Melea Talks Food

Our prize was a gift certificate to Lilly's Pizza, so off we went to use it up!

Lilly's is located in Five Points almost into Downtown Raleigh.  I believe it's been in business for around 16 years.  One major thing to keep in mind about eating in Five Points is the parking situation.  There may be around five spots on the street in front of Lilly's, only on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or something crazy like that.  If you miss out on those spots, you're on your own.

When you come into Lilly's, it's not at all what you expect.  The place is rather small and generally pretty crowded.  You order at the counter in the front, deli-style.  The servers there aren't incredibly friendly, but they get the job done. The guy taking my order wasn't SUPER excited to deal with our giggles as we debated over toppings. The decor is a bit dingy and odd, and it is styled to make you feel like you're in a funky hipster's basement.  Warning: when you visit the restrooms, they have "artsy" nude paintings on the doors.  They are tasteful, but I wasn't expecting lunch and a show. ;)

Since we only had a small giftcard for a group of four, we just ordered two medium pizzas to share.  (Note:  Mediums are a pretty decent size. I would say three "regular-eaters" could share with no leftovers.) We got a Caprese-style pizza with no sauce, olive oil, roma tomatoes, fresh mozerella and shredded basil. We also ordered a meat pizza with sausage, pepperoni, onions and mushrooms. Both pizzas were very different and both were incredibly delicious. The dough was clearly handmade and freshly made--crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.  The toppings were very fresh and the sauce was sweet with fresh tomato goodness.

If you are merely going for a great slice of pizza with no frills, no fuss, go to Lilly's. If you're in it for the experience, don't. Their plates are dollar-store quality, the cups mimic the waxy cups you had in elementary school and the utensils are plastic--but the pizza, oh the pizza, is phenomenal. The price is a tiny-bit steep, but I can understand because they offer top-quality toppings and a lot of them.

Check out Lilly's, but maybe bring your own plate.  Our's ended up soggy with holes.

P.S.  The girls scarfed the Caprese pizza before I could even snap a photo of it.

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Piggy-backing on my last post to sum up my food adventures from 2010, I am going back to review Denver, San Diego and New Jersey. 

Denver is probably one of my favorite cities in the country, thus far.  It is beautiful, clean and proud.  The folks who inhabit Denver love it and will probably never leave. I firmly believe it's because of this pride that they keep the streets clean, the water filtered and the food establishments in tip-top shape.  I have MANY fond foodie memories from Denver, so hold on to your socks.

My most favorite memory is the Cherry Cricket--a serious dive bar that boasts the best burgers.  I was meeting a great friend, (Gray Caldwell, you know who you are) who lives in Denver, after a particularly grueling work day, and I wasn't expecting what I saw when I drove up.  It is really a large wooden shack with a huge wrap-around porch.  Anyway, so we finally get seated after our 20 minute wait on a weeknight.  I order a turkey burger.  (Give me a break, kids, I was traveling and trying to watch calorie intake.  Do you even know how many calories are in an airport salad?!?!... I digress.)  Words can not describe the goodness of the turkey burger.  It was one of those situations where you know you're full but you keep eating anyway because of the sheer joy the flavor brings. ;)  If you are ever in Denver, please go.  Even Food Network goes... check out the Cherry Cricket press.

The other places I loved in Denver are listed below:
Illegal Pete's - This is like Moe's or Salsarita's on a punk-rock binge.  The ingredients are SO fresh and tasty.  The meats are seasoned just right and if I'm not mistaken the veggies are local.  Whatever you get, I highly recommend to get it covered in their queso sauce. CRAZY GOOD. 

Jax Fish House - Jax is cool because of their signature drinks.  They do a lot of infusions and most of them are very refreshing and yummy.  I tried several of them over the course of our dinner--jax strawberry lemonade, french tart, wonka cocktail and mango tango.  The strawberry and mango were my favorites.  Also, their seafood is beyond fresh and delicious.  I got the steamed mussels and they were perfect.

Venice Ristorante - Venice was so much fun because I'm pretty sure Denver's Italian Mob ran it.  You weren't sure if you were going to get the lamb chops you ordered or a dead horse head.  Aside from the perfect people watching, the place was beautiful and right on the river.  The service was great, and the food quality matched it.  My co-worked, Bryan, got the lamb chops and they were probably the best I've ever tasted.  I got a stinky cheese plate--but was more interested in the fresh bread and wine.

(On a side note... there were REAL LIVE gophers in Denver.  So awesome.  See photo.)

Now, on to New Jersey.  Where we stayed in Jersey, there was a Chili's, or maybe it was an Applebee's?  Nope, that's right Bryan, it was a T.G.I.Friday's.  Hahahaha...  So there isn't much to say by way of food in Jersey, but we did visit Carlo's Bakery.  THAT'S RIGHT!  THE CAKE BOSS!  In a word--gross.  Do not get anything from there.  It all looks pretty and tastes like Kindergarten paste.  Seriously.  But, the packaging was pretty.  I give it a BIG thumbs down.

San Diego was such a quick trip for me, so I don't have a lot of food recommendations.  There was a group of restaurants across from our hotel (which was the Hotel Del Coronado... yeah, get jealous).  It was the Brigantine Seafood Restaurant and Miguel's Cocina on the island of Coronado.  They are owned by the same folks and both restaurants are really great.  Simple, fresh food... my favorite.

MMmmm... what a yummy Fall and Winter for me.  Any places I left off that you absolutely love?  I want to hear about them!!

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I know it's never proper to return to the past, but in this case, I thought it would be fun to rehash some of the coolest food moments of 2010 for me.  I know that I'm just a girl who likes to eat a lot, who appreciates a Pizza Inn buffet as much as I appreciate flawless sushi and a perfectly-cooked steak.  I know that is sacrilege to most foodies in the world, but hey, that's me and I'll eat anything once.

This past Summer and Fall I traveled a ton for work--from Savannah to New York, Philadelphia to Denver, New Jersey to San Diego.  All of these places have spectacular food and all of them lovely in their own right.

Let's start with Savannah.  There is a hidden gem in Savannah that I would bet 95% of you don't know about.  There is no sign on the door and the "front" entrance is down a corridor.  It looks like just another house on the street.  It's called Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room.  It is like a Southern Grandma's Sunday table--you come in, sit down at a huge table and start eating (see photo).  You may be sitting with folks you don't know, but it's all OK.  You get a plate, a table full of bowls and a sweet tea.  You eat as much as you can possibly hold until they bring out the banana pudding.  Then you go purge so you can comfortably eat more. ;)  Just kidding about the purge... maybe.

There was a whole post or two about New York, so I'll revert you back to that--Part 1 and Part Deux.  My main take-away is go to Balthazar simply for its french fries.

Philadelphia was much different than what I expected, but I did get the most amazing oysters on the half shell of my life.  The place is simply called The Oyster House and depending on the season, they feature 8-10 fresh oyster selections everyday (see photo).  I also sampled the Blue Crab plate (see photo), which was tasty in flavor, but the texture definitely threw me for a loop.  I was not ready to eat crab shell for lunch. One other notable thing about The Oyster House were their "crackers."  Instead of saltines, they have huge beer goblets full of little round, pop-able cracker bites.  They were about as flavorful as a salt-less saltine, but for some reason, incredibly addicting.  I'm fairly certain I ate an entire goblet.

Also in Philadelphia was Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant, cleverly named Morimoto.  In a word, DISAPPOINTMENT.  The food was good, but it was hard to enjoy in the pretentious aura of the building.  I was even afraid to use the bathroom--thought they may have a dress code.  I ordered a seafood pasta carbonara (see photo).  I know that was probably a strange choice for a Morimoto experience, but it looked delightful.  Again, the flavor was there, but my portion was crazy small, crazy expensive and crazy rich.

Denver, Jersey and San Diego are coming soon.  Here's to a new year, new adventures and regular blog posts!

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My new favorite pasta dish erupted from my freezer and pantry leftovers, and it ended up being an incredible and yummy dinner option.  Also, using whole wheat pasta makes it a pretty healthy dish.

Cook 1 lb. of  whole wheat pasta like normal--lots of water and salt.  Think of making your cooking water taste like the ocean.

Roast 1 lb. of jumbo shrimp in the oven.  Arrange the shrimp on sheet pan with salt, lots of pepper, and olive oil.  Put it in a 400 degree oven until the shrimp are barely pink.  Pull them out before you think they are done because they will keep cooking after you pull them out.

Chop green onion and put them in a large bowl with frozen peas, Parmesan cheese.

Heat jarred Rosa or Vodka sauce on the stove. 

Once the shrimp and pasta are cooked, and the sauce is warmed through, mix it all in the bowl with the green onions, peas and cheese.  Add more pepper and cheese to taste. Enjoy!

What's your favorite cleaning-out-the-fridge recipe?

I did get to visit an absolute CLASSIC New York dive, The Carnegie Deli, known as much for its pastrami sandwiches as its celebrity patrons.  The outside is completely inconspicuous.  It looks as old as Times Square itself.  It is very loud and rushed on the inside.  The minute you walk in the door, someone is yelling, "HOW MANY?!"  Oh, and if you pause or don't answer, they will come right up to you and yell it again and again, until you answer.  Once they've found a spot for you, you sit, and you'd better sit quickly.  I was literally sitting elbow to elbow with two other parties.  The one to my left was two old women eating Matza ball soup and talking about the Park.  (I swear that is true. You can't make that stuff up.)  The party to my right was a set of businessmen on their lunchbreak, hitting on a quiet girl sitting to their right.  For the record, she just kept blushing and trying to ignore them.

You are pleasantly greeted with a small water and a large plate of pickles, homemade pickles (pictured).  My mouth is watering just thinking about them. They were the absolute best pickles in the whole world.  So full of dill, capers and vinegar. MMmmmmm...  I ordered the club sandwich and my co-worker, Bryan, order the pastrami (of course).  Both sandwiches were tasty, but literally as tall as a large Heinz ketchup bottle (pictured).  (You are welcome for the free advertising, Heinz.)  Oh, and if you decide to visit the Carnegie Deli, take cash and lots of it.

My other food adventure was the lovely Buddakan.  It's in the Meat Packing district on the verge of Chelsea--literally a block from the Chelsea Market, where I hear Food Network tapes... just sayin'.  I was in a foodie dream world. Ok, back to Buddakan.  It was featured in the Sex and the City movie a couple years ago.  Without knowing exactly where the restaurant shows in the movie, my guess is it's the rehearsal dinner.  I walked down the same staircase to get to my table. ;)

We had the chef's tasting menu and had the opportunity to sample several dishes.  I can't remember what exactly we ate, but I remember loving the potstickers and the scallops.  The scallops were probably the best I've had to date.  They had the seared crust on the outside, but the middle was like butter.  They literally melted in my mouth.  The dessert round (pictured) was phenomenal too.  All kinds of pots de cremes, mousses and sorbets.

I highly recommend either of these two places!! Next time you are in New York, definitely check them out.

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Everything I have ever heard about New York turned out to be true--the good, the bad and the tasty.  Yes, it was ridiculously crowded and took forever to get around, but yes, it was one of the coolest cities I have ever been to.  I will have to admit (sadly) that this was my very first trip to the Big Apple, and I still have no idea why they call it that, but I do get to go back in two weeks.

I went for work, but had the amazing opportunity to visit several touted restaurants in New York.  On a side note, I happened to be there the night of NY Fashion's Night Out.  Champagne, tiny cupcakes and all types of samples flew around designers' studios in Soho.  Between that, the eating, the VIP tour of Madison Square Garden (thanks Branden and Rick!!) and shooting on the Met's (Citi) field, I was in heaven.  And yes, if you must know, I did buy a pair of new shoes--riding boots.  Oh so chic.

The first visited place being Balthazar.  I can't remember how many times I have heard Ina Garten talk about the wonderful French cuisine there.  Rave reviews from New York Magazine and every trip advisory website stud my Google search.  We were seated immediately, by which COMPLETELY surprised me since no one gets seated anywhere in New York without a wait, no matter what time you go.  Another side note:  the front of the place was covered with paparazzi snapping photos... I hope they got a good shot of me. =)  I ordered the Moules Frites and Bryan, a coworker and friend of mine, ordered the Steak Frites.  We were in a french fry kind of mood, I guess.  Mine was a cauldron of steamed mussels in white wine, shallots, garlic and fish stock, with fries.  His, a perfectly cooked NY Strip (how fitting), served with Bearnaise sauce and fries.  Both were crazy delicious.  The mussels were cooked thoroughly, but not chewy, and the fries were pretty darn close to perfect.  I really like for fries to have pepper on them, so I just added it and they were phenomenal.  Bryan's steak was cooked nicely and surprisingly light.  I'm not sure how you make a steak light, but they were successful with it.

Next on the agenda was a little happy hour at Lure in Soho.  It's a fish bar with pretty decent happy hour specials.  We experienced grapefruit margaritas and a chic, fun, basement bar experience.  The margaritas were very easy to drink, sour and fun.  Although, I wish they weren't in martini glasses because I always feel like such a girl drinking out of those. Haha...

The other crazy cool place I got to visit was Sripraphai Thai.  Apparently this is Anthony Bourdain's Thai hangout when he's in New York and I can totally see why.  I had the most unusual Thai dishes while I was there, thanks to our photographer and friend, Sean.  He knows his food.  We just ordered tons of plates and shared them all.  First we had Papaya Salad with Seafood.  It was good, tangy and cold.  Then there was Chicken Larb which is ground chicken  with fresh mint, dry chili and lime juice.  This was good and strange all at the same time.  There was fish sauce in the dressing and that flavor was quite dominant.  We also had (and this is the real name of the dish) Crispy Fried Catfish Meat.  It's basically ground up catfish, bones and all, that is deep fried into moss like clumps, topped with Green Mango salad.  It sounds gross and weird, but it was actually the coolest flavor combination in my mouth.  It was dressed with lime juice, fish sauce, mint and cilantro.  There is no way to explain what it tasted like.  I just hope you try it one day. 

Definitely more to come from the NY scene very soon.

Sorry about the six weeks of no posting.  I promise it won't happen again. =)

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Would getting a free range chicken with 100 miles of your restaurant be considered local?  Do you grow lettuce outside of the back delivery door?  Are there herbs growing on the patio of your restaurant or do you buy them from a "local" grocery?  What rules apply?  In an effort to support local agriculture and farming, I love to buy local ingredients, visit farmers markets, heck, I'm even looking in to joining a CSA.  The one large drawback, is how local is local?

Thoughts?