11 Apr 2010

Taste of Morrisville: Smokey's BBQ Shack

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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.
7 Apr 2010

Taste of Raleigh: Assaggio's

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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.
22 Feb 2010

Wknd of Eats in Raleigh

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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!