Cary/Raleigh eats, part one.

I was in Cary, North Carolina, for a few days last week, and will be heading there again soon, so this is the first of likely two food posts on the area.

I’ll start with the one success, Coquette, a French brasserie in the North Hills mall complex in Raleigh, a recommendation of friend-of-the-dish Richard Dansky, who also met me there for dinner. Their duck confit crepes were outstanding all around, from the perfect duck leg to the three golden crepes to the just-right amount of mushroom-leek cream sauce; the only questionable inclusion were fava beans that brought color but a little bitterness and didn’t meld with the other flavors. For dessert, I tried their cashew toffee crunch profiteroles; the pastries, pate a choux with cocoa and cinnamon, were a little dry (hard to avoid), but I would order a half gallon of that ice cream, which was loaded with bits of nuts and toffee and had strong caramel notes in the ice cream itself. It’s served with a dark chocolate ganache sauce that I may have just eaten with a spoon. The only misstep was the salad recommended by our server, a frisee mix with a poached egg … but no other dressing beyond the runny yolk. Not really good eats, but they had plenty of other salad and starter options to try.

I tried two Q joints in the area, neither great. Danny’s, one of several in the area, is located in an industrial park right off Tryon Rd; the pulled pork was moist but had almost no smoke flavor and required saucing, but their sides were all very good, including outstanding fried okra and a small bean I’d never had before called “field peas” that had a little of the bright sweetness of English peas but with the firmness of black-eyed peas. Dixie Belle’s pork had slightly more flavor – I mean slightly – but was dried out, probably from being kept warm for too long. I know there’s better Q in Raleigh and Durham, but didn’t have time to head that far. The mom from one of the local host families recommended Clyde Cooper’s in downtown Raleigh, so I’ll try to hit that next time around.

I had a recommendation for a hole in the wall sushi place in Cary called Little Tokyo, which also seems to be held in high esteem by locals … and that doesn’t say good things about the state of sushi in Cary, because Little Tokyo is awful. I figured I was in trouble when I saw the menu was about 2/3 rolls, with nigiri and sashimi relegated to less than a full page without the same bells or whistles. I knew I was in trouble when I asked the chef behind the sushi bar what he recommended and he looked at me like I’d just said Yuniesky Betancourt should be the AL’s starter at shortstop in the All-Star Game. I ordered five different kinds of nigiri, none of which had a lick of taste. The nigiri fell apart when I picked them up with my hands, and the texture of the maguro was mushy. It’s clear they use the sauces and extras on rolls to cover up inferior quality fish. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Comments

  1. I live in Cary. Can’t speak to the state of French food, but there is better sushi than Little Tokyo. Try either Red Bowl or Ginza in Cary. Both have some great fried rice dishes and quality sushi.

  2. best bbq: http://sweetribs.com/backyard-bbq-durham-nc-story.html

    RTP location

    also with added irony that it is approximately 0.9 miles from Baseball America HQ

  3. When you return, if in Cary, consider Ole Time Barbeque. More authentic/delicious, even if the building that houses the restaurant is a little dilapidated. Danny’s (in a strip mall) and Dixie Bells (in a former Wendy’s) are a joke. Raleigh has other cue offerings, and while Coopers is okay, The Pit is superior. Chapel Hill and Durham offer their own establishments worth of a visit, to wit, Bullocks, and Allen & Sons.

    Little Tokyo is vile. The go-to sushi in Raleigh is Waraji (which in my opinion, is really excellent), followed by Haru. Cary is a little lacking in sushi alternatives, but An is okay. An does excel otherwise, and is across the street from the Umstead Hotel which features a great restaurant called “Herons”. The hotel bar is also very good with a nice patio/vista area. Cary and the immediate area actually feature a bevy of Indian restaurants worth a look as well (particularly Saffron, in neighboring Morrisville).

    Suburban Raleigh seems like an odd place to visit. What, St. Kitts wasn’t exhilarating enough?

  4. Cary is home to the USA Baseball training complex. I’m not going as a tourist.

    Tried Backyard BBQ last year. Unmemorable. Marginally better than Danny’s but I can’t believe that’s the best this area has to offer.

    Heard about the Pit, Bullock’s, and Waraji, but time was not on my side on this last trip with 8-hour days at the ballpark plus writing time. Next time around I’ll have a little more flexibility to leave Cary for a meal.

    Also looking for any good rec’s for a great southern breakfast in that area.

  5. The Pit is a must in downtown Raleigh – great Pit Master and the flavors are sublime.

  6. I’ll give another vote to The Pit, especially over Cooper’s (they are within a mile of each other so its not like you have to detour much). Cooper’s has been around forever and definitely has history on its side but its simply not the greatest BBQ. The Pit is weird if you go to a lot of BBQ joints because it aims to be more upscale, but the food is great.

  7. Keith, I assume that you are going to the Under 18 National Team Practices and Games. Is this a who’s who of 2011 draftees?

    The locals say that Cary stands for Containment Area of Relocated Yankees. Pretty much explains the lack of good bbq.

  8. Josh: I’ve already left and won’t be back till that’s over, but it had maybe half the premium prep kids for ’11. I’ll see some others later this summer.

    Grady: How’s the nigiri in those places? Seems like popular sushi down there means American stuff like spicy tuna or caterpillar rolls, but I’ve really come around to the view that the basic stuff that highlights the fish is the best.

  9. I’ll second the mention of the Umstead hotel in Cary stayed there two years ago when visiting some family in the area and quite enjoyed the restaurant Herons:

    http://www.theumstead.com/food-wine/herons/index.cfm

  10. Looking at the menu for Red Bowl (my preference) they’ve got 20 types of Nigiri ranging from salmon and crab to spicy scallop and surf clam. I can’t comment on it extensively because I usually stick with rolls (they have good specials and I’m thinking with my wallet most of the time).

    I will disagree with the commenter who recommended An. My brother worked there as a chef and said it was poorly managed, expensive, and overall lacking quality. Just a humble opinion. Good luck Klaw.

  11. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle BBQ:

    1. Allen and Sons
    2. Bullocks
    3. The Pit

    Substantial gaps between 1 and 2, and between 2 and 3, and between 3 and the field.

  12. Grady: That’s my concern – a roll can hide the taste of inferior fish (not spoiled fish, just inferior stuff), and I eat very few rolls when I go out for sushi. I might try Waraji if I get a yen for sushi while I’m there next time.

  13. Some folks will recommend Briggs’ restaurant for breakfast. I disagree. If you want a serious southern breakfast, you could do a lot worse than the restaurant at the state farmers’ market in Raleigh.

    And Herons definitely trumps An when it comes to “fine dining on Harrison Avenue”,

  14. I’ll add another recommendation for Bullocks. My wife is from Durham and Bullocks is their go-to spot for bbq, unless there is time to do their own pig.

  15. I bet it was served with a Souchard (sp?) rather than a ganache.

  16. Surprised nobody mentioned Mama Dips in Chapel Hill for breakfast. Top Notch.

    Also, RTP BBQ only rises to the level of good. It is not Memphis. Surprisingly, the best Q is probably Q Shack in Durham, near DBAP. The best item there? Texas Brisket Chili….hows that for your luck?