Heron's

Last month my mom came into town to celebrate some good news.  We deliberated on some Raleigh area restaurants since she was staying in Raleigh and wanted me to chauffeur her around, and Heron’s at the Umstead was high on the list.  The Umstead Hotel is located on the edge of the SAS campus in Raleigh.  It is an unbelievably gorgeous hotel, with an awesome spa, and a great restaurant.  Heron’s chef is one of seven chefs in the triangle who have been nominated for a James Beard Award this year.  They have garnered acclaim from countless magazines, newspapers and critics, and their commitment to fresh and local produce and proteins, as well as a elegant and extravagant presentation are sure to make it a dining destination if it has not become one already.  

For my appetizer I had the duo of foie gras.  There was the traditional seared foie gras, served with a shallot jam and gingerbread emulsion.  This was as most seared foie gras is, decadent and delicious.  But it was the terrine that wowed me.  So silky, so smooth, so rich, so savory, so out of this world.  It was paired with poached cranberries and may have been the best thing I have tasted in 2011.    

In between our appetizer and entrée we were served a selection of fresh breads.  My favorite was a cheese scone, but all of the breads were expertly made.  For my entrée I had seared venison tenderloin.  It was matched with spinach custard, butternut squash puree, crispy maitake mushrooms and picked kumquats.   The venison was cooked to perfection, and the squash puree and spinach custard were both unusual and unusually tasty.   

We also had this great dessert, but I cannot really remember that, I can only remember continually getting up to go to the bathroom so I could flirt with the hostess.  Yum.

Southern Rail

Southern Rail is one of my favorite places to have a drink outside when the weather calls for it, and also a pretty tasty spot to grab brunch.  With cheap mimosas and a good selection of tasty breakfast and brunch favorites, along with bartenders who can make an exceptional version of almost any cocktail, Southern Rail is a nice place to visit any time of day or week.

This past weekend I hit up Southern Rail with a few friends of mine.  I had a few mimosas and the Benny and June.  Rye toast with pesto, spinach, crab meat, and two poached eggs covered with classic hollandaise.  While they are skimpy with the crab meat (what do you expect for 10 bucks), the eggs are cooked to perfection, the pesto is nice and garlicy, and the home fries on the side are roasted with caramelized onions (my fav).  Throw in a few four dollar mimosas and you can cure most hangovers or start a day full of drinking off right. 

Cooking at home

I lived without a microwave for almost 4 years, because there really is nothing you can only cook in a microwave that is good for you.  While I still hold true to that, a microwave can do some things faster, like steam vegetables.  A lot of broccoli and green beans are now available in microwavable bags.  One of my favorite ways to cook green beans is steaming them in the bag, around 4 minutes in the microwave, then takes them place them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, some balsamic vinegar, and a half a teaspoon of olive oil, toss beans until ingredients are full mixed and beans are coated.  This is also a great recipe for sautéed spinach; throw the spinach in a hot pan with olive oil, balsamic and Dijon cook until how you like spinach. 

Jersey Mike's

My work girlfriend Jenny and I go to Jersey Mikes whenever there is a slow afternoon at work.  Both of crave their subs, something about the meat and cheeses at Jersey Mikes make their subs far and above the best in chain restaurants in this area.  I have been eating Jersey Mikes since highscool, and I almost always get the same sandwich, regular six inch roast beef mikes way, the expertly cooked roast beef, shaved paper thing, great roll, provolone cheese, and tomatoes, lettuce, onions and oil and vinegar.  A perfect sub for a perfect date with my work boo. 

Acme

Like the coyote, I keep going back to Acme again and again to secure my meals, however I am always satisfied.  .  Sorry, Chapel Hill/Durham isn’t the biggest area, and when you find a place you like, you keep hitting it up.  

A while ago I had what ranks up there as one of my favorite Acme dishes ever.  Seared scallops over top of a luscious, rich cauliflower puree, accompanied by sautéed spinach and morels.  There is a reason cauliflower and scallops are an old school application.  This was a great combo.  I am not the biggest fan of cauliflower, but when you add a generous amount of butter to any vegetable puree it tastes silky and delicious.  There was an underlying cauliflower note, and more importantly an interesting texture created the course puree that played brilliantly against the scallops.  The only problem I ever have with Acme is that their menu does not change much, but now I am hoping this dish stays on for a long time.  

I also had a green tomato soup, with smoked salmon and goat cheese.  The soup was more like a goat cheese soup, while it was tasty, a creamy cold cheese soup was not the greatest thing to eat in 100 degree heat (obviously I am behind, I think I wrote notes down on this dinner like 7 months ago).