eat2winraleigh » American

618 Bistro Review

eat2winraleigh — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 19:40:27 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
618 Bistro 4035 Lake Boone Trail, Raleigh
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618 Bistro is located on Lake Boone Trail in Raleigh right down the street from Rex Hospital.

We ate here last night and the staff was very nice. 618 Bistro opened 9 months ago. When we ate at 618 Bistro they were slammed due to their recent Groupon deal and signing up with Open Table.

We ordered the Chopped Salad.

Chopped Salad

And two small plates, the Bisque Olives plate and the 618 Steamed Mussels.

Bisque Olives

Steamed Mussels

We ordered the Bucatino large plate and the Capellini Pomodoro.

Bucatino

Capellini Pomodoro

For dessert we had the Creme Brulee and the Cinnamon Bread Pudding, both of which the server told us are made in house.

Creme Brulee

Cinnamon Bread Pudding

The Raleigh-ite: The salad was nice and light, it could have had a little more flavor though. I don’t love red sauce, so I can’t really comment on the 618 Steamed Mussels or the Capellini Pomodoro. The Bisque Olives plate that had hummus and feta was spicy and really tasty. I enjoyed the Bucatino; the prosciutto and roasted tomatoes made this dish-they had so much flavor. The highlight of the meal for me was definitely the Creme Brulee. The Creme Brulee was rich, creamy and perfect.

The New Yorker: We arrived to a very busy atmosphere with a great smell of food. I was excited. The gentleman host greeted us, so we proceeded to the bar. I ordered two glasses of Chianti, and the bartender gave us two generous pours. We then proceeded to buy the rest of the bottle for a great price. After that we sat, and the atmosphere was nice. It looked like they had outdoor seating as well. The kitchen was wide open for viewing which, in my opinion, is a plus. The gentleman host was very apologetic, regarding the service, but that was because they were extremely busy. In my mind, it’s a great sign of a great restaurant. Obviously, they have something good to offer. I loved the Bisque Olives. The Hummus and Feta was so delicious, that my mouth is still watering. The host gave us a little extra to take home, free of charge. I also loved the 618 Steamed Mussels. The sauce was delicious, and the sausage was excellent. The Capellini was very tasty as well. I topped it off with the homemade bread pudding; it was excellent.

Do over? Absolutely. A great experience overall and we will definitely be back! We look forward to ordering other things on the menu. Also, we would like to go when they are scheduled to have live music.

Midtown & Bar 115 Restaurant Review

eat2winraleigh — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:20:13 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Midtown & Bar 115 4421-115 Six Forks Road, Raleigh
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Midtown & Bar 115 is located in the North Hills area, across the street from where Mura & Spring Rolls are located. It’s a fairly new restaurant. The atmosphere is classy and intimate.

We started dinner with a fabulous bottle of red wine.

Then we ordered the mussels appetizer.

Then we split the wedge salad.

Next came the smoked stuffed duck special and the NY Strip. Excuse us while we take a bite or two before we take the pictures.

1/2 Duck Entree

most of the NY Strip Entree

The New Yorker- Midtown & Bar 115 has a unique menu and everything we tried was exceptional. Nice variety of appetizers on the menu. The atmosphere was upscale relaxing. Our waiter was knowledgeable about the menu and extremely helpful. Midtown & Bar 115 has moved to my Top 5 Best Restaurants in Raleigh list. I made the comment at dinner, that if my dad came to town, I would take him here. If you knew my dad, you would know that is a high compliment. I ordered the smoked duck special stuffed with mushrooms and asparagus. Unique and delicious, the caramelized onion as garnish was amazing. The sweet potato cheesecake I ordered for dessert sounded different but it was really good; creamy with a great sweet flavor. I’m looking forward to going back!

The Raleigh-ite- Midtown & Bar 115 is a great place for date night. Classy. Intimate. Romantic. Upscale. The wine, a suggestion from our server, was excellent especially after we let it breathe. The wedge salad that we split was basic but the dressing was rich and creamy. The mussels tasted fresh with a light, flavorful broth. I ordered the NY Strip steak on our server’s recommendation and it did not disappoint. The steak came with some kind of butter on top, which was insanely delicious and brought out the flavor of the rub on the steak. For dessert I ordered the aaple beignets and while they were good, they weren’t anything to write home about. All in all a great dinner.

Do over? We will definitely be back to Midtown & Bar 115, especially because we have another $60 living social dinner certificate. If you like Midtown & Bar 115 then try Vinnie’s Steakhouse.

11/6- We ordered one bottle of Bordeaux, 1 mussel appetizer, 1 wedge salad, 1 duck entree special, 1 ny strip, 1 sweet potato cheesecake and 1 order of apple beignets. Our total : $140 – $60 living social voucher = $80.

The Pit

eat2winraleigh — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:01:47 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
The Pit 328 W. Davie Street, Raleigh
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I haven’t posted in awhile, but after eating at this restaurant a couple nights ago with great friends visiting Raleigh from NY, I knew I had to post a review of The Pit. (They saw The Pit on TV and suggested we eat there.) The Pit is located in downtown Raleigh on West Davie Street in an old looking building. Once you step in side, you are greeted by the distinct, strong aroma of barbecuing meats. The decor is upscale, with white lights decorating the dining room and bar area. The pit master, Ed Mitchell, has been on the Food Network and has many other accolades. The menu is mostly typical bbq fare, with brisket, ribs, pulled pork and chicken. Great drink menu with different Bourbon choices along with a unique beer selection.

The Raleigh-ite – The appetizers we ordered were out of this world and I would definitely recommend them: Mini PBLTs (Pimento cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato biscuits) and Barbecue fries. I ordered the double plate with Carolina Ribs, Eastern Style Pork, creamed corn and broccoli and cauliflower casserole. The Carolina Ribs were delicious (although definitely fattier than typical baby back ribs) and the creamed corn was probably the best I’ve ever had. However, the broccoli and cauliflower casserole lacked flavor, and the Eastern style pork was a little too spicy for me. We ordered the Banana Pudding and Apple Pie for dessert. The Banana Pudding was insane (bananas, pudding and marshmallow) , and while I didn’t try the Apple Pie the rest of the table raved about it.

The NYer- I crave the smoked wings from the Pit; they aren’t fried or grilled, just delicious. Very filling but if you bring your appetite then the Pit will really satisfy you. Flavorful ribs. Sides are a little boring. The pork cheese fries are delicious. We met the owner; very cool since he was on the Food Network. Nice clean place with a good bar scene.

Do over? Absolutely! The Pit is the best place to go in Raleigh for eating traditional southern barbecue in a classy setting. But only when we want to eat a lot. The Pit isn’t on the diet plan.

Barbecue Fries

Mini PBLTs

We ordered: 1 20 oz beer, 1 10 oz beer, 1 Triple Meat plate, 1 Double Meat Plate, 1 Dessert , 1 Appetizer. Total : $76

The Loop Pizza Grill Review

eat2winraleigh — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:51:31 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
The Loop 8111 Tryon Woods Dr, Cary
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The Loop is located in Cary off Kildaire Farm road in the Kildaire Plaza shopping center and in Chapel Hill off Franklin street in the East Gate shopping center.

The New Yorker – Great variety of salads. Great portions. I didn’t like the chicken noodle soup at all–nothing special, tasted like it was out of a can.

The Raleigh-ite – The Loop is a good casual restaurant to go for a good salad and a decent sandwich. I like The Loop for dinner when I want to eat lighter. I like the Gorgonzola walnut salad, but it is kind of strange to me that it has sun dried tomatoes in it. The next time I order it, I’m going to ask for it without them, I think the fresh tomatoes taste better. The tomato soup is delicious; it’s very thick.

Do over? Will eat at the Loop again to try more of the menu. Want to try the pizza.

If you love a great salad like I do, try the salads at Daniels.

10/2/2009- We ate here for lunch and ordered: 1 Gorgonzola walnut salad, 1 Crispy Chicken salad, 1 Cup Tomato Bisque, 1 Cup Homestyle Chicken Noodle soup, 2 drinks. Total: $28.76

Ted’s Montana Grill

eat2winraleigh — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:50:34 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Ted’s Montana Grill 3701 Sumner Blvd, Raleigh
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UPDATE: Ted’s Montana Grill at Triangle Town Center has closed.

The New Yorker- Cool sports-bar-like atmosphere. Big stuffed bison head on one wall. The menu at Ted’s Montana Grill has a couple appetizers, a list of burgers that you can have beef or bison, and a couple cuts of steak that you can have beef or bison. The bison is more expensive but worth a try. The steak was good, had a nice intense flavor and was well cooked. Great baby asparagus.

The Raleigh-ite- Ted’s has a nice restaurant atmosphere, big booths. We had the crab cake appetizer, which was excellent. The crab cake has little breading, mostly crab with guacamole and coleslaw on the side. I ordered the blue cheese bison burger; it is huge! The bison burger had so much flavor. I’m not much of a burger eater, but this one is excellent. For dessert we had a chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream. The cookie was perfectly cooked–simple but good dessert. If you like Ted’s, then you should try Carolina Ale House for a more casual meal and Vinnie’s if you want to spend a little more for a steak.

Delmonico Ribeye Bison Steak

Ted's Blue Cheese Bison Burger

chocolate chip cookie with icecream

Do over? We will be back to Ted’s Montana Grill when we are near Triangle Town center and want a good burger/steak.

9/3/2009- We ordered: 1 Diet Coke, 1 glass Riesling, 1 St. Phillips crabcake appetizer, 2 wedge salads, 1 Blue Creek bison burger, 1 bison Delmonico ribeye, 1 chocolate chip cookie with icecream dessert. Total : $75.07

Cameron Bar & Grill Review

eat2winraleigh — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:32:59 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Cameron Bar & Grill 2018 Clark Ave, Raleigh
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Cameron Bar & Grill is located in the Cameron Village shopping center in Raleigh. There is a Cameron Bar & Grill coupon available on Restaurant.com.

The New Yorker- We ordered the grilled shrimp cocktail–light coleslaw with 5 grilled shrimp on a skewer. Perfect app, great seasoning on the shrimp. I ordered Chicken Parmesan with linguine and red sauce. The chicken was lightly breaded, not too fried, good flavor. Good portion for lunch–1 breast of chicken, if it was a dinner portion it would have been a little small.

The Raleigh-ite- We ate at Cameron Bar & Grill for lunch today. Great outdoor seating– very comfortable, nice outdoor furniture. Clean, simple but comfortable look to the inside. Upscale-ish menu. I ordered the Caprese salad. It was 3 tomatoes with mozzerella, balsamic vinigrette and a side of greens. It was a perfect, light lunch (if I was more hungry, this would have been too small). The balsamic has some interesting seasoning and was very good on the tomatoes.

Do over ? We will definitely be back to Cameron Bar & Grill; not a terribly exciting meal but good nonetheless.

*Tip*- Cameron Bar & Grill is currently listed on Restaurant.com. You can buy restaurant “gift certificates” or coupons to make your meal here a lot cheaper!

If you like Cameron Bar & Grill try Ruckus or the Carolina Ale House.

8/19/2009 – We ordered: 1 grilled shrimp cocktail, 1 caprese salad, 1 chicken parmigiana, 1 diet coke. Total : $29.47

9/29/2009- We ordered: 2 glasses of Merlot, 1 hlf lb shrimp appetizer, 1 cup vegetable soup, 1 caprese salad, 1 caesar side salad, 1 80z filet. Total: $62.26 ( We had a restaurant.com $25 off coupon so the total with the coupon was $37.26)

Grilled Shrimp appetizer

Caprese Salad

Chicken Parmesan

8 oz filet

Vinnie’s Steakhouse

eat2winraleigh — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:34:17 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Vinnie’s Steakhouse 7440 Six Forks Road, Raleigh
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Vinnie’s Steakhouse is located on Six forks road in north Raleigh across from Celebration at Six forks shopping center.

The New Yorker – Oysters very tasty. Salad- nice portion; we had them chopped and loved them. Steak was very flavorful & “prime” meat. Right price for the prime ribeye. Best steak I’ve had in Raleigh so far, if you like prime beef. (Prime is highest grade of meat.)

The Raleigh-ite – When we walked in to Vinnie’s we were not just greeted but welcomed by a VERY friendly hostess. We were lead to a private table for 2 in the back and as soon as we were seated a man brought us a deviled egg. This steakhouse makes you feel very well taken care of. Our waiter was excellent; he knew so much about the menu and was very doting the entire meal. I had a great filet cooked exactly how I ordered it. The house salad was excellent with a GREAT blue cheese dressing (light with chunks of blue cheese on top). The sides we ordered, asparagus and twice baked potato, were kinda mediocre compared to the rest of the meal. The twice baked potato had bacon but minimal amounts of cheese. The creme brulee was excellent–just the right consistency with fruit on top.

Do over? We will definitely be back to Vinnie’s; especially for a special occasion. We crave the steak. We also love Sullivan’s.

8/15/2009- We ordered: 1 glass of Moscato, 2 Bud Lights, 1 Oysters Rockefeller, 2 House Salads (chopped), 1 6 oz filet, 1 20 0z dry aged prime Delmonico ribeye, asparagus with hollandaise, twice baked potato, 1 coffee, 1 creme brulee. Total : $135.28

Prime Delmonico Ribeye

Red Hot & Blue Restaurant Review

eat2winraleigh — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:47:57 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Red Hot & Blue 6615 Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh
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UPDATE: The Red Hot and Blue on Hillsborough Street is CLOSED.

Red Hot & Blue has locations on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, near North Carolina State University and off of Falls of the Neuse Road in North Raleigh.

The New Yorker – I ate the 5 meat treat. All the meats were good at Red Hot & Blue, but the pork was probably the best. The ribs–the meat fell off the bone, but was slightly fatty. Sweet potato fries were delicious. A little pricey for lunch–they should have lunch specials.

The Raleigh-ite – Red Hot & Blue has a pleasant, spacious atmosphere for a bbq place. Large menu. I had the pulled pork sandwich which was delicious- pulled pork with cole slaw served on a bun. Potato salad was horrible– no flavor, completely bland. Kinda expensive for what it is.

Do over? Will go again to Red Hot & Blue, but we are in no rush. We would much rather go to The Pit.

8/13/09- We ordered 1 5 meat treat, house salad, 1 pulled pork sandwich, 1 diet coke. Total : $28.87

The Pit

Lilly’s Pizza

eat2winraleigh — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:46:26 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Lilly’s Pizza 1831 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh
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Lilly’s pizza is located in Raleigh on Glenwood Ave at the Five Points intersection.

The New Yorker – Lilly’s pizza has good pie. I had pepperoni & sausage. Good bread, thin crust. Tasty. Not NY pizza but in their own style it’s pretty good- good pizza joint. Authentic sauce– some secret ingredient, something sweet.

The Raleigh-ite – At Lilly’s I get Gorgonzola & tomatoes on my pizza and its phenomenal. They have a 2 slice deal + soda for lunch –$6 . The slices are huge so its a pretty good deal. Very good hole-in-the-wall- y place for lunch.

Do over? We will definitely be back for lunch. Can’t place why but I crave the pizza at Lilly’s. It’s different than the pizza at Daniels or Mellow Mushroom, but each of the pies are good in their own right.

Mo Joe’s Burger Joint

eat2winraleigh — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:18:03 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Mo Joe’s Burger Joint 620 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh
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Mo Joe’s is located on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh at the intersection of Glenwood and Peace Street. Mo Joe’s is right across the street from Mellow Mushroom. Small parking lot in the back. There are tables inside, tables in a covered porch area outside as well as some tables uncovered.

The New Yorker- Mo Joe’s has a nice fresh burger–not a frozen patty. If you are looking for a good burger and fries, definitely hit this place up.

The Raleigh-ite – Mo Joe’s is a great downtown Raleigh lunch restaurant, or casual place to hang out outside. The patio is right on Glenwood.We went for lunch today, and I ordered the blue cheese chicken burger and it was excellent–great flavor! Fries are pretty salty, onion rings have fairly thick breading but come with a flavorful dipping sauce. A cupcake from the Cupcake Shoppe, a couple blocks down Glenwood from Mo Joe’s, would be a great way to end this meal .

Do over? Love Mo Joe’s for a burger lunch or on a warm summer night.