The Independent Weekly published its Best of the Triangle 2009 list last week. We agree with some of the choices, while others left us a bit befuddled. Here’s our own list of some of the best establishments in the Triangle. We can’t tell you the best chiropracter or the best place to get a piercing, but when it comes to dining, we certainly have enough experience to offer some choice selections.
Best Neighborhood Bar (Durham County)
Indy’s Pick: Dain’s Place
Our pick: City Beverage
We aren’t big bar-goers, but we’ve taken a shine to City Beverage, a cozy little place nestled in the strip plaza on Hope Valley Road, right across the street from Woodcroft Shopping Center. It’s not smoky or overcrowded and offers good food, a nice selection of beers, excellent cocktails, unique decor, and friendly staff. If you are in the mood for a different cocktail, order the Flaming Ipo Bowl, which lives up to its name.
Best place to watch televised ACC basketball (Durham County)
Indy’s Pick: Satisfaction
Our pick: Champps and City Beverage
Champps at Southpoint is spacious and offers plenty of TVs. It also is able to accommodate large parties (we’ve organized groups of 13-15 for Duke-UNC games there). The atmosphere for big games is also excellent. On the other hand, if you are tired of fighting the crowd at sports bars like Champps or Carolina Ale House (where we’ve NEVER been able to get a seat for a Duke-UNC game), City Beverage is a surprisingly good alternative. We watched both Duke-UNC games, along with all of UNC’s NCAA Tournament games, there this year. Its low profile means no crowd, but there are enough people there that you do have an atmosphere. There are two bigger TV screens at each end of the establishment, along with a few smaller screens.
Best tailor shop
Indy’s Pick: Lee’s Tailor
Our pick: Fashion Tailors
OK, so we’re biased in this category, since my mom owns two tailor shops in the area, one in Carrboro and one in Durham. The Carrboro one opened in 1994 and the other followed a few years later. If you’re looking for great worksmanship, excellent prices, and friendly service, check out those stores.
Most romantic restaurant
Indy’s Pick: Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern
Our pick: The Melting Pot
If you serve chocolate fondue (our pick for best dessert in the Triangle), you’ve got a pretty good shot at being a romantic dining location. If you go to The Melting Pot, make a reservation in advance and ask for a booth on what they call “Lovers’ Lane”, a section of secluded booths with curtains that can be pulled shut for added privacy.
Best wings
Indy’s Pick: Carolina Ale House
Our pick: Bada Wings
I’m a bit of a wings freak and have had wings at a lot of places, and Bada Wings has been by far the best. I’m particular to the honey mustard wings, but they have a nice selection of flavors, as well as good wraps.
Best pizza
Indy’s Pick: Lilly’s Pizza
Our pick: Randy’s Pizza
There are two Randy’s Pizza locations within 10 minutes of our house, and their pizzas are the best we’ve had in the area. We also like Amante and Papa John’s, but Randy’s giant-sliced and affordably priced pies are our first choice.
Best barbecue
Indy’s Pick: Allen & Son
Our pick: Bullock’s
We haven’t been to Allen & Son, but Bullock’s is a go-to place for us when we are craving barbecue. If you go, get a few friend together and get the all-you-can-eat family-style option, which gives you bowl after bowl of delicious barbecue, fried chicken, Brunswick stew, green beans, fries, cole slaw, and terrific hushpuppies. Note that this place only accepts cash (there is an ATM right outside), and it closes at 8 p.m., so go early.
Best sushi
Indy’s Pick: Waraji
Our pick: Shiki Sushi
There are a couple sushi places that we like, but Shiki Sushi is by far our favorite. It has a large selection, all very well-prepared. It’s also a good bargain, as it offers a buy-one-get-one-free deal every night. There are tables outside that would be a good setting on a nice night. Another sushi tip: If you are craving big plates of decent sushi for a low price, go to China Buffet in Durham (across the street from Sam’s Club at South Square). You won’t find the fancy stuff like spider rolls here, but there are a decent selection of California rolls and various nigiri, and the best part is that it’s all-you-can-eat and included in the regular buffet price, which is very reasonable.
Best Italian
Indy’s Pick: Bella Monica
Our pick: Pulcinella
It’s usually a good sign for an Italian restaurant if you hear patrons there speaking Italian, and that’s the case with this little hole-in-the-wall place in Woodcroft Shopping Center. It’s small but serves very good meals, starting with excellent bread.
Best Chinese
Indy’s Pick: Five Star Restaurant
Our pick: Hong Kong Restaurant
I’m going on a bit of a rant here. Usually Chinese restaurants in America fall into two categories: The typical place that lumps all the varieties of Chinese cuisine into one giant, generic, sauce-heavy style, or a fancy, high-end restaurant that serves up pricy, fusion food. Hong Kong Restaurant, located off Guess Road, is neither of those. Rather, it is the best kind of Chinese restaurant — one that serves amazing, authentic Chinese cuisine in a down-to-earth fashion and at reasonable prices. I’ve been going to Hong Kong Restaurant since the early 90s, and it continues to impress with its authentic Cantonese cuisine. A highlight is dimsum lunch on the weekends (think Chinese tapas), where servers push around carts offering a large selection of light appetizer-size dishes. If you do dimsum, make sure to try the nomeigei (sticky rice with chicken, Chinese sausage, dried mushrooms wrapped in a lotus leaf), hagao (shrimp dumplings), chasiubao (roasted pork buns), wugog (fried taro dumplings) and, if you are a bit more daring, fongjiao (chicken feet). The place also has a great dinner menu. If you go for dinner, don’t waste your time with generic Chinese-American orders like beef with broccoli. Go for the crispy duck, roasted hen, or a steamed fish, and find out what real Chinese cooking should be. Note: It gets very crowded during lunch on the weekends, so if you want dimsum, either go early (11 a.m.) or late (1 p.m.) to avoid a long wait.
Best Sunday Brunch
Indy’s Pick: Crook’s Corner
Our pick: Spice Street
This Asian fusion restaurant in University Mall has a terrific buffet spread for Sunday brunch, and the last time we went, they had a band playing. I’ve always been a fan of their chicken salad, and I have yet to have an unsatisfactory meal there.
A couple of our own categories
Best ice cream
Our pick: La Vita Dolce and Maple View Ice Cream
There are a lot of places that serve ice cream that we like, but La Vita Dolce at Southpoint Mall in Durham is the only place near us that serves gelato, in many unique flavors no less. Our other favorite is Maple View in Carrboro, which makes the milk that goes into its ice cream.
Best fried chicken
Our pick: Bojangles
So what if it’s a chain? When you serve fried chicken and fries laced with crack seasoning (how else can you explain the addictive nature of Bojangles?), you win.
Most interesting concept for a restaurant
Our pick: Crazy Fire Mongolian Grill
They have four locations in Raleigh and Cary. The one on Capital Boulevard is quite nice and posh, but the others look run-of-the-mill from the outside. Once you go in, however, you see what makes this restaurant special. You take a bowl, fill it up at a buffet bar of raw meat, seafood, and vegetables, top it off with a large selection of seasoning, oils, and sauces, and take it to the chefs, who are operating around a large, round grill. They take your bowl(s) and throw your ingredients on to the grill, and cook it as you watch. It takes about five minutes to cook, and then they serve it to you with a side of white or brown rice. The grill is big enough to cook about a dozen people’s food at one time, and even though they keep your pile separate, you are apt to pick up a stray snowpea or two from your neighbor’s pile. While you wait for your food, take a whack at the gong hanging in front of the kitchen. Lunch is served by the bowl, while dinner is all-you-can-eat. Tip: For each trip to the buffet bar, fill up two bowls instead of one and pack it in tight as the ingredients shrink a lot once they are cooked.
Most surprising place for a good meal
Our pick: Grand Asia Market eatery
You would never think that the McDonald’s in your local Walmart would be a place for good food, right? At the Grand Asia Market in Cary, however, the in-store dining is unlike anything you’ve seen. The eatery, called the Joy Luck Club, offers a large menu of excellent, freshly made Chinese dishes, some familiar to Americans, some not. It also operates a rotisserie that makes fresh roast ducks and crispy roast pork (both of which are must-try items) and a bakery that whips up many delightful Chinese pastries. There is a reason this little eatery is packed to the gills every weekend around lunch time. Even if you can’t find a seat, just order something to go. While you are at it, take a stroll through the store itself and pick up some very fresh (as in live) seafood, traditional Chinese snacks, or fresh vegetables at noticeably lower prices than the typical grocery store. Note: The eatery is cash-only, and the store only accepts credit cards on purchases of more than $10.