Week 2 of our new life in North Carolina is going swell.
We’ve survived a snowpocalypse (it took my husband 4 hours to get home), have explored downtown Raleigh a few times and have enjoyed some deee-licious meals.
I titled this post “One Bite at a Time” because I’m working on not getting overwhelmed by being in a new, big place. Although we have explored some, there’s so much more to do, see and eat. But our budget can’t handle doing all of that in one week either.
So, here are some of the special “bites” that I’ve had so far in N.C.
I always love coming here with my sister and brother-in-law (they definitely know good barbecue) whenever I’m in N.C. This place serves up some amazing Carolina barbecue with fantastic Southern sides, some with a modern twist. Also, they give you biscuits and hush puppies before your food comes….amazing!
This was where we had our spontaneous vday date and really can you beat chicken and waffles with pimento cheese macaroni and cabbage slaw for a happy date?! Absolutely not! Ashley Christensen is the chef/owner behind this place and I can’t wait to try all of her (many) restaurants and bars in the Raleigh area.
Lucky us, we got to try two Ashley Christensen spots in downtown Raleigh in under 24 hours (and the restaurants are neighbors). We’re spoiling ourselves a little these first days, but we have also been known to eat kale salads for lunch to allow for the meat/carb parties.
This place has got some really creative burgers with outstanding frites (fries) with which you get to pick fun dipping sauces to go with like buttermilk herb and roasted garlic aioli. And they’ve got milkshakes that are out of this world. Roasted banana salty peanut butter…yes, please!
Busy Bee is another favorite that I’ve revisited from my N.C. visiting days. It’s got a great, relaxed vibe for a bar/restaurant and a huge selection of local beer, fabulous wines and creative cocktails. I enjoyed a perfect glass of Argentinian Syrah. I saw some folks at the bar order the tater tots with cheese sauce and I’ve decided that I’ll have to come back for those soon.
Yesterday we took a quick President’s Day trip to Durham (I still have much to explore there) to grab some tasty and creative donuts from Monuts. Bacon maple bourbon and apple cider were a few of our faves. I hope to get back here sometime to try their soup and bagel sandwiches.
Here’s to many more bites around N.C. in the future!