North Raleigh Food
Hungry? Find great food to eat tonight in North Raleigh!

I really like to eat at locally-owned restaurants more than the larger chain restaurants, but sometimes you want something in particular from a chain, or it just happens to be the closest spot and you’re hungry *now*. Such was the case last weekend – we were out at Triangle Town Center shopping when we realized how hungry we were. We didn’t feel like food-court fare so we walked over to Champs. We were greeted and seated quickly and began searching the menu for the perfect lunch.

The atmosphere at Champs is always energetic, and this day was no exception. The FIFA World Cup was playing on several tvs, and the ceiling hosted flags from the nations represented at the games. Our server was fast and friendly but not overbearing. We ordered chips and salsa for our appetizer as seems to be our trend. I tried out their berry-lemonade (pricier than a soda with one free refill) which was very good and not too tart or acidic at all.

My super-cute date ordered a bacon cheeseburger and I settled on the Cuban grill. It wasn’t a traditional Cuban – which I’ve been craving lately – a pressed Cuban bread sandwich with ham and (usually) pork but sometimes turkey. Slap on some mustard, cheese and a sliced pickle and voila. 

Champ’s Cuban grille takes a little different approach – their ham is paired with a sort of pork-bbq with chopped pickles mixed into the sauce. It certainly didn’t sound like what I wanted, but I was so hungry I figured it would do.

The sandwich didn’t just “do” – it was amazing and delicious. The pickle-bbq-whatever-else-is-in-it sauce was the perfect addition to the ham and the bread. It wasn’t your traditional Cuban obviously, but it sated my longing for one and I’ve been craving another ever since. The chips and salsa were equally delicious, and my date’s burger was also tasty.

The biggest complaint about Champs would probably be that it’s a little on the pricey side for lunch. We paid about $35-40 (after tip) for the burger, sandwich, chips and drinks, what I would have expected to pay for dinner of the same value.

It’s June and love is in the air. Well, at Rudino’s last Monday night there was! A friend of ours got engaged and the groom-to-be surprised his new fiancee by throwing a surprise engagement party following the proposal. A bunch of friends met up at Rudino’s Rooftop Bar to congratulate the happy couple. What seemed like an unlikely meet-up location for such an event turned into a convenient – and fun – spot to celebrate. 

The bar staff was quick to keep drinks coming to all the patrons of the evening – including mixed drinks and cocktails as well as pitchers of beer (don’t forget the congratulatory shots!) and the full menu was available for those of us who were hungry for more than the cake provided at the party.

The bartender was great and served up specialty drinks quickly. One round of drinks was one some of us never heard of (an Aunt Jemima – it smelled like blueberry syrup) and he took the time to explain the ingredients and made several drinks for the curious who wanted a taste.

The food was served up fast and hot and delicious as usual. We tried out one of their grinders and wow was it delicious, not to mention HUGE.

Rudino’s Rooftop Bar is a great place to hang out with friends or a date. You can dine/drink inside or out. Watch a game on one of the televisions or catch some live music depending on their schedule of events. Oh, and if you had your first date at Rudino’s and find yourself proposing two years later, an impromptu surprise with all your friends and family at the same spot is the perfect way to end your special and unforgettable day!

Wow are we stuffed! We just ate lunch at the Sawmill Tap Room, located on Lead Mine Road at Sawmill Road. We hadn’t previously been here for lunch and thought we’d check it out since we were looking for some good burgers and sandwiches that went beyond both fast food or chain restaurant styles.

It’s a beautiful and warm day out, just right for sitting outside. Sawmill has a great outdoor eating deck but we opted to dine in. The restaurant was steady but not crowded and not too busy for quick seating and service. The menu has a lot to offer with a nice variety of items on the appetizer list as well as the regular menu. We settled on the fried pickles for our appetizer. They were served at just the right time – not too soon but not too long in the wait time either. That says to me they were cooked up fresh and sure enough, our huge serving (which was the ’smaller’ serving size) was brought out steaming hot with a side of ranch dressing.

For lunch I ordered the portobella sandwich, served on a kaiser roll topped with provelone cheese, a tomato, and a parmesean crumbled topping.  My partner-in-crime ordered the club which was packed with quite a hefty amount of ham, turkey and applewood smoked bacon with cheese served on sourdough bread. Both orders came with a side of fries. Everything was good and neither of us were able to finish our meals.

I would have preferred the portobella be marinated or maybe served with a garlic spread, but the crumbled parmesean topping helped make up for some flavor. If you really enjoy the natural full flavor of a portobella then you will definitely enjoy this sandwich.

The club may have been a little too heavy on the meat and since it was served warm, it was close to being a little too greasy. Otherwise, it was really good.

The service was good and very laid back. We never felt rushed to leave or that our server was overwhelmed with too many tables. Our drinks were kept full and we had a nice, relaxing lunch.

Our meal total was around $24, a tiny bit on the ‘high’ end for lunch, but the portions were worth it and the food really was pretty good.

Sawmill also has quite a few brews on tap and has a full-service bar. It offers a great neighborhood bar and grill without being trendy or pretentious. There are several locations in the Raleigh area.

Dear Sonic:

Guys, you need to figure out what goes on at your Atlantic/Millbrook Raleigh location. Seriously.

Last Sunday night we all packed into the car, ready for some cold yummy treats after a great warm weather day. We drove all the way to Sonic because we figured they’d have the best selection for the four of us.

After debating over the menu, we buzzed to place our order. I really REALLY wanted a hot fudge banana sundae. I could almost taste the fresh banana under the ice cold vanilla ice cream and the warm, gooey fudge melting on top. MMM!

But what’s this? You are out of bananas??? Okay, that’s pretty irritating and annoying, especially since I drove all the way over here – out of my way – and past several of your competitors to get exactly what I wanted. I found it in myself to have grace for the situation. After all, I’m sure lots of other Raleigh families had done the same thing earlier in the day. I settled for a plain old hot fudge sundae. Everyone else got their desserts with no problem and we enjoyed the large servings.

Last night, after another very warm day, we decided ice cream was again on the menu. Still craving a banana split from Sonic, we headed on over. We drove around the building only to have to wait while an incredibly S L O W employee took her sweet time to cross the street (after parking her car helter-skelter) while texting on her phone. Hello? Could you hurry up a little? Maybe look UP to see you are holding up some very dessert-hungry people!?

We parked and jumped out of the car and walked up to the menu/ordering station.

What’s that you say? You are out of FUDGE??? Seriously? What kind of restaurant/drive-thru that serves lots of ice cream products runs out of HOT FUDGE!?!?!?  Grr. Well pooh. We were all so annoyed we told the people never mind and left.

We went to another ice-cream serving chain but they must have been Sonic-rejects too because there were probably 15 families ahead of us and there was no way we were waiting upwards of 30 minutes for our cold treat. We finally ended up enjoying ourselves at another chain restaurant, a good old hot-fudge sundae just off the dollar menu.

Tonight we wanted to give Sonic one last go. What can I say? I figured third time would be the charm.

No.

First of all, whoever took our order had marbles, cotton or marshmallows stuffed in his mouth.  He informed me that they “nowh longwrh shelld hot fugdgh.” Huh? You don’t sell hot fudge anymore? As in, these 4 or 5 menu items – WITH HOT FUDGE ON THEM – are obsolete? But they are still on the menu? And it was just LAST NIGHT that you were “out” of fudge?

Okay, give me an orange cream slush please.

What’s that you say??? Your slush machine is broken!?!??!

Sonic people, please. I’m not going back to this location. Ever. Never. And tell your manager to get OFF his cell phone and back into the restaurant to order some bananas. And fudge. And fix your stinkin slush machine!!!

Last week for a little fun night out, we went out to eat at the Grand Asia Buffet on Six Forks Road in the Celebration Station area. The restaurant looks pretty big from outside and we’d heard the food was good. We love Chinese food, so what could be better than buffet-style Chinese?

We arrived around 6:00 hoping there wasn’t much of a big dinner rush, and the restaurant wasn’t crowded at all. We were seated quickly and could smell the food coming from the buffet area. We headed over to the buffet line and walked through to see what fare was offered. There were a lot of heated bins with different options to pick from, but the bins weren’t anywhere near full or steaming hot. One entire buffet side was nothing but spring rolls, egg rolls and sushi, which we skipped over. Which ended up being a good thing because there was a man standing there coughing all over the place without covering up his mouth. Bleh.

After picking through the plates to find one that did not have old rice or food stuck to it, I selected the vegetable rice, teriyaki chicken on a stick, and chicken bits that I thought were also teriyaki chicken but wasn’t sure. I grabbed a few crab rangoon (won-ton) and sweet sauce too since these are my favorite!

Other plates were filled with fried chicken, rice, noodles and fruit. Two of us got won-ton soup and the third got egg-drop soup.

We all dug into our food and within a few bites were very disappointed. The rice tasted like it was old and greasy. The teriyaki chicken on the stick was dried out. The other chicken pieces didn’t have much flavor and were tough to chew on. The crab rangoon were soggy and the cream cheese overwhelmed any hint of crab, of which I saw no pieces mixed in at all. We set our plates to the end of the table, still half full. The soup wasn’t any better; the won-ton soup was watery and the egg drop soup was really thick and gelatinous. Very unappetizing.

The fried chicken was good, as was most of the fresh fruit. But the greasy warm noodles weren’t much better than the stale-tasting rice was.

On our second trip up to the buffet we selected pepper steak. This was pretty good but again, not very hot from the serving tray. And, again, we had our plates cleared while still half-full.

We decided to not bother with the food any more and moved on to the dessert buffet line. There were plenty of options to choose from here, but we all picked the self-serve ice-cream machine. That ended up being the best and tastiest part of the whole ordeal.

I was ready to check out and was annoyed that my less-than-desirable meal for three cost a little over $30. Which in the grand scheme of things isn’t that much for a dinner out, but when your food is tasteless, cold and just not good at all, well it makes you wince. I pretty much felt like I paid $30 for three ice-cream cones.

It’s possible that we hit this restaurant on an off night, but I can tell you I will not be making a trip back here any time soon. I get better value and better tasting food from any number of take-out or sit-down Chinese restaurants in the area.

I’ve been a huge fan of Ruth’s Chris ever since my first visit and having tasted the amazing aged Fillet! My latest visit to Ruth’s Chris was at the North Hills, Raleigh location this past Tuesday. (The attached pic is from my iPhone.) The staff at this location are fantastic. They also have valet parking if you would like. Most of the time you can find just as good a spot right out front. However, you’re celebrating a special occasion or the restaurant is busy, valet may be a good idea. Don’t forget to tip!

I was flying solo the evening I dropped in for my mouthwatering fillet, so I decided to just sit up at the bar, which has 2 good sized LCD TV’s for your entertainment. Laura was the bartender that evening and was very friendly and welcoming. I enjoyed her company and conversation while I dined. She also came up with a few great new mixed drinks for me to try. It was a short wait while my fillet was cooked up and delivered. Tasty as ever. On another visit, I tried the  Cowboy Rib-eye based on friends recommendation. Unfortunately, not a winner as it was a bit over-cooked. I’ll stick to the delicious fillet.

I only plan on eating steak when I go to Ruth’s Chris. While they have a great menu with lots of options, I am just there for the dead cow.

Make sure you bring your credit card: the fillet and a few drinks plus tip was just under $100 for just me. I guarantee it’s a well spent $100!

Japanese food was on the menu last night! Since it’s a popular restaurant, we decided to make reservations. Good thing because when we arrived, they were already packed out.

There are three Kanki locations in the Raleigh-Durham area; last night we ate at the Old Wake Forest Road restaurant.

The fun begins as soon as you arrive and walk in past a lovely little koi pond just outside the main doors of the restaurant. The interior is decorated with modern fixtures with a twist of old Japan: super-neat samurai pictures and a set of samurai armor.

We wanted the whole show for our Kanki experience, so we waited for a table with a  grill ready for making teppanyaki fare. Other patrons opted for the bar area or the sushi bar. The grill tables seat about 8 adults, so you may have to wait a minute for there to be enough guests to fill up one table. Waiting doesn’t take long and within a few minutes we were seated with other guests.

Our orders were taken and our hostess brought us hot towels to wash our hands. Two kids at our table ordered cherry cola drinks and were treated to cola with cherry syrup and cherries on top. (It’s nice to note that Kanki did not charge extra for these ’specialty’ drinks but charged regular drink price).

The sushi menu is quite extensive at Kanki, and there’s a nice selection of sake as well. The dinner menu is easy to interpret and diners can chose from hibachi steak, chicken or shrimp for entrees.

I chose the hibachi steak which was on special, and my date ordered sushi and hibachi chicken and shrimp. We were served soup and salad, portions just large enough to get you from “ohmygoshI’mstarving” to “I’m ready to eat!” without filling you up too much.

Our chef arrived with a cart full of meat, rice and veggies. He was really funny and engaging even though he didn’t speak much English. He interacted with the children at the table, evoking squeals of delight as he flipped knives and griddle flippers and made an onion volcano complete with pyrotechnics. He made a snowman of rice, cracked eggs in midair and made little jokes throughout. He also tossed a bowl of chopped onions into the air and caught it in the top of his chef’s hat. Depending on your chef, some will make rice balls to toss into your mouth, or throw shrimp tails at you.

Everyone gets two shrimp pieces for an appetizer of starts, then a mixture of onions, zucchini and we think cucumber. Next comes the rice and egg combination, then your meat (steak is cooked to order) and finally some grilled mushrooms. You can eat as you go or wait until they’ve cooked up the entire dish.

What we think may be the best part of the Kanki experience is the yum-yum sauce. We don’t know the exact ingredients, but we can say this thin dipping sauce is packed full of delicious yumminess that makes you an instant addict. Your chef will keep your yum-yum sauce (really, that’s the name for it) bowl full, as well as another bowl with a ginger/teriyaki style sauce. If you suddenly find you can’t live without yum-yum sauce, you can purchase a small mason jar of it.

The portions are HUGE and we all had a hard time finishing our meals. It was delicious however, and we had an enjoyable time. The evening was topped off with Kanki’s “dessert shots” which were a pudding/cheesecake/cookie dessert of different flavors served in shot glasses. We tried the mint chocolate and the s’mores flavor and both were delicious.

Entrees cost about $16-19 and kids meals are about $8 each. The entree includes all of the food listed above in a large portion; if you decide to share there is an extra plate cost of about $5-6. My hibatchi steak was on special for $9.99.

The atmosphere is fun, the food is delicious, and the chef’s routines are pure entertainment.

If you are sensitive to smoke from grills then you should be prepared for eating at Kanki. There’s several chefs cooking up at tables at the same time and even though there are large vents above each table, it can get a little smoky. Also, you share your table with other people if your party isn’t large enough to require the whole table. This usually isn’t an issue as most people are friendly, but if you aren’t feeling social or would prefer a more intimate and quiet dinner with your companion(s) then you may want to alert the staff and see if you can have a table with adults only or other smaller parties, or that you’d like a table without children. (Otherwise, watching the looks on kids’ faces is almost as enjoyable as the chefs themselves!)

We were all a little crowded into our places at the table but it wasn’t unbearable. Our hostess had an emergency and had to leave before our entrees were served, but the management and other staff all did their best to accommodate our table and other tables with drink refills and getting our checks out.

While eating at Kanki frequently is not in our budget, it is definitely a place we’d eat at for a special occasion or if we were craving some of their delicious food. Kanki is a great place for birthday parties, too, and celebrants are treated with a song from the staff and the birthday person gets a little sweet treat.

Check out Kanki’s menu and find a location near you at their website here.

We’re on a quest to find some great-tasting NY Pizza. You know the kind: the slices are so big that you have to fold it in half, all the grease runs down your hand to your wrist, the cheese is ooey gooey on top of a great red sauce on that oh-so-thin crust. Mmmm makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Several of our Twitter followers suggested Fuhgeddaboudit Pizza, located at 7321 Six Forks Road in the Celebration Station Shopping Plaza. We pulled in to the parking lot at about 6:00 and were surprised that the restaurant wasn’t packed at dinner time. We decided to eat in while many other patrons showed up for carry-out.

The decor of the restaurant is a treat in itself. If you’ve ever been to the Big Apple then you’d likely feel at home as pictures of old NYC adorn the walls as well as two subway doors and street signs. Oh, and graffiti.

You walk up to a glass case to select the pizza you’d like. First we opted for plain old cheese pizza and pepperoni pizza. That’s when I noticed the garlic poppers: little dough balls with a buttery garlic topping on them. I’m a huge garlic fan so I ordered that as well.

There were four people in our party, and of the 5 slices ordered, 4 drinks and 4 poppers, my total was a little more than $16 which I thought was pretty reasonable. I was a little worried about how long the pizza had been sitting out on display, but it didn’t look old so I figured I’d be okay.

We sat down at the table and were quickly served our pizza. Sure enough, you could see the grease forming at the top and the crust was super thin. I was excited to give it a shot!!!

What Fuhgeddaboudit boasts in atmosphere, menu selection and great pricing, it lacks in taste. Don’t get me wrong, the pizza was very good; it just didn’t have the flavor that I was looking for. Having said that, it ranks better than the other NY style pizzerias that I’ve tried in the past.

The garlic poppers though. WOW. Served with a robust and chunky marinara sauce, these little treats were a yum-fest in my mouth. I could probably eat a whole pile of them without thinking twice.

My one slice of pizza and 2 poppers ended up not satisfying my hunger, so I decided to try the pesto pizza. I found the herb they used to be overwhelming in little piles on the pizza while the rest was pretty tasteless. I ended up eating only two bites and threw the rest away.

The staff at the restaurant were very friendly but a little slow-to-get-to-it. I think one gal was training her co-worker, so that’s understandable. Our biggest “complaint” would be the soda fountain running out of syrup and we had to wait a good 20 minutes until they refilled it after we let them know.

I’ll probably give Fuhgeddaboudit another chance some other time to try out the rest of their menu, but this customer left feeling a little let-down last night in the flavor department.

So don’t write this place off yet, give it a try for yourself and let us know what you think!!

On Friday night we braved the cold and snow to head out to Savoy for a nice, romantic dinner. We’d been once before just for dessert and enjoyed the atmosphere, so this time we wanted the whole dining experience.

Savoy is a smaller restaurant tucked into a shopping center, but it’s super convenient to get to and there’s lots of parking. For the warmer months, patrons can dine outside in a quaint little dining area. Inside, Savoy is warm and inviting. A blue-lighted fish tank gives a soft glow when you first come in; modern light fixtures and contemporary art give the restaurant a swanky and classy feel. First-class service awaits you from the moment you sit down, whether at a booth, table or the bar.

We were seated and quickly greeted by our server. He gave us the wine list and mentioned a few specials but didn’t go into an over-driven sales pitch that left me with my eyes glazed-over. We perused the menu, debating on what to try. The neat thing about Savoy is you can order your meal by selected course menus, or you can order those same selections a’ la carte.

After getting some information [that is, definitions!!!] we settled on ordering a’ la carte. For the first course, we chose duck confit with truffled honey and apple cardamom chutney. Wow, was it ever amazingly delicious. The duck did indeed taste a little like chicken, and the topping was so sweet with the cardamom adding a bit of ginger-like flavor to each bite.

Next up was Savoy’s French onion soup, which in my opinion should be an award-winning French onion soup. Served piping hot in a bowl shortly after we ate our duck, the soup has “caramelized onion, red wine fortified beef broth, and a baked Gruyere crouton” on top. It was absolutely delicious. The serving size was a perfect mete – enough to satisfy you without filling you up.

Our last course was the Crimini stuffed chicken. The chicken was sliced and stuffed with the mushroom mixture, then served atop wonderful mashed potatoes, and asparagus on the side. I’m not a huge fan of asparagus, but even I couldn’t resist how good they tasted.

Savoy’s bar was well-stocked and ready for any manner of mixed drink. I’m not sure what beers, if any, there may be (we didn’t order beer) but their wine list is pretty extensive.

Not only did we enjoy great service and amazing food, but we were REALLY IMPRESSED with Savoy’s incredibly affordable prices. Our first-class dining experience was definitely affordable.

After we finished up our meal, we were given a little treat to take home: two apple muffins with a sugary topping. A delicious way to end our evening!

Savoy would be a great place for dinner to celebrate any special occasion (they take reservations, too) or just for a nice night out. Several businesses meet monthly at Savoy and enjoy an equally delicious and affordable lunch menu. While we dressed up a little for our special occasion, other diners were dressed casually. There weren’t any children at the restaurant during our visit, and I didn’t see any “kid” sections on the menu, but I’d guess that a well-behaved child would be enchanted with the atmosphere and would enjoy some of the menu items.

You can find coupons, specials and other information at Savoy’s website here. They are also on Twitter: @restaurantsavoy

So we were sitting around a few nights ago, wondering what to do for the evening. We didn’t feel like watching another movie and definitely didn’t feel like hitting up the mall. We decided to meet up with some friends downtown and the unanimous vote was for the Busy Bee Cafe. I’d never been before but everyone else frequents this neat little spot in Raleigh. It didn’t take long to drive there and we found a parking deck less than a block away. It was a fun little walk to the cafe which has a bit of a tucked-out-of-the-way feel to it when you’re walking down the street.

We got inside and sat at the bar for a minute waiting for our friends. We were immediately greeted by a super friendly bartender who explained the beer selections. I’m more of a mixed drink kinda gal and let my eyes wander over the many liquors stocked on the bar shelves. (Busy Bee also has their own specialty mixed drinks for the more adventurous.)

Our friends arrived and we moved to a cozy table. Two of us settled on mixed drinks for the evening while everyone else picked from the special beer menu.

Although we’d already eaten, we had the munchies. This is when we discovered that Busy Bee has the world’s best Tater Tots. Well, maybe not the world’s best since we can’t compare, but they were awful good. Maybe Raleigh’s best.

Our server was incredibly friendly and personable. We all chatted like friends for a minute about some trending topic from the day’s news and were happy to note that he kept our glasses full.

It was a fairly easy-going crowd the night we went: one gal worked on her computer, another fellow read through the newspaper. A few friends chatted it up here and there and the upstairs seemed to hum with activity.

We had a great time hanging out and I can see how this would easily become a favorite gathering spot for friends to grab a drink and unwind in a great environment. I can imagine the servers knowing repeat patrons on a first-name basis, maybe even knowing their favorite drink or dining fare.

We didn’t have a meal from the menu, but the choices look delicious and are very reasonably priced.

I can’t wait to get back to the Busy Bee for a little relaxing of my own. By “relaxing” I really mean “having a drink with great friends in a great spot while eating great Tater Tots.”

=)

Check out the Busy Bee Cafe’s website here.