Monday, November 07, 2011

Good food in Raleigh NC!!!!

As some of you know, we've been on a combined genealogy and local history trip south -- Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina to be specific -- and we succeeded in skipping the Halloween Snowstorm here in Northwestern Connecticut completely. That's good news, especially when you live on a dirt road that might not enjoy the highest priorities with road crews and for power restoration.

We tweeted impressions of some of the libraries and historical societies we visited (feel free to follow us as @betweenthelakes if you're so inclined), but we thought that we should mention two restaurants we found virtually next to each other in Raleigh, NC in a blog post. I think that either of them would be considered a good restaurant if they were located "up north" but down in a locale where it seems like "good eatin" -- i.e. southern cooking -- is the sine qua non, they were both notable.

The first of the two we visited was the Taj Mahal, located in a mini-mall at 4520 North Capital Boulevard (i.e. route 1). The place was (undeservedly) almost empty, but we decided to try it out anyway. I had lamb samosas, garlic naan, lamb saag, and mixed pickle as a condiment. The lamb samosas were light and flavorful -- I used a little of the tamarind sauce they came with, and a bit more of the green chili sauce, but they were nicely done and would have been fine without the sauces. I'd never had garlic naan before!! It was very good, light, soft, and garlicky. We liked it so much we took the remaining pieces back to the motel. The lamb saag was very nice. The spinach didn't have the metallic taste it sometimes does, the lamb pieces were small and tender, and the sauce was really just right. I thought it compared favorably with the lamb saag at the Ganges on Praed Street in London, which had always been my standard. I licked the platter clean on that one! The mixed pickle was the only disappointment of the meal. However, I was able to fish enough lime and chile chunks out of it to make a successful condiment.

Judy had chicken madras and was very pleased with it as well. Her conventional naan (no garlic) was also excellent, and she found the mango chutney sharp and refreshing, something I've never personally found mango chutney to be.

I'd say that the Taj Mahal was worth a detour. We would have had a second dinner there, but there was another restaurant we wanted to try, so we didn't give the Taj a chance to prove that it was not just good but also consistent.

The Casalinga Ristorante Italiano was the second restaurant, and it was so good we went back a second evening -- and thus can say that it was also consistent. It's a Sicilian restaurant, and we were fortunate to be there when they were having a special menu of recipes from their home town in Sicily.

The first night I had the tripe stew as an appetizer, and have to say it was as good as any tripe I have ever eaten in any national cuisine! It was tender, delicate, and perfectly flavored. That evening I had "Mamma Giuseppina's Meat Sauce" which was obviously more than "just" a sauce -- a filet of beef stuffed with mozarella, pine nuts, raisins, and various other items. A meatball and a sausage accompanied the filet, which was over rigatoni (I think). Of course it was more than just a meal -- and again I embarrassed myself by licking the platter clean (actually, with the aid of the bread, which was home made and similarly excellent). No dessert that evening; no room for it! I think that Judy had something more or less conventional -- lasagna, if I remember correctly -- which she was very pleased with.

At any rate, we promised we would be back the next evening (our last in Raleigh) if they would have the Pork Bracioli (they had run out the first evening we were there). They promised, and we came back. That evening I stuck to the special menu and enjoyed cuddruni (stuffed pie: tomato, onions, eggplant, basil, potato) which was light and flavorful. If you've never had pork bracioli (which is pig skin -- no meat, just skin -- stuffed with cheese, raisins, pine nuts and other things) with a tomato sauce -- also served with a meatball and a sausage, again over rigatoni -- you need to be ready to experience some chewiness, and I was expecting some good jaw muscle exercise. They fooled me!! It was extraordinarly tender and also flavorful. It was really, really good.

We had some Sicilian sfingi for dessert - and it, too, was excellent.

The address -- and this place proved itself to be worth more than just a detour, particularly if you want to enjoy real Sicilian (as opposed to Americanized Italian) food, expertly prepared and served -- was at 4538 North Capital Boulevard.

The food on the rest of the trip was undistinguished, but these two restaurants stood out as meriting some praise. I'd return to either in a heartbeat!