Review of Luigi's, Fayetteville

            When it comes to Italian food in Fayetteville, your choices should begin and end with Luigi’s.  It is by far, the best Italian in the area.  Luigi’s has this rustic feel to it, that immediately conjures up images of Italy.  After entering, the bar and lounge area is to the left, while the multiple dining rooms in the restaurant are to the right.  The bar always catches my eye, due to the light blue under-lighting of the alcohol bottles.  The scent of garlic and fresh bread awakens your senses as soon as you hit the foyer.  The restaurant gives you a feeling of belonging, just like an Italian grandmother’s dining room.  In fact, the feeling inside of the restaurant almost always reminds me of my Italian grandmother, and how I wish I learned more of her recipes.  Thankfully, Luigi’s is willing to make great Italian food for you. 

            Megan and I both love the fresh bread that is made on site.  It is warm on the inside and just crusty enough on the outside to make it authentic.  Instead of butter, you get a great combination of Parmesan and Italian herbs covered in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  The combination is amazing and dipping pieces of bread in the concoction will cause your taste buds to burst in your mouth.  While I did choose to add more vinegar to our dish, it is a great, unique, and thoroughly Italian way to start off a meal. 

            Instead of a salad, both Megan and I chose to get Luigi’s She Crab Soup.  The soup is exquisite.  Unlike many She-crab soups, this one has a very thick, almost bisque-like consistency.  You can also see a few shreds of crab and spices throughout the soup. Megan absolutely loves it and calls it one of her favorite soups.  I, also believe the soup is very good, but I am more of a chowder man instead of bisque.  I like more texture in my soups with chunks of seafood, potato, vegetables, etc., which is why I add the crackers.  For what Luigi’s She Crab Soup is, it is a great, rather filling, warm, and delicious soup.  And even though my preference is different, I still can guarantee that I will be ordering it instead of a salad every time. 

            For Megan’s meal, she ordered the Pasta Purses.  Our waiter gave her the suggestion that it pairs very well with their Italian sausage.  Wow, was he right; I’m very jealous that I did not order it.  Their pasta is actually shaped like purses, with six different cheeses mixed inside.  A piece of dough is rolled flat, and then the cheese is added.  Then, the edges are cinched together to give the visual effect of a purse.  Also, unlike some other Italian places where you get 4-5 stuffed pasta pieces on a plate (ravioli, etc), Luigi’s must have given Megan over twenty purses filled with cheese.  While the pasta is great, what really impresses me is the sauce; sorry, it is just the Italian side coming out.  For this dish, they make a pesto cream sauce.  It has the richness of an Alfredo sauce with the heavy cream and Parmesan, but then, a healthy amount of finely chopped pesto sauce blended in.  The combination is very addicting.  The rich sauce is teeming with the spices of the pesto, perfectly complementing the cheeses in the pasta purses.  The hot Italian sausage was grilled until just charred.  It was quite spicy, but you could taste the smoky flavor of the sausage.  It was a perfect complement to the richness of the sauce and add a salty, smoky component. 

            In order to try as many flavors as possible, I ordered Il Festa (the Feast).  I got a ricotta-stuffed Manicotti, Chicken Parmigiana, a large meatball, and instead of spaghetti, I substituted a Chicken Pomodoro Risotto.  The meatball was very large, well cooked, and created of predominantly meat and spices, just the way it should be.  It was moist, delicious, and almost melted in my mouth.  The Chicken was pounded very thin and then coated in Italian breadcrumbs and fried.  It was topped with a Marinara sauce and some Provolone cheese.  The Marinara, thankfully, was a proper, thick sauce with just a bit of sweetness.  Lately, I have been a huge fan of Provolone.  So when I tasted the combination of cheese, sauce, and chicken, I loved it.  I thought the chicken was little bit thin, but it was a sampler platter, so I shouldn’t complain. The Manicotti was good, but not spectacular.  In fact, the ricotta and parsley were a little bit dry inside.  I doubt I would order it as a full dish.  It was the same Marinara sauce, but this time over the Manicotti.  It was the least impressive part of this otherwise great dish.  The Risotto of the Day, the Chicken Pomodoro, was spectacular.  The creaminess of a perfectly cooked risotto is always a win in my book.  Add to it, large chicken pieces, spices, and tomato chunks and this risotto is a hit.  This was so good, I could have eaten a large bowl of this as my entire meal.  In fact, Megan kept stealing forkfuls of my risotto every time I looked away. 

            Luigi’s, without question, is the best Italian in all of Fayetteville.  The place can be a bit lively or just loud at times, but that is just a staple of all good Italian restaurants.  The food is great, the waiters are very helpful and attentive, and the atmosphere allows it to be a place you can take a date or well-behaved kids on family night.  If you are ever in Fayetteville, I know exactly where you should be eating dinner, Luigi’s. 

Category	Scale 1-5 stars
Food Quality
Food Creativity
Service
Atmosphere
Value for the price

Review of the State Farmer's Market Restaurant, Raleigh

     This week, we made a find.  We visited the State Farmer's Market in Raleigh for the first time.  It was very impressive.  After buying fresh Legend peaches, Liberty apples, blueberry juice, four kinds of zucchini, Italian cheese peppers, a purple pepper, Apple butter, Sweet Potato butter, fresh-made pickles, and spices (basil, parsley, and chocolate mint), we were quite hungry (and had many items in our bags for under $25).  Across the street from the market is the State Farmer's Market Restaurant.  While we were initially skeptical, it may have been the best lunch we have ever had.  Megan said it best when we walked in and saw the restaurant full of elderly people, "with this many senior citizens, this place is either really cheap or really great."  The State Farmer's Market Restaurant is both, and they fed us like fiends.

Upon entering, the restaurant is one big semi-circular room with the kitchen in the middle.  It definitely gives you a country, open-air feeling.  The place is almost homey and comfortable.  There is a huge mural that covers all of the walls, depicting North Carolina farming, culture, and heritage.  All of the waitresses are dressed in overalls, which initially made me laugh.  However, our waitress was super friendly and was very knowledgeable about the food that they serve.  When prompted, she even offered up her favorites and recommendations.  Then, once I ordered beets, she asked me to describe them to her, so that if anyone else asks, she'll know how to describe them.  I applaud her efforts to learn more about the menu.  It definitely gives her an added expertise, by her desire to master the menu.

 As soon as we sat down, our waitress brought us fresh biscuits.  Someone there has found the secret to the most amazing biscuits.  They were somehow both fluffy and dense on the inside, while the outside was buttery and slightly crispy.  I knew that I was in heaven right there.  For $8.99 for each lunch special, we got HUGE meals.  I ordered the BBQ chicken with pickled beets and cheesy-potato casserole.  They literally served me half of a chicken.  The hot and spicy BBQ sauce was made in-house.  It was a thin tomato-based sauce, but the vinegar in it gave it a pop.  It is like a great marriage of Eastern and Western North Carolina barbecue sauces.  It was delicious.  My chicken was baked, which made the skin slightly crunchy and then soaked in the sauce.  It was fabulous, I mean, utterly fabulous chicken.  The cheesy-potato casserole was made by combining squared potato cubes with a heavy amount of cheese.  I could also taste the finely diced onions and a touch of cream in the sauce.  The potatoes were just soft enough to eat, but still firm enough to hug the cheese.  My mouth is watering as recollect this side dish.  The pickled beets were average.  They were very large sliced beets which were then pickled, but aside from the obvious fresh earthiness and slight bitterness from the pickling, there is not much to say about them.  Every meal also includes a dessert.  I got the peach cobbler.  The in-season, fresh peaches were amazing with the soft crust.  The free portion was just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth and make you want to get more next time.  While it may not be the best peach cobbler I have ever had, it was very close as the peaches virtually melted in my mouth.

     Megan ordered the Fried Chicken with the cheesy-potato casserole and fried okra.  Again, we got an entire half of a chicken.  The chicken was thinly battered, but fried extra crispy.  It was perfectly browned and crispy on the outside, while moist and juicy on the inside.  I was amazed with the chicken and even stole Megan's leg.  The okra was very fresh, in fact, I bet it was picked within the last two days, and fried to a golden brown.  I'm not an okra fan, but Megan loved it.  Her dessert was a biscuit pudding.  Picture a small biscuit with raisins and coconut inside, then topped with a sweet icing drizzle.  I've heard of bread pudding, but never biscuit pudding; this was great.  Their perfect biscuits with fruit and icing were like a dream.

     Just in case we were planning on coming back for breakfast, we ordered a country ham biscuit to sample and share.  Their breakfast sandwich biscuits were literally bigger than my hand, with the same fluffy/dense consistency.  Then, there were literally three huge slices of country ham piled onto this biscuit.  The ham was fresh and salty.  While I am not a huge fan of country ham, Megan loves it and said that it would have made an amazing breakfast all by itself.  Just look at the picture, keeping in mind that the biscuit is on a dinner-sized plate.

     I guarantee that this will not be our last trip to the State Farmer's Market Restaurant.  The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable about their food.  The food was amazing; I mean this place may be one of the best kept secrets around.  The atmosphere was fun, and for the price, you cannot beat the quality or quantity of food.  While it is only open for breakfast and lunch, we are already trying to find a time to bring our parents and friends to the State Farmer's Market Restaurant.

Category	Scale 1-5 stars
Food Quality
Food Creativity
Service
Atmosphere
Value for the price

Review of the Red Room Tapas Lounge, Raleigh

            One of the top restaurants in North Carolina has to be the Red Room Tapas Lounge in Raleigh.  Every time that we frequent this restaurant, it has been amazing.  It is one of the restaurants belonging to the Rocky Top Hospitality Group, which now includes only the Red Room, Draft, the Mash House, Twisted Fork, & Tribeca Tavern.  Upon entering the Red Room, you realize that the restaurant is aptly named, as the inside is distinctly red.  To the left are a few booths; to the right are multiple tables as well as couches that create the lounge atmosphere.  The restaurant is draped in red, with a bar that runs the restaurant’s length and many tables on the outdoor patio.  The deep red of the restaurant gives it a relaxing, warm feel upon entering, which virtually guarantees a great dining experience.

            When Megan and I eat at the Red Room, we prefer their tapas.  Typically, we order 5-6 for our meal.  One of our constants is the Crab and Manchego Dip.  The crab is baked with Manchego cheese until it is bubbling and slightly brown on top.  Then it is served with beet and yucca chips.  The dip is creamy with a slightly tart tinge from the melted Manchego.  While, the dip might be better with lump crab, it is still a great dip. However, the real star is the chips.  The beet and yucca chips are salty and very crunchy.  They are excellent when paired with the crab dip. 

            Our second staple is the Shrimp Ceviche.  If you are unfamiliar with ceviche, raw shrimp (or another fish or shellfish) is put into a citrus juice, typically lime or lemon.  The juice then “cooks” the shrimp when citric acid causes the protein to become denatured, which in essence, makes it seem cooked.  The shrimp is combined with avocado, mango, and onions, which gives it a sweet and creamy complement to the lime-flavored shrimp.  When combined with the salty yucca chips, or the mildly sweet plantain chips, this dish allows the flavor combination to burst in your mouth.  While many people are scared of the idea of uncooked or undercooked shrimp, ceviche is perfectly safe and absolutely delicious.  

            We always order the Seared Sea Scallops.  They sear four immensely large scallops in butter until it gets slightly golden.  Then it is served with a cauliflower taboulleh salad and a yellow pepper coulis.  The salad and pepper coulis are a new addition to this dish.  Previously, it had a two different sauces and no salad, which was much better.  The coulis is rather bland.  The scallops, however, are the dish in-and-of itself.  There is nothing that beats the sweetness of large, perfectly cooked scallops. 

            Megan’s favorite tapas is the Cheese Plate.  You get five cheeses, a few pieces of crusty bread, whipped butter, artichokes, pita wedges, a fig/fruit puree, green and purple olives, and roasted red peppers on a wooden cutting board.  While the cheeses occasionally change, our favorites are the Mahon (a sharp, tangy, and intense cow’s milk cheese), Murcia (a soft goat’s milk cheese aged in red wine), and Cabrales (a cave-aged Spanish Blue Cheese made from a combination of sheep, goat, and cow’s milk).  The flavor combinations of this dish are endless.  The cheeses are fantastic and this is easily a dish that I will enjoy every time we visit the Red Room. 

            The last of the tapas that we always order is the Grilled Steak Churrasco.  Churrasco is basically grilling, so the name is counter-productive.  But the steak is grilled, then sliced against the grain, and topped with a chimichurri sauce.  Chimichurri is typically a thick blend of parsley, garlic, oil, vinegar, oregano, and spices.  The Red Room’s Chimichurri sauce is an excellent complement to the medium-rare steak.  My only complaint about this dish is that I want more. The six slices are never enough. 

            The Red Room creates a great culinary experience for you.  Between the perfectly spaced out tapas, the great servers, and the exceptional food, this is a great place for a date or just dinner with friends.  While the Red Room also has large plates, paella, and amazing sangria, we’ll keep going back for the tapas.  Oh, and keep in mind, the tapas are half price on Sunday and Monday and there are Spanish dancing lessons on Thursdays.  The Red Room is an exceptional restaurant and as long as the Rocky Top Group doesn’t close this restaurant like they did Hi-5, Bogart’s, or Michael Dean’s, then I would highly recommend going here for your next meal. 

           

Category	Scale 1-5 stars
Food Quality
Food Creativity
Service
Atmosphere
Value for the price

Review of the Cleveland Draft House, Garner

            On a Saturday, after shopping in Raleigh, we were a bit peckish.  So, we decided to try a place that we had talked about for at least a year, but had never gone, the Cleveland Draft House.  The grey-bricked building is very impressive, though it definitely looks out of place.   The parking lot was packed with cars, but most of those customers were in the bar area, not the dining room.  Megan and I entered the waiting area at about 2:45, and waited, and waited.  No one came to help us or seat us.  Apparently, after a ten-minute wait, we started walking around and discovered the blonde, high school-aged hostess watching soccer in the dining room.  Finally, we sat down to a dining room with only two other occupied tables.  The decor is strange.  Movie photos are lining a place with big screen TVs all showing sports.  The theme seems mismatched to the intent of the restaurant.  

            Since we were not in the mood for a huge meal, we decided to order some appetizers.  We each started with a cup of the beer-cheese soup.  For starters, it was the soup of the day.  I have never heard of beer-cheese soup not being a staple in a draft house restaurant; it should have been a sign.  I definitely believe that a good brewery/restaurant can be measured by its beer-cheese soup.  This soup was awful.  Most beer-cheese soup has cheddar (or white cheddar) mixed into a roux with beer added.  The Cleveland Draft House included very finely chopped red and green peppers into their soup.  While, there was a slight taste of yeast, there was no discernable beer taste to the soup.  I honestly believe this was watered-down queso from the previous day.  Between the look of the soup and the taste of the cheese that was definitely American instead of Cheddar, I think I am right. 

            We then had Chili-Cheese Fries.  The fries looked as if they were properly fried twice and were crunchy.  Cheddar cheese was melted on the fries, however, the cheese was not distributed equally and basically fell to the back of the plate.  The chili was another big disappointment.  I like thick, rich, hearty chili; their chili was none of that.  Since chili is the one soup they have every day, I would expect it to be better.  The Cleveland Draft House chili on our fries had almost no meat, it was huge chunks of tomato and onion with lots and lots of beans.  I wonder if their chili was vegetarian?  I doubt it though, since it is not advertised that way.  The worst part was that the chili was very watery.  At the bottom of our plate of fries was a thin, brown water that made the bottom layer of fries soggy.  This dish was almost as big of a failure as the soup. 

            Our experience at the Cleveland Draft House was horrible.  The waitress never refilled our sweet tea and the food was awful.  I mean really awful.  We had heard good things about the Draft House, but we saw none of them.  Perhaps we just ordered wrong, but chili-cheese fries and beer soup should be simple things for a draft house to get correct.  I’d love to give them another chance, but I just can’t seem to build up the desire to pay for another letdown.  I guess there is a reason why there are no photos of their food on their Facebook page, or the internet at all.  Oh, and on our way out, there were three families waiting to be seated, including one with a baby and one all senior citizens. I asked how long they had been there and answers ranged from 10-15 minutes.  I then directed them to the hostess, still watching soccer around the corner in the dining room; neglecting her job.  Perhaps neglect is just the theme of the Cleveland Draft House. 

Category	Scale 1-5 stars
Food Quality
Food Creativity
Service
Atmosphere
Value for the price

Review of Front Street Brewery, Wilmington

            After spending a night at the beach, Megan and I were looking for a place to have lunch before heading home.  After driving into downtown Wilmington, we decided to try the Front Street Brewery.  Now, we’ve seen the Brewery around dinnertime and it is always packed with people.  That is a great sign.  So, since we were there a few minutes before it opened at 11:30, we decided to wait and eat.  The inside of the Brewery is impressive.  To the left are the massive beer tanks, as this is the only restaurant and brewery in Wilmington.  To the right, upstairs, and beyond the bar are more tables.  It really is much nicer inside than I expected. 

            Since we skipped breakfast, we ordered the Pub Fries with chili as an appetizer.  They came out piping hot, crunchy, and perfectly seasoned.  The queso and chili combination also went together very well.  While the chili’s meat to bean ratio was heavily in favor of the beans, it as still very fresh and satisfying. 

            We both ordered a cup of the Cheddar Ale Soup.  One easy way to judge a brewery’s restaurant is by how good their beer-cheese soup is.  The Front Street Brewery has excellent soup.  It is rich and creamy and has the bite you would expect from the Scottish Ale.  This is one dish I guarantee I will order every time I go to the Brewery.  This restaurant definitely gets an A+ for their soup. 

            Megan and I both ordered Pulled Barbecue sandwiches.  Hers was the traditional pork, while I got the pulled chicken.  Both barbecues were incredibly moist, delicate, and deliciously cooked, but they lacked spices normally associated with a barbecue.  Both were then topped with their house-made Scottish Ale Brew-BQ sauce.  The sauce is actually very impressive.  It is tomato-based with an average thickness and the great beer bite.   My only problem with it, is that it only tops the barbecue, instead of being mixed into the barbecue.  So you never really get the flavor of the sauce in every bite.  The coleslaw is a thick cut, mayonnaise-based slaw.  It also is missing much flavor, though it did have ample crunch.  Since the brew-bq sauce is tomato based, I think the sandwich would have benefited from a vinegar-based slaw. 

            I really enjoyed our experience at the Front Street Brewery.  The service was good, the atmosphere was fun, and the food was above average.  I guarantee that the next time I am in Wilmington around lunch, I’ll be heading back to the Front Street Brewery.

Category	Scale 1-5 stars
Food Quality
Food Creativity
Service
Atmosphere
Value for the price