere of the draft house itself,  and the food is delicious. I normally get one of their salads, but the sandwiches and burgers are also to die for.  I went there with some friends for my birthday this past fall and split a steak with one of my friends. I didn’t really want the steak, because I’m pretty picky about my steaks, but it was actually pretty good!

The Village Draft House has also recently been remolded. They took over the store next to them which gave them a lot of additional space, which was much needed. One of my favorite things to do during the nice Carolina nights is to sit outside on their porch area (last night was a little too cold for that). It’s just so charming and the food and service is still great! Last nights choice was the black and blue burger with a side salad…delish!