Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Chocolate Bean

The Chocolate Bean
280 Meeting St
Cary, NC 27513
www.thechocolatebean.com


After my recent bad coffeeshop visit, I was relieved to return to The Chocolate Bean in Cary, NC. (There is also a Chocolate Bean in Fuquay-Varina.) The Chocolate Bean inspired me to make this icon with an extra-big smile.

Do not let their amateurish webpage fool you. What they don't know about competing fonts, color choices and scrolling text, they do know about chocolate, gelato and coffee.

The free wifi attracts caffeine-loving laptop workers. Stylish modern furniture, a flatscreen TV, and scattered magazines make a living room atmosphere, conducting to chatting, reading or just taking a break.

The Chocolate Bean on Urbanspoon

Don't miss the summery smoothies and iced coffees, especially all sorts of flavored frappes. The Chocolate Bean offers fruit smoothies, with just fruit, juice and ice, and or cream smoothies, with milk.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Bluestone Cafe

Bluestone Cafe
123 Watchung Ave
Montclair, NJ 07043

This is a Girl-only review, since the Boy is back home in North Carolina! While the Boy was hard at work, I visited Bluestone Cafe in Montclair, NJ with some friends.

When we arrived, the cafe was crowded with other late-morning brunchers, every table was full but we were told the wait would only be about ten minutes. We tried to get out of the doorway to wait, but the hostess informed us that she had no intention of holding a table for us if we weren't waiting right there. One friend stayed to hover and make other diners uncomfortable, while the rest of us slipped outside.

In a few minutes, there was a table for us, and we went back inside. As we entered, the same hostess told us that she didn't have anything for our party and we'd have to wait. I guess she'd forgotten that she'd already been short with us, and wanted to make sure she didn't miss anyone.

Menus were coffee-stained and battered trifold paper, listing sandwiches and omelettes, with a lovely assortment of fillings like brie and eggplant. But our waitress made it clear that there could be no substitutions. For example, a cheese omelette and brie on a sandwich were both on the menu, but a brie omelette was not possible, and our waitress was annoyed we'd wasted her precious time by asking such an idiotic question.

My request for no whipped cream on my waffle visibly annoyed our waitress. My companion's request for one egg instead of two in a breakfast combination received another eyeroll and the information that there would be no reduction in the price for less food.

The cafe smelled of coffee, in a lovely way, which made it odd that the waitress did not ask for a drink order, either when we were first seated or when she took our food order. We caught her attention as she turned to go, and wasted still more of her time ordering coffees.

Bluestone Coffee on Urbanspoon

The pleasure of dining out comes from a combination of food and ambiance, but the rude staff colored my enjoyment of both the food and the indie coffeeshop setting. The fresh fruit was actually fresh, breakfast food did not have diner grease, everything was tasty, which was good because no one came by to ask how things were. I guess I've become spoiled by North Carolina prices and forgotten about the Montclair markup, I found $8 for a sandwich a bit steep.

Although it was no longer crowded when we finished eating, the waitstaff's brusque manner made sure we didn't linger over coffee. Perhaps they have a clever plan to reduce crowds by making customers so uncomfortable they hurry home and never return?



PS: When I visited Urbanspoon for the spoonback code, I noticed that the majority of the other reviewers found the servers rude. In a way I'm glad, because I sometimes wonder if maybe my feelings about a restaurant are biased by one person having a bit of a rough day, but it seems clear that the Bluestone waitstaff have a lot of rough days.


Bluestone Coffee CO on Restaurantica

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Porter's Tavern

2412 Hillsborough St
Raleigh, NC 27607

We choose Porter's for a Sunday-afternoon stop because we wanted to sit outside. We miss European outdoor cafes, and thought this upscale pub would be a perfect spot to eat and watch people pass.

I ordered the Strawberry Fields iced tea. I thought it tasted like room-temperature sweet tea spiked with vodka, but The Boy detected undertones of cough syrup as well.

After that, The Boy stayed away from the cocktails and ordered a beer, which he described as a beer slushie. I'm not sure how my drink managed to arrive warm and his tooth-numbingly cold, but it was a disappointing start.

Porter's Tavern on Urbanspoon

We were both disappointed in the limited and unexciting brunch menu, but when our food came, we liked both of our meals. I really wanted to like it, but it wasn't anything I couldn't whip up at home (and serve with better drinks).

The atmosphere was our main reason to choose Porter's. We did get to sit outside, but we were seated on essentially deck chairs at a wobbly table, a deterrent to our plan to linger over lunch.

Rereading this, I seem to have overused the word "disappointing." That sums up our experience. Not awful, but disappointing in every way.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Casa Margarita

107 Edinburgh South Dr
Cary, NC 27511
(919) 462-1420

Casa Margarita is in MacGregor Business Park, which is, like so much in Cary, a rather faceless development off a highway. About the best thing I can say about the complex is that there's plenty of parking!

The food at Casa Margarita was tasty, basic Mexican fare, at below-average prices. It's the usual combos of tacos, tamales, quesadillas and so forth. We had no complaints about anything we ordered here, but the only food that really stood out was the fresh guacamole.

We've visited several times because the food is fast and inexpensive, making it a perfect destination on a weeknight when I'm too tired or too busy to cook dinner. Our weeknight dinners are made even better by the nightly drink specials and rotating dinner specials! Dinner specials tend to be a touch more creative than the mainstays on the combo menu.

Casa Margarita on Urbanspoon

There's a disclaimer on the menu, saying that Mexican food is best when prepared specially, and to please give their staff ample time to prepare your meal. Don't be concerned about the wait! Every time we've eaten there, our food has arrived very quickly.

The Boy and I don't have children, but this also strikes me as a very family-friendly dinner spot. Lots of kid-friendly dinner options, like cheese quesadillas, nachos, and so forth. And what child doesn't like tacos?

Overall, solid Mexican fare and drinks for an inexpensive meal out.

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