Recent Dining Experiences

In the past several weeks, I've had the chance to eat twice in Clayton at Skylines Cafe (http://skylinescafe.com/), as well as go to Fleming's (http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com/) in Raleigh.  Without full reviews, I'll offer a couple of thoughts on both places...

Skylines

While Clayton is light in nicer restaurants, Skylines serves solid American food (steaks, seafood, pastas, etc.) without being too expensive.  Jessica and I have tried it twice, and I'd say it's one-for-two in my book with my meals. 

They consistently serve solid appetizers (calamari being one of the best) but their entrees are a bit hit and miss.  On my first trip, I had their jambalaya with chicken.  The dish had a one-note bland flavor of bell pepper and didn't have the strong variety of flavors (sausage, tomatoes, chicken) normally found in such a dish.  My second effort, though, introduced me to swai, a white fish that was breaded and served with a sweet lime-tequila sauce.  The fish was cooked perfectly, light but crispy from the breading, and the sauce was an ideal compliment to complete the dish.

Skylines does a good job with their lunch, and while the service can frequently be slower than you'd like, it's normally friendly.  For "foodies" in the Clayton area, it offers one of the few places to feel like you've stepped out of the typical chain restaurants and into a nicer dining establishment.

Fleming's

Fleming's, like Ruth's Chris, Morton's, and other "chain" high-end steakhouses, consistently puts out a good product.  They use quality beef and traditional preparation that always leaves me extremely satisfied at the end of the meal.  As I've gotten more into food, though, I feel that these steakhouses (and even many of the non-chains you can find around the country) are less appealing to me when compared with local restaurants offering more variety.  While the steakhouses all are very good, they lack the variety and creativity that I seek more often when I'm spending top dollar for dinner.

Fleming's, serving a very good but standard steak, does have a few menu items to separate themselves from others.  Their bread "butters", sundried tomato for one and chive / cream cheese-ish for the other, are both delectable.  I also highly recommend the chipotle macaroni and cheese, which is creamy, cheesy, but with a kick at the end that is quite unique.  I always enjoy their bone-in ribeye, a huge chunk of beef served medium rare with great flavor, but even this is something found at most good steak places.

More and more, I think steakhouses are starting to lose their grip on the "foodie" public.  While relying on the dark wood old school atmosphere, they are falling behind on food innovation and creativity.  I've seen more and more places start to offer steak options, such as dry aged versus wet aged, Wagyu beef, and other "special" cuts, but I believe the chefs at these places will need to really step ahead if they're to grow and continue to be fine dining destinations.

Buku in Raleigh



For dinner last night, Jessica and I tried Buku (http://bukuraleigh.com/buku/) in downtown Raleigh.  I had eaten dinner there once before, as well as brunch and lunch, but this was my first focused look at the former Fins chef's new effort.  We simplified the process by settling in at the bar rather than getting a table and enjoyed a great meal filled with such great variety and flavor.



Buku starters

To start, we sampled their world breads with three dipping sauces (cilantro chutney, mango habanero salsa, and raita) as well as their crunch tuna roll and Cambodia roll.  The breads were fantastic; they had Indian naan with thinly sliced onion as well as a pita type bread and something similar to a burrito shell but more hearty.  The supply was ample and everything came hot, seemingly straight from the oven.  I was not a fan of our chutney (cilantro is not my thing) but the raita and salsa were both excellent.  The raita was cool, smooth, thick, and refreshing while the salsa had a good fruit flavor and heat as an after taste that worked very well.

The rolls were good as well, although both could probably use a little tweaking to match my tastes.  I enjoyed the crunchy tuna roll very much but would next time favor the spicy tuna roll; I didn't like the roll being warm and while the tempura offered a crunchy texture, I don't think it was worth compromising the refreshing nature of cool sushi.  The Cambodia roll was filled with shrimp and a variety of vegetables; I felt it was exceptionally fresh, crunchy, and when paired with its spicy peanut dipping sauce, quite flavorful.  However, for me, I think spicing the shrimp or replacing it with marinated chicken (Jessica's idea!) could bring it to an even higher place.

Short ribs

Thankfully, Jessica and I ordered our meal as we went; at one point we planned to order far more food than we actually did but the portions were large and filling so we geared down.  After really enjoying our appetizers, we moved on to our main dishes.  Jessica ordered the sake-braised short ribs and I went with the cochinita pibil, which was essentially pork tacos with pickled onion and habanero salsa.  The short ribs were, without question, the highlight of our excellent meal.  The beef was beyond tender, with the fat truly melting into the meat to form a single consistency.  The sake and black sesame flavoring adding a sweetness to the beef, which is always my favorite combination with short ribs.  The tacos, while good, did not quite match the short ribs.  The pulled pork was tender and the corn tortillas were soft and fresh; I simply found that the habanero salsa could have been included slightly more.  In the bites where I had the sauce, pork, and onion together, I was very impressed.

Jessica had Buku's tiramisu for dessert; it came in a fancy glass and had the chocolate sauce poured down through the layers with fancy handy work from the server.  She immediately proclaimed it one of the best versions she's had, matching that at Il Palio in Chapel Hill.

On top of the wonderful food, our service at the Buku bar was excellent.  The bartender consistently provided us with great recommendations and ultimately shaped the meal we had.  She steered us to the short ribs, the tacos, the breads, and their sauces, probably the four highlights of the meal.

Every aspect of our Buku experience was top-notch; we loved the food, the atmosphere, and the service.  It is the rare restaurant, because of the small plates concept, that allows the diner to sample so many different world flavors to truly have a unique meal.  Going back, we could select a completely different menu and I suspect still be wildly satisfied.  For those who like international food, or those looking to expand their palate, few places could offer what Buku does.

Chart House on Hilton Head Island

Each year, my family goes to Hilton Head for vacation over Labor Day.  One night of each week, we try a new restaurant to sample some of the island's fine seafood dining.  We have tried restaurants on coves, near the ocean; restaurants old and new, but nothing has matched this year's dinner at Chart House (http://www.chart-house.com/), located on the north end of the island.  This year, we went to celebrate my uncle's birthday, but for any reason or excuse, this is the best place we've been!

To start, the service was excellent.  Our waitress was extremely attentive and helpful with recommendations, although she was probably a tiny bit talkative for the table.  Our glasses were always kept full, the bread service (including fantastic fresh-baked poppy seed rolls as well as sweet cornbread and jalapeno biscuits) was fast, and each entree came piping hot and exactly as ordered.  I felt like we were neither rushed nor ignored, which is always tough at busy restaurants.

Our table ordered the fried calamari and fried green tomatoes as starters.  The calamari came with assorted other fried items (peppers, sweet potatoes, plantains) and was quite tender and flavorful.  I didn't notice any greasy taste or texture with the squid but felt the sweet dipping sauce could have used a bit more spice as a compliment.  The fried green tomatoes were equally good; the crisp breading wasn't soaked with oil and remained crunchy throughout eating.  I thought that the tomatoes were less acidic and more "meaty" (both good things) than other varieties of this dish that I've tried.  Overall, the appetizers and bread were a great start to our meal.

For my main course, I was overcome with choices but went with the spicy yellowfin tuna served with wasabi mashed potatoes.  Additionally, two sauces (wasabi cream and ginger soy) dressed the plate and added complimentary taste without covering the tuna at all.  The tuna itself was seared rare and served with blackening spice that was a thin coating perfect for the thickness of the tuna.  The meaty, mild flavor of the rare tuna was the best I've had (possibly tied with 42nd Street Oyster Bar randomly) and all of the accompaniments really added to the overall dish.  I loved the mashed potatoes, particularly with the variety of sauces, but didn't notice a lot of difference between these and the standard mashed Yukons served.

While my meal was perfect, I was fortunate enough to try several others from my family; mahi mahi, crispy redfish, and stuffed shrimp.  All were topped decadently with lump crab and various sauces that gave richness to already delicious seafood.  I couldn't pick a favorite really, all had great parts to them, but I was surprised most by the stuffed shrimp, which I typically find to be basic and bland (these were not; the spices and crab stuffing really carried a lot of taste adding to large, flavorful shrimp).  All in all, I didn't have a single bite during my meal that wasn't amazing.

The Chart House set a new standard for our family in Hilton Head dining.  Few restaurants in Raleigh or anywhere else outside of New York really compare in my opinion.  We've tried many of the best places on the island here but to a person, we're all excited to come back to the Chart House next year to see what they offer next!

Chicago Chophouse

A recent trip to the Midwest to visit some friends took my wife and I to Chicago. We spent the weekend in downtown Chicago, and did the typical touristy type activities, as neither my wife, nor I had ever been there. By Friday night, we all had worked up quite an appetite, so I resorted to google searching “Chicago Steakhouses” on my phone. Fortunately for us the options were plentiful, and we decided on The Chicago Chop House. We made reservations for 9:15pm, and went back to our respective hotel rooms to freshen up before dinner.

Paola and I arrived at the restaurant at about 8:50pm or so, as we had no idea how long it would take to get a cab from our hotel to the restaurant. Obviously, not as long as we had allowed for, but this was no issue, as we just grabbed a seat at the bar and had a drink before dinner. The restaurant ambiance and overall feel was quite nice, and very unique. The entire restaurant was decorated with Al Capone artwork and news clippings, which added to the unique feel of the establishment. There was also a pianist who played throughout the night, not loud enough to be a nuisance, but just loud enough to tell what was being played. At one point, the pianist went from “Faithfully” to “Come Sail Away” to “Don’t Stop Believing.” If you know anything about me, this was one of the highlights of my night.

There were two levels to the restaurant, but we did not go up to the second level, so I couldn’t tell you anything about it. The downstairs area was fairly small but inexplicably, we never felt cramped in the slightest. There was a good sized bar in the middle of the downstairs, with a very personable bartender, who got extra points from me for her ability to tolerate the guy sitting next to me at the bar, who was the kind of person who had just enough to drink to try and talk to everyone at the bar within non shouting range of him. This would include the bar tender, who just smiled and laughed off his terrible remarks.

After a simple glass of red wine and a dirty martini, we made our way to our table and were greeted by Benjamin, our waiter for the evening. You could tell he was from the Chicago area, based solely on his accent. He was extremely knowledgeable about the various cuts of meat that were offered (I didn’t realize the difference between wet aging, dry aging, etc., even though the name suggests exactly what it is), as well as the wine in their extensive wine list. We looked through the wine list, and quickly came to the realization that we were well out of our league when it came to drinks. The cheapest bottle of wine I remember seeing was $70, with most of the bottles settling in the $200-$400 range. Oddly enough, the wine by the glass prices were fair, so most of us chose to go that route.

Benjamin returned to discuss appetizers, all of which sounds extremely tasty. We settled on an order of sashimi grade yellow fin tuna with a ground cacao, pepper and espresso rub. This was easily the best tuna I have ever had, and was cooked to perfection. After the four of us mowed through the tuna, our steaks were delivered. I ordered a dry-aged bone-in filet, which was butterflied to allow even cooking all the way through, as I like my steaks cooked a little past medium. Paola ordered the wet-aged filet cooked medium-well. Both steaks were phenomenal and cooked to perfection.

Benjamin continued to come by and check on the table to make sure our glasses were never empty, and that everything was cooked the way we liked, but did not come by so often that it was annoying. As nothing annoys me more about a waiter, then when they come to ask how everything is before you’ve even taken the first bite of your meal. Everyone at the table finished their dinner, with Paola being the only one to take part of their meal in a doggy bag. This worked out great for me, as I ate the remainder of her steak, cold, for breakfast the next morning. It was still extremely tasty.

Having a later dinner reservation, we finished with drinks and dinner at close to 11:30pm, and were pretty much the last people in the restaurant, but we never felt like we were being rushed out of the place, or anything of the sort. Overall, the food, service and ambiance of The Chicago Chop House was amazing...but, it came at a price. It definitely isn’t the cheapest of options, but I think it's worth experiencing at least once if you are in the city. I can’t imagine there are too many places where you can hear Journey and the Styx, while eating phenomenal food with phenomenal service.

Written by guest blogger Andy Thore.

Cantina South on Glenwood

For one of Jessica's friend's going-away parties, a group of us went to Cantina South for dinner last night.  The restaurant has replaced Bogart's downtown, and while they've significantly changed the decor, it's hard not to be reminded of Bogart's, one of my favorite bars downtown, upon entering.

We started at the bar, and a familiar trend for the night began.  The restaurant has only been open for a month or so and it is clear they're still working out many kinks.  In an uncrowded bar, it probably took 10-15 minutes to have our drink orders taken.  The variety of specialty cocktails were good though, and the bar area is nice, so I chalked this problem up to growing pains.

Upon moving to our table, we were given the option of the regular menu or the Restaurant Week menu (three courses for $20).  Both Jessica and I chose the $20 route to sample a variety of their offerings without breaking the bank (normal appetizers were around $10-12 and entrees at or above $20).  For starters, Cantina South doesn't provide free chips and salsa; this is not completely unexpected but still a bit annoying.  The table ordered guacamole though, which was extremely well-received!

I also sampled their tuna ceviche ahead of my three-course meal.  This was definitely the highlight of the evening; the sweet mango, avocado, and red onion complimented the fresh tuna very well, and the "sauce" was really flavorful if even only on a chip (or one of the three plantain chips served alongside).  I could have done without the cilantro, but that is par for the course so I can't dock points.  All in all, it was some of the best ceviche I've had and certainly something worth trying here.

Unfortunately, the rest of my meal was a letdown.  For both appetizer and entree, I had duck; first in flauta form and then as a roasted breast and quarter.  The duck flauta appetizer wasn't terrible but it also really didn't have much standout flavor.  It could have been pork, chicken, or beef and tasted the same, and would have benefitted greatly from a sweet dipping sauce.  The dinner wasn't a whole lot better; the breast had a nice spice crust but was overcooked and the breast/leg quarter was difficult to even cut because it was tough.  Additionally, they ignored a signature of duck (crispy skin) and instead had a greasy outer coating that offered little flavor.

Dessert was a banana empanada for me, which was solid.  Jessica had their lime cheesecake, which was good but lacked any true lime flavor.

Overall, it's hard to figure out Cantina South.  Having been open only a few weeks, I believe it's probably worth waiting for another six months or so to a) give them a chance to figure out what they're doing and b) see if they stay in business.  The ceviche showed a flash of brilliance, but the duck was overcooked mightily on two separate dishes.  I am not sure if the chef (who is allegedly a Mexican national) hasn't yet trained his cooks properly or if the restaurant is just trying to win on volume and location and not quality, but there is work to do.  The service was only marginally better as I felt that the two waiters were trying to convince us how good everything was rather than letting us decide, but that too can be corrected. 

In summary, if you want traditional Mexican food that you're familiar with, go to your local place, save money, and enjoy.  If you feel a bit more experimental with flavors and ingredient combinations, go to Mez (http://www.mezdurham.com/) and get a top-notch meal.

Cooking at Home: Meatballs

Most nights at our house are spent cooking dinner rather than going out; it's the best way to save money and also keep the idea of going to a restaurant a "special occasion".  It's often tough to find a homemade meal that is simple to make, packed with flavor, and reasonably healthy, but I've come up with a basic meatball and red sauce recipe that manages to do all three (~ 600 calories for two meatballs with the sauce, plenty for me).  Below is the recipe I follow, but of course there are many opportunities within what I've done to make it better and make it your own!

Red sauce ingredients (makes ~ 8 servings with the meatballs)

- 1 can (7 cups) of crushed tomatoes (I recommend San Marzano but any will do)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic (just enough to taste it in the sauce; no need to use less but more would work)
- 3-5 tablespoons of sugar (to taste; helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes when not using San Marzano)
- Salt / pepper / dried basil / dried oregano to taste

Directions

- Heat the olive oil in a sauce pot at medium heat
- Saute the garlic (I use a micro planer rather than chopping or using a garlic press) until just before browned
- Add the tomatoes and reduce the heat to low
- Add the seasonings and sugar to taste (continue during cooking as the sauce reduces)
- After 2 hours, the sauce is ready

Meatball ingredients (makes 8 meatballs, I find that 2-3 are appropriate per person)

- 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef
- 1 cup of Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese (preferred over grated)
- 2 eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and form meatballs (slightly smaller than racquetballs)
- Cook for 15 minutes then flip and cook for another 15 minutes
- Cover with sauce and enjoy

Flights at the Renaissance Hotel in North Hills

After a bit of a dining hiatus, Jessica and I finally made it back out to try another restaurant from our list, Flights at North Hills.  Situated inside the Renaissance Hotel, Flights is what I'd call a hidden gem, with a modern, open dining area that seems more lounge than fine dining establishment.

Gemelli and cheese

We tried two appetizers to start; the fried gemelli and cheese and the night's special, which was cornmeal crusted scallops with a bacon-corn relish.  The fried gemelli and cheese was a spin on truffled macaroni and cheese; instead of being presented as a creamy bowl of pasta, the dish was served as three fried "nuggets" filled with the familiar white truffle oil and cheese flavors.  The crust of the fried bite was perfect; exceptionally crisp but not the least bit greasy, and the inside was perfectly creamy and bursting with flavor.  The nuggets were served over a tomato cream and basil oil, a surprisingly effective flavor addition that turned a traditional favorite into a more modern presentation.

Scallops

As good as the mac and cheese bites were, they paled in comparison to the scallop dish.  Two large scallops were coated on both sides with cornmeal and pan-fried until crispy and just cooked through.  The combination of crunch and sweetness from the scallop was enough to earn high marks, but the addition of a thick-cut piece of bacon as well as an amazing bacon-corn relish went above and beyond.  Jessica commented that we can never have corn again without bacon bits, as the two flavors were a perfect compliment and instantly made us question how we'd never had it before!



Cornish hen

For my entree, I had another twist on the traditional fried chicken and waffles.  Here, they served a whole Cornish game hen with a cheddar-jalapeno waffle, accompanied  by skillet potatoes and a terrific parsnip and chive puree with red eye gravy.  The Cornish hen was great; the breading was filled with flavor and perfectly seasoned.  The crispiness was a good match for the juicy meat of the bird, and the puree was an amazing match with both the meat and the breading, creating a taste I've never had before but want again soon!  The waffle was good but a bit heavy; I think a lighter version would have worked better with the dish.  The potatoes were nothing overly special and could have used a bit more carmelization.  Still, the bird and puree / gravy combination was a unique and extremely successful combination that I'd recommend highly.

Jessica had their filet, which was magnificent and one of the better steaks I've had at a non-steakhouse.  She enjoyed the rest of her meal and also was very impressed by their Dulce de leche root beer float as dessert.

Flights is a bit different than most of the other restaurants we like in the area; the dining area is modern and understated and food presentation is highlighted with each dish.  Still, the variety and uniqueness of the menu, coupled with the great service and terrific flavor of everything we tried, makes Flights another place I'd strongly recommend.  Few people seem aware that it exists, much less that it's very good, but that's even more reason to get ahead of the curve and try it!