From what I can tell, not much has changed.  My wife’s Black Bean Quesadilla Points were a bit different (had rice inside) but we were certainly used to random nuances each time we visited the former incarnation of The Rockford.  It’s one of the things we loved about the place.

The draught beers were not listed on the menu; our server suggested that we always ask as they plan on changing that lineup regularly.  For those who are concerned, I can also confirm that they still have Old Speckled Hen (I apparently should be hearing some hallelujahs out there).

Anyway, they have not yet had an ‘official’ opening and are operating on word-of-mouth only for now as they get things up and running.  Luckily for them, raleighing doesn’t quite have the reach it used to so they should be able to keep things under control for a while longer.  All I can say is that, in my opinion, the world just got a little bit more ‘right’ today.

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!

Try Crema; it is one of the newer businesses that have opened up along Fayetteville street in the revitalization of downtown.  They are open Mon-Fri 7 AM to 7 PM; Sat 7 AM to 10 PM; Sun 11 to 5 PM.  I want to hug them just for staying open after 5 on weekdays, and on Saturdays, as the most serious problem with coffee shops in Raleigh, is that they think no one wants coffee after 5 PM, so they all close at 5 or 6.  Show me a dead downtown and I’ll show you not a lack of night clubs, but a lack of diners, coffee shops, convenience stores that are open at night.  For night people, such as myself, who also drink coffee, this is a crime.  I have spent many early evenings walking around or driving around with friends looking for an open coffee shop.  As far as we can tell, there’s only Royal Bean (across from Meredith); New World Coffee House (Pleasant Valley and Glenwood); Cup A Joe (various locations), Third Place (Five Points, crowded and wireless is usually not strong enough, although coffee is!) and Helios (Glenwood South) catering to night people who drink coffee.  If you know any others, tell me (but not outside the Raleigh city line.  I’ll only go so far for coffee).  I favor Larry’s Beans coffee cause it is local and was fair trade organic before that was the cool thing to be; Third Place and New World have Larry’s. 

Crema on Fayetteville

Note–this is not meant to be a comprehensive detailed list of coffee shops good and bad.  It started out as a “Try Crema” — so try it.  If you want to add comments about your favorite coffee shop (in Raleigh) I’d love to hear.  No Starbucks or Caribou please; they are the number one and two highest profit-generating coffee chains in the world.  They can do their own advertising.

Prime Only Steak, Seafood and Sashimi Bar has taken over the space and completely remodeled the old brewpub into a trendy, downtown Raleigh hotspot. It is located in Raleigh’s Powerhouse Square, just off of Glenwood South at 505 West Jones Street.

This Saturday is a great opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the historic building. Prime Only is starting a new Raleigh tradition by hosting a Derby Party.   

The event will be held this Saturday, May 5th, from 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.  General admission tickets are $25 and include steak, seafood, sushi and authentic Bulleit Bourbon mint juleps.  VIP tickets are a little more, but include reserved seating and an open bar.

There will be live music and of course some large screen monitors to watch America’s most famous horse race. Out of disclosure, my communication firm is coordinating the event. Derby (or business casual) attire required. Hats are encouraged! Call 919.835.2649 for tickets.

Mitch’s is what a pub should be, complete with “Norm,” or in this case, Mitch. I had not been in Mitch’s in years, (Ok maybe it is approaching decades) however, I immediately got that warm feeling of home with the first waft of its familiar smell. This was followed by the sound of the stairs as I ascended from Hillsborough Street and, as I approached the top of the stairs, the comfortingly perpetual sight of Mitch behind the bar, where I guess he has been for the last 100 years.

They have updated the little TV’s to big HD flat-screens, making Mitch’s the perfect spot for the fellas getting together for a beer and the game. I have said on this site in the past I am rather proud of the provincial nature of Raleigh. Mitch’s is just the spot to sit and feel provincial about our hometown. Go see Mitch, grab a sandwich and watch a game. You will be glad you did.

Apparently the last company that wanted to make use of the space poured in a great deal of money before pulling out, so Red Hot & Blue plans to spend the next few months giving it their “signature” look.  There is even a rumor (with State approval of course…) of a possible rooftop bar area, which would add a great touch to that end of Hillsborough Street.  Still, some may remember the last barbeque place that tried their hand at Hillsborough Street (the Q-Shack) had a very short run before converting to a Raleigh Joe’s.  But, it’s nice to see someone finally making use of that great space and hopefully adding some more life to Hillsborough Street.

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?!?!” 

Pretty frequently I get a powerful taste for collards.  I love ‘em.  Now my grandma used to make good collards the old fashioned way: slow cooked in a big cast iron skillet with a streak o’lean and a streak o’fat.  I should probably clarify that I assume they were good.  When I was a snot nosed little kid I declared to her that “I didn’t eat grass.”  Well now I do, and I wish I did then.  I’m sure my grandma’s were good.  If she were alive today I’d be all over them greens like a pack of wild dogs on a three legged cat. 

My mama makes collards sometimes too.  She used to cook them like grandma, but now she parboils them and then sautés them in olive oil.  I like “nouveau” collards just fine too.  The last time she made them was New Years day, as is the southern tradition, and they were spot on.  Sometimes I make collards as well.  Ok, sometimes is a stretch.  Rarely.  Rarely I’ll make some collards.  I’m just too dang lazy.  So there’s the rub.  Where can a sluggard get a mess of good collards around here when the craving strikes? 

Every once in a while I get lucky and some nice person at the office will bring me some leftover collards from their Sunday supper.  For some time when the craving was just too great, I’d scratch the itch at Don Murray’s.  I’d ignore the health rating, ignore that my feet stuck to the carpet, let it slide that the collards weren’t that great, and roll the hepatitis dice.  What they lacked in quality they made up for in quantity.  Well, ole Don Murray’s is no longer and option. 

I’ve been to all the other BBQ joints, and I’m sad to say they just didn’t cut the mustard.  I went to the Farmers Market Restaurant and they were salty and tasted a little burnt.  Big Ed’s?  Nope.  The best collards I’ve had in my quest, surprisingly, were at the Underground.  (Which by the way, if you’ve never been to the Underground, get yourself there with all due speed.)  They were amazing!  Tender, sweet, and flavorful with succulent little pieces of pork floating in an ethereal broth.  I’m getting tingly all over just thinking about them.  The only problem was it’s a tapas joint.  It was a tease.  I could have eaten a whole pot, and all I got was a tiny taste.

Other folks have made recommendations in all corners of our great state, but did I mention I’m lazy?  I know there are great greens to be had, but I don’t want to drive to the Virginia line.  I don’t want to go to Lumberton, Elizabethtown, Lexington, or Asheville.  Heck, I don’t even want to drive to Durham or Chapel Hill.  There’s got to be other collard lovers that can’t find a local fix, or some folks in the know.  Where do y’all get great collards in Raleigh?

How did Raleigh get so lucky?  Swiss brothers Brian and Chris Hereghty felt like Raleigh would be a great place to live and start a business.  Chris is a french trained pastry chef and Brian is a former architect.  Chris manages the baking and Brian runs the front of the house. 

Hereghty serves excellent and well made coffees.  You can pair your coffee with a quiche, scone, stuffed croissant, or a cinnamon roll.  The hands down best is the cheese danish.  It is so good it will make you want to smack your mama.  Lunches feature daily soups and a variety of REALLY tasty paninis such as the prosciutto di parma.  That case also includes their flourless chocolate chewies with walnuts, financiers (don’t make the mistake of calling them “mini muffins” as I might have done), croissants, and an assortment of cookies. 

However, the real stars are the masterpieces in the dessert case.  An inventory of the desserts evokes the same reaction out of women that perusing a fancy jewelry store does.  It literally looks like a dazzling display at a modern art museum, but as good as they look, they taste even better.  Chocolate lovers go nuts over the “Paris” with its layers of chocolate mousse and chocolate sponge cake.  In the mood for something tropical?  Try the Okinawa with mango, passion fruit, and chocolate mousse layers on a flourless coconut cake layer.  You have to special order my personal favorite- the Frasier, but trust me its worth the effort.  The fresh strawberry, pistachio cream cake is to die for.

Hereghty makes the perfect spot to end an evening and fills a major void since there are a real lack of places in town to go for just dessert.  Wash down some seriously decadent desserts with a cappuccino or a night cap of Santa Julia dessert wine while live music filters through the air around you.  Close your eyes and you just may find yourself drifting off to Paris.