out of town hound seeks decent eats near NCSU, Raleigh
hi - NY and Philadelphia chowhound here, doing some work for the week at NCSU. So, two questions: 1) easy near-campus lunches, and 2) a bit more of a radius for dinners, preferably a bit offbeat/interesting, more on the ethnic hole in the wall side than the white tablecloth one.
for #1: I see a lot of places on Hillsborough across from campus.. any suggestions? Looking for simple, ideally not too heavy/greasy lunches (though would make an exception one or two days).
For #2, I'm thinking Cooper's BBQ for one dinner, probably Raleigh Times with some local hip friends for another. I don't have a car (though friends do) and probably don't have time to go as far as Durham or Chapel Hill. What are the rumblings I read on here about good Vietnamese? Mexican? Wouldn't mind veering away from the "you're in the South, you must eat BBQ" theme, not that I have anything against good BBQ but I know the South has more diverse and interesting options as well.
-
There is good food in Raleigh. Here are a few spots near or not so far from NC State --
For lunch on Hillsborough Street near NC State, there are a few chain places, best to avoid if you want local flavor. My first choice is always Mitch's Tavern, which serves tasty, reasonably priced food for lunch. Mitch's is definitely worth a visit; it served as the setting for a scene in the movie Bull Durham, so look for the photo of Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon on the back wall.
Porter's is OK sandwich fare, but noisy. It is an outpost of a company that runs several restaurants -- Urban Food Group -- seek out North Hills, where they run a good Italian place (Vivace) and a first-class French place (Coquette).
Otherwise on Hillsborough Street, El Rodeo is generic Tex-Mex, not bad. There are also passable but generic Chinese, red-sauce Italian, the Indian place (in the back of a convenience store), and various kinds of sandwich shops
Further west on Hillsborough Street is Sushi Sune, run by a guy from Kyoto, very good Japanese food.
You've gotten suggestions for Western Blvd, across campus from Hillsborough Street.
For more adventure, head toward downtown, to Glenwood Avenue, and go left to a REALLY good locavore place (Zely & Ritz), pur favorite place in Glenwood South, also a well-reviewed high end restaurant (Solas), a good Italian place (518 West), a good seafood place (42nd Street Oyster Bar), and a bunch of other places along the way between Hillsborough Street and Peace Street (this is one of Raleigh's nightlife centers).If you continue down Hillsborough Street toward downtown, the choices continue to grow. Check out the Boylan Bridge Brewpub, a block south of Hillsborough Street, with 6-8 house-brewed beers on draft and a terrific view of the Raleigh skyline (such as it is).
Further down the street on the left is Second Empire, a first-class high-end restaurant. On the other side of Hillsborough Street and a couple of blocks south look for Wicked Smile, a tapas place, very good. When you get to downtown, look for Poole's Diner for the best food in Raleigh (in my opinion), near the Civic Center. Also the Empire food group, which includes the Pit (BBQ), Sitthi (Lebanese), Gravy (Italian), Duck and Dumpling (Asian), and the Raleigh Times (a good bar). And a bunch more, too.
Enjoy your visit, and your culinary journey.
-----
Raleigh Times Bar
14 E Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601Mitch's Tavern
2426 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27607›12 Replies-
-
re: jmtd
I think there are some good tips in this thread. I'll add two more:
Locopops for gourmet popsicles that are really worth your time, especially in the heat of summer. On the same block, is a dive bar called the Player's Retreat. I've only tried their burger, but it was a darn good burger. I thought it was quite a bit better than Porter's, which is nearby. They have an above average beer selection as well. In the future, there's supposed to be a noodle shop on the same block serving ramen and dumplings...
-
re: Tom from Raleigh
I would second the recommendation of LocoPops, but not Player's Retreat. I used to enjoy eating there years ago, but a few months ago my wife and I had burgers there and it was the worst mean out I can remember, maybe ever. The burger was just terrible. Bad bun, bad patty, bad condiments. Ugh. My wife's was terrible, too.
I was shocked and disappointed.
-
-
-
re: jnwall
great suggestions! I'll pass them on to my new-to-town friend since there is no way I'll get to all of them. much appreciated.
had a good time at Raleigh Times and the Pit so far.. I love Reverie near campus, though admittedly more for atmosphere than food per se (though my sandwich was good.. it wasn't made there).
-----
Raleigh Times Bar
14 E Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601-
re: bess
My bad -- The place i was thinking of is Humble Pie, the tapas place south of Hillsborough Street, in the Warehouse District, near The Pit. Not Wicked Smile.
I forgot a really good Mexican place downtown, Dos Taquitos Centro, across the street from Gravy and Sitti.
Also just off Hillsborough Street going west is Neomonde, a Middle Eastern deli and restaurant.
You've got lots of choices. Enjoy your visit.
-----
Sitti
137 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC 27601
-
-
re: jnwall
I agree with most of your suggestions but must come down emphatically against 42nd street. If you are just going for the oysters that's fine, but if you are expecting to eat anything else off the menu there are plenty of other, much better options. In recent years I've been there a couple times- when someone else did the deciding on where to go. Each time I've been underwhelmed and in one case disgusted enough to not finish my meal.
Other gems of Glenwood South:
Zely + Ritz, but you already gave them their due.Helios Cafe: Best known as a coffee shop (Counter Culture beans), Helios just took on the former executive chef of Coquette. He re-did their menu focusing on local and organic ingredients. Most dishes are available as a small, tapas sized plates or a larger size. I'm working my way through the menu, but the frenched green beans were delicious and so were the cod stuffed piquillo peppers. Very inexpensive: $4-11. And on First Friday, they grill out on the patio- last month they had a japon-dog, a hot dog with nori and daikon. Much of the produce and greens come from their garden which is only a short walk from the restaurant.
Must mentions in Downtown:
Poole's: An old lunch counter, it is now a high end restaurant whose menu changes daily and is available only on the large chalkboards that line the walls. The single most famous dish here is the Mac and Cheese, which is made fresh daily with a constantly changing assortment of cheeses.Sitti: A fine dining take on a local, Lebanese favorite. Everything I've had here has been well spiced and flavorful. Standouts are the hot shrimp appetizer, the pita (some of the best I've ever had, so soft inside), and the Ashta- a banana, milk pudding and phillo concoction, drizzled with honey that is to die for.
-----
Sitti
137 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC 27601
-
-
Naco
Jun 15, 2010 04:26 PM
Cooper's is bog standard, gas-cooked, barbecue generica. The Pit is down the street a bit and is much better. I have issues with it- the sides are so-so at best, as is the tea- but the barbecue itself is excellent.
There used to be a pretty good Ethiopian place called Abyssinia on Avent Ferry Road. Very good yepeg wat, and they had kitfo as well. Abyssinia was kind of on the slow side, though. It's been a few years since I've been, though. Any more recent impressions from someone? IIRC there's a Vietnamese place called Da Lat in the same strip mall as Abyssinia.
›6 Replies-
re: Naco
Abyssinia has a lunch buffet. I haven't tried it but I've heard good things, and it's under $10.
Da Lat is great but I've had to almost beg for them to make the food spicy- they don't believe me when I say I want it authentic.
Less upscale, I'm a huge fan of the hot dogs at Cloos' Coney Island right across the shopping center.
All three places are located in the Mission Valley shopping center, for OP's sake.
-
-
