by Kimberly | Jan 27, 2011 | food, restaurants, vegetarian
Unpretentious. Good food. Hopefully go back for the good wine. Good price. Good friend. What more could you ask for?
A friend and I celebrated hump day by taking advantage of Triangle Restaurant Week and went to a new place for us both, Vivace in North Hills. I will definitely pay a return (or two or three) visit!
They brought out delicious simple crusty bread slices with a white bean hummus type dip. Good, simple.
We both ordered the salad: spinach, dried apricots, slivered almonds, and a prosecco vinaigrette. Loved the attention of the dressing of the salad with the light vinaigrette and the sweetness (but not overwhelming) dried apricots. Maybe the hand was heavy on the pecorino cheese, just a bit salty.
I ordered the pizza, minus the chicken since I’m going meatless. The presentation was flawless, brought out on a wooden cutting board. Thin crispy-edged pizza with olive oil, goat cheese, roasted garlic, pear, and red onion. Simple. Mastered. I took one bought, slouched back on my cushioned-seat, and sighed. Good food. Such a pleasure.
My friend got the mussels in white wine sauce and linguini. I tasted a mussel and tried some of the sauce. Splendid. And both meals provided us leftovers.
Dessert: cappuccino panna cotta with raspberry puree (dotted with 3 chocolate covered espresso beans) and biscotti. Everything was good, nothing oh my goodness stellar (like the pizza). I enjoyed it. Brown colored desserts are not easy to photograph. But, neither of us (my friend nor I) are HUGE coffee fans and we both enjoyed it!
So. My plan: return for a visit. Go late at night with a friend who wants to split a pizza, a glass of something, and sit there and talk, oh for hours.
And we had attentive wait staff and an enjoyable time! Thank you Vivace. Enjoy the photos.
by Kimberly | Jan 27, 2011 | chocolate, food, restaurants, Uncategorized
In the middle of the Brightleaf Square corridor sits a little cafe that serves desserts and real food.
I spend 4 hours there on Sunday, taking pictures, talking w a dear friend, and sipping on an espresso macchiato.
The cake we chose was moist, texture-perfect, and delicious. I could have easily eaten the entire cylindrical – goodness, but I shared, like a good girl. We chose the coconut tres leche cake and the toasted coconut on the outside was supreme. The filling of the tres leche cake was rich and pale yellow taste-bud delight with every bite.
They serve many other beautiful creations and then have a full menu as well. You can sit there for hours and have no one bother you. And they have refills on their coffee – serve your own. So, I’ll definitely be heading back there, especially when it gets warmer and I can sit outside.
Finds like Amelia’s are what makes Durham a great place to eat!
Only negative: their photos both on their website and menu need help. Hey folks at Amelia’s: I’m available. Contact me!
by Kimberly | Jan 22, 2011 | food, restaurants
Nestled in the South Park neighborhood of the Queen City, NC’s largest city, sits Red Rocks Cafe Bar & Bakery. I would just call it good food.
A friend and I decided to meet up there on my recent overnight trip to Charlotte. We were anticipating a long wait, but got in there and were the next ones to be seated. Perfect!
So many delicious finds on the menu: appetizers (including parmesan potato cakes), salads (including my dinner of a large Greek salad with salmon), steaks, pasta, fish, sandwiches: if you are hungry – they have something to fill your tummy.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive. We were told her we were in a hurry and she was on top of things. We placed our order, specifically under-cooking our salmon – and probably 8 minutes later, both of our meals were on our table. My friend was gracious enough to let me snap a few photos, then we dug in.
The salmon was perfectly cooked: slightly crispy on the outside, slightly underdone on the inside. The result: smooth, moist salmon full of flavor. The dill sauce on my friend’s salmon was lemony and seasoned perfectly. Not too much, not too little dill.
Then came the Oreo cheesecake. Usually, you can’t go wrong with splitting cheesecake. My only fault for the whole evening was I thought the cheesecake needed some more sugar, because it tasted too cream cheese, the perfect balance wasn’t there. But, the chocolate sauce and oreos improved it 100%
Ambiance: check. Wait staff: check. Price: 10-20$ per entree. Parking: no problem. Food: double check.
by Kimberly | Jan 14, 2011 | chocolate, food, restaurants
I think every other cupcake business in Wilmington needs to just close up shop and that Coastal Cupcakes needs to bake more cupcakes.
Best cupcake I’ve had, hans down. I’ve had cupcakes in Chicago, RDU, Publix (which are a favorite of mine), TN, CO. Cupcake bakeries and “shoppes” are all the rage right now, so there seems to be one on every corner. They do it right!
A friend and I share the coconut with cream cheese icing and coconut on top. The most moist, fall apart, not dry at all cupcake. Flavorful and just melt in your mouth. Most cupcakes I’ve tasted in bakeries taste like they are frozen. I would have though these were baked right before we walked in (though the icing wasn’t melting, so I know they weren’t). The coconut wasn’t hard. The cream cheese frosting was just bliss.
I would love to have tried all of them, and the shop clerk that day was so kind and gracious to let me come behind the counter to not have the glass in all the pictures!
Thank you Coastal Cupcakes! Keep baking! I will return!
by Kimberly | Jan 14, 2011 | food, restaurants, vegetarian
This place came highly recommended and it is out of the downtown area, so parking is not a problem.
1. Great decor.
2. Low-key (yes, I know it was the off season)
3. Had a great waitress who allowed us to stay there pretty much as long as we wanted (a little over 2 hours)
4. Bottomless free chips and salsa (a must for any good Mexican restaurant)
5. The best restaurant salsa I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot.
6. First time with Mexican sushi (ok, not really, but look at the picture, doesn’t it look like sushi). I had the Cabo: blackened shrimp and avocado. Nuf said!
7. Homemade, fresh, daily, corn tortillas.
8. And many vegetarian options, which I definitely liked.
In my opinion, a little overpriced for mexican, but not outrageous. And definitely well worth it.
