Welcome to Raleigh Restaurant Review! This is a site that I hope
will help you answer one of the hardest questions people face everyday...
What do you want to eat? It's one of those simple questions that
often times ends up taking a long time to decide. I'm hoping to
share with you some great restaurants you didn't know about and
some great items to order.
 Fat Philly's
Classic Cheesesteaks
When was the last time that you visited a grill or restaurant around
the Raleigh area and had a good Philly Cheesesteak? It is one of
those things that is difficult to find around here. Most of the
time the bread is bad, or it's drowning in grease or cheese. Typically,
these sandwiches come out looking like a heart attack on a bun.
Fat Philly's Classic Cheesesteaks recently opened in the new Walmart
shopping center in Holly Springs, NC. They are planning to be the
first to serve up a REAL Philly. "Ever had a REAL philly?"
is the slogan on the back of everyone's t-shirt that works in the
restaurant. Fat Philly's doesn't look like your typical steak and
hoagie shop. It is a little more upscale when compared to the typical
shop found in a strip mall. Fat Philly's is family owned and operated
by local Holly Springs residents. In fact, when I entered the restaurant,
I knew that it was a family affair. Jeff Mueller, the owner, was
working at the grill, his wife at the cash register, and their kids
were cleaning the tables and delivering the food to the table. Fat
Philly's menu has salads, wraps, hoagies, and of course philly cheesesteaks.
There are plenty of options for cheesesteaks at Fat Philly's. They
serve chicken or steak phillys with your choice of provolone, swiss,
or cheese whiz. They also have a Pizza Philly on the menu that comes
with marinara sauce and pepperoni as well as a cheeseburger hoagie
that appeared pretty popular with kids. Other items of interest
are the shoe string onions, homestyle chips and homebaked cookies.
On my first visit to Fat Philly's, I decided to stick with a classic
Philly Cheesesteak with onion strings and an order of the homestyle
chips. My cheesesteak came complete with steak, provolone, green
bell peppers, onions and mushrooms. The bread was good, the steak
was high quality, it was not greasy and it was not overpowered with
cheese. Overall, it was just about the best cheesesteak I have ever
had. On top of that, the onion strings and homestyle chips were
really tasty. I also really enjoyed the butterscotch graham cookies.
Overall, I think that Fat Philly's was successful is delivering
a really good, quality cheesesteak. If you're a connoisseur of cheesesteaks,
you have to put this place on your list of places to try.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 2
Menu
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
7272 GB Alford Hwy.
Holly Springs, NC 27540
Phone: 919.552.8053
February 4, 2008
South
As it's name indicates South is a southern style cuisine restaurant
in North Hills. It is one of the many restaurants owned and operated
by the urban food group. They also operate Vivace,
Porters and Fraizers. South is probably
one of the higher end restaurants in the chain. They have been in
operation for a couple of years now and have gone through a few
different menu changes trying to find the perfect mix. They offer
a selection of appetizers, salads, and entrees with a southern flare.
Serving dishes such as fried okra, fried green tomatoes, pecan pie
salad, sweet potato ravioli, shrimp and grits, and fried chicken.
I have been to South several times, but I went back recently to
try out some of their new menu selections. There were a lot of interesting
selections on their menu to choose from, but I ended up with a house
salad and the roasted grouper. The salad consisted of field greens,
dried cranberries, country ham, cheddar cheese, and balsamic dressing.
The cranberries in the salad were exceptionally tasty. They were
nice and sweet. The roasted grouper came with buttermilk mashed
potatoes, grilled asparagus, and a crab and roasted tomato butter.
The grouper was also very good, but not great. And, the service
was like the grouper. It was good but not great.
South is a good choice for lunch or dinner in the North Hills area
and they have a really nice bar area for drinks after work. I think
that you will find the food good and hopefully with a little more
time South will get their food to great.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR
Cost? Tier 3
Menu
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
4351
The Circle at North Hills Street
Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: 919.789.0606
February 4, 2008
Mo's Diner
Mo's Diner is one of those places that isn't on everyone's radar.
It's been around for over ten years in downtown Raleigh near the
Moore's Square area. Mo's is located in a little old house painted
a periwinkle/purple color on the corner of Hargett and Person Streets.
Many people would assume by the name, that Mo's Diner is like a
typical diner with the long counter and the salisbury steak special.
However, Mo's Diner is actually an intimate restaurant without any
kind of diner traits. Inside, the restaurant is decorated with many
vintage French posters, black and white table cloths, red wooden
slat chairs and curtains that you would expect to see in a house
of that age. The dining rooms are in the preexisting bedrooms and
family room of the house. They also have a few tables out on the
front porch for warmer weather. Entering through the front door
of the house, feels like you are going into someone's home for dinner.
The mood is completed with a pottery barn cd playing for background
music.
I had read a lot about Mo's Diner and how it was a really great
place to eat. Many people put it in the one of the best restaurants
in Raleigh category. Needless to say I had really high expectations
based on what I had read. I knew that the outside of Mo's looks
deceiving, but I was expecting the interior of the building to be
a little nicer than it was. However, it did match the theme of the
old house. Mo's has a pretty nice selection of American style cuisine
and a really extensive dessert menu. One great aspect about the
restaurant is that they bring out a basket of hot bread to the table
before the meal. I don't think you can go wrong with hot bread.
I decided to start out with a house salad and have that evening's
special of salmon topped with crab meat and sides of corn, squash,
and garlic mashed potatoes for my meal. My salad was good and my
meal was good. But, I was expecting great things and I got a meal
that I have cooked a hundred times at home. There was no flare or
fancy presentation. There was nothing special about it. In fact,
I think I'd be brave enough to say that I could cook that dish better
than Mo's. Two of us got the salmon special and had the same opinion.
However, everyone else at the table enjoyed their meals. The Seafood
Stew and the gumbo seemed to be a hit.
This should still probably be on your list of places to take a
date. It definitely has that romantic feel. However, I would have
to say that although my food was good, after all of the hype I was
a little disappointed. Most of the entrees are in the $22+ range
and I don't think the food warrants the price. But, I may have to
try Mo's out again and see if I can discover what everyone is talking
about.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR
Cost? Tier 4
Reservations Recommended
Menu (NA)
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
306
E Hargett St
Raleigh, NC 27601-1436
Phone: 919.856.0980
February 4, 2008
the George
Formerly April and George's, the George is a new bar/video art
gallery/restaurant. April and George's was a wine bar with a large
collection of eclectic art. It was a pretty cool concept, but perhaps
not the perfect fit for Raleigh and Glenwood South. the George opened
this past week with a few changes to the decor of April and Georges.
There are now new six person booths in the restaurant, a few high
top tables out front and some much nicer bathrooms. the George has
a fairly large selection of what I would call appetizers and several
dessert selections. Macaroni and cheese, cheese or chocolate fondue,
quesadillas, smoked salmon and hummus are just some of the appetizers.
Most of these items are either $5 or $6. Not too bad for the location
of the George. the George is primarily a bar, but I really like
the addition of the food. After having dinner at Mo's Diner, we
headed over to the George. I really wanted something sweet, so I
tried the Hazelnut sponge cake and the Almond cookies with butter
cream dipped in chocolate. I noticed that these deserts looked strangely
familiar and was somewhat surprised to find out that Hereghty Heavenly
Delicious makes the desserts for the George. The hazelnut sponge
cake was delicious. I think I could have consumed it in about two
seconds. It was too bad that I was sharing. The almond cookies were
good, but might not be everyone's favorite. They had a special type
of butter cream icing that might throw a few people off.
I like the new look and food additions of the George. I plan to
make it back there to try out some of their appetizers.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 2
Menu
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
414
Glenwood Ave
Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: 919.601.1115
Woody's at City Market
Woody's has been around for a while down in City Market. They are
just your average bar and grill with lots of lighted beer signs
on the wall and a few random animal heads and fish stuffed and mounted
on the wall. They have a smoking section up front and back through
part of the kitchen is a non smoking section. And, there are plenty
of TV's throughout the bar for watching the game. You wouldn't think
that it should be on your places eat, but Woody's has some of the
best wings in town.
Woody's wings are "famous" according to their menu and
probably should be around the Raleigh area. They serve five different
types of wings: sweet, medium, BBQ, hot and insane. Last week my
co-workers and I tried out the sweet, medium and BBQ. I would have
to say that the sweet and medium are great. They have a great flavor
and they are really crispy. Definitely some the the best wings that
I've had. The BBQ were good but not my favorite. Woody's cooks their
wings for 20 minutes, so be prepared to wait at least that long
for your food.
You might want to check Woody's out while you're making your plans
for your Super Bowl party. I think their wings would probably be
a hit.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 2
Menu
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
205
Wolfe St
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 919.833.3000
New Years Plans?
There is a New Years party just about everywhere you look, but
if you're looking for a nice dinner and a party afterwards, then
here are a few notable restaurants.
The Mint - The Mint is
one of the most searched restaurants on Raleigh Restaurant Review.
The Mint hopes to be one of Raleigh's premier restaurants and is
having it's opening night on New Years Eve. This 10,000 square foot
restaurant located in an old bank building has a dining room that
seats 90, the "M Bar" upstairs, and a heated outdoor patio.
The Mint will be serving heavy hors d'oeuvres and have a cash bar
for New Years. They are also located near all of the acorn drop
activities. Here are a few pictures of the new restaurant. http://picasaweb.google.com/robert.royster/Mint1207
Nelsons - Nelsons restaurant
will be having a New Years Eve bash starting with a 4 course meal
and finishing up with a DJ, dancing and champagne toast, all for
$55++. The menu will consists of the following:
Soup or Salad
Butternut Squash Bisque
Oyster Stew
Baby Iceberg
Caesar
Appetizer
Quail
Mini Lobster Pot Pie
Entree
Striped Bass
Cold Water Prawns
Filet
Chicken Breast
Dessert
Chocolate Torte
Sweet Potato Creme Brule
Coffee Cake
Riviera- Riviera will
be serving dinner until 11pm and will have three rooms of music.
They have a laundry list of DJ's lined up and plan to have open
decks available in their basement. There will be a $10 cover and
they will stay open until 4am. This restaurant is also very close
by the acorn drop.
Bogart's - If you're more of a Glenwood South
fan, then you might want to check out Bogart's for your New Years
Eve. Rocky Top Hospitality plans to serve a 4 course meal at Bogart's
for $40 and have three different parties going in Bogart's, Red
Room, and Hi-5. Admission to all three parties is $20.
December 20, 2007
Globe
There isn't a lot of information out about Globe Restaurant. They
have taken over a space from a wine bar that was located next to
Red Room on Glenwood South. I went by today at lunch to check out
this latest addition to Glenwood South.
Globe as it's name reflects has a menu that consists of foods from
various regions around the world. The interior of the restaurant
looks to be a little more upscale than I expected and is pretty
interesting. The dining room is open except for two tables surrounded
by C shaped wood panels making them feel semi-private. The bar area
also looks nice and is separated from the restaurant by a curved
wooden wall that showcases some type of pottery. However, the most
interesting aspect of the restaurant is a private dining room with
an arched doorway for an entrance. Inside is a fireplace, a long
dining table and shelving units with wine. Certainly a nice place
for a small private party.
Their lunch menu is pretty limited. I felt bad about convincing
my friend to try out this restaurant, when I really didn't see anything
that they would eat. There was a decent amount of salads available
and then three sandwiches. The goat cheese sandwich, pastrami and
swiss, and the beef and onion slider. They also served a few entrees
such as rice noodles and pulled pork , house made fettuccine, braised
short ribs, grilled salmon, and a red curry coconut chicken. Since
neither my friend or I wanted to spend over $15 for lunch, we had
to choose one of the sandwiches. My friend ordered the pastrami
and I ordered what I like to call the heart attack on a bun a.k.a.
the beef and onion slider. While we waited for our food our waiter
brought out breadsticks, which I wouldn't readily identify as food.
In fact I think that I chipped my tooth on one of the bread sticks.
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Our food arrived and I was a little scared of the glob of cheese
and beef on a bun, but I ate it anyway. The food wasn't bad, but
it wasn't great either. The best part of the meal was the french
fries. I was a little thirsty today and I wish that could have gotten
a refill on my tea, but refills were particularly tough to come
by at Globe.
One other item of note was down at the bottom of the menu. There
is a $2.50 charge if you split a meal and there are no substitutions
allowed. There are several people I know who couldn't handle that
no substitution rule.
Overall, Globe is pretty nice inside and the food is ok. But, there
is just nothing about the place that would make me want to come
back for a second visit.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RR
Cost? Tier 3
Menu (N/A)
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
510
Glenwood Ave
Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: 919.836.1811
December 19, 2007
Glenwood Grill
Glenwood Grill is really a well hidden restaurant in a shopping
center at the corner of Glenwood Ave and Oberlin Rd. There are many
people unaware of this nuvo southern style restaurant. A little
over a year ago they redecorated the restaurant. Originally, it
was decorated in black and white making it formal and quiet. Now,
they have used earth tones throughout the restaurant making it much
more warm and inviting. Glenwood Grill is open for lunch and dinner
as well as private parties on Sundays.
It had been a while since my last trip to Glenwood Grill and I
was surprised to see the restaurant almost completely full for lunch
on a Monday. They have a "power lunch" that they serve
daily. The power lunch has items such as shrimp and grits, Thai
chicken salad, crab cakes, grouper wraps, burgers, etc... Most of
the lunch items come with a side of either roasted potatoes, pasta
salad, or potato salad. There were a lot of items on the menu that
I wanted to try, but they had a turkey sandwich with grilled zucchini
and roasted red peppers on focaccia bread that caught my eye. I'm
a sucker for real turkey, not the deli meat. I asked the waiter
if they cooked a turkey breast and carved it themselves in the restaurant.
He told me that it definitely was a turkey that they cooked and
prepared. Unfortunately, when the sandwich came out it was deli
meat. I was a little disappointed, but the sandwich and my roasted
potatoes were both very good.
Overall, I was really impressed with the new look and the food
at Glenwood Grill. If you go for lunch make sure to go early or
call ahead for a reservation. It gets pretty crowded.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 3
Menu
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
2603
Glenwood Ave # 151
Raleigh, NC 27608
Phone: 919.782.3102
December 15, 2007
Nelson's Restaurant
Nelson's is a relatively upscale restaurant that also doubles as
the place to "go out" on Thursday, Friday and Saturday
nights. Whereas many restaurants that are upscale can feel very
intimidating or quiet, Nelson's has a very relaxing environment.
Nelson's has two dining rooms downstairs that can be used for private
parties as well as a very nice oyster bar. Also, one of everyone's
favorite feature of the restaurant is the outdoor bar that occupies
their second floor called the Sky Loft. It's perfect for parties
and has a great atmosphere. In fact, I held my last birthday party
up there. The staff at Nelson's is great to work with and were very
helpful during my party. I'd recommend stealing my idea for yourself.
This past weekend I attended an impromptu office Christmas party
at Nelson's restaurant. I showed up a little early and met up with
some of my friends for dinner before hand. We ended up eating at
the Oyster Bar downstairs, since there were three other parties
happening that night in the restaurant. Recently, Nelson's has changed
their menu. It looks like they have slimmed it down and added a
few new interesting items. The most original item on the menu is
a lobster pot pie. I love chicken pot pie, so that really peaked
my interest. However, our waitress suggested that I try the Wahoo
since it was her favorite dish on the menu. The Wahoo comes with
rice, green beans, and is topped with a type of tomato salsa. It
ended up being a great suggestion because it was delicious. It is
very likely that I will order the same dish again on my next visit
to Nelson's. In order to top off my meal I ordered the apple turnover
for dessert. (It's always nice to find a restaurant that serves
something other than cheesecake for dessert for us non-dairy eaters).
I think that I was supposed to save a bite of my apple turnover
for someone, but it was so tasty, that I forgot.
Although Nelson's was having somewhat of a hectic night, our service
was still great and our food came out promptly. That is often a
tough thing to accomplish when a restaurant is being occupied by
large parties.
If you've never been to Nelson's give it a try for dinner or just
for a drink and appetizer upstairs in their Sky Loft. I think you
will like it.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRRR
Cost? Tier 3
Menu
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
521
Daniels Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27605
Phone: 919.832.9815
December 11, 2007
Rockfish Grill
Rockfish Grill is a chain restaurant based in Dallas, Texas serving
various fish selections for lunch and dinner. Rockfish has a local
restaurant at SouthPoint Mall in Durham. I had the opportunity to
stop by and try out Rockfish tonight for dinner.
Upon entering RockFish grill it looks like a combination of a log
cabin at the lake and a 50's/60's diner. I don't know if the two
go together, but Rockfish put them together anyway. After looking
at the menu, I decided that if you combined Chili's with Long John
Silver, then you would get Rockfish Grill. Mostly, because they
serve fish and have an undertone of Southwestern in their menu.
OK, so I was at the lake cabin/50's diner/southwestern seafood restaurant
and decided to try out the Perch with a Tomatillo Salsa, loaded
whipped potatoes, sauteed spinach and a "Southwestern"
Ceasar salad for good measure. Now, let me explain what Southwestern
means at Rockfish Grill. Essentially, you get some tortilla strips
and some salsa and slap it on anything and you've got Southwestern.
I have to admit the salsa and tortilla strips on a Ceasar salad
was really interesting. Again, I don't think the two go together,
but Rockfish tries anyway.
My entree came out and the first thing that I noticed was that
the potatoes didn't look whipped. In fact, it was some mashed red
skinned potatoes with cheese and bacon. I was a little disappointed
because I wanted some more creamy potatoes. The fish, potatoes,
and spinach were just not good. Honestly, the best part of the restaurant
was the service. It was excellent. Unfortunately, I left the restaurant
feeling upset that I had wasted the room in my stomach for that
food.
I spent $15.94 + tip for dinner and for about the same price you
could go to a Bonefish Grill and have a meal that is probably 10
times better than Rockfish Grill. If you need to eat at SouthPoint,
then just head over to Maggiano's.
Summing it all up....
Rating? R 1/2
Cost? Tier 2
Menu
Location and Contact Info:
8030 Renaissance Pkwy. #905
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: 919.544.9220
December 09, 2007
Fins Restaurant
Fins has been in business for a while in the Raleigh area, but
about a year ago they relocated from their North Raleigh location
to Downtown in the Progress Energy II building. A high end seafood
restaurant, Fins is now on the corner of Wilmington and Davie Streets.
I had the opportunity to go to Fins for dinner this weekend and
based on my first visit to Fins for lunch I was expecting a great
meal. Fins is a beautiful restaurant that has a big city, high end
feel. They have a very nice bar area with a glass water fall that
separates it from the rest of the dining room. Fins also has a couple
of private dining rooms available for meetings or parties. The main
dining room has a very quiet and intimate feel, which would work
for a romantic date. The bathrooms are also very nice, and have
rosemary mint hand soap from their neighbor Iatria Day Spa. The
soap really smelled wonderful.
My friends and I started out in the bar area while we waited for
our table. We orded drinks and a lamb kefka mini burger appetizer.
This dish comes with three mini burgers on a bun with a type of
thick tomato salsa. They tasted great and one person in our party
almost ordered them for their main entree. We transitioned after
the appetizers to the main dining room for our meal. The waitstaff
was a little pretentious, but it didn't really bother me too much.
After looking over the menu, I ordered that evening's special of
striped bass served with eggplant. The rest of the table ordered
the snapper which was served with a cashew sauce and rice. Fins
is definitely not cheap. Most of the entrees at Fins are typically
$25+ and do not include soup or salad. As we waited for our meal,
they brought out a basket of bread with slices of sour dough and
wheat. The bread is served with a plate of butter topped with chives.
I'm not a big fan of chives in my butter, but it was a little twist
on the standard. I had a very long wait for my food on my first
visit to Fins, and tonight was no exception. The food took a little
too long to come out to the table, but the waitress said that they
had some large parties ahead of our order. Once the food came out,
everyone was very happy with the dishes. The snapper in the cashew
sauce was delicious, but might be a little too spicy for some people.
My striped bass was good, but a little overcooked. However, the
eggplant that accompanied it was wonderful. I don't think that I
would order that dish again, but there are several items on the
menu that I want to try.
Overall, Fins is just a high quality restaurant. If you are looking
for a very nice place for dinner, then I don't think that you can
go wrong with Fins.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR 1/2
Cost? Tier 4
Menu (N/A)
Sanitation
Grade
Location and Contact Info:
110 E. Davie St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 919.834.6963
December 7, 2007
Roly Poly
If you're like me, then you struggle with picking up something
to eat that is healthy. There really isn't a lot of healthy choices
when it comes to fast food, especially if you're tired of eating
sandwiches.
Roly Poly is a wrap and salad shop that has two locations in Raleigh.
One downtown and another that has just recently opened near the
intersection of Edwards Mill Road and Ed Drive. The most recently
opened Roly Poly isn't exactly in a highly visible area. It is tucked
behind the 24 hour Eckerds on Edwards Mill Road. I spotted it, just
because I was curious about the new construction in that area. I
stopped by the Edwards Mill location this week for lunch one time
and then again for dinner on another day.
Roly Poly has a very large menu of various hot and cold wraps to
order. Upon first glance it's pretty overwhelming. Luckily the first
time that I visited Roly Poly they had a special that day called
the Turkey Gobbler. It consisted of turkey, cranberry, cornbread
stuffing, red onions, lettuce and dijon mustard. The wraps typically
come in a 6" for $3.75 or a 12" for $5.95. (If you're
hungry I would go with the 12" the 6" wrap is not very
big at all.) While I was waiting for my wrap to be prepared, I was
struck by the cleanliness of the restaurant. It was obvious that
they took pride in the restaurant. I got my wrap and I took my first
bite. It was pretty good, but upon my second bite I discovered that
there was no turkey in the wrap. I guess they thought I looked like
a vegetarian. But, never the less, it was still a good change for
me from the same old lunch routine. I would order it again, but
next time I would hope to get some turkey.
Last night, I need to pick up something quick before I headed out
to a party and I decided to try out Roly Poly again. I ordered a
Hickory Chicken wrap, which is served hot. It consists of chicken
breast, cheddar cheese, onion, mushrooms, bacon, and bbq sauce.
The wrap is then grilled on both sides. I really didn't expect it
to be that great, but it turned out to be really tasty and easy
to eat on the go.
If you're looking for a somewhere to grab lunch or need to order
food in for the office, I think you should have a look at Roly Poly.
Summing it all up....
Rating? RRR
Cost? Tier 1.5
Menu
Location and Contact Info
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