Searching for Great Place to Eat in Raleigh
In almost a year and a half of living in Raleigh, I have come to one conclusion; the food here sucks. And I am not just talking Bar-B-Que. I mean everything.
Now, admittedly, there is some hyperbole in the previous paragraph. For one thing, I have not tried every single restaurant in the city. And I have had some good meals in some restaurants. But by and large, when asked how a meal was in a given place, the answer has been “It’s ok…”. Not horrible, but certainly not ‘WOW”, or “This was incredible”, or “I have to tell my friends about this place”.
So, dear Raleigh residents, I appeal to you. Where is the good food in this place? Where is the noteworthy food? Where would an out-of-towner be a fool not to eat at?
Before you answer, my exacting criteria:
- I am looking for everyday places–not eat on your anniversary or birthday places. Besides, too many folks have recomended Olive Garden or Carrabas as places to go for those events… ewww!
- Which brings us to the next point–a good, memorable place to eat should not be a national chain. If I can have the same meal in the same surroundings in Toledo, it is not a memorable meal.
- I am not driving 25 miles to eat, so please do not recommend something in Durham or Chapel Hill. If I wanted to eat in Durham, I would have moved to Durham.
- It should not cost a whole paycheck to eat there. If my entree and drink cost more than a hardcover book, I simply will not eat there on a regular basis, no matter how good the food is.
- A great place does not EVER have a buffet. E-V-E-R.
- A great place should (duhh!) have good food.
I am begging you, dear readers, to recommend someplace I can eat in this town. Specifically, I would LOVE to know where to find the following:
- A good Italian place. Preferably a family owned, non-chain Italian place. (Please do not recomend 2 Guys on Hillsborough–been there 3 times = suckage)
- A decent “home cooking” sort of place.
- A great bar (dark, quiet, no big screen TVs and whooping sports fans, long-term bartenders and no watery drinks)
- A diner (other than Waffle House). Preferably one that stays open 24hrs. Sometimes, you just want to be served bacon and eggs by a snaggle-toothed woman wearing a hairnet.
- Authentic (not tex-mex) Latino food.
- Sit down, (tablecloth, cloth napkins) Asian food.
Suggestions?
(Thanks to Prachi for the simile love…)
Category: me | Tags: Eating, Raleigh, restaurants in raleigh 17 comments »
November 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
This is all about opinions and these are mine.
I love to go to Rockford. Service can sometimes be shaky, however it’s always fun, has a good bar, cheap eats (relatively), and is generally pretty darn tasty. They usually have good specials as well.
Big fan of Vic’s in city market for Italian. The pizza is very reasonably priced. The entrees are not cheap, but they provide good portions, could be split. I think the food is great.
Oakwood Cafe at Edenton and Person. Really really great cuban\south american style dishes. Good cheap wine. Very strange hours though.
Can’t wait to see what others come back with!
November 10th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Hugh, I definitely agree that there’s no real stand-out places, but I can give a couple suggestions to your categories I’ve found.
Italian: Biaggi’s in Cary. I think it’s a chain of about 2 restaurants or so. A bit more upscale and definitely more authentic than carrabba’s, haha. I’ve never had a bad experience there.
Diner: Gypsy’s Shiny Diner by Crossroads in Cary. While it used to be better, if you’re just looking for a greasy spoon diner you’ll be fine. And it should be 24 hours at least on the weekends.
Latino: Any of the La Rancherita’s in the area are pretty good. They started in apex but have spread to Raleigh and Holly Springs and probably others.
Hope some of those work for you.
November 10th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Hrm, let’s see.
Italian: I like Casa Carbone, which is on Glenwood north of Crabtree Valley Mall. I’ve heard good things about Vic’s in City Market too.
Breakfast: Finch’s on Peace St. is good homestyle breakfast. Bogart’s has great brunch, though it’s $15. They have a jazz band playing on Sundays. Brigs is also really good.
Asian: I like Mura in North Hills for sushi. Kind of upscale, but depending on what you choose, you can eat there without spending too much.
Great bar: Landmark is a favorite, though it gets busy on the weekend. Same for the Raleigh Times.
Diner/Comfort food: Poole’s. Not super cheap, but awesome. Great mac ’n’ cheese!
That’s all I’ve got. I dunno if these fit your criteria, but they all have good food, IMO. The thing that I’ve learned about Raleigh is that there are lots of things going on and good places to visit, it just takes quite a lot of looking around.
November 10th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I agree that Raleigh is lacking supreme local restaurants. But one of my favorites that matches your bar criteria is The Borough. The service is almost always outstanding, the cast stays the same, the food is outstanding and incredibly cheap (I had the grilled cheese with tomato, fries and a PBR for $7.05 last week), atmosphere is relaxed (only one small TV), music is almost always worth listening to (indie rock, plenty of Led Zeppelin … which gets old but still). Love, love, love Borough!
November 10th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Obviously the other people reading your blog have better insight than I into the places. Only one I can vouch for is the Rockford.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
A good Italian place: I enjoyed Caffe Luna, but it’s a little pricey. Heard Amedeo’s is alright, but it kind of looks like a piece of crap.
A decent “home cooking” sort of place: I usually go to Big Ed’s when I’m looking for something like this.
A great bar (dark, quiet, no big screen TVs and whooping sports fans, long-term bartenders and no watery drinks): I usually go to the Saucer, probably can’t help you there….I’m hoping Boylan Ridge Brewpub might fit the bill when it opens in 2015. Maybe you should try Jackpot?
A diner (other than Waffle House). Preferably one that stays open 24hrs. Sometimes, you just want to be served bacon and eggs by a snaggle-toothed woman wearing a hairnet: No help here.
Authentic (not tex-mex) Latino food: Or here.
Sit down, (tablecloth, cloth napkins) Asian food: I’d try Five Star off Hargett St in the Warehouse District. That place is the SHIT.
While I’m here…what the hell is up with all these downtown restaurants being cash only. This is just stupid. Thanks for allowing me to complain about that.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Hi there, Hugh. I love to eat, so I love seeing which restaurants other people like… please fill us in if you try out any of these suggestions.
For Italian food, I love Vincent’s. Their pizza is amazing, and their Italian entrees are approved even by my 100%-Italian mom! Their site may be outdated, though, since the location on Capital Boulevard burned down a while back and they moved to Creedmore. http://www.vincents.com/
When we want home cooking, we go to the Farmer’s Market Restaurant. It’s perfect for breakfast or lunch. For breakfast I like an omelet (and you’ll get a basket of biscuits at your table), and for lunch I like the chicken salad with fried green tomatoes and cucumber salad. Or if you’re up for going all in, get the fried chicken! They’re connected to Gypsy’s Shiny Diner somehow (maybe the same owner or cook?). http://www.ncsfmr.com/
Rather than Mexican food (which is also a fave in our family), give Salvatoran food a chance. We tried La Cocina de Mama Greta based on a write-up in the paper, and we were delighted with the food and the service. We’ll definitely be headed back there. Try the salad juice. Trust me. http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1266673.html
November 10th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I’m certainly not a gourmet diner, and I don’t have a wide experience with dining in Raleigh, but my local favorite restaurant is Fujisan Japanese Steak House in the Brier Creek Shopping Center, just north of I-540 off of US 70. I believe they are independently owned and they’re not expensive, IMO.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
I agree with Prachi about Casa Carbone-delicious Italian food.
http://www.casacarbone.com
The Red Dragon @ Oberlin and Fairview rds has really good, sit down Chinese food. Their soups are wonderful, and they never, ever do buffet. http://www.reddragonraleigh.com/
For home cooking, their is a restaurant at 625 E. Whitaker Mill Rd. It used to be called the Profile, then the Upper Deck. I’m not sure what it’s name is now, but they do great plate lunches during the week, as does Big Ed’s at City Market. Get there early.
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.
November 11th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Blech. I’m not a fan of Caffe Luna, and the one time I ate at Vic’s, I wasn’t at all impressed, but then, I’m really picky about Italian.
Some of my favorite affordable food in Raleigh:
* The Borough (home away from home)
* Neomonde (affordable and consistently delicious)
* Udupi (In Cary, but not TOO far into Cary)
* The Pit (a relatively new discovery for me, but I really like it)
* I freakin’ LOVE Dos Taquitos, but it’s not cheap.
* El Rodeo – standard but tasty
* 5 Star
I’m sick about The George closing.
I think you need to get way over your allergy to traveling out of town. Durham is a GREAT place for restaurants. Srsly. You don’t wanna stay firm in that position or you’ll miss some amazing meals.
November 11th, 2008 at 5:18 am
If Poole’s is still open (and if it is, please let us know where!) then I second third and fourth that mac’n'cheese. Awesome meatloaf too – especially the non-meat-meatloaf.
The Borough is my favorite bar as well – they get quite crowded on Fridays and Saturdays, however – so go early if you want an actual table.
5Star is really good for asian, but slightly pricey. There’s an El Rodeo Grille that just opened on Six Forks that has interesting fresh mexican – and Los Cuates on Falls of the Neuse (near the Kanki), cannot be beat for burritos in Raleigh.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I second Gypsies and The Flying Saucer. My favorite japanese restaurant of all time (in NC) is Waraji near the intersection of Glenwood (70) and Duraleigh. Sit down, napkins, full japanese menu with sushi and noodles and cooked food.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Vivace in N Hills
November 11th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I’m going to break your rules – the best asian I’ve found is at 35 China on Kildaire Farm rd, near the intersection with Maynard.
They have a buffet during certain hours, not during dinner on the weekend.
They have two menus – one Chinese and one American, and a different set of cooks for each menu. Order from the Chinese menu for good, authentic food at a reasonable price with good service.
Be prepared to be one of the only non-Asian groups present.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
a little late to the game, hugh, but i will second the Oakwood Cafe. you wouldn’t guess how good that food is and it’s pretty reasonable, at least at lunch.
also, there’s a little place called Watkins Grill on wake forest where it intersects with capital that has a really cheap breakfast and classic southern lunch. and it’s a bit of a shrine to the confederacy, which is interesting…
November 14th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I think you’re right about the fact that nothing stands out as “amazing food” in Raleigh… but I think that has to do with the fact that Raleigh is still searching for a cultural identity. You’re from Memphis… and I am sure there are a multitude of places in Memphis that have incredible food. But, Memphis is a city with an identity. New Orleans… a city with an identiy (although that has changed some post-Katrina I’m sure).
So far, I am partial to Dos Taquitos Centro on Wilmington St for Mexican and Watkins Grill for breakfast. Peace China (as you know) is my new favorite for Chinese food (American style that is).
Still somewhat of a weak list for a city like Raleigh. From the comments above… I am going to try The Borough next.
What do you think of the responses you’ve gotten, Hugh. Anything from the comments that is next on your list to try out?
November 15th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
i don’t think anyone’s mentioned Mecca downtown on martin st (i think) either. the food is pretty good but the character is what makes the restaurant.