eat2winraleigh » Outdoor Seating

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

State Farmers Market Restaurant

eat2winraleigh — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:02:51 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
State Farmer’s Market Restaurant 1240 Farmer’s Market Rd, Raleigh
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State Farmers Market Restaurant is located off Lake Wheeler road in Raleigh near North Carolina State University campus. It’s a free-standing building across from Farmers Market.

The New Yorker- BEST breakfast in town (so far). Great atmosphere. Great service. We put our name on the list for a table (there were lots of people waiting), but ended up sitting at the counter after only about 10 minutes. Waiter, Todd, very friendly and helpful. Very fast order, hot delicious biscuits to start. I ordered Cousin Syd’s big boy omelette; it was reschmickulous (absolutely ridiculous)! Well cooked–perfect. Ordered 1 pancake to try–it was great just as I suspected.

The Raleigh-ite – The State Farmer’s Market restaurant is a great, very low-key place. Great atmosphere–the waiters all wear overalls, and they have farmers market themed murals on the walls. I ordered chicken salad and it was mostly chicken with celery and onions. NOT like other chicken salads with minimal chicken and lots of mayo. If you want a good country breakfast–this is your restaurant. Or try Brigs.

Do over? Can’t wait to go back for their omelettes!

8/16/2009- We ordered: 1 diet coke, Cousin Syds big boy omelette, Garden salad with chicken salad, 1 pancake. Total: $25.18

Cousin Syd's Big Boy Omelette

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

Taverna Agora

eat2winraleigh — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:02:24 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Taverna Agora 6101 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh
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Taverna Agora is located in a free-standing building on Glenwood Avenue in North Raleigh across from the Pleasant Valley shopping center. The parent company of Taverna Agora, LM Restaurants, also owns the Carolina Ale House chain.

The New Yorker – Great Greek meal. Very fresh. Great spinach pie. Salad was excellent. Fresh traditional Greek salad without lettuce. Salad included fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, feta etc. Warm bread with great lemon/olive oil dip. Lamb shank was ridiculous– so tender, fell right off the bone. Taverna Agora was not as I expected. I thought it was going to be more like what I’m used too-such as Gyro / Gyro on top of Greek salad with yogurt sauce. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised.

The Raleigh-ite – Taverna Agora has a great atmosphere, especially outside. They have a wonderful porch with white lights, lots of flowers and a fountain (you can kind of see Glenwood Ave from the porch, but you can probably block it out or maybe it’s what you like!) . The salad and spinach pie appetizer were great, but I didn’t love the chicken with orzo. It had lots of tomatoes, and lots of orzo, a small amount of chicken and it tasted too much like spaghetti for me to enjoy it. The lemon/olive oil bread dip was phenomenal. I will definitely be back though for the lovely porch and terrific salad.

7/25/2009- We ordered: 2 glasses of Riesling, 1 Diet Coke, Spinach Pie Appetizer, Village Salad, Chicken with Orzo, Braised Lamb Shank. Total: $67.18

Do over? We will be back to Taverna Agora especially if we are in the North Raleigh-Glenwood Ave area.

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.

Mellow Mushroom

eat2winraleigh — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:04:02 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Mellow Mushroom 601 W. Peace Street, Raleigh
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Mellow Mushroom is located on Peace Street at the intersection of Peace Street and Glenwood Avenue in downtown Raleigh.

The New Yorker - Mellow Mushroom is one of the best pizza places I’ve been to since I’ve been down here. We had meatball & pepperoni pizza. Thin, crisp, crust. Mmm. Great place for lunch. Outside seating.

The Raleigh-ite – Mellow Mushroom is one of my favorite places to go for lunch during the Summer–they have a great outdoor patio right on Glenwood. I love the Hawaiian pizza here–something about the little bit of sweetness in the crust makes the pineapple on pizza a great combo. Summer nights–great place for margaritas.

Do over? When in the mood for pizza or to sit outside and drink margaritas—we will definitely be back to Mellow Mushroom. We also like Lilly’s Pizza for pie in downtown Raleigh.

Top of the Hill Restaurant Review

eat2winraleigh — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:23:12 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Top of the Hill 100 E Franklin St. #3
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Top of the Hill is located on the corner at the intersection of Franklin street and Columbia street in Chapel Hill. Top of the Hill is on the 3rd floor of the building. If you want to watch an important UNC basketball game here you must either show up really early before the game, or sometimes they hand out tickets for tables later in the day to a line of people at 11am (depends on the game). Inside the restaurant is a dining area and a bar and there is an outside area to dine/drink overlooking Franklin street.

The New Yorker – OK food. Nothing exceptional. The view of downtown Chapel Hill is the reason to eat at Top of the Hill.

The Raleigh-ite – Top of the Hill is a great place to watch a game. The food here is just mediocre. The beer is good; they brew it themselves. I love the Blueberry Wheat beer they have. Had burger & chicken sandwich- both average. Great view if sitting outside.

Do over? Would definitely visit Top of the Hill again to watch a UNC game, not just for the meal.

Black & Blue Burger

Grilled Grouper Po Boy

Carolina Ale House

eat2winraleigh — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:17:16 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Carolina Ale House 2240 Walnut Street, Cary; 7981 Skyland Ridge, Raleigh
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The Carolina Ale House has several locations: Crossroads shopping center in Cary, Brier Creek shopping center in Raleigh, Falls of the Neuse road in North Raleigh, in Durham on Chapel Hill boulevard, and in Wake Forest near the Highway 98 bypass and US1. The Ale House is part of the LM family of restaurants, the same company that owns the Greek restaurant ,Taverna Agora, in North Raleigh.

The New Yorker – We always have good food when we eat at the Carolina Ale House. This past time I had a rack of ribs, very good. House salad isn’t skimpy– lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and croutons. Excellent wings. The Carolina Ale House in Cary is a great place to watch a game, especially if you are in the crossroads shopping center.

The Raleigh-ite – Carolina Ale House is great–great fries, great appetizers. My favorite meal to order is the chicken tender basket (it comes with fries and a side salad). Normally I’m a blue cheese dressing kind of girl, but here I like the Ranch. Its not too thick with a great flavor. Love watching games here, always have a good meal. Outdoor area (Cary Ale House location) –heated during the winter, and they have the fans going during the summer. Huge bar with video games and pool tables. Great place for happy hour; good beer specials. Always great service- even with a lot of people the servers always manage to keep the tabs straight. They have a $2 Ale house red which is an excellent full-flavored beer.

Do over? We are Carolina Ale House weekly regulars.

7/04/09: We ordered 3 Heineken Lights, 1 Full rack baby back ribs w/ onion strings, 1 chicken tender basket. Total: $42.34

Daniel’s

eat2winraleigh — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:49:15 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Daniel’s 1430 NC Hwy 55 W, Apex
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Daniel’s is located in Apex right off Hwy 55. Daniels is a freestanding building with inside and outside dining areas. They have a sister restaurant in Fuquay-Varina.

We ate here for the first time last night. Daniel, the owner, was there and we met him. Dan wanted to talk NY with him, of course, and he told us he moved down here in 1992.

The New Yorker – Chicken Parmesan was very close to what you get in NY. Best salad I have had down here (Greek salad). We will be back. They serve bread at the beginning of the meal with a side of red sauce. I LOVE that. Probably, because I’m obsessed with red sauce. Daniel’s is my favorite Cary pizza and my favorite Italian restaurant in the Cary area.

The Raleigh-ite – I didn’t love my entree (penne alla casa), but I did LOVE the salad I ordered (it was on the specials menu, fresh white corn summer salad). The sauce on the entree was very rich, making it hard to eat very much. The salad had such a great flavor, white corn, tomatoes and an awesome dressing.

Antipasti salad, in my opinion, is not nearly as good as the corn summer salad, but it was still a decent salad. Good sized, fresh greens, nice light dressing. Chicken Piccatta has a very light wine sauce–kinda runny but tasty. I like that you can order the dishes with vegetables instead of pasta to cut down on the calories/carbs.

Do over? The New Yorker is willing to drive to Apex (15 minutes from where we live in Cary ) for Daniels, the Raleigh-ite is not (well, at least not without the summer salad).

7/11/2009- We ordered: 2 glasses of Riesling, 1 glass of Merlot, Greek Salad, Special Salad, Penne alla Casa, Chicken Parmesan, Side Meat Balls, Tiramisu. Total : $73.76

7/15/2009- We ordered (takeout): Greek Salad, Antipasti Salad, Chicken Parmesean with Broccoli (instead of pasta) , Chicken Piccata with Broccoli, 1 side of sausage. Total: $50.59

Ba-Da Wings Review

eat2winraleigh — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:14:30 +0000

Raleigh Restaurant Review
Ba-Da Wings 2161 Avent Ferry Rd, Raleigh
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Ba-Da Wings is located in the Mission Valley shopping center near NC State University in Raleigh. Ba-Da wings is separated into a small restaurant on one side of the building and Ba-Da Bar on the other side. Outside there are cornhole boards and a couple tables.

The New Yorker – Wings are definitely 4 star. Great variety of sauces. They aren’t breaded which I like. If you are a wing guy- you’ll like the place. Ba-Da Wings carries “The Love” beer and is one of the only places you can find this wheat beer. “The Love” ,a banana hefeweizen, is my current favorite beer. If you are a wing guy like me, also try the smoked wings at The Pit.

The Raleigh-ite – Ba-Da bar is a great small sports bar to watch a game. Nice TV setup. The wings at Ba-Da are good, 22 unique flavor choices, but not spectacular. Wild Carolina BBQ and Honey Terriyaki are my favorite. The rest of the menu is OK, but not great.

Do Over? Regular, local Raleigh sports bar for us. Ba-Da is a quick meal with great beer specials.