This is in my backyard?

I haven’t been to Solas yet, but my co-worker Doug Sutton has been a couple of times now, well at least tried to  go a couple times, but finally had dinner there the other night. He has a bad taste in his mouth from his experiences there, but the food sounds pretty good. Check out his blog to read more!

So the Solas update continues!As my boss and I discussed last night at dinner… I don’t wait in lines… what’s the point? There is always a multitude of other establishments ready for the business and always ready to serve.

Well I’ll I have to give it to them… Solas was ready to serve. I had a friend call me that suggested dinner at Solas, to try it out, so we went to see what the culinary snob had to say.I’ll give the kitchen at Solas at an A-… and this is why… We started out with the Lamb Lollipops and Duck Quesadillas. The Lamb Lollipops are so far from my recommendation list that they strike a new category on the food that I have sampled… they rank so low on the totem poll they may tie with the food served at the nastiest hole-in-the-wall southern restaurant that should take the cake but fail with cuisine as easy as fried chicken in the South. Even the sauce made it even more unbearable.However, I must say the duck quesadillas were striking high on the list for duck dishes in….read more

Last Thursday, July 10th, McCormick and Schmicks opened at the Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. It’s a chain restaurant, but I had a great experience when I was there and wanted to let you all know what I thought. I was able to eat there last Monday with 3 of my colleagues for lunch. Between the 4 of us we had 2 appetizers, 4 salads, 4 entrees and 2 desserts. We had the calamari and crab-cakes for our appetizers, both of which were good, but nothing to different from anywhere else you go. Next we had our entrees, Jennifer and I both had their Salmon (which came with Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes) which was served on a cedar plank and was pretty tasty. Nancy had the Crabmelt sandwich which she really liked. I’m not a huge fan of mayonnaise, in fact I hate it, so I didn’t really like the sandwich, but everyone else seemed to. Then came Doug…Doug had the shrimp and scallop Macaroni and Cheese. When I first read the item on the menu I was like seafood in Mac and Cheese, I’m not so sure about that, but it was amazing! The sauce was really light and the shrimp and scallops were so good. Something you probably want to share because it was huge and very filling, but delicious none the less.

Then came the best part of all….dessert! We ordered the Tiramisu Cheesecake and the Chocolate bag. The Tiramisu Cheesecake was really good, but next to the Chocolate bag, nothing compares. I have never seen a dessert like this. They melt down dark chocolate, put it into a bag, freeze it and then use the frozen chocolate as a bag. They then fill it with white chocolate mouse and fresh berries! I was so stuffed by the time we got dessert. I literally couldn’t stop eating it. If anything go there to see and try this dessert!

It’s been a little over a week now since I got back from my cruise and I have to say I’m still getting used to these numbers on the right side of all the menus. Yes, the prices, I don’t like them, on the cruise everything’s free and I loved it..probably a little too much! The food on the cruise was so good and always there! From the Breakfast Buffet that started at 6am with anything you could want. They had hot foods, cold foods, cereals, freshly made omlets, and every pastry you can imagine.

Then came the lunch buffet! It was event better, everything you could ever want was on the buffett: Pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches, soups, and so much more..and everything is so good! Then the ice cream machine opened and you could get as many ice cream cones as you wanted! Chocolate was my favorite..go figure right!

The best part of the day was always the 5-star dinner we had! Charlie and Johnson were our waiters (of course that wasn’t their real names, but that’s what they told us to call them since we couldn’t pronounce their real names) They would give you a menu with 5 or 6 appetizer choices, 7 or 8 dinner choices, and then 4 or 5 desserts! I would order around 2 of each one each night! Lobster night I definitely went for more! There were a couple things that didn’t really impress me (Lobster Bisque, way too much Sherry), but overall it was all delicious and I always ate way too much!

Oh ya, and if that wasn’t enough the promenade had a cafe that was open all the time with sandwiches, desserts, cookies, just incase you get hungry while your walking around the ship. And…don’t forget the free room service!!

Nothing gets better than some of the restaurants here in Raleigh, but when sailing the high seas you can’t go wrong with all you can eat dinners, cafes, and buffets!

So It’s not exactly locally owned and operated, but I’m on vacation for the next 9 days so I thought I would write about the food on a cruise ship. I’ve been on one Carnival cruise about 5 years ago and had a great time. Having everything catered to you and waking up in a new and different place each morning is definitely something I could get used to.

One of the best parts about being on a cruise is the all you can eat food. From the 24-hr ice cream and pizza bar, to the midnight chocolate and fresh fruit bar, to the 5 star all you can eat meals! This time I am going to the eastern carribean on a Royal Carribean cruise and heard it doesn’t get any better! When I get back I will let you all know about the food, my experience and then of course start getting back into the locally owned and operated restaurants around the Triangle!

In the mean time keep the suggestions coming, I still have the Cuban restaurant in Cary on my radar and am looking for!

The other night we had different kind of baby shower for my friend Heather, the 7 of us girls all went to get our nails done then to dinner at Humble Pie. Not only was it amazing to finally have some time of pampering to get a pedicure, but the dinner was amazing too.

I’ve always heard a lot of great things about Humble Pie, and I was told over and over I needed to go there, but I just never had a chance, until then…I should have gone earlier but it was definitely worth the wait! The dishes are smaller, which makes the prices better and great for ordering a bunch and sharing around the table. I tried everything from their Teriyaki Grilled Salmon to Shrimp and Grits to Chicken Enchiladas and it was all really good. I am extremely picky about my Shrimp Grits and theirs were good, but not the best I’ve ever had. They were a little plain with just the grits, shrimp, and sauce, but what was there was good! The Salmon and Enchiladas were both good. The Salmon was almost Sushi grade which made it very tender and yummy!

The cooles part about the whole restaurant was the atmosphere. We sat outside surrounded by the Raleigh skyline, white lights and other guests enjoying their meal. It is a great place to eat on a beautiful night but the inside is pretty amazing as well. It has a very eclectic, artsy, and had a fun feel to it.

Oh, how could I have forgotten, we also got dessert! I tried their Tiramisu which was really good! The lady fingers weren’t as moist as I usually like them, but the cream sauce and the chocolate chips on the lady fingers were delicious! I hope to go back with my camera one day so you all can see what I mean by this place, definitely a place to go when in downtown Raleigh!