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Bella Monica

eat2winraleigh — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:00:01 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Bella Monica 3121 Edwards Mill Road, Raleigh
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We ate at Bella Monica last Wednesday on a whim. We were planning on eating at either Champa or Los Tres, our go-to weeknight restaurant favorites, and at the last minute decided to try Bella Monica. Bella Monica has been on our list to try for awhile, because of recent recommendations by good friends and we had heard it was some of the best Italian in Raleigh. Bella Monica didn’t disappoint! We got to the restaurant at 7:30 on a Wednesday night and the place was slammed; we knew it was gonna be good then!

Bella Monica is located on Edwards Mill in the Olde Raleigh Village shopping center. The restaurant is small, but with a cozy upscale atmosphere and while we did have to wait 20 minutes, the service was excellent–we never felt forgotten!

On another note, Bella Monica does have a gluten-free menu for those looking for it.

After we sat down and ordered excellent glasses of red wine, they brought out bread.

We ordered a Crab flatbread appetizer on the host’s recommendation.

And then we had Caeser Salad (came with the entrées we ordered).

And for our entrées we ordered Bella Monica’s house specialty, Baked Ziti, and Chicken Balsamico.

Chicken Balsamico

Baked Ziti

The Raleigh-ite: Bella Monica is one of my new favorite restaurants! All of the dishes we saw in the restaurant looked outstanding. I don’t normally like red sauce pasta dishes, and I loved the Baked Ziti. It really is phenomenal. The service was excellent, the atmosphere cozy, the wine delicious and the food tasty. Can’t wait to go back!

The New-Yorker: When we arrived, and we were looking around at the food on the other patrons’ tables, I noticed the Baked Ziti served in the dish it was baked in. I love that. I also loved that the Baked Ziti was really cooked on top, almost burned. To me, that really amps up the flavor. Our waitress told us that the Baked Ziti recipe has been passed down from one of the owners grandmothers. It’s listed as one of the favorites from Nana’s kitchen. We had a good time with the manager, Trevor. He sat with us and talked about the restaurant, and I love that. Bella Monica was a great experience.

Do Over? Definitely. Can’t wait to go back.

We visited Bella Monica 1/12/2011 and ordered 2 glasses of wine, the Crab Flatbread appetizer, Baked Ziti, meatballs, and Chicken Balsamico. Our total was $69.57.

Bella Italia Restaurant Review

618 Bistro Review

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

Raleigh Restaurant Review
618 Bistro 4035 Lake Boone Trail, Raleigh
Overall Rating:
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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.

Yuri Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar Review

eat2winraleigh — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:36:49 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Yuri Japanese Restaurant 1361 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary
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Yuri Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar is the new restaurant located in the Shoppes of Kildaire at the corner of Kildaire Farm Rd and Cary Parkway in Cary. The inside is sparse but nice. Nicer than you would expect in the middle of a strip mall.

We went to Yuri for the first time on Saturday night and went back on Monday night. Both times we sat at the Sushi Bar and were very impressed.

We ordered the Sushi Sampler and Potstickers.

Sushi Sampler

Then we ordered some rolls.

Philly Roll

Spicy Dragon Roll

Tango Roll

These are on the deep fried section of the sushi roll menu.

Tornado Roll

Las Vegas Roll

And then when we were about to leave on Saturday night, our server insisted we try the fresh Toro.

fresh Toro

And then Monday night when we were stuffed to the gills, the Sushi chef prepared us this Firecracker roll. And since we are polite people, we ate it.

Firecracker Roll

The New Yorker- Yuri might be my new favorite sushi restaurant in Cary. I love Mura and Sono and this is right there with them in terms of the sushi. I could eat at Yuri every night. It’s local for us (in Cary) and is near our favorite yogurt place, Skinny Dip. It’s in a nice shopping center. The pieces of sushi are fresh, big and delicious. The rolls, especially the house special rolls, are big and they have a huge selection of them. I haven’t eaten anything that wasn’t great here yet, and they even have different varieties of rolls that I’ve never had before. In terms of the sauces, the spicy mayo and the spicy wasabi sauce are exactly what I’m looking for, like I used to eat in NY.

The Raleigh-ite: We ate at the sushi bar and the sushi chef’s and the servers were very friendly and helpful. The potstickers were delicious. Yuri’s menu is extensive; they have hibachi, and lots of sushi roll options. They have house rolls, deep fried rolls and classic rolls. I would definitely recommend the Hawaiian Roll (California roll with avocado and tuna on top) and the Tornado roll. The Tornado is a deep fried shrimp tempura roll with avocado, potato string, sweet sauce and spicy mayo and it was OUTSTANDING. The other deep fried rolls that we tried, the Las Vegas and the Firecracker, I didn’t love because they were really heavy. All of the sauces are really great here– the spicy mayo, the wasabi sauce, the sweet sauce. The Tango roll is one of their most popular rolls; it is shrimp tempura and crab meat with avocado and tuna on top with four special sauces.

Yuri has restaurant coupons on their website. 15 % off your entire bill seems to be the best one.

Do Over? Absolutely! Yuri is great Cary sushi! Went 3 times that week!

11/13- We ordered 1 diet coke, 2 glasses of Riesling, the Sushi Sampler appetizer, the Potstickers, the Spicy Dragon Roll, the Philadelphia Roll, the Tornado Roll and two pieces of Toro. Our total was $76.02.

11/15- We ordered 1 diet coke, the Sushi Sampler appetizer, the Spicy Tuna roll, the Tango roll, the Las Vegas Roll and the Hawaiian roll. Our total was $54.

Spring Rolls

eat2winraleigh — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:47:06 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Spring Rolls 4361 Lassiter at North Hills Ave, Ste 100, Raleigh
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We bought a $30 gift certificate to Spring Rolls on Living Social (group buying site) and so tonight we went there for dinner to check it out. Spring Rolls opened in the North Hills area in North Raleigh four months ago; the restaurant is located near the Moe’s, Ruth’s Chris & Ethan Allen. Spring Rolls has a chic atmosphere with contemporary decor. They have a size-able cocktail menu and an Asian Fusion food menu, with traditional Chinese & Thai offerings.

We started out with the Saigon Spring Rolls and BBQ Spare Ribs.

Saigon Spring Rolls

BBQ Spare Ribs

And then the NYer had wonton soup.

Wonton Soup

We shared the Pad Thai Chicken and the Mongolian Beef entrees.

Chicken Pad Thai

Mongolian Beef

And finally we split a Strawberry Bubble Tea. (We had never had Bubble tea before this.)

The Raleigh-ite– I personally LOVE Asian Fusion cuisine and this was fairly good. It’s no Mura (also located in the North Hills shopping center) but it’s less expensive and better for a weeknight. The spring rolls were light and I loved the peanut sauce they were served with. The BBQ spare ribs weren’t quite as tender as I expected, but they were served with a good duck sauce, so they were tasty. Spring Rolls’ “Famous Pad Thai” has very thin rice noodles and was good, but the flavor was semi-lackluster. I prefer Champa’s Thai food. I topped it with some soy sauce, and that gave it just the flavor pick me up it needed. The Mongolian Beef had great flavor, and I loved the onions it came with. I’ve never had Bubble Tea before and I wasn’t impressed with the one we had here. So I’m not sure if I don’t love Bubble Tea or if I don’t love the Bubble Tea from Spring Rolls. We told our very helpful waiter not to add any sugar to it, so I’m not sure if that would have made it better. We had a great waiter, but we were one of only 5 occupied tables on a Monday night.

The NYer- Spring Rolls has a nice atmosphere in North Hills. Great tasting Wonton Soup. Flavorful Pad Thai. Seems like a big menu with plenty of choices. Service was excellent.

If you love Chinese, try Five Star.

Do Over? Definitely. It’s the right price for a weeknight meal, especially with the living social deal I purchased.

11/2- We ordered- Saigon Spring Rolls, BBQ Spare Ribs, Wonton Soup, Strawberry Bubble Tea, Pad Thai Chicken, Mongolian Beef, 1 Diet Coke. Total : $50.50 (We had $30 off of this price)

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

Mambo Italiano

eat2winraleigh — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:16:14 +0000

The Apex Italian restaurant Mambo Italiano is located on West Williams street in the old Cinelli’s space.

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Mambo Italiano 770 W. Williams Street, Apex
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We first stopped into Mambo Italiano as part of our never ending mission to find the best Italian restaurant in Cary, a restaurant that has good Italian food like you can get in New York. We stopped in in the afternoon and met the owners; they are a couple from Long Island. Mambo Italiano has a family style menu and we ordered a couple of appetizers to bring with us to our friends’ house on Saturday night. We ordered the cold antipasto appetizer, the hot antipasto appetizer and the fried zucchini. The hot antipasto appetizer has eggplant rolletini, baked clams and stuffed mushrooms (wouldn’t recommend the clams but the other two were good).

We have since visited Mambo Italiano for dinner, and it’s a great place for a meal with friends or family. On the weekends, sometimes, they have live music. On our most recent dinner visit we took pictures to share with eat2winraleigh.

We ordered the Veal Milanese and the Chicken Marsala individual portion entrees. Mambo Italiano has family style and individual portion entrees on the menu.

Veal Milanese

Chicken Marsala

And for dessert, we had the made in- house cannoli.

Cannoli

The Raleigh-ite: I have ordered the eggplant parmesan and the chicken marsala at Mambo and they are both good meals. The highlight for me though, hands down, is the house red wine. Wow, its outstanding. A fruity wine, but still has a deep red texture. Mmmm. And its cheap. The brocoli rabe, and the freshly prepared cannoli are yummy also.

The NYer- Mambo Italiano is tied with Daniel’s Italian restaurant as one of my favorite places to go for Italian food in the Cary area. The Italian food is fresh home cooking; the owner’s wife is the chef. She makes very fresh cannoli’s; who doesn’t love cannoli’s ? Very busy restaurant with live music.

Do Over? We go to Mambo’s frequently because it is close to where we live in Cary and the NYer likes their red sauce. Also, because they have Restaurant.com coupons to make the meal cheaper than a lot of restaurants in Raleigh!

Red Room Tapas Lounge

eat2winraleigh — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:33:40 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Red Room Tapas Lounge Address
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The Red Room Tapas Lounge is located in Raleigh on Glenwood Ave.

The New Yorker- I’m not used to this tapas-style eating, but it’s great to be able to eat a variety for dinner. The charcuterie is excellent, similar to an Italian antipasto appetizer. Great presentation on all the dishes. Especially enjoyed the eggplant roulade.

The Raleigh-ite- We ate at Red Room on Monday when all the small plate tapas are 1/2 price, so this was GREAT risk/reward!! Red Room has a great contemporary atmosphere, with comfortable tables, chairs and a great vibe. I ordered the raspberry green tea sangria and it was excellent; a great, sweet, twist on sangria! The Tuna Tartar has a great mustard-y sauce mixed in with the tuna. The Steak Churrasco is a little chewy but has great flavor. The fried banana dessert is insane, I highly suggest you order it. The fried banana is served with caramel and icecream.

Spanish Charcuterie

Tuna Tartar

Do over? We will definitely be back to Red Room for tapas, either on a night out drinking or on a Sunday or Monday for the great half priced tapas deal!

We reviewed Red Room Tapas Lounge on 9/21/09- We ordered- 2 Raspberry green tea sangrias, 2 mothership wit beers, 1 Spanish charcuterie (1/2 off), 1 Tuna Tartar (1/2 off) , 1 spinach dip (1/2 off), 1 steak churrasco (1/2 off) , 1 fried green beans (1/2 off), 1 eggplant roulade (1/2 off) , 1 fried banana. Total: $64.11

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

Waraji Restaurant Review

eat2winraleigh — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:19:40 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Waraji 5910 Duraleigh Rd, Raleigh
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Waraji is located off Duraleigh road in North Raleigh near the intersection of Duraleigh road and Glenwood avenue.

The New Yorker- Good sushi. Fresh. Like the shrimp tempura roll and beef negimaki. Still prefer Sono/Mura for sushi.

The Raleigh-ite – Waraji is a good place to go for takeout, or if you don’t feel like getting dressed up but want decent sushi. We ate Waraji last night and sat at the sushi bar. The restaurant is kinda small but does have some traditional Japanese seating. The sushi chef was very friendly and attentive along with the waitress. The spider roll was kinda mushy but the shrimp tempura was flavorful with the right texture. I prefer simple rolls here.

Do over? We would eat Waraji again if we are in the area and don’t feel like dressing up or driving far. But, we prefer Sono or Mura for sushi. Or, if you are in the North Raleigh area, Champa Thai and Sushi.

8/14/2009- We ordered Kirin light 22 oz, Diet Pepsi, Beef Negimaki, Shrimp Tempura roll, Spider roll, Mary roll, Hurricane roll. Total: $53.30