Taste of Raleigh: Neomonde's Bakery and Deli

I left behind TWO great falafel places in Louisville. It was sad. Grape Leaf and Shiraz were delicious and relatively inexpensive, Shiraz being the cheaper of the two. Before 2007, when I lived in RDU - I didn't really care that much about Persian/Mediterranean food (not like I do now).

Friday I was introduced to a place out by NCSU and Meredith called Neomonde. For those of you in Louisville - a Mediterranean Lotsa Pasta. Market, deli, refillable drinks, samples. Neomonde's is cheaper than Lotsa Pasta. There are so many wonderful things to choose from.

On Friday when I went we shared the Large Kabaob platter. 1 chicken kabob, 1 beef kabob, 2 salads (veggie salad and hummus). They give you tons of pita when you check out. And we got 4 falafels - good (although green inside) and topped with sesame seeds (could have done without the sesame seeds. I personally like the pitas better in the ville, but these are good.

Saturday when I went I got a 1/2 falafel wrap and hummus/pita - 4 kalamata olives, evoo, hummus, 3 whole wheat pitas) = all for 6.50. I call that a pretty good deal.

So - this will definitely be a favorite. Anyone wanna go with? More pictures will come later.

Taste of Raleigh: Hot Point Cafe

If you want a nice change from Panera - go here. (Picture taken with my phone - sorry for the quality.)

I really wasn't planning on eating out today for lunch, but I wanted a quiet(er) place for lunch and didn't want to sit in my apt by myself. So, I had looked at this place online and went hunting in North Hills. Found it.

This is a trendier Panera. Same price (about) for what you get. I actually think you get more on the salads. The soups were smaller and not a wide variety. Sandwiches looked good, but Panera's are bigger. They also had meals for dinner - but they were definitely higher (to fit the North Hills market) and they also served a wknd brunch.

I enjoyed the quiet - slightly busy and I was there from 1130-145. Not bad at all. I just enjoyed the warmth and breeze as I sat outside.

I had the small Greek salad and a refillable unsweet tea for $7.22. As you can see from the picture, they don't skimp on the small. There was TONS of feta, black olives, artichokes, greens, roasted red peppers, cuks, and raw mashrooms. It also came with a triangle of their sun dried tomato focaccia bread (good flavor, but a little dry). I asked for the balsamic vinegar on the side - so good. It was sweeter than most.

So - if you are looking for a place that isn't as busy (maybe a place to meet with a girlfriend and sit for hours) - there you go...

Taste of Durham: Watts Grocery

I love LOCAL. I wish Raleigh had more eat local restaurants - but alas, will have to keep making the drive to Durham and Chapel Hill.

Watts Grocery is on Broad Street - near the 9th Street district and one of Duke's campuses. This wasn't here when I lived in Durham and worked near the spot of the restaurant. My friend Kristin recommended this place and it was a winner.

They are only open for brunch for a few hours on Saturday. We got there about 25 minutes after they opened and we had a 20 minute wait. But, the line kept building, so this place has earned quite a reputation.

All local farms provide the food for this restaurant.

I had Little Red Wagon Farms granola (from Chapel Hill) - but Louisville people - you can buy it too! Yogurt was delicious - a vanilla kind maybe from Chapel Hill Creamery, or another local farm. Topped with blueberries, raisins, and strawberries and pecans. Very good. House made english muffin with fresh butter and blueberry preserves. Good local eats.

Kristin had the huevos rancheros - made with red beans for a slight change. She said hers was great too!

Will be making another trip: the blood orange mimosa sounds good and the toasted pimiento cheese sandwich or the strawberry caramel filled french toast. How can you go wrong?

Taste of Raleigh: Bella Monica Flatbread Company

Italian food. Comfort food.

There is a small, local Italian place within a 1/2 mile of home and I finally had a chance to go tonight. Definitely had to make reservations and had great company.

I tried to be a little on the healthy side - so I didn't have any ooey gooey cheese - will have to go back and try something that has cheese!

Good:

1. The hospitality. Like an Italian family dinner table. They were excited we were there, people in white chef's coats brought out our food, and they were very welcoming even when we were leaving. They weren't shoving us out of there and couldn't care less about how long we stayed and talked.

2. The meatballs. Perfectly seasoned and not dry at all - that's what I like. Maybe I need to go back and get a huge meatball sub!

3. Option for whole wheat pasta. I went for the whole wheat penne - I could be a little healthy.

4. The tomato sauce. Not too spicy, not too chunky. Perfect for a pasta sauce. Right on!

5. My friends enjoyed their meal: chicken parm and stuffed shells. They both said they were great.

The Wish Was Better:

1, The bread. Definitely dig any other Italian place's bread better than here. Dry and not too flavorful.

2. The bruschetta. They were cheap (which was good for an appetizer) but neither were really that good: blue crab on one and chicken liver pate on the other. I could have passed on both.

3. The non-descript salad. Yes it was good. But there was nothing special about it.

Would I go again - yes, definitely trying something cheesy this next time.

Would I make it my go to Italian place? Not yet - and definitely the chains are better so far.

Have heard amazing things about their pizza - so may hit that up soon!

Durham Farmers' Market and Food Thoughts

Greetings for a Saturday night. Its been a good day.

The Durham Farmers' Market is great local find. All vendors have to be within 50 miles or so of Durham Cty. Which is very local!

I found french breakfast radishes. I have already used them all: in a stir-fry (w broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, zuks) and roasted - which they almost turn to mush. Raw - these have a peppery bite which I'm not used to with regular radishes you buy in the store. I even am going to use the green as a salad tomorrow for lunch.

I found a hybrid green: green leaf and romaine. Hearty lettuce that will stand up for the base of my couscous chicken salad this week.

I also found a winery in Graham that makes Scuppernong and Muscadine wines. So, I tasted all three and liked the Scuppernong the best. May go back and gte some more later - however I was nice and bought my brother some Muscadine wine. Let's see if he likes it as much as Dakota Winery's...

Here are my food thoughts:

1. I have been snacking WAY too much. Not even bad stuff - just eating too much. I don't like that feeling and I don't like that sin.

2. So, I think I will spend tomorrow journaling about it, getting back to God's heart on my eating and exercising, and see if we can get a game plan going here for more obedience.

3. I will (starting tomorrow) take my friend Sarah's advice and maybe try to eat bigger meals so I will not snack every 2 hours to so. I won't be tempted to open that snack drawer in my office. I won't be tempted to grab that handful of SweetTart jellybeans! And if I do snack, it has to ve veggies or fruit - plain. Or with mustard. None of these processed pretzels, or cool whip, or even granola which is higher in fat. I need healthy fruits and veggies.

4. I would rather be able to wear all my clothes than to eat more. But, that shouldn't be more sole reason. I should do it to please my God who sent His Son to die for me. Right now, for me, that doesn't seem to be a big enough reason. Lord...help.

Taste of Raleigh: El Rodeo

Went to lunch with some co-workers today to really talk about children's ministry - and you can definitely talk for a while over chips and salsa.

We went to a place across the street from the church called El Rodeo (no www). Typical mexican place - nicer ambience than some other local places.

Liked our waiter - he was very nice. The food came out in about 6 minutes - really - we were surprised at how fast it was. We went a little after 11am and were the first ones there, but by the time we left about 1240 it was more full.

I got the sincronizada - a vegetarian tortilla sandwich: mushroom, onion, pepper, jalepenos, and cheese - with sliced avocado on top. My mouth was on fire but it was absolutely wonderful! I loved it. 6.75 got me that, a huge portion of rice (which wasn't anything to rave about and I only took a few bites), chips (again, blah chips) and salsa (I really liked their salsa).

So...good to know there is a good place close by - but I'll still be looking for good Mexican places in the area!

Taste of Raleigh: Wildflour Boston Pizza

For 6 months I lived within walking distance of this place and never went. Today was the first day I ventured out with a co-worker to check out a little corner restaurant in Stonehenge (N. Raleigh) for lunch: Wildflour Boston Pizza.

Ok - I don't thnk I had even heard of Boston Pizza. Yeah, of course - Chicago, New York, CPK, homemade, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Little Caesar...we have our favorites...but Boston?

I wasn't even planning on getting pizza...

But, I saw the price (7 for a small - 6 slices - and 1.45 for each topping) and the fact that I could get it with whole wheat crust - that sold me on it!

Tall-sided crust, medium bottom crust, crunchy, not your typical mozzerella cheese, and fresh roma tomatoes! I even had a little avocado put on top from my friend's fiesta salad.

It was...good. The pizza and conversation was much better than the service. It wasn't that crowded, but it seemed to take a while for us to get our order and we had to wait for straws, etc. Our server wasn't overly friendly - just soft-spoken and matter of fact.

So...do I have to go again tomorrow because everything was fantabulous - no. But, would I go again - yes.

Taste of Morrisville: Smokey's BBQ Shack

Just off of the beaten path... (I'm singing an Alabama song as I write that) - in Morrisville is a little trailer type restaurant on the side of the ride, picnic table outside, gravel parking lots, red front door.

Smokey's BBQ Shack just started opening on the weekends and by the time we left it was definitely pretty full by the locals. It was NC bbq - smoked meat (I tried the pork and chicken, taking most of the chicken as leftovers) with a vinegar based sauce. The pork was good - wasn't dry and tasted good with the sauce. The sides I ordered: green beans and french fries - neither were as good as Sonny's. But...the pork and the little hushpuppies made up for it.

What was the two best things about this restaurant: the atmosphere (roll of paper towels on each table, laid back, unpretentious in every way) and the company. This is a place my friend would always go to when she lived there. Janel moved to the Windy City but got her sweet tea fix just minutes after the airport yesterday.

Taste of Raleigh: Assaggio's

The ladies at Providence took me out to lunch - had fun getting to know them better. Right across the street was this little Italian place, cafe, good place for lunch. By the time we left it was pretty full.

I got the special which was under $6 and included a refillable drink, a HUGE slice of pizza with one topping, and a salad. Since we also had a large group, they brought us baskets of garlic knots.

The unsweet tea and garlic knots rocked. Little pieces of garlic were in the bottom of the basket - yummy. I had half of one - very good.

The salad was generic but good - refreshing before I put pizza in my mouth.

The pizza was good: not very cheesy, liked the thickness, liked the mushrooms, was almost cold by the time I got it (I blame it on the large group).

The company was wonderful. Refills and price were great. And the service was good and friendly.

The pizza and salad - not much to write home about. Maybe I'll go back for another meal and try something else.

Wknd of Eats in Raleigh

Love traveling to this city. And I can't wait to try out more local foods in this zip code - get to know the local places!
My parents were up this wknd and my Dad likes "normal" food (while Mom and I are willing to try funky stuff). We definitely enjoyed our eats though. Here's some of the things we did. Sorry no pictures, I had my camera with but didn't take any photos all weekend - can you believe it?

Friday/Saturday/Sunday - the hotel had a wonderful breakfast each morning so that is what we did. Glad it was included in the price of the hotel
Friday lunch: Boston Market is next door to the place where I had some meetings, so we went there. The parents don't have one anymore. Too expensive - but they have great food - especially those fabulous sweet potato fries!
Friday dinner: Dinner with friends. We had a creamed chicken dish which was great for a cool evening. Rice, veggies, yeast rolls, and a great fruit salad for something sweet to end the meal.
Saturday late brunch: Flying Biscuit in Cameron Village. I split the Hollywood Omelette (spinach, mushrooms, goat cheese with egg whites) with Mom - we also had creamy dreamy grits, applewood smoked bacon, and a biscuit with their fab cranberry apple butter (so good). My friend let me try some of her french toast with raspberry sauce and a honey creme anglaise - great if you want something sweet for breakfast.
Saturday dinner: I don't often get to treat my parents to a meal, but I was able to this time (Dad covered tip). We went to one of my fave nice chains: Firebirds. Got the lobster spinach queso for an app, then their amazing yeast bread. I got the applewood smoked bacon bbq chicken sandwich. Very moist! Mom got the Salad with shrimp and strawberries. I LOVED it (we shared). The shrimp would have been better hot or just left off completed - but the salad was amazing. Dad got the Herbed Prime Rib and it was so tender. Firebirds always does a great job!
Sunday: Chilis with some friends. Mom and I split the fajita trio. Shrimp were overcooked, but the rest was really yummy. You can never go wrong with chilis.
Sunday dinner: Harris Teeter in the hotel room. We were tired after going all weekend. We got some baked chicken, red skinned potato salad, Special K crackers (yum) and hummus (not the best, but was cheapest), and a cripps pink apple. That was very good to snack on after church while watching Persuasion!
MDW - I had an egg mcmuffin with cheese from Mcds during my 2 hour layover! It was good. I hadn't had one in a long time.
So, now back to eating right and healthy!

Taste of Raleigh: Winston's Grille

This past wknd I was in a great eating city/area in Raleigh, NC. For lunch I went with some friends to Winston's Grille. I very nice place for lunch or dinner. I had been there once before when I was in seminary for a nice dinner with my parents.
The warm yeast rolls were great - whipped butter melted nicely. So yum on a cold, blustery, rainy day in Raleigh.
I had a great salad - a harvest salad: grilled matchstick veggies, granny smith apples, craisins. I topped it with balsamic. I opted to leave off the honey mustard dressing and the bleu cheese crumbles, so it was really healthy. Craisins are wonderful on a salad! Probably the healthiest thing I ate all weekend. It was delicious and filling.
My two other friends got salads as well (and yeast rolls): black and bleu salad (blueberries, strawberries, blackened chicken, strawberry vinaigrette dressing. The other one was the grilled chicken salad (yummy cheese on top). I think cheese does wonders for salads!
What is your favorite cheese on a salad? I like goat or really sharp cheddar! I did take pictures but they turned out really dark because the lighting was dim in the restaurant.
Thankful for a great leisurely lunch in Raleigh and friends.