A special congrats goes out to The Select Group who recruited me for my current job (which I am really enjoying). I can attest that they are working hard to achieve those growth numbers and it’s great to see them get some recognition for their efforts! Congrats, you guys and to all who made the list!

Here’s the first entry in what I hope becomes a regular feature here on raleighing.com, Raleighing Raves.  Occasionally, I’ll pick a topic and list my own personal favorites in the area.  First one up is the beloved yet oft undervalued sandwich.  There are a bunch of great sandwiches available here in Raleigh but I’ve narrowed my list down to 5.  I’m leaving out burgers as to me that’s a whole separate genre.  So, without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite sandwiches in order:

1. ABC – The Rockford
   The first time I saw this sandwich on The Rockford’s menu I was certainly intrigued, but not sure I even wanted to give it a try.  Apple, Bacon, and Cheddar?  Really?  With battered bread and powdered sugar?  Just sounded like a bit too much for me.  Well, luckily I did give it a try and many years and many visits later I have yet to eat another sandwich at The Rockford.  I’m getting hungry now just thinking about it.  Sure, it’s a heart-attack of a meal, but so worth it.
2. Chicken Salad (Clay’s Favorite) on Pita – Sunflowers
   I love chicken salad, both traditional and non-traditional.  While I love the basic chicken salad on wheat toast at Tookie’s, Sunflowers’ chicken salad with grapes and pecans is incredible, especially when paired with their pita.  The chicken is sliced into chunks which gives it a good consistency.  While not listed in the ingredients on the menu, I taste a hint of lemon in the mix which mixes well with the sweetness of the grapes and the savory of the pecans.  Unfortunately, you can’t get the pita bread at dinner (not sure why) so you’ll have to go with the sunflower bread as dictated on the menu which is still good.
3. Cuban – Raleigh Times
   Raleigh Times made some great changes to their menu in the past months.  The best addition, in my opinion, is their Cuban sandwich: roasted pork loin, Black Oak ham, pickles, tomatoes with garlic aioli & mustard on pressed Cuban bread.  Yes, it is as flavorful as it sounds.  The mustard and pickles tangy, the ham sweet, the pork loin aioli savory all adding up to one tasty sandwich.  I love many other items on the RT menu, like the burger or the Country French salad, but I think this one is my favorite.
4. Turkey Berry Panini – Cafe Carolina
   Ok, so I’m seeing a trend here.  I obviously like a little sweetness in my sandwiches.  This one from Cafe Carolina has cranberry chutney along with smoked turkey, swiss cheese, coleslaw, and grilled sourdough.  It, too, has a great balance of savory, sweet, and tangy.  I also love the light crunch of the toasted bread.
5. Smoked Turkey Breast on Wheat – Village Deli
   My wife and I used to live in Cameron Village Condominiums and loved being near the Village Deli.  We’d have lunch there all the time and this sandwich quickly became a favorite.  It is a simple turkey sandwich made spectacular by their homemade Vidalia Onion Dressing.  If you’re getting one to go, make sure they put the dressing on the side as the sandwich will get pretty soggy if you don’t.

Ok, there’s my five.  There are some others that I’ll give honorable mentions to:  Tookie’s Chicken Salad on Wheat Toast, Tropical Smoothie’s Turkey Bacon Ranch, and Morning Times’ Apple Brie toasted.  So what are your local favorites?  Use the comments to let me know.  I’m always looking for new favorites!

We chose our selections from the lunch menu  ($6.50 + tax and beverage).  Pud (Pad) Thai was a favorite with 2 orders going for the regular (no spicy) and 1 (mine) going for the medium spicy.  The fourth in our party got Stir Fried Tahi Meal (Pud Prig).  There is a pepper scale at the bottom of the menu.  1 pepper is denoted as “mild”.  Our experience is that a 1 pepper dish is mildly spicy.  My 2 pepper “medium” pad thai was delicious with a sinus-clearing heat that built as I consumed the dish.  For those who crave spicier there is a 3 pepper HOT option and those with asbestos lined mouths can brave the 4 pepper “thai hot” dish.  The faint of heart should stick to the dishes with no pepper rating or specify NO spice. 

Dishes are cooked to order and you can request your preferred spice level for all dishes.  Another dish that has been recommended at Viva Thai is the Spicy Basil Noodle (1 pepper).   I look forward to a return to trip to Viva Thai for dinner — I’ve got my eye on the Thai Three Flavor Fish.

Viva Thai 1401-L S.E. Maynard Rd, Cary, NC  (919)388-8338

In honor of the big occasion, La Farm will be offering complimentary Oatmeal-Raisin and Chocolate Chip cookies at their Cary store throughout the day on the 29th.  Their cookies are also available for purchase at the store, online, and by phone… or you can get them at the Raleigh State Farmer’s Market on Saturday and Sunday and the Moore’s Square Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays starting April 4th.  You can also buy La Farm’s artisnal breads at all the area Whole Foods Markets.

I’m getting hungry thinking about those cookies… especially the Oatmeal-Raisins…  I might even have to make the daunting journey deep into the bowels of Cary (i.e. Preston) for the free cookies.  Send out a search party if I’m not back by the 1st of April.  You’ll find me wandering aimlessly mumbling something like “How can I possibly be crossing Maynard again?!?!” 

By all appearances this Cary branch will be in a sort of strip mall location and not a freestanding building like all the other Char-grills.  Also, this seems to indicate that there will be indoor seating.  Indoor seating?  At Char-grill? A place that by its own description evokes the “glory days of drive-ins.”  It just doesn’t seem right.  It’s one thing to take a Raleigh icon to Cary but quite another to also make changes to the tried and true format.  Maybe I’m wrong about this — certainly I don’t have any substantiating facts – but from the location of the Coming Soon signage I just can’t see this as the same sort of establishment as the Raleigh Char-grills. Changing the format of Char-grill seems a bit like sacrilege. Will this Cary location make it or will it meet the same fate as the Cary Krispy Kreme?  Only time will tell, but a part of me hates to see this “Raleigh” place make the move to suburbia.

To validate the opening date, I went to the Umstead website and attempted to make a reservation for a hotel room.  The first day it will allow me to do so is the 15th, which just reiterates the opening date of the restaurant.  We reported a while back that accomplished chef Phil Evans had been tapped to helm the kitchen and I personally cannot wait to give the place a try. 

Admittedly, I am a Raleigh snob who has a near-insurmountable repulsion to partaking of just about anything in Cary (save the breathtaking Koka Booth Amphitheatre).  But, I do love to keep tabs on the Goodnights and believe wholeheartedly in our city’s ability to maintain high-end hotels.  Sure, I wouldn’t have put our first 4 star on the SAS campus, but hopefully it will be met with enough enthusiasm and business to reinforce recent decisions made by Westin and Marriott, and attract even more to our opportunity-rich city.

We’ll report back about the restaurant soon as we’ll surely be giving it a sample early on.  Plus, my wife and I will definitely be scheduling a date night at the Umstead Hotel and Spa soon…  Makes me relaxed just thinking about it!

TJ’s carries many groceries including various cheeses, meats, canned goods chips, and more. Other than the flowers and things on the health aisle, it appeared that the store only contains Trader Joe branded, edible items (no paper products, cups, etc.). The bagged nuts and breads were the most impressive items I found. Beyond that there were few items that could not be found at competing higher end grocery stores. To be fair, I must admit that I have not bought and consumed any of their food yet, so I have no concept of the food quality.

I unfortunately encountered a disproportionate number of rude
customers. After a few rude parking lot experiences, I was run into by
a couple of people’s shopping carts. Maybe the excitement of the new store got the best of them.

The store decor is quite plain, as seen in many of the photos in this Google search. Lighting is by 2′x4′ fluorescent tube panels, and the racks are no frills. The sound system is one of the worst I’ve ever heard (that includes my grandfather’s old a.m. radio he kept in the workshop for over 30 years.).

Trader Joe’s is a cultural experience. I never think about what some claim "C.a.r.y." stands for, but I was clearly reminded in TJ’s. The store was full of people who live in Carry, and none of those who live in Cayree.

The rumor mill says that Trader Joe’s is looking at space in Raleigh, perhaps Cameron Village. This would be a nice addition for the ITB area, however TJ’s is probably not a store to which people will drive more than 15 minutes. It is a nice addition for the area, however it hardly has the initial "WOW" factor seen in other coveted chains like IKEA, Dean & Deluca (the real one, not like they have in Charlotte), and Eatzi’s.

map it

In other Carying foodie news, the Fresh Market has moved its Cary store to a large new location on Cary Parkway near Waldo Rd. Where’s Waldo?

map it

The menu was developed by Executive Chef Alex Azzam who has earned a
B.A. in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu in France and a Management and a Hospitality degree from the London Business Institute in Egypt. Azzam has worked at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, the Intercontinental Hotel in Cairo, as
well as restaurants in Cyprus, Spain and Italy before coming to the
U.S.

While the menu (.pdf format) sets a price point similar to the nearby Rey’s, Bentley’s is not concerned that patrons "dress up". Anything from jeans and a nice dress shirt on up to a suit is fine.

I haven’t dined at Bentley’s yet, however I am most interested in the Mussels Arrabbiate and the Petit Filet Mignon Spiedini (with rosemary shrimp and saffron wild mushroom risotto, pictured). If the restaurant is up to the standards set by LM’s Taverna Agora, Bentley’s will be a winner.

map it