Monday
May 17th, 2010
6:55 AM
I have been up for 3 hours now, rolling around in my bed thinking of all the great food I am going to eat this week, and where in hell I am going to find the time to work it all off. My seemingly beer belly is not making me happy and I swear it aches a little when I think about food.
What is Triangle Restaurant Week?
Think of it a RUSH week for restaurants. Participating restaurants design a full 3 course meal for lunch and dinner. Lunch is $15, dinner is $25. This gives many people a chance to experience some places they would not normally go due to price.
MyRestaurantGuru.com is a sponsor of Triangle Restaurant Week and so we are hosting tasting parties all over the Triangle. EVERYDAY!
This blog series, I will share my experiences, tips, stories, and more. Maybe photos and video if I remember to take pictures or how to film video.
Good morning reader! Its raining and I am covered in mosquito bits that itch.
By the way, if you are interested in what events are going on, click HERE to see our Facebook events.
I hope to see you this week. Lets eat!
Ullyses
Its chic, its delicious, its Sono.
We all love a good sushi meal, and with the rise of BOGO joints in the area we settling for good sushi for the price. Is this bad? Not at all. We all love a good deal, and we all want good food. What about GREAT sushi?
What makes great sushi? Its got to be fresh, its got to be of good quality, and its got to be flavorful. I would add its got to be pretty. If food doesn't "look" good, its got to work harder to taste good.
Sono has beautiful food! The presentation can, at times, be the culinary equivalent of a Milan fashion show with seaweed clad peacocks strutting down the table in some sort of parade like display. But dont be fooled by its flashy appearance, for most of it is well worth the bite. And who doesn't want to take a bite out of a supermodel?
Sono also has fresh food. Fresh as an inland city can get anyway. Local fresh fish as well as exotic fish with fresh veggies, good rice, and voila! No overly fishy flavor, and a consistant taste you can rely on. No more hit and miss good meals.
Sono is also now open late with Sono Lounge. The designer decor, from the slightly strange wall mural of an Asian woman without a shoe looking lovingly into her food to the fat bamboo urns and dramatic lighting in red tones makes this stylish place a spot to grab some drinks before you head to other clubs, or to just hang out with friends and have a chat while listening to the DJ spin some mellow tunes. I might also add Sapporo on draft. Yum!
Now lets talk price, because it is true, it CAN be a it pricier than the BOGO places and cheap sushi around town. Amazing lunch specials with Bento boxes make this place an easily affordable spot, with good portions and no sacrifice in quality. Dinner can be a bit more if you go starving and over order. Easily done as I can attest to.
There is still much more to try and I cant wait to get back there. With the friendly staff always eager to help, its a nice place downtown with some of the best sushi in the Triangle. Dont believe me? Open you mind and give it a fair try.
Stay tuned for more to come on my Sono experience, as well as my quest to try all the sushi in the area.
We all love a good sushi meal, and with the rise of BOGO joints in the area we settling for good sushi for the price. Is this bad? Not at all. We all love a good deal, and we all want good food. What about GREAT sushi?
What makes great sushi? Its got to be fresh, its got to be of good quality, and its got to be flavorful. I would add its got to be pretty. If food doesn't "look" good, its got to work harder to taste good.
Sono has beautiful food! The presentation can, at times, be the culinary equivalent of a Milan fashion show with seaweed clad peacocks strutting down the table in some sort of parade like display. But dont be fooled by its flashy appearance, for most of it is well worth the bite. And who doesn't want to take a bite out of a supermodel?
Sono also has fresh food. Fresh as an inland city can get anyway. Local fresh fish as well as exotic fish with fresh veggies, good rice, and voila! No overly fishy flavor, and a consistant taste you can rely on. No more hit and miss good meals.
Sono is also now open late with Sono Lounge. The designer decor, from the slightly strange wall mural of an Asian woman without a shoe looking lovingly into her food to the fat bamboo urns and dramatic lighting in red tones makes this stylish place a spot to grab some drinks before you head to other clubs, or to just hang out with friends and have a chat while listening to the DJ spin some mellow tunes. I might also add Sapporo on draft. Yum!
Now lets talk price, because it is true, it CAN be a it pricier than the BOGO places and cheap sushi around town. Amazing lunch specials with Bento boxes make this place an easily affordable spot, with good portions and no sacrifice in quality. Dinner can be a bit more if you go starving and over order. Easily done as I can attest to.
There is still much more to try and I cant wait to get back there. With the friendly staff always eager to help, its a nice place downtown with some of the best sushi in the Triangle. Dont believe me? Open you mind and give it a fair try.
Stay tuned for more to come on my Sono experience, as well as my quest to try all the sushi in the area.
From Thanksgiving through the end of December, the holidays emphasize togetherness, spending time with friends and family. We sit down at the table, savoring food and drink, with our loved ones. We are in a charitable mood, giving to help the less fortunate. We look outward from ourselves, caring more about the others in our lives. This is one of my favorite aspects of the holidays, and it is an aspect which should be extended through the entire year. It is not something that should be limited to the holiday season.
Yet as soon as New Year's Day arrives, many people forget all of that. That sense of togetherness gets discarded. People start looking inward, starting with their New Year's Resolution. Those resolutions are usually individual changes, which only affect that person. They are often selfish desires and concerns for family, friends and others are pushed to the wayside. That cheery holiday spirit from November and December vanishes, to be replaced with a gloomier look at individual faults.
So why do we start the New Year thinking only about ourselves? That is not a proper pathway to maintain the community spirit we held the previous month. It does not promote a charitable spirit. We should be resolving to maintaining the feelings we cherished in December. We should resolve to maintain that same feeling of togetherness we recently held. There is no reason for selfishness.
There is certainly nothing wrong with trying to better ourselves but do we really need to make it a special resolution? Especially as it seems such resolutions often do not last more than a couple months anyways. Instead, don't start the New Year thinking about yourself. Start it by thinking about others, and then you can also worry about your own imperfections. Continue to act as you did in November and December, and don't change just because January begins.
Rather than worrying about a new diet, share a meal with friends and family. In the end, your family and friends are worth far more than a few extra pounds. If you are going to diet though, then do so with someone else. A joint effort has been shown to be more successful than an individual effort. In fact, almost any individual resolution will be far more successful if you are doing it with someone else.
I will work on my own faults and flaws in 2010, but primary in my mind will be maintaining that spirit of togetherness from the holidays. I won't make any individual resolutions as I see no need. I will share my food and wine with friends and family, and give to those in need. I will try not to be selfish.
Yet as soon as New Year's Day arrives, many people forget all of that. That sense of togetherness gets discarded. People start looking inward, starting with their New Year's Resolution. Those resolutions are usually individual changes, which only affect that person. They are often selfish desires and concerns for family, friends and others are pushed to the wayside. That cheery holiday spirit from November and December vanishes, to be replaced with a gloomier look at individual faults.
So why do we start the New Year thinking only about ourselves? That is not a proper pathway to maintain the community spirit we held the previous month. It does not promote a charitable spirit. We should be resolving to maintaining the feelings we cherished in December. We should resolve to maintain that same feeling of togetherness we recently held. There is no reason for selfishness.
There is certainly nothing wrong with trying to better ourselves but do we really need to make it a special resolution? Especially as it seems such resolutions often do not last more than a couple months anyways. Instead, don't start the New Year thinking about yourself. Start it by thinking about others, and then you can also worry about your own imperfections. Continue to act as you did in November and December, and don't change just because January begins.
Rather than worrying about a new diet, share a meal with friends and family. In the end, your family and friends are worth far more than a few extra pounds. If you are going to diet though, then do so with someone else. A joint effort has been shown to be more successful than an individual effort. In fact, almost any individual resolution will be far more successful if you are doing it with someone else.
I will work on my own faults and flaws in 2010, but primary in my mind will be maintaining that spirit of togetherness from the holidays. I won't make any individual resolutions as I see no need. I will share my food and wine with friends and family, and give to those in need. I will try not to be selfish.
I have the munchies and a couple hours to kill, a quick shout downstairs to Christie and Viola! Lunch time! Where to go? Butternut Squash on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, a talk-of-the-town new Vegetarian place.
Its raining and cold and dreary outside, but inside this contemporary new London influenced hot spot the vibe is weatherless and fun. Its 30 minutes to closing for the lunch hour, but I feel no pressure to eat and go, and the smiles greeting us as we walk in are warm and friendly.
We sit in a comfortable booth and survey the layout. Very contemporary, clean, with giraffes as a decor theme, and local art on the walls. The place is small, but with the large open windows it feels bigger than it is.
Our waitress is Kelly. She is a beautiful woman with a kind face and a British accent. I lost the bet that she was from OUTSIDE London, but in fact she is from London. Lunch is on me. Butternut Squash is vegetarian/vegan restaurant, something I am not used to. The menu is very appetizing and I have a hard time choosing what to eat. I decide to try from the menu instead of one of the daily specials, they all sounded so good. I am having the Butternut Squash spaghetti, Christie is having the Blackbean and Hemp nut burger with sweet potato fries, and we start with the sampler plate and some fresh bread, toasted in an intriguing olive oil mix.
HOLY SMOKE! Straight out the gait... I am impressed. The grapes were delicious, the chips are home made fried flour tortillas, the guacamole delicious, and the star of the plate - quick fried goat cheese with a raspberry reduction sauce. I may have drooled on myself. Polish it off with fresh salsa, and fresh veggie sticks, and you end up with an entire lunch. I should have stopped there. I am full.
Entre? The spaghetti was nothing like I imagined. It was slightly sweet with a spicey bite to it, full of flavour and texture. Carrots, squash, bell peppers, a taste of honey all come together is an amazing combination which I could only eat half of due to the over indulgence of bread and starter plate, so I boxed it up and ate it later for dinner.
The burger was HUGE with a mountain of perfectly cooked sweet potato fries with their crispy skins and soft insides. I even tried to weasel the secret of their perfection out of Kelly, but she was lock-lipped. My first thought was to brush up my Spanish and hit up the kitchen staff. The burger was rich, thick and in need of a flip top head to eat it, but once you manage to bite in, WHAT A TREAT! Personally I would have used a brioche instead of the bread they used, but it was still yummy! The patty was dense and didnt try to pretend to be meat, it was beans and veggies and it let you know it. We agreed it would be awesome alone on a salad also.
The down side is the lack of a raw entre. Their raw entre is nothing but veggies and dipping sauce. I am going to suggest a bit more creativity in a raw entre, though you will have to talk to Christie for suggestions. We didnt try any of the deserts, or see the restroom, so you will have to check it out for yourself. As it turns out, our charming Brit of a server, is also the owner/manager. She was a pleasant server with smiles, good service, and who doesnt like a British accent. I cant wait to go back and try more of the menu. Anyone for lunch?
Its raining and cold and dreary outside, but inside this contemporary new London influenced hot spot the vibe is weatherless and fun. Its 30 minutes to closing for the lunch hour, but I feel no pressure to eat and go, and the smiles greeting us as we walk in are warm and friendly.
We sit in a comfortable booth and survey the layout. Very contemporary, clean, with giraffes as a decor theme, and local art on the walls. The place is small, but with the large open windows it feels bigger than it is.
Our waitress is Kelly. She is a beautiful woman with a kind face and a British accent. I lost the bet that she was from OUTSIDE London, but in fact she is from London. Lunch is on me. Butternut Squash is vegetarian/vegan restaurant, something I am not used to. The menu is very appetizing and I have a hard time choosing what to eat. I decide to try from the menu instead of one of the daily specials, they all sounded so good. I am having the Butternut Squash spaghetti, Christie is having the Blackbean and Hemp nut burger with sweet potato fries, and we start with the sampler plate and some fresh bread, toasted in an intriguing olive oil mix.
HOLY SMOKE! Straight out the gait... I am impressed. The grapes were delicious, the chips are home made fried flour tortillas, the guacamole delicious, and the star of the plate - quick fried goat cheese with a raspberry reduction sauce. I may have drooled on myself. Polish it off with fresh salsa, and fresh veggie sticks, and you end up with an entire lunch. I should have stopped there. I am full.
Entre? The spaghetti was nothing like I imagined. It was slightly sweet with a spicey bite to it, full of flavour and texture. Carrots, squash, bell peppers, a taste of honey all come together is an amazing combination which I could only eat half of due to the over indulgence of bread and starter plate, so I boxed it up and ate it later for dinner.
The burger was HUGE with a mountain of perfectly cooked sweet potato fries with their crispy skins and soft insides. I even tried to weasel the secret of their perfection out of Kelly, but she was lock-lipped. My first thought was to brush up my Spanish and hit up the kitchen staff. The burger was rich, thick and in need of a flip top head to eat it, but once you manage to bite in, WHAT A TREAT! Personally I would have used a brioche instead of the bread they used, but it was still yummy! The patty was dense and didnt try to pretend to be meat, it was beans and veggies and it let you know it. We agreed it would be awesome alone on a salad also.
The down side is the lack of a raw entre. Their raw entre is nothing but veggies and dipping sauce. I am going to suggest a bit more creativity in a raw entre, though you will have to talk to Christie for suggestions. We didnt try any of the deserts, or see the restroom, so you will have to check it out for yourself. As it turns out, our charming Brit of a server, is also the owner/manager. She was a pleasant server with smiles, good service, and who doesnt like a British accent. I cant wait to go back and try more of the menu. Anyone for lunch?
