 Aug 30 2007
Mellow Mushroom
Mellow Mushroom has done what no other restaurant has been able
to do in their Raleigh location, stay in business. The building
on the corner of Peace St and Glenwood Ave has been home to multiple
failed restaurants. The last restaurant before Mellow Mushroom was
the Steel Porcupine. It was an upscale restaurant that lasted a
little over a year. Now, why has Mellow Mushroom been able to make
it in that location? The popularity of the Glenwood South area?
The increase of residents living in walking distance of the restaurant?
Maybe. But, I think the true reason they are still around is because
their food is good, it's not too pricey, and they have a great outdoor
eating area. Drive by any nice day and you will see that their large
patio is packed. It's just a nice place to hang out.
I went to Mellow Mushroom today for lunch specifically for their
grilled chicken sandwich. It's like a chicken philly but minus the
cheese. Of course, Mellow Mushroom at it's heart is a pizza place
and I love their crust. Another favorite thing of mine to order
is the pepperoni bread. You can order it as an appetizer or as a
meal if you're not too hungry. They split open a French bread roll
and top it with mozzarella and pepperoni and bring out a side of
marinara for dipping. You should definitely try it! I really like
Mellow Mushroom, however there is a down side. They are usually
pretty slow to get your order out and settle up the tab. I've been
a number of times and this is consistently true. So, if you go,
make sure you're not in a hurry.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 2
Sanitation
Grade
Try out the pepperoni bread, and remember, make sure you're not
in a hurry.
Location and Contact Info:
601
West Peace Street
Raleigh, NC 27607
Phone: (919) 832-3499
http://www.mellowmushroom.com/
Aug 28 2007
Sanitation Grades
Did you know that you can look up any restaurant's sanitation grade
here on Wake County's website?
http://wake.digitalhealthdepartment.com/
Aug 28 2007
Tookie's Grill
I know that you should never go to a restaurant on it's opening
day, but I have been waiting for Tookie's Grill @ Seaboard Station
to open up for months. I saw their sign go up the beginning of the
year and I've been keeping track of when they were going to open
ever since. Well, about 7 months after seeing their sign they finally
had a grand opening today.
Tookie's Grill originated from a restaurant at a gas station in
North Raleigh. They have items that you would typically find at
a grill like hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese, etc... However,
the item which they are famous for is their chicken salad. Today
I went with a co-worker and a friend of mine who were also anxious
to try out this new restaurant. I decided to get the Philly Cheese
Steak, my co-worker got a BBQ sandwich and my friend got the chicken
salad. So, going to a restaurant on it's opening day is a bad idea.
They had typical new restaurant woes like a broken oven and slowly
working out the flow of the food service. Now, for $7.25 you get
a really, really greasy Philly cheese steak on a hot dog bun (yes,
a hot dog bun) with no side dish. My food came out and I thought
that I had just gotten a plate of meat and cheese but hidden underneath
was a soggy hot dog bun. It made me laugh. I took a poll from everyone
else and I didn't get very good verdicts. So needless to say I was
disappointed in my long awaited opening of Tookie's Grill. The one
bright spot was that their sweet tea was actually pretty good.
I might try it out once more, but I didn't see too much promise.
Summing it all up....
Rating? R 1/2
Cost? Tier 1.5
Sanitation
Grade
If you look at the sandwiches on the menu it says that one side
item is served with the sandwich, however directly underneath it
says "Not included in price." Huh?
Location and Contact Info:
18
Seaboard Ave
Raleigh, NC 27604
Phone: (919) 829-7222
Aug 27 2007
Lucky 32
Last night I headed out to Cary to visit a restaurant
called Lucky 32. Lucky 32 has been around for a while, but they
recently closed their Raleigh location leaving the one in Cary.
Their menu is comprised of one section that varies based on food
selections from different parts of the country and another that
has their signature items which they serve year round.
I'm not sure that the salad that comes out before the meal should
be your favorite part, but it was for me last night. I received
a house salad that was mostly comprised of spinach but also had
a few mixed field greens. Also included on the salad was radish,
celery, carrots, and sesame seeds. I think the key to this salad
though, was the bacon vinaigrette dressing. The dressing is served
warm and it just made this salad delicious. I rarely clean my plate
when it comes to salads, but I certainly did last night. I decided
to try the crab cakes which are a part of their standard menu that
does not change. (I know that all my reviews involve seafood thus
far, but I promise to go get a steak sometime soon.) The crab cakes
were actually full of crab meat and compared to most restaurants
they were pretty good.
A couple other things that I will mention is that my food came
out really fast and I had some great service. If you want to go
and get a quick meal then have a seat at the bar. Also, get the
wheat bread instead of the sesame bread. It's much better.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 3
Sanitation
Grade
Lucky 32 is completely non-smoking now, even in the bar area.
What to order? Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing on your salad. Don't
be swayed by the Creamy Balsamic.
Location and Contact Info:
7307
Tryon Road
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: 919.233.1632
http://www.lucky32.com/cary.htm
Aug 22 2007
Village Draft House
Cameron Village was today's lunch destination and my co-workers
and I decided to go to the Village Draft House. The draft house
has been in Cameron Village for a few years, however they have just
completed an addition of a large non-smoking area and increased
their outdoor seating. I would say that the outdoor seating is why
the Village Draft House is so popular.
I wouldn't say that I love everything the Draft House serves, but
there are definitely some tasty items on their menu. My personal
favorite is the fish sandwich with the spinach salad.
I generally get my fish sandwich with a slice of American cheese
on top and the spinach salad with the balsamic vinaigrette. The
spinach salad comes with real bacon bits, red onion, mushrooms,
and croutons. The fish is a white fish battered and fried on a bun.
It's a really tasty fish sandwhich and one of the few places in
Raleigh you can get a fried fish sandwich, unless you go to McDonald's.
Otherwise, I have a friend who swears by the Kentucky Fried Salad
with the tomato vinaigrette dressing. I've never tried it , but
the mmmmm noises coming from them would lead me to believe that
it's pretty good.
The Village Draft House also provides dozens of ways to prepare
your standard burger, chicken, or ribeye. The choices take up a
whole page on their menu. So I'm sure there is one to suit your
taste.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 2
Sanitation
Grade
Add this place to your lunch rotation. The outdoor seating is great.
What to order? Fish sandwich with cheese is my choice.
Location and Contact Info:
428
Daniels Street
Raleigh, NC 27605
Phone: 919.833.1373
Aug 17 2007
Fratello's
Where do you go to dinner if your friend is vegetarian and usually
doesn't like any of the places you go to eat? Well this Friday night,
we headed out to Brier Creek to an italian place called Fratello's.
I had gone to Fratello's before, but I couldn't remember whether
or not I liked the place. It's a smaller restaurant and it's setup
to be a little bit fancy, although no one had dressed for it. Usually,
I try to go on wait staff's recommendation for what to eat and tonight
our waitress suggested to start with the Bruscetta and then eat
the Grouper Lavenese. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised.
I really liked the breadsticks and the bruscetta was good, but a
little bit plain as far as bruscetta goes. The grouper was wonderful,
but I wasn't a big fan of the pasta that came with it. Now, as far
as the vegetarian dish goes....My friend got the special dish of
the evening which consisted of mozerella, roasted peppers, eggplant,
tomato sauce and penne. It was actually a hit, which doesn't happen
very often.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 3
Sanitation
Grade
Vegetarian Friendly
What to order? I really enjoyed the fish and I heard that the eggplant
is good.
A word to the wise, don't wear a white shirt to this restaurant.
I learned the hard way.
Location and Contact Info:
8531
Brier Creek Pkwy Ste 109
Raleigh, NC 27617
Phone: (919) 405-2746
Aug 15 2007
Bloomsbury Bistro
Unless you've lived in Raleigh a while, you probably haven't heard
of this restaurant. It's sort of hidden at Five Points in a small
strip mall off Whitaker Mill Road. However, this is one restaurant
that you need to seek out! In my opinion it is THE best
restaurant in Raleigh. Whenever anyone asks me for a restaurant
suggestion Bloomsbury Bistro is the first restaurant that I recommend
and no one I know has ever been disappointed.
The owner and chef, John Toler, is more of a magician than a cook.
Eating his dishes is a blissful experience. The dinner menu changes
from time to time adjusting to what foods are in season, so I recommend
checking out the menu on the website. My favorite dish, is any of
the fish entrees (of course I'm a sucker for fish) and make sure
to leave room for dessert.
Bloomsbury Bistro is a relatively quiet restaurant and is a wonderful
place to take a date. It's not the cheapest restaurant in town,
but it's sure to impress. Since, the restaurant is in somewhat of
an older section of Raleigh, I suggest going for a walk down Whitaker
Mill Road after dinner to take a look at some of the older homes
in the neighborhood. If you plan ahead you could plant a present
for your date on your walking route to find. I think that will win
some bonus points!
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRRRR
Cost? Tier 4
Sanitation
Grade
What to order? Close you eyes and point at anything on the menu.
You'll love it.
Remember it's a great place for a date!
Location and Contact Info:
509
W. Whitaker Mill Road Suite 101
Raleigh, NC 27608
Tel: (919) 834-9011
www.bloomsburybistro.com
Hours:
Mon-Sat 5:30pm - 10:00pm
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