Rose's 6 Month Photoshoot

So many pictures to love! Thank you for the beautiful images Ana Teresa Galizes!

Going International for Lunch

Last week, we decided to go out to lunch instead of going to dinner.  The weather wasn't great and the backyard was muddy, so Darwin didn't get to spend his days running around with his buddy Phoenix (who is temporarily staying with us).  Instead of keeping him cooped up all evening so we could go do dinner, we opted to meet for lunch downtown.  Meeting for lunch isn't ideal because we don't get to take our time eating and chatting.  Unfortunately, the weather has not been cooperating and our backyard is very muddy from all the rain and snow. Yes, we did get some snow this weekend!  For most of Saturday morning, the snow was coming down in beautiful, large snowflakes, but as the temperatures rose into the mid-upper 30's, it turned to slushy snow.  Our back deck and backyard was covered with a little over an inch by the end.  Most of the snow/ice was melted by the sun on Sunday, but there are a few large patches that didn't get any sun and now remain icy.

I'm certainly ready for some spring weather! I hate the cold.

Enough about the weather, let me share the details about our lunch at Buku.  I had been there with my former foodie coworkers over a year ago, and had enjoyed my lunch. The reviews were good, so I convinced Colin to meet me there for lunch.

We opted for a global-inspired lunch starting with the empanadas.  The waiter was kind enough to allow us to order a spicy and a regular instead of two of just one kind.  Colin ordered the South African lamb kebabs, which were cooked with peppers and mango chunks and were served with potato salad and lentils. I ordered the Massaman curry, a vegetarian dish with vegetables, curry and a coconut sauce, served with rice on the side.

The empanadas were very good. The main difference between the spicy and regular was the spicy salsa on top.  The sauce was good, but I prefer the guacamole that came on the regular ones.

Empanada and Empanada Picante

The lamb meat was very tender and I really enjoyed the combination with the peppers and the mango (?) pieces. The potato salad was also very good.  The lentils seemed a bit too raw for my liking and I would have preferred them served warm instead of cold.  Colin was not a fan of the meat, veggies or the lentils.  He only gave a positive review to the potato salad.

South African Lamb Kebabs with potato salad and lentils

I really enjoyed the Massaman Curry, especially the unique flavor the coconut added.  Once again, Colin was not impressed, so I got to polish it off!  I will admit the flavor was a bit mild, even with the coconut, but I sometimes prefer a dish that is more mild.  I've been to many restaurants where the food tastes overly flavorful because of all the salt and/or butter used.  I enjoy my meal when I eat it, but then don't feel great afterwards.  After eating at Buku, I felt full, satisfied, and didn't go back to the office in food coma.  I prefer having a hearty meal at lunch, but don't like overdoing the carbohydrates, which can make me tired during the afternoon.  Even with the rice and potato salad, I didn't feel stuffed or tired.

Massaman Curry (vegetarian) with Jasmine rice

I enjoyed the romantic atmosphere of Buku's main dining area, especially since we decided that would be our Valentine's Day meal. The service was excellent and efficient for the lunch hour, with our appetizer served quickly after ordering.  We didn't get to spend that much time together, or enjoy a very leisure dining experience, but I'm sure Darwin appreciated our attention that evening.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal, but will admit their menu is pricey. The website claims they use high quality produce, hormone-free beef and sustainable fish, but I don't really know what that means. I doubt the produce was organic or local, and we had lamb, not beef.  The restaurant also claims to be "global street food," but I don't know any street empanadas that cost $3.50 each, or street lamb kebab entrees to cost $12.  In NYC, street kebabs on a heaping pile of rice cost under $5.  I recognize we have to pay for the service and the dining experience, but I think Buku's description of itself sets the wrong expectation.

If you've ever eaten at Buku, is there a menu item you love?

We are probably going to dine in Chapel Hill or Durham this week, any suggestions? 

Triangle Restaurant Week - Irregardless Cafe

Last week's Triangle Restaurant Week was a perfect opportunity to try one of the area's best restaurants in the area.  The event covered restaurants in Durham, Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, Morrisville, Apex, Cary, Raleigh and Wake Forest.  The event corresponded with our decision to start going out to eat on a Monday or Tuesday as something to look forward to at the beginning of the work week (now that football season is almost over!).

We really wanted to go Watt's Grocery in Durham, since it came highly recommended by friends and yelp, but to our dismay, there were no reservations available. Instead, we decided to try the "Contemporary American" restaurant Irregardless, known for it's popular vegetarian and vegan options.

Triangle Restaurant Week offered $20 and $30 3-course prix fixe menus.  Irregardless offered a $20 3-course vegetarian meal and $30 3-course non-vegetarian menu.  The vegetarian entree options included Shepard's Pie, Chile Rellenos, and Roasted Vegetable Polenta. The non-vegetarian entree options included pan-roasted salmon, Morgan Street chicken, and BBQ Short Ribs.  Our appetizer options included a Middle Eastern Platter, Garden Salad, Vidalhia Onion Pizza, spicy soup, or bean soup.  The dessert options included a flourless chocolate cake, creme brule, and apple berry crisp.

We decided to do one vegetarian option and one non-vegetarian option. I didn't get a picture of the appetizer, but we each split the white bean soup (which was delicious, but too small), and the garden salad.  We then split the Shepard's Pie and the Morgan Street Chicken, and finished off withe the flourless chocolate cake and creme brule.

The Shepard's Pie

The Shepard's Pie was good, but tasted a little too much like the dough of the crust. The vegetable interior and the sauce didn't give the dish quite enough flavor.  

The Morgan Street Chicken

The chicken, which was described as a breast of chicken, marinated in lemon tahini sauce, coated with crushed cashews and panko crumbs, and topped with an herb compound butter, was also not as delicious as we expected.  To me, it tasted just like the pork chops my mom used to make in the "shake and bake" seasoning.  The chicken was really dry, and just didn't provide the flavors I expected.

The flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce

Along with the white bean soup, the flourless chocolate cake was the highlight of the meal.  It was so rich and delicious.  We probably should have each gotten our own piece!!

The Grand Marinier Creme Brule

We actually ordered the Apple Berry Crisp, but were served the Creme Brule instead. We each took a bite and decided it was good enough not to complain and make a big deal about the mix-up.

Overall, it was a fairly disappointing $50+ meal.  We each could have gotten delicious bean soup from the vegan/vegetarian restaurant The Remedy Diner and 2 slices of amazing flourless chocolate cake from Hayes Barton for $25 and been perfectly satisfied with our meal.  I was most disappointed because Irregardless has such a great reputation.

Oh well, at least we will get to try another place tonight! I expect it will be much less expensive, I hope it will be very tasty, and I look forward to sharing the details with you in a future post.

Have you ever tried Watt's Grocery?

What is the best Restaurant Week experience you've ever had?

A Lunch Date at Sitti in Downtown Raleigh

We've been doing some traveling since Memorial Day, but for most of May, we stayed close to home. During that very busy month at work, Colin and I did try out more of the area's restaurants.  On a beautiful early summer day, we went to the Lebanese Restaurant, Sitti, for lunch and enjoyed a wonderful meal.

Shortly after we settled ourselves at our small, outdoor table, pita bread and an oil based dipping sauce were served.  It was amazing and one of the best bread/dip mixtures I've ever had.  Just thinking about it again makes me salivate.

Sitti's delicious bread and oil dip

We decided to try the special of the day - a lamb stew in a tomato sauce with sitti rice (described as vermicilli noodles topped with roasted almonds).  The dish was perfect for my palate, which prefers mild spices to hot.  The stew was served on another delicious pita.  I definitely had my fill of bread at this lunch!

The day's special - lamb stew

Lamb is not a meat we typically cook ourselves, but we both enjoy its tenderness.  Though we try to get a variety of dishes when we go to a restaurant, we couldn't help ordering the "Kafta Kabob Wrap," which includes ground beef and lamb.  The kabob, topped with hummus, tomato, and onion was flavorful, but was not quite as good as we expected.  It could have been because the lamb stew was so good, that it left the kabob lacking when it normally would have been just fine.

The Kafta Kabob Wrap filled with ground beef, lamb, hummus, tomato and onion

My overall impression of Sitti was very positive.  The lunch time service was good, it was nice to people watch on the sidewalk in downtown Raleigh, and the food was very satisfying.  Every time I think back to the food, my brain focuses on how delicious the appetizer was! If you can get there for a meal sometime, I definitely recommend it and be warned that you might fill up on the bread!!

Have you ever eaten lamb? 

If not, why not?

If you have, what is your impression of it's taste?

Good ol North Carolina BBQ

Last week we decided to try some North Carolina barbecue for our date night. We've been wanting to find a good BBQ place to take friends when they visit and many people had suggested "The Pit," located in downtown Raleigh, for authentic eats. The restaurant has been featured on The Food Network and other TV programs.

We debated ordering some appetizers, but I'm glad we did not because they brought us some hush puppies and cornbread shortly after we ordered our meals. Wikipedia provides a detailed history of hush puppies, or deep fried cornmeal balls, if you are interested in reading up on them. Personally, I prefer regular cornbread to hush puppies.

Hush puppies and biscuits for the table.

I ordered a "Western NC BBQ" entree consisting of a half rack of ribs and Colin opted for the "Eastern NC BBQ" in the form of pulled pork. We also tried ordering sides that would be consistent with our North Carolina BBQ meal.

Eastern North Carolina barbecue pulled pork, collard greens, and mac n cheese 

Apparently, there is a whole science to BBQ in North Carolina. "Eastern-NC-Style BBQ is plain whole-hog pork meat, with just the tiniest bit of vinegar-based "sauce" which isn't a sauce at all, applied as a moistening agent." It also includes bare traces of hot pepper and a minimum amount of additional flavorings. I've had it a few times, never expecting it to taste good, but it always surprises me with its delicious flavor. Thankfully, I've been steered in the right direction on all 3 occasions where I've eaten Eastern NC BBQ (the state fair, Doug Sauls near Nashville, NC, and now The Pit in Raleigh).

I have always loved sweet barbecue sauces, which is why I chose the Western NC BBQ. This BBQ (also know as "Lexington"-style) differs from Eastern style in two distinct ways: 1) it's always made from pork shoulders only, and 2) it uses a real sauce, of which heavy doses of ketchup are added to the vinegar base universally, and often a small amount of sugar is added as well. My ribs in this Western sauce were delicious!

Western North Carolina half rack of ribs, black eyed peas, and broccoli salad 

Both meats were very tasty. I've read that Eastern NC BBQ either tastes delicious or is horrible and is a difficult process to master. Since Colin and I both enjoyed it, I would feel confident recommending "The Pit" for people wanting to experience either style of NC BBQ. While the meat was good, I give our sides mixed reviews. The mac and cheese was the highlight of the side dishes, with its great flavor and a perfectly baked consistency. The black eyed peas were the worst, completely lacking in flavor (though the consistency was good). The collards were okay, leaving me wishing for a little more flavor. And lastly, the broccoli salad was also okay. The flavor tasted okay, but it just seemed like they doused vegetables in a creamy ranch-type sauce.

We knew we had to save some room for dessert, since The Pit's signature dessert, the banana pudding, came highly recommended. Since we ate the hush puppies and cornbread, we saved some of our entrees to take home. The dessert was good, but I would definitely not say amazing. The presentation of the dish was wonderful, the bananas in the dish were plentiful, but I expected more consistency than just bananas, pudding and whipped cream. A little graham cracker, wafers, or pie crust would have likely made me love it.

Banana pudding for dessert 

Last week I posted about eating vegetarian and trying to choose sustainable meat. This week I put all of that to the side to enjoy some North Carolina barbecue. I didn't ask where the meat came from because I was afraid of the answer. And Colin and I wanted to find a good North Carolina barbecue place where we could take friends who come to visit. Thankfully, I can feel better about the meat I ate after looking at The Pit's website, which tells me their "pigs are all raised in North Carolina using free-range farming practices, and the freshest of the state's bountiful produce is featured in the starters, sides and desserts." While the produce is most likely not organic, I love that they get their produce from local sources.

By no means would I consider our meals healthy. The healthiest things on our plates were the black eyed peas - and they had no flavor. By limiting ourselves to one night where we go out to eat, we are limiting the excess calories, fat, and sodium we eat. Most of the days of the week, we eat healthy foods like plain oatmeal, eggs (with veggies), soups, vegetables, fruits, and entrees that include lots of vegetables. We are suckers for salty snacks (like tortilla chips and sesame sticks), but for the most part the rest of our foods are fresh.

I've done a fair amount of travel for work this week, so we didn't do our usual date night early in the week. Plus, it's my birthday today, so we might go out to celebrate with dinner this weekend. But, since the weather's been so nice, I'd prefer to have a nice meal cooked at home (hopefully complements of chef Colin!) and enjoyed out on the patio! I'll keep you posted!!

How do celebrate your birthday?

Date Night Goes Vegetarian

Colin and I are always looking for good vegetarian meals.  We subscribe to the philosophy of eating better quality meat and less often. As a result, we end up cooking vegetarian meals pretty often.

So much of the meat we find in the grocery store has come from animals raised in horrible conditions on factory farms, where the animals are fed grains to fatten up quickly.  Because cows are not meant to eat grains, but rather to graze on grass, their man-made diet causes ulcers in their stomach and so we humans medicate them with antibiotics.  I'm not going to get into the health concerns that raises in humans, or the environmental impacts - you can research that on your own when you are ready to connect with the reality of where your meat comes from.

I will say that I care about my health and I care about the harm that is done to the environment in the name of capitalism.  I recognize that Americans want their meat on the table and agriculture has done what is necessary to meet demand, but I know that the amount we now consume is not the process of natural selection.  

I could get into the science behind the fact that most Americans only require 50-100 grams of protein per day and that some burgers at fast food joints provide a whole day's supply of protein in one burger (and excess calories and fat).  But, I'll spare you ... this time.

Instead, I'll focus on our experience dining at one of WRAL's five fave vegetarian restaurants.  We started at the top of the list with "Remedy Diner" in the heart of downtown Raleigh, around the corner from Moore Square.  Their menu of "remedies" and "prescriptions" offered variety for diners spanning the spectrum from vegan, to vegetarian, to omnivorous.  

I enjoy vegetarian options at restaurants because I don't have to stress about where my meat came from, but I am frequently frustrated by the fact that many vegetarian restaurants primarily offer soy substitutes for meat.  I suspect I have a slight allergy to soy, so I try not to consume it in large quantities.  And, I want to eat a plate full of vegetables that taste good and are satisfying.  The frustration I have with soy substitutes is that people (myself included) have become so conditioned to a solid mass on our plate, that we require vegetarian equivalents to meat.

The Remedy Diner's vegetarian menu was typical - offering a variety of soy entrees, and a black bean burger and portobello mushroom sandwich for the non-soy eaters.  They also offered real deli meat sandwiches, informing patrons that they "only use Boar's Head meats which contain no fillers, gluten, artificial colors, flavors, or trans fat."  But, that doesn't tell us anything about how that animal was raised.  As far as I know Boar's Head does not source local, sustainable meat, and actually has a link to the "American Meat Institute's refute to the myths provided in the movie Food, Inc.

Colin ordered the "tempeh tantrum" sandwich, which was marinated tempeh with vegan pesto, vegan bacon, avocado and lettuce on sourdough.  I had the black bean burger, because I was not going to get meat or soy at a vegetarian restaurant and Colin makes really good portobello sandwiches.  The item I most looked forward to was the chickpea soup we had as a side. 

 Above: Colin's tempeh sandwich and chickpea soup

Below: My black bean burger and garden salad

The food was very flavorful, though we both wondered if the soup taste came from a high-sodium bouillon cube.  The pesto, avocado and "fake" bacon on Colin's tempeh was delicious (I just had a bite).  And my black bean burger was also delicious and maintained a good consistency in the bun.

We haven't mastered the art of making a good black bean burger at home ... yet! 

I realized later that the diner offered vegan cheese, which I always assumed was another "fake" cheese made from soy.  When I looked up Daiya cheese on wikipedia, I found out that it is actually made from cassava and arrowroot.  I'll have to try it out sometime.

Since our dinners were not too over-indulgent, we decided to split a dessert.  The "chess pie" - a pie that looked and tasted like a cookie, was really good!  The soft consistency of the cookie and very rich flavor were likely a result of lots of butter - but I did enjoy every bite.

Chess pie for dessert

Overall, the meal was tasty.  We were able to eat a few servings of vegetables between the salad, soup, and sandwiches, but I'm sure the calories, sugar, fat and salt outweighed any benefits from the vegetables.  We certainly could have gone without the dessert to cut down on some calories, fat, and sugar.  I would have preferred more vegetable based entrees, but the menu was to be expected for a vegetarian diner.  The atmosphere was very laid-back, with a college feel that brought me back to UVM.  

Stay tuned for more posts about Miller adventures! The weather is getting warmer, which means we should be getting back to outdoor activities - which we need after all this going out to eat!!  I expect there to be a weekly, or biweekly semimonthly fortnightly post about our date nights since I will be traveling for work much of this month and will be eating on the road during the day.  I'm not a fan of dining out for lunch AND dinner!

But I wonder - have you ever had daiya cheese?  If so, is it good?

A New Series of Posts Starts with 18 Seaboard

Colin and I have decided to give ourselves something to look forward to at the beginning of each week.  We have decided to try a new restaurant in the triangle every Monday or Tuesday night.  Colin needs something to balance out not looking forward to starting the work week, I want the date night with the opportunity to spend time alone together without distractions.  

We are using the lists of "five faves" in the entertainment section of the local news station, WRAL, to find highly rated restaurants in various categories. Categories on our list to try first include; "best restaurant," "best vegetarian," and "best barbecue."

The first restaurant selected was 18 Seaboard, located in a historic-looking area of Raleigh, very close to Peace College.  This restaurant was listed as one of the top 5 "best restaurants" and boasts locally sourced food.

Not having been to this area of Raleigh very often, we struggled to find parking when we first arrived.  Once we drove around to the back of the restaurant however, we found a much larger parking area with plenty of open spots.  My first impression of the restaurant was that it set a romantic mood.  The lighting was low, the tables were not crowded together, and the contrast between the dark wood tables and light colored tableware was relaxing.  Once I paid closer attention, I decided my favorite decorative area was the single brick wall.

The menu offered lots of variety for a "sustainable" restaurant, and I ended up going with a Mahi-Mahi wood grilled fish after consulting my app on sustainable fish to be sure it was not high in mercury or in danger of overfishing.  Colin opted for the wood grilled BBQ brisket.  My fish was from Florida and only the Swordfish was locally sourced. Since Swordfish is high in mercury (a big no-no for women of childbearing age) and I really wanted fish, I went with the Florida Mahi-Mahi. Our choices for sides included mashed potatoes with goat cheese, pistachio-lavender grits, bacon braised collards, and fennel with bok choy.

Brisket, grits and collards above

Mahi-Mahi, mashed potatoes and fennel/bok choy below

The standout (in a not-so-good way) was the very salty fish! I know restaurants use a lot of butter and salt to flavor their foods, but someone definitely overdid it with the salt shaker.  The vegetables (both the fennel/bok choy and collards) were also doused in butter.  I love food that tastes good and is healthy and it just seemed like the chefs were not able to provide delicious flavor with healthy ingredients.  It's such a shame that so few restaurants can provide both local, sustainable ingredients AND good flavor.  There are lots of other healthy seasonings that could have been used instead of the butter and salt (things like lemon and vegetable oils for marinating, and seasonings likes fresh rosemary and thyme). The pistachio-lavender grits, and BBQ brisket were merely ok.  The best food on both of our plates was the goat cheese mashed potatoes.

For a restaurant that sources local ingredients and offers a seasonal menu, prices compared to similar restaurants ($16-28 per entree).  The service was fantastic, the ambiance - very romantic, the presentation was beautiful, but the taste left much to be desired.  Colin and I left the restaurant feeling full, but not feeling satisfied. 

Do you have any restaurant suggestions in the triangle that are sustainable and tasty?

The State Fair, October 12-24, 2010

The North Carolina State Fair was held in Raleigh this month, and boy what an event it was!!  Being in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at NC State University allowed me to be exposed to the fair as a judge, a volunteer, and as a participant.

As a judge, my job was to taste test about 50 different bakery items.  Now, this probably sounds really awesome to some of you - but let me just say that 10 bites is nice, 20 starts to put you in food coma, and 50 is way too much!!  I had a headache for most of the day.  Plus, I am not the best at describing what about the taste I did, or did not, like.  I also had to taste test the 9-12 year old category, so there were lots of muffins, cookies, hard candy and fudge.  Here are some photos of the items I had to judge.

The main benefit of judging is that I received a free entry and parking pass to the fair for the entire 10 days.  I called it my VIP pass.  All I had to do was flash my pass, and I was waived right in.  I took full advantage of this pass and enjoyed the Fair on 3 separate days.

The first weekend (October 17), I went with my coworker and we did a big loop around the fairgrounds, stopping in at the Grist Mill, Village of Yesteryear, seeing the poultry exhibit, and hanging out at the waterfall to enjoy "Elephant Ears" - which are just like Portuguese doughboys and much better than Funnel Cake!!

In the middle of the week, I went with other coworkers during our lunch break.  My office is a 10 minute walk to the fair - so I never even needed the parking pass!  My coworkers wanted to get lunch at the fair and were offered some pretty outrageous options!!

Fair food is a Dietitian's nightmare!  I guess it keeps me in business!!  My coworkers did not get lured in by the deep fried candy bars.  Instead, they went for the sausage sandwich, boiled peanuts and cooked corn (dipped in butter).  I tasted the boiled peanuts, which reminded me of salted potatoes.

I saved my eating for my evening at the fair last week.  On Wednesday, October 20, I went to the Fair after work to check out some of the exhibits I had not really gotten a chance to look at.  I saw all the bakery items that were judged by 20 of us, and the countless jams and jellies that were judged by my other colleagues.  In addition, there were beautiful displays of everything from handmade dresses, to embroidered artwork, to 4-H photography.  My favorite were the decorated cakes.

It was pretty amazing to see the time and effort put into some of these projects.  And many amazing things done by 4-H youth!

Once my roommate got to the fair, we explored the animal exhibits and I actually milked a cow!!

 

My roommate grew up on a diary farm in Jersey, so she thought it was hilarious that I was excited about milking a cow!  

We joined up with about 6-10 of her friends and walked around the fairgrounds.  This time I did sample a lot of the unhealthy food.  Since there were so many of us, we each got something different and shared, so none of us had too much of any one thing.  The list of foods I tried are: Wisconsin cheese mozzarella sticks, cheddar nuggets, and jalapeno sticks; Funnel cake; Deep fried Oreos, Milky Way, and Reese's cups; buttered corn; lemonade; and cheese fries.  All I can say is that it was a good thing I waited over a week after judging bakery items to eat at the Fair!!  

We ended the night with a perfectly timed ride on the Ferris Wheel - just in time to see the fireworks from 50 feet in the air!!

It was a great evening at the Fair with less crowds because it was cool and had rained earlier in the day.  

I went back to the Fair once more on Thursday night to volunteer at the Vermicomposting station at the "NC Green" Exhibit.  I spent almost 5 hours encouraging people to try worm composting.  I did get out for a brief break to grab a highly recommended dinner at the Pork producers tent.  It was the first time I had a good meal at the Fair (if you discount the hushpuppies that came with the pork).  Since Thursday was "get in free with 4 canned food items" the Fair was REALLY busy.  I'm glad I wasn't walking around that day.

My first "real" fair was impressive.  The weather was amazing most of the week, keeping in the mid 70's and sunny almost every day.  I think the great weather led to the record crowd of over 1 million people who came in those 10 days.