Easy as Pie: Dinner at Piebird

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There’s something about winter that just makes you want to hole up and hibernate. I have never been one for cold weather and even the mild winters in Raleigh have me bundled up like Ralphie’s brother in “A Christmas Story.” It’s no surprise then that I turn to homey comfort foods in the winter; lots of soups, stews, and pot pie. We have heard about the delicious desserts at Piebird (618 N. Person St Raleigh, NC 27604) for a while, but I needed a piping hot pot pie on a particular chilly night.

Out to the Market

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When it comes to Brunch, it’s almost like a contact sport trying to beat the crowds in Raleigh (I must have sports on the brain, it is Super Bowl Sunday after all). If you don’t make that golden hour between church crowds and late Sunday risers, you could be waiting a long, long time for your pancakes. Add a hip little restaurant opening its doors for Brunch for the first time and you can see the dilemma. Luckily for Market (938 N. Blount Street, Raleigh, NC 27604), the food is so good, I would have waited a whole day for it.

You scream, we all scream for Fresh.

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Growing up in suburban Virginia, summertime meant late nights hanging outside of the local Dairy Queen. Not so much for the ice cream,  but to be seen by other awkward teenagers. But, everyone knew that for actual ice cream, you drove down to Bergey’s Dairy farm for the richest, creamiest frozen treat you could ever find. When I moved away and heard that due to financial woes and health department codes, Bergey’s had to shut down, I felt like a part of my youth was gone. Since then, I haven’t had much interest in ice cream, who could compete?

Making Mojoe’s Hall of Fame

As I get closer and closer to the big 3-0, I’m trying to check more things off my “Things to do before I leave my twenties behind” list. I still haven’t traveled to a lot of exotic locales, haven’t gotten my crazy tattoo (yet), or ran a marathon (I’ll get to the treadmill…tomorrow). But one thing I knew I could check off on my birthday was a fun challenge, win a food-eating challenge.

Moonlight over Raleigh: Moonlight Pizza Company

Some people say that even when Pizza is bad, it’s still pretty good. But, in my experience, this is sometimes brutally untrue. It’s hard to get that perfect combination of crispy yet doughy crust, flavorful sauce, and well-prepared toppings.  Lilly’s pizza has come close (Tony loves their crust), Mellow Mushroom was a bitter disappointment (although it’s a prime people-watching spot), but there hasn’t been a pizza place that has wowed me. With that said, I was bracing myself when we went to Moonlight Pizza last weekend…

Congrats to the Triangle’s James Beard Finalists!

The finalists for this year’s James Beard awards were announced today and woo-hoo! The Triangle is representing! Magnolia Grill in Durham got nods for Outstanding Service and Outstanding Restaurant, Crook’s Corner (Chapel Hill) is also up for Outstanding Restaurant, and for the Southeast region, Ashley Christenson (Poole’s-Raleigh), Scott Howell (Nana’s – Durham), Andrea Reusing (Lantern -Chapel Hill), and Bill Smith (Crook’s Corner) were all nominated for Best Chef.

As if we needed more reasons to eat out!

You can see the complete list of nominees here:

http://www.jamesbeard.org/files/2010_SEMIFINALISTS_FINAL.pdf

Finding some peace at Cafe Harmony

There’s a lot that makes me happy about the expanding organic movement; the focus on the source of our food, attention back to local, non-corporate farming, raising the questions of ethics into what we eat. But, I’ve also seen a lot of bad with the movement when it comes to the food it prepares. Food can be healthy and ethical, but it should also taste good and a lot of restaurants I’ve been to focusing on the organic lost the focus on imagination and basic seasoning. When I heard that my local organic food store Harmony Farms had opened up a small brunch/lunch cafe, I was hoping that they’d be able to jump that hurdle and offer something really surprising…

Valentines Day at The Mint

Julia and I have long drooled over the menu at The Mint in Raleigh, but it has always been a bit out of our price range.  Naturally,  we were both very excited by the prix fixe menu this Valentine’s day weekend, which offered a 3 course dinner for 30 $ per person and included an opportunity to sample the truffled mac and cheese.  We made a 10 PM (the earliest they could fit us in) reservation for Saturday, and readied ourselves for what we hoped to be a tasty culinary adventure.

A Night in 1964 at Capri

A week ago, one of my co-workers alerted me to an incredible deal; Dino’s Capri restaurant (6325 Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh, NC 27615) was holding a special night where their menu would be at 1964 prices. Now, I love Italian food, so hearing I could get a full meal with pocket change was too good to pass up. However, as the state got a snow smackdown, it seemed like we’d need to rough it out for good food. That would be the theme for the night unfortunately.

“Irregardless,” it was a meh brunch

The holidays have been hectic for Tony and I. Family, gift-buying, and work have led to a retreat to comfort food. So, what better meal to run away to for some post-holiday, back-to-work prepping than Sunday brunch? Plus, after living in Raleigh for almost 2 and a half years, it was time to get myself a meal at the well-known Irregardless Cafe.