Last week, a group of about 40 other foodies and I took a Taste Carolina tour together as part of a TriFoodie Tweetup. If you aren’t aware of these tweetups and you are a lover of Triangle-area food, then start following @durhamfoodie and @andreaweigl on Twitter now, so you can get details on the next
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Twisted Noodles 4201-112 University Drive South Square $8.95–$15.95 Website     I’m a huge fan of Thai food, yet it’s taken me forever to try Twisted Noodles because I’ve been pretty happy with Thai Cafe in Rockwood and Thai Palace on Highway 54 in Chapel Hill. I finally made a point of it, and armed
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Lost Sonnet Meritage 2007 Napa Valley, CA This is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot. One sip at the Trader Joe’s tasting table, and I was sold on it being worth the $9.99 (hey, that’s expensive for TJ’s wine!). The nose is very appealing, with a scent of warmed spices and vanilla
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My most recent vacation was a long weekend spent in Minneapolis, MN, and . . . it was pretty awesome. I have driven through the southern portion of middle America, but I had never actually been there for a vacation before—yes, that means I’ve been bi-coastal only. I couldn’t have ended up with a better
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18 Seaboard 18 Seaboard Avenue Downtown Raleigh Website Entrees: $16–$28 18 Seaboard is located in Seaboard Station, a renovated train station that I never knew existed before heading out there this particular evening. It’s a contemporary American grill, which means that the focus is on grilled meats with plenty of attention to décor and intriguing
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Lazurro Nero D’Avola 2007 Sicily, Italy The nose of this Italian red smells of fig with clove. It tastes like eucalyptus leaves, fig, raisin, cranberry, and clove. Overall, it’s too tangy but an okay drinking wine. I’m still trying to figure out why it was recommended to me when I said I liked Spanish wines,
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Vinos Finos y Picadas 8450 Honeycutt Road Lafayette Village, North Raleigh Website Bites: $3–$8 Cheese & Meat Plates: $10–$30 Vinos Finos y Picadas is a South American wine bar in the new Lafayette Village shopping plaza that’s designed to look like a European village in the tradition of Epcot and Las Vegas before it.

My mom wanted to do the museum park walk at the NC Museum of Art when she was in town in March. I’d been hoping to check it out since the museum reopened, and so I jumped at the chance. While my sister slept in the car—it was way too cold for her LA sensibilities—Mom,
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Effen Vodka 80 Proof Wheat Vodka from Holland Who can resist a name like that? Not me! I’m tasting this vodka chilled because I can’t contemplate drinking warm vodka by itself, even though warm beverages have better flavor profiles (see how much I’ve learned in the 5 years I’ve been doing this blog?). So my
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Terrenal Macabeo and Chardonnay 2009 Carinena, Spain The nose of this wine reminds me of donut peaches and a certain friend from the produce department at Safeway that used to always cut me samples of them. The taste is not nearly as exciting as that whiff or that memory. This is my first experience with
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