Favorite Raleigh Eateries

Couple Money budget blog mentioned spending a significant portion of their disposable income on eating out. We do too -- we also spend quite a bit on exotic ingredients for me to cook. Anyway, Couple Money lists their favorite places to eat in Raleigh:

It’s hard to pick all the places we enjoyed, but I figured if anyone is in Raleigh, they should definitely check out these places.

• Vic’s: Tons of wonderfully delicious Italian food at great prices. I love, love, LOVE their pizzas. My hardest decision with this place is choosing what to eat. This is the spot we go to when there are free concerts in the area.
• 518 West: We’ve taken family and friends here for anniversary dinners (upstairs is a bit more private). They have great dishes (the crab is fantastic) and a nice drink menu.
• Los Tres Magueyes: Our Mexican lunch spot- it’s quick and it’s delicious. We get our Speedy and chimichanga combos and we’re happy.
• Jibarra: It’s not a typical Mexican restaurant, which I like. It’s more urban in style and the dishes are fantastic. It’s hard to describe the flavor of the food beside saying it’s spicy and incredible.
• Sawasdee: Several friends had mentioned to us that this is the place to go for some good Thai food. They have two locations now in Raleigh, which makes it more convenient (and tempting).
• Mura: If you’re looking for great sushi and a wonderful atmosphere, Mura is  the spot. We’ve gone there and had great service and a wonderful time. If you’re in the area, on Sundays they have the buy one sushi roll, get one roll 1/2 special that we take advantage of. We also grab a glass of house wine for 1/2 off too. My personal favorites are the Screaming O, Surf & Turf, and Piano roll.
• Asuka: This Japanese restaurant is a favorite lunch date spot and they have a great buy one, get one roll free special (including dinners). It’s a bit out, but it’s definitely worth the drive.

Mmm.... We're fond of Los Tres Magueyes and Asuka too. We're still working out what our very favorite food spots are,  but some of the top contenders are:

Tangerine Cafe (Fresh, tasty food at low prices -- Have you been here, Couple Money?)
The Duck and Dumpling
Boudreaux's Louisiana Kitchen and Taqueria Guadalajara in Charlotte, NC
and drive-through Jitters for coffee, now that the Chocolate Bean is no more.


Via What We Spend Money On: Eating Out on Couple Money

Xinjiang Kebabs

Awesome expat blog post on the secrets of why Xinjiang barbeque tastes so amazing. The secret is not that it refreshes the expat after endless meals drowned in a mixture of ginger, spring onion, bai jiu, soy sauce and peanut oil, but that doesn't hurt.

Caramelized Onion Sauce

While I was cooking dinner tonight, I found myself putting together a variation on a classic expat supper. This basic recipe, tossed with seasonal veggies, made an easy supper when we were hungry for home food.

Onion
Sugar
Red wine of dubious quality
Pasta
Garlic (optional)
Tomatoes (optional)
Oil or butter


Slice the onion into thin rings, and lightly saute in butter. If you're going to add garlic, add it now. When the onions are translucent, add sugar to coat. When the sugar is absorbed, add the red wine. If you're adding tomatoes, add chopped tomatoes now. Simmer as the sauce thickens, pour over cooked pasta.

If you're at home, this is greatly improved with parmasean and basil, and maybe cooking up some meatballs, too. If you're living in Asia, without dairy products or Italian spices, something about the garlic, wine and pasta in this is deceptively Western and will curb your cravings for home food.

Cupcake Bar

We stopped in at Coffee and Crepes with some friends last night, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover cupcakes from The Cupcake Bar on offer.

I've been interested in trying out the Cupcake Bar since I first heard of this local bakery, but it seemed like something that would have to wait for a special occasion. A dozen cupcakes between just The Boy and me seems like an awful lot, and they're pretty expensive so I'd feel obliged to eat them all immediately just to make sure they wouldn't get the slightest bit stale... And I haven't actually tried it, but I imagine that eating ten cupcakes in a row might not be excellent for my health.

It was hard to choose between the vanilla-lemon cupcake and the mint-chocolate one, but I finally did.

Cupcakes are kind of wasted on me, because they're automatically delicious, but this was a particularly good one. Soft cake and sweet-but-not-sugary icing. Mmm.

Goodberry's Frozen Custard

Goodberry's Frozen Custard
1146 Kildaire Farm Rd
Cary, NC 27511
(919) 467-2386

Let me throw it out there: I love Southern food. I love biscuits, grits, hush puppies, and sweet tea. I love Chik-Fil-A and the Boy loves Waffle House. Goodberry's is another Southern taste that our friends and family told us to try.

I was first disappointed by the scarcity of flavors. Chocolate, vanilla, a rotating special flavor, and a sugar-free vanilla. All this excitement for four flavors?

The secret is in the concrete. A concrete mixes Goodberry's frozen custard with flavored syrups, fruit and/or candy pieces, to make a tasty solid sundae with the consistency of... well, you know.

With the huge array of add-ins, Goodberry's has endless flavors. They have suggested concrete combos, but you can make your own combinations with whatever strikes you. I'm partial to a chocolate custard, coffee syrup and peanut butter cup combination. In the interest of research, we visited a couple times. (The Boy and I are very dedicated.)

The Boy says one can also get milkshakes and non-concrete dishes, but I don't know why.

Servings are what we knowledgable food bloggers refer to as "freaking huge." Definitely worth a visit for a sweet treat!