Best dish in the Triangle

[polishjj]

Cooking/baking is my passion, but I also love to go out. Two things I look for when I go to a restaurant are atmosphere and food that is unique and makes my heart sing. If a restaurant provides these two things, then I am satisfied. So let's start a discussion on where to go to get that certain something in the Triangle. Posts from other cities in the Southeast can feel free to jump on board. For me, I love good espresso, desserts, soups, and bread. The bread at Four Square and Magnolia Grill can not be beat (especially the foccacia at Magnolia). I also have to give Romano's Macaroni Grill props for their bread, as much as I hate chain restaurants. Nana's and Magnolia Grill are excellent for soup and dessert. Est Est Est in Raleigh has unforgetable tiramisu. My favorite BBQ is done at the Q shack although Allen & Son is probably better (just a lot longer of a drive for me). I need help on finding southern cooking (I heard Mama Dips is near the top of most peoples' list). Blue Coffee Company makes an awesome espresso, and I am still looking for a restaurant that can equal or even better them. One last thing that crosses my mind is the soups at A Southern Season. Haven't been disappointed yet. Everyone please post your favorites, because I love to hear about new things to try.

[ludja]

More casual fare from Chapel Hill:

best ham biscuits and cinnamon rolls: Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen

bbq: Allen and Sons

shrimp and grits: Crook's Corner

best cocktail: The Sazerac at Crook's Corner

southern vegetable sides (but NOT bbq; sweet and not nice pork; order the chicken and dumplings instead): Mama Dip's

pecan waffle: Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe

[Random Alias]

Mama Dip's is overrated.

I wouldn't drive to Chapel Hill (from Raleigh) just to eat there. Actually, even if I was in Chapel Hill I probably wouldn't eat there. That place really lacks consistency. Sometimes what you order will be good, but (in my experiences) most often it is not.

[Random Alias]

Doughnuts - Krispy Kreme store when the "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign is lit up.

Bella Monica - Extremely thin crust pizza

Fresh local Fish w/attitude - Capitol Seafood Market - You'll note 'Friendly' is not their middle name

Vegetables - Guy on the corner of Pinecrest and Leesville Rd. He has about an acre of land that he plants and sells the vegetables on the 'honor system' from a shed next to his house. Try it next summer if you remember.

Croissants - Gourmandises de France (corner of Milbrook & Creedmoor)

[ludja]

Mama Dip's is overrated.

I wouldn't drive to Chapel Hill (from Raleigh) just to eat there. Actually, even if I was in Chapel Hill I probably wouldn't eat there. That place really lacks consistency. Sometimes what you order will be good, but (in my experiences) most often it is not.

I think you're right.

I really used to enjoy it in the mid-late 80's when it was in the smaller place across the street. I went back two-three years ago (in the 'new' place) and was disappointed with parts of my meal; inconsistent is a good word... but, as I mentioned above, the veggie side dishes were still good in terms of execution and what they offered.

[challah-baker]

Well, I can say where the worst meal, well meals actually I have eaten recently in the Triangle were. The new Penang in Chapel Hill. (The N&O review was too nice in my view, although they were spot on about the plastic water glasses. Any restaurant with main courses running over $20.00 should do better) If I had to sum it up I would write "Mediocre food marred by inept service". First, the restaurant is cold, really cold. Most of the patrons on both of my visits were wearing their coats through most of the meal. One woman at the next table had her scarf and hat. Some of the appetizers were OK, I guess. My companions loved the roti (a Malaysian pancake) but I didn't care for it. I was outvoted there. Some of the Chinese style appetizers were nice, but standard. The restaurant was crowded, but the service was very slow and it took a few tries to get water.

The main course however was, too put it bluntly, awful. We tried the shrimp in a Thai Chili sauce. The shrimp were overcooked to the point of being dried out and rubbery and came in a sauce, as the NYT's Sam Sifton once said, that can only be described as yucky. When we pointed this out to our server, he went and got the manager. The manager arrived and told me that the dish tasted good! I said that it tasted off. She said that the chef used shrimp paste in the sauce and I probably hadn't had it before. I told her that I had been cooking with shrimp paste since I was 11 and I am in my 40's. (This is actually true BTW, a long story so never mind) And then she said her chef must use it differently then I did. At this point I told her she was losing big points for arguing. She then left.

We finished what was left of our appetizers and she returns saying she talked to the chef and he was willing to cook something else but by this point we had lost our appetite so we just wanted the check. The check arrived with the shrimp on it, plus they charged for the rice! That is OK too, I guess but the server didn't tell us when he asked us which kind of rice we wanted.

Well anyway, my wife really really loved the roti so we went back again. This time the restaurant was even colder than before. I know it has been cold lately, but... The roti was still delicious (my wife said) but my pan friend dumplings left a lot to be desired. The noodle covering was fine, but the meat filling was a hard dried out little ball that filled maybe a quarter of the pocket it sat it. Perhaps made a central commisary and frozen? (Penang is a chain after all. One of my fellow diners on the first visit had eaten at the one in NY and said it was good.) For a main course we had the lamb chops in a chily sauce. The sauce was nice, but the lamb chops were incinerated beyond recognition. And it took 20 minutes to get water.

I was actually very excited when I saw the signs for it when it was under construction. From the name I was expecting a fusion of Chinese and Malaysian since Penang is the capital of the heavily Chinese populate region in Malaysia. Bummer.

[polishjj]

Thanks for the insight on Mama Dips. It's sad to hear that the place has declined in quality. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere for a true southern experience.

I've never tried the croissants at Gourmandises de France, so I might have to make a trip sometime soon. Has anyone ever been to La Farm Bakery in Cary? If so, I wonder how the croissants at Gourmandises de France stack up to this place. In my opinion, La Farm is the best bakery in the triangle by far. The owner, Lionel Vatinet, is a very accomplished baker, and it shows in his products.

Oh, and thanks to Ludja for the cocktail recommendation. I have one of my own. The margaritas at Torerro's on Main St. in Durham (multiple locations though) are my personal favorite. I have yet to find an equivalent.

[bandregg]

I'll take a different tack and say something about my the downtown Durham restaurants that I can't get enough of, especially since I'm rarely downtown for lunch and that's when most are open.

Best Sandwhich: Lomo con Plata at Latin Grill, marinaded hanger steak, limes, avacado, big cuban sandwhich bread, you can't go wrong. The rest of the sandwhiches are magic as well.

Best Small Bite Deal: Safari Cuisine somosas, delicious, two for a dollar, meat or veggie, man, I could just eat these.

Best Beer: Joe and Jo's, I know most of the beer comes by the bottle but you can't beat the local bar feel, the food while limited is good, and the staff make you feel welcome even if you aren't a regular.

Best Healthy Bite: black bean chili from the 9th Street Bakery, buy some bread at the same time, you won't be disappointed.

[polishjj]

has anybody ever been to the angus barn? i'm trying to get over there for dinner sometime soon and i am looking for any recommendations. obviously, i am going with some steak and red wine, but are there any sides that i must try at this restaurant? i could also use a recommendation on what to order for dessert because their list looks stellar.

thanks,

jj

[Varmint]

JJ, just go with what looks good at the Barn. It's a classic steakhouse, and I used to eat there a lot long ago. The chef is pretty talented, and I think you'll pleased with most of their steakhouse fare.

[Random Alias]

I'll take a different tack and say something about my the downtown Durham restaurants that I can't get enough of, especially since I'm rarely downtown for lunch and that's when most are open.

Best Sandwhich: Lomo con Plata at Latin Grill, marinaded hanger steak, limes, avacado, big cuban sandwhich bread, you can't go wrong. The rest of the sandwhiches are magic as well.

Sounds tasty...but Downtown Durham is very inconvenient.

[phlawless]

I'm going low brow here:

shrimp burger at Seafood Restaurant/Farmer's Market

Hamburger Steak Junior, Char Grill

[therese]

Interesting hearing about your experience at the Triangle version of Penang. We've got one here in Atlanta (same chain as the one in New York) and the one thing that you can absolutely count on is the service. They just about hand you your water glass before you're seated, and you can count on being in and out the door, well-fed, in as few as twenty minutes if you're trying to get to a movie on time. No detail left unattended, every last person who walks by checks on you and your beer and...well, you get the picture.

Food generally quite good, and not much on the menu hits the $20 mark (maybe the whole fish). We don't consider it destination dining, but it's pretty cheap and pretty good.

[challah-baker]

Yeah, I have heard some of the other branches of this chain are good. Hopefully they will get this branch together. I'm glad to hear there is hope!

[Andrew Fenton]

Interesting. I had no idea that the Penang restaurants had spread so far and wide: Atlanta, Boston, Chapel Hill... I've eaten at the Philadelphia location several times, and it has always been pretty good.

It's an interesting, and unusual, restaurant to turn into a chain: for one thing, the menu (at least in Philly) is significantly more diverse than you'll see at any sort of a chain. Fish head stew, that sort of thing. I'll be intrigued to see how it works out for them.

[therese]

They're doing a bang-up business here in Hotlanta. Located out on Buford Highway in the middle of the asian/latin strip that goes on for miles and miles, it gets lots of crossover clientele. In a market this big even fish head stew will appeal to a large number of people.

[polishjj]

phlawless:

Someone else told me that Char Grill was the place to go for burgers and shakes. Can you describe the Hamburger steak junior? Is it regular hamburger meat? I'm a huge fan of charbroiled burgers, so it sounds good.

let me know.

thanks,

JJ

[Varmint]

Char-Grill burgers are pretty damn good, but not the best in the world. They're fresh; they're square; they're overcooked (but that's the state, not Char-Grill). Let me know if you're ever in Raleigh for lunch during the week, JJ, and I'll get you to one.

[phlawless]

I don't really care for their shakes, but the burgers are damn good. Just like Varmint said, with ice berg lettuce and an insipid tomato, regardless of the time of year. But that's the way I like them, basically a vehicle for condiments. And I'm probably one of the few here who doesn't enjoy my ground meat rare; it's a texture thing.

[stephenc]

International Delights on 9th Street in Durham makes a Middle-Eastern tinged Chicken Philly that can never be duplicated.

Don't know if ID or Jihad is still around, but back when I was in college, I went there several times a week.

[Foodie_Penguin]

International Delights on 9th Street in Durham makes a Middle-Eastern tinged Chicken Philly that can never be duplicated.

Don't know if ID or Jihad is still around, but back when I was in college, I went there several times a week.

Yes, International Delights is still around. I had a falafel sandwich there at the end of last year.

Foodie Penguin

[Zeb A]

I don't really care for their shakes, but the burgers are damn good. Just like Varmint said, with ice berg lettuce and an insipid tomato, regardless of the time of year. But that's the way I like them, basically a vehicle for condiments. And I'm probably one of the few here who doesn't enjoy my ground meat rare; it's a texture thing.

I have to say that I do not understand the Char-Grill fascination. Over-cooked and grisslely (is that a word?) . Of course, I am generally not a big fan of restaurant burgers. Give me a home-cooked rare monster-sized burger any day. (Although, I had a burger at Porter's Pub recently, and it was pretty darn good.)

[polishjj]

Zeb A: I agree. Nothing beats a home cooked burger, but I do have to admit that I'm a huge fan of the charbroiled burger. It's hard to find a good one, and from what I hear Char-Grill knows what they're doing.

On a side note, has anyone been to Vivo Market & Cafe (on Glenwood I think)? I read an article on the pastry chef awhile back and it really got my taste buds going. If you've been there, it'd be great to get a list of some hits and misses before I make the trip.

[Zeb A]

Zeb A: I agree. Nothing beats a home cooked burger, but I do have to admit that I'm a huge fan of the charbroiled burger. It's hard to find a good one, and from what I hear Char-Grill knows what they're doing.

On a side note, has anyone been to Vivo Market & Cafe (on Glenwood I think)? I read an article on the pastry chef awhile back and it really got my taste buds going. If you've been there, it'd be great to get a list of some hits and misses before I make the trip.

I have enjoyed my visits to Vivo. Nothing earth-shattering, but good. The thin pizzas (I think they call them flatbreads) rock. Pastas have been average to good (I had a really good raviloi one night.) No wine by the glass, which was a minor annoyance. Hard floor, so something is always breaking, which is entertaining.

[scottie]

How about Panzanella, in Carrboro? Has anyone been there? I'm going Saturday, so I'd like to know what the eGullet dish on the place is.