Tangerine Cafe

2422 SW Cary Pkwy
Cary, NC 27513
(919) 468-8688
http://www.tangerinecafecary.com/

I might have mentioned before that the Boy is not so fond of Asian food, but we both loved Tangerine Cafe. We started with Thai iced tea -- I've recently discovered that the secret to Thai iced tea is just strong black tea with consensed milk stirred in, instead of rainbows and magic dust, but that doesn't make it any less delicious.

The menu is Asian food's greatest hits album, with winners like chicken satay, pad thai, nasi goreng... What was I saying? Sorry, when I went to the webpage to check their menu, I got sucked into feeding the fish again.

Tangerine offers vegetarian and non-veg options for almost all their dishes. Shrimp-haters like me can also get a just-chicken version as well. This also means that they're cooking it up fresh when you order it, it hasn't been sitting under a heat lamp all day.

An amazing layout with mirrors and bamboo plants helps the small space avoid the cafeteria feel, and Asian decor -- including my favorite, the waving cat -- make it unique. We're planning a spring trip to visit out-of-state friends, and I look forward to reviewing a local eatery that isn't in a strip mall. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and food arrives quickly. A perfect spot for lunch or dinner.

Jitters Coffee

920 Kildaire Farm Rd
Cary, NC 27511
(919) 468-5454

Since the sad end of the Chocolate Bean, I've been looking for a new Cary coffee stop. I am a fan of the Maynard Street Caribou, but so is everyone else, and the lines are usually too long to make it a practical stop.

When we lived in Amherst, there was an indie drive-up coffee hut... the name has slipped my mind because the rainbow-painted coffee hut on Route 9 was such a landmark that no name is needed. Jitters is a similar small coffee and tea hut in the Food Lion / Unaabi Grill / Los Tres Magueyes parking lot.

Jitters gets all the basics right: Staff say good morning without that scary, crazed I-have-to-smile-or-I-get-fired expession. (We're looking at you, Walnut Street Starbucks.) When I ask for no whipped cream, I don't get whipped cream in my coffee. Coffee is served quickly. Everything is clean.



And Jitters gets the extras right, too. It's no secret that I love coffee drinks. I tried their minty Valentine's special, and I'm currently drinking a St. Pat's Nutty Irish. Both are delicious in the way that makes it hard to remember that coffeedrinks are supposed to be a special treat for me, not an every day stop. Jitters also advertises a bunch of flavorshots, black cherry for example, for other fans of coffee drinks. The Boy is more of a plain latte drinker, and he really enjoyed Jitters' latte.

Jitters might not have the wild rainbow paint job of the Route 9 stop, but it has it's own personality, with a painted coffee-drinking kokopelli on the side, and coffee-loving slogans, stickers and poems all around the Jitters hut. Coupons say Get the Jitters and feel great!

We love getting the Jitters, and we want you to know about them... but please don't tell anyone else, ok? The wait has been very short, and we want to keep it that way!

Amante Pizza Cary

Amante Pizza Cary Location
9545 Chapel Hill Road
Morrisville / Cary
380-3382
AmantePizza.com

The Boy and I got a doorhanger advert from Amante Pizza the other day. It said they delivered to our area with an $8 minimum order (this becomes important later), and had some tempting pictures. We were pretty excited because we're looking for a go-to pizza stop by our new place.

We looked up the menu online, and couldn't decide what to order. Everything looked so good! We finally picked a tomato-basil-mozzerella pizza and a specialty pizza, the Portabello. I was excited to see so many vegetarian options.

But our total seemed to be a bit higher that I was expecting. After first being informed that "there's tax on it" I found that there's also a delivery charge, that wasn't mentioned on the website or advertisement (or on the second advert that came with our pizza that night). I asked how I could find out that I'd be paying this fee, since it wasn't on the site or the menu, and I was told to wait a moment.

After being left on hold for a while, someone else (A manager? An unlucky employee? Not sure.) picked up and asked me how he could help me. We went through the whole story again, and I was told, again, that it's always been like that, since, like, a couple years now, since, like, gas became so expensive.

I asked where that was listed on the website. He didn't know. I asked how other customers found out about it. He didn't know that, either, but because it's been that way for, like, so long, that, like, everybody knows about it. I asked if it was listed somewhere on the doorhangers that are all over the complex, and he didn't know that, either.

But, on the other hand, I would have paid an upfront charge much higher than $1.50 (the Boy says he would have topped out at a $5 delivery fee). The food was great. Veggies were fresh and tasty, especially the auberine slices on the Portabello pizza. Pizza came with piles of non-greasy cheese.

We had friends over, and we all talked about how good the pizza was. Perhaps I was too quick to judge? I mean, we are in the market for a favorite pizza place, and the food really is great here. And, after all, I just made the assumption that news of a delivery fee should go with "$8.00 minimum order for delivery, limited delivery area" on the advert, or that there's some place on the website where I could find out about a delivery fee, or that the person taking my order would let me know before charging me.

As I was picking up after dinner, I happened see our receipt and notice that a large Portobello pizza, listed on the website for $16.99 actually cost $17.49. Again, fifty cents isn't a deal-breaker (We'd have been quite happy if this had been the menu price), but it made me feel scammed all over again.

Wasabi

107 Edinburgh South Dr
Cary, NC 27511
(919) 460-7980
www.wasabicary.com

It's the Girl here with a Boy-less review! I discovered Wasabi mostly because it's in the same complex as Casa Margarita.

The Boy is not usually interested in Asian food. We'll have it from time to time, but I could eat sushi every day. I visited Wasabi with a friend, who could also eat sushi everyday. We really enjoyed the bamboo decor and peaceful ambiance, and like the best of Cary restaurants, inside Wasabi feels like it's far, far away from the outside's stripmall parking lot. Our waiter was friendly, offering to answer any questions we had, and drink refills came quickly.

The actual food is, well, sushi. There are no mind-blowing texture and flavour combinations, but Wasabi offered a solid selection of fresh veggie and fish rolls, all the basics, presented well. There were plenty of vegetarian options, which seems to be pretty typical of sushi places, but I don't eat a lot of meat, so I always like to see it. (I have been talked into accompanying the Boy to a steakhouse, now and again, but I usually perfer lighter fare)

Overall, I enjoyed our meal and our drinks, and I'd go there again, but I don't know if it's you-need-to-try-this-now good. Decent prices for nice sushi, and a good time with my friend.