Vegas gets the Cake...topper!

I just love this ad. No need for words!

Triangle Food Tour

If you are new to any area I suggest trying a foodie tour. A good tour guide will take you to the best places to eat. And you will gain an over whelming knowledge of the area.

For around 30-40 bucks per person, you will get to sample food and beverages at over 11 restaurants and bakeries.

I recommend taking the tour on Saturdays when most of the restaurants are open. The group on Saturdays are also much larger. With a larger crowd, this may mean a larger variety of food.

Our tour guide was very well versed in the history of RTP and culture. On the tour my extended family was in town and we had a great afternoon learning about downtown and eating glorius food! Here are our favorite picks:

Morning Times Coffee Shop - excellent iced chai

Pharaoh's American Grill- I love to go here for lunch. Always good and reasonably priced fast food.

Big Ed's - Everything is made fresh. My favorite is their banana pudding.

The duck and dumpling- A bit pricey but fabulous and beautiful food crafted to perfection.

The Square Rabbit- Forget posh decorations. It's all about a bakery with excellent sweets and good eats.

BBQ in NC

I love BBQ!!! Since we moved to North Carolina, I have had the pleasure of trying out NC style BBQ. The sauce is commonly prepared with a vinegar base. I prefer Texas BBQ which is prepared with a tomato brown sugar base. I have to admit I am not a fan of dry ribs or the foreign vinegar sauce. There was only one place that made the best ribs and has closed down. http://hawgwildsmokehouse.com/default.aspx Hawg wild smokehouse I will miss your sweet potato pie, tender chicken and sweet wet Texas style ribs!

Coopers BBQ: This may be the best place to go if you like pulled pork with vinegar BBQ sauce and don't mind the casual dining atmosphere. My only complaint is the restroom is in the kitchen and well; I don't like vinegar style BBQ sauce. We have eaten this of style BBQ in several places around NC. The meat at Coopers' is definitely the juiciest. However, since I am not a fan of vinegar BBQ sauce so we won't be going back. But if you like pulled pork, eat here. And their staff is always super friendly.

Holy Smokes BBQ: This restaurant is located in Raleigh in an old diner. They offer ribs with a dry rub, brisket and much more. While you wait in their cafeteria style line, you may receive a small sample of meat. I received a sample of their brisket. It was fatty, tender and overall delicious. Please be warned that you may not receive quality service here if you order over the phone or order take out. Thus, I recommend your visit to Holy Smokes be a dining in experience. There is a foodie culture here you must adhere to when it comes to ordering your food. In other words, order your food exactly to what the menu reads. Adym and I really loved their potato salad. It was the best potato salad we have ever eaten. It tasted very fresh and delightfully seasoned. My quest for good BBQ is never over. So please feel free to comment if you think there is a place we should try in the RTP.

Chapel Hill Adventure

There are two places you must try when in Chapel Hill:

The first is http://www.topofthehillrestaurant.com/. They brew their own beer here. Our favorite is their blueberry beer. I love to eat their brunch salmon and bagels. However, any thing you order will be fresh, delicious and delivered with friendly accurate service.

For desert you must go to http://www.sugarlandchapelhill.com/.

This bakery has the best sweets and awesome gelato. This is actually where my brother's girlfriend, Sarah had her internship.

Perhaps when she is a famous food network star I can say that we were there in the beginning. :)

Until next time, Cheers!

Abbey Road Bar and Grill

Abbey Road and Grill is hands down the best burgers in Cary. The atmosphere is a rock 'n roll bar dive feel with down right good food. Adym and I like to order their burgers with a side of cheesy fries.

They mean business when it comes to how rare you want your burger cooked. So if you want a rare burger, your best bet is to ask for medium rare. They never over cook our burgers. Thus, I equate this to good service. Their burgers are Juicy and greasy.

These burgers are big and filling. Adym and always say we should share a burger but we never do. Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs!

And lastly, I reccomend you down all the yummy food with Ace Apple Cider.

Until next time, Cheers!

Biltmore House

A few months ago my friend Elizabeth came to NC to visit. She is a history buff. So this adventure Takes us to the Biltmore house in Asheville, North Carolina. http://www.biltmore.com/










Ticket prices range from 12 to 50 per person depending on the kind of tour. Since it took us four hours of driving to get from RTP to Asheville, we decided to go on the full house tour.










There are several restaurants on the land as well as a winery. We ran out of time and did not get a change to visit the winery. However, we did have time for a lovely dinner at the Bistro. Their website is: http://www.biltmore.com/visit/dining/bistro/

I ordered the duck. I have had duck in many places (from New York, Texas and North Carolina). My brother and I believe that if a restaurant can not make decent duck, then the chef should be retrained! This goes on my list as one of the best prepared ducks I have ever eaten! The skin was crispy and the meat itself was pink in the center. Cooked to perfection! For dessert I drank Riesling recommended by our server and ate creme brulee. The service was friendly, informative, accurate and the food was excellent.

This was definitely an expensive trip for us. If you plan visiting Biltmore, be prepared to spend a lot of money. However, it is well worth the experience! You have got to see the breathtaking views, artwork, lush grounds, and all the other wonderful things Biltmore has to offer.

It was a fun day for Elizabeth and I! Hopefully in the near future I can take Adym to the Biltmore house. Not only is it a nice place to take your friends and kids, it is also great place for romantic get away.

Chatham Hill Winery

This foodie adventure takes us back to the Chatham Winery with Sarah. We visited a few months ago.

The first thing you will see when you walk in is the bar. Go striaght to it for your wine tasting. For more details click on the logo of go to
http://www.chathamhillwine.com/

They will give you a wine list with the prices.

You will get to try what they have availiable that day.

Here are a few things that we tasted and liked:

Prices are resonable ranging from 12 to 20 a bottle. They also sell by the case.

2005 Merlot -medium body and not heavy

Pomegranate - light and fruity

Blackberry,

Blueberry -sweet and tangy, nice blueberry tone

Rasberry - sweet and fruity

2006 Viognier - Wonderfully buttery white wine

Hope you all get a chance to go for a tasting if you live in the area. It certainly is a treat to be had. Until next time, Cheers!

Veitnamese & Chinese Food in North Carolina RTP area

Vietnamese Food

As I am from more of a Vietnamese background, Adym and I have been on the search for really good Vietnamese food. Everything I have ordered at these two places have been moderately priced.

I definitely can’t give you any sort of star ratings because these are mom and pop places which I consider yummy hole in the wall food fair.

Pho Cali
3310 Capital BlvdRaleigh, NC 27604(919) 862-8900

Pho Cali is the best for authentic Vietnamese food in the area. Everything I have eaten here has been the best in RTP. If you have eaten Vietnamese food in New York, San Francisco or Houston you will find that it is not up to par. However, everything I have eaten on their menu is really good. I love the Bo Kho and Com Suong.

Dalat Oriental Restaurant
2109 Avent Ferry Rd # 110Raleigh, NC 27606(919) 832-7449
Adym and I haven’t eaten here in a few months but I would definitely recommend you order all foods as take out and enjoy at home. Their food is pretty good and at a fair price for the area.

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Dim Sum (Brunch)

The best place to eat dim sum that we have tried is http://www.neo-china.com/.
If you have eaten dim sum in New York then you may not think this is up to snuff as a competitor. However, if you live in RTP this is definitely the place to go. They make everything a little different than you would expect. However, it will definitely cure some cravings for dim sum dishes. Also I love to eat the egg custard dessert. Their egg custard is just as good as the egg custard I have eaten in New York. It makes me feel like a kid again.
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Chinese Food
And finally for the best Chinese Food I STRONGLY recommend The Duck and Dumpling. This place is not a hole in the wall and a bit pricey. It is fusion food. So do not expect traditional Chinese fair. The cucumber soup, squash soup, dumplings and scallops are roll your eyes in the back of your head good. Everything is always plated beautifully and made to perfection! It's so good, I have to compare it to the best Chinese food I have eaten in New York as a kid. There service here is friendly and prompt. This is a 5 out of 5 for everything!

Thanksgiving

This thanksgiving we had a quiet dinner with Sarah and Adym. Sarah was in town for an internship.

I would like to thank her for coming over cooking and joining us on our first Thanksgiving away from home.

My turkey turned out a little dry on top. But the bottom parts were so moist.

This is Sarah in the Kitchen cooking up a wonderfully, flaky cheese stuffed baked Brie.

Sarah also made a yummy pumkin pie which took us less than four days to eat!




Adym made some green beans with garlic. It was seasoned to perfection. Adym also made a really delicious turkey Gravy.

It was a lovely dinner. My mom kept telling me my turkey is better than the one they ordered. And I missed Adym's mom's dressing. Boy I miss their home cooking! It makes me a bit homesick. However, we will be home for Christmas.

Happy holidays everyone!