Coffee & Crepes

315 Crossroad Blvd.
Cary, NC
www.coffeeandcrepes.com

Coffee and Crepes is in a not-so-attractive strip mall in the Crossroads Mall sprawl. (Wow, one of these days I'm going to start a review without asking you to please overlook how freaking ugly the outside is!) Inside, you order at the counter and take your tray to either indoor or outdoor seating.

Our crepes were ready quickly, even though it was lunchtime, and we had a nice choice of several savory crepes. They offer a mushroom and swiss crepe, a passable but underwhelming vegetarian options. The couscous side dish, which comes with the savory crepes, was dry and bland. Next time I'm getting a salad, the other side dish option. (And hey, even through the couscous wasn't great, I should mention how pleased I was that it didn't automatically come with fries!)

The chicken cordon bleu crepe was perfect, and did I mention the Nutella crepes? No? I can't fully describe the deliciousness of melty Nutella and chewy crepe and soft banana all together. One of my favorite foods, and if you haven't had it, Coffee & Crepes makes a great one to try!

Several years ago, when I lived in the UK, there was a crepe cart that often parked in the market by my college. It's main competitor was a chip van across the square, and since I was not too crazy about the roasts and puddings served in school, a large part of my diet was made up of fish and chips and Nutella-banana crepes. Although eating a Nutella crepe at a sidewalk table overlooking the parking lot isn't quite the same, they'll always remind me of Cambridge.

I would definitely go back for dessert crepes and coffee, or to try one of their $5 lunch crepes. And you know by "dessert crepes" I actually meant "Nutella banana crepes"!

(Their webpage, um, well, between the unreadable grey text on black background, the AOL.com contact email, and the section 404s, it's awkward. Fortunately Urbanspoon has Coffee & Crepes' hours and menus available online.)

The Duck and Dumpling

222 South Blount St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
www.theduckanddumpling.com


(This is another Boyless post, since he is not a big fan of Asian food.)

Duck and dumplings are possibly my favorite Chinese food. While I'm in constant search of steam baskets of real xiao long bao, I really prefer the foreigner-friendly special lean duck, made famous by Da Dong in Beijing.

The Duck and Dumpling offers the American-Asian staples of kung pao, pad thai and udon noodles, and a collection of truly inspired Asian fusion dishes. Duck dumplings with a cherry zinfandel sauce, or Thai basil pork wontons.

Americanized Chinese food can often involve taking ingredients, adding soy sauce, sugar, peanut oil and MSG, and serving with rice. This is why the Boy tends to dislike it. Authentic Chinese foods have great flavors, but always taste overcooked to me, sodden vegetables thoroughly infused with marinade into a one-taste, one-texture bowl.

Dishes at The Duck and Dumpling incorporated exotic Asian flavors, like star anise and cumin, without cooking it into a too-authentic mush. Even the basic pad thai was a great mix of flavors and textures (and colors, for people like me who eat with their eyes)

Definitely worth returning, and maybe even talking the Boy into coming along!

Havana Grill

404 W Chatham St
Cary, NC 27511
www.thehavanagrill.com

Sometimes it can be hard to stay objective. I tried to find something good about my recent awful time at Bluestone Cafe, and now I'm trying to find something bad about Havana Grill.

It's hard, though. The food is amazing, including pork tamales, chicken croquettes, fried plantains, yucca and garlic and several kinds of rice and beans. The Boy and I cannot decide on our favorite sides, and spend more of dinner eating from each others' plates. (Little ones can also get chicken fingers and fries). Customers can browse the complete menu or just look at the buffet-style counter and pick what looks good. Don't miss the empanadas and croquettes hidden in the back!

The prices are really good, especially for the portion size and the quality of the food. The reason for the low prices are the plastic silverware and bus-your-own-table service. Somehow it makes Havana Grill seem like a friend's cookout and not like a fast-food joint.



Don't miss the outdoor seating. Cuban music plays gently in the background, covering the sounds of traffic but not so loudly that it inhibits conversation. I don't know that we felt like we were in Cuba, but we didn't feel like we were sitting in a Cary parking lot! (I think the beach mural and real palm trees may have had something to do with that.)

We loved the food, music, and outdoor atmosphere. Overlook the styrofoam plates for an unpretentious, jeans-friendly date!

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.



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.

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.

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.