My husband and I celebrated the sale of our North Carolina home with a prix fixe meal at this modern, French-inflected New American restaurant on Hayward’s downtown stretch. Using an Amazon Local deal, we dined on three courses each for only $40 including a glass of champagne. It was the second time I’d been to
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Bottle Cap is whimsical on the outside, full of bright shiny colors that pulled me in right away. Inside it’s just as mod-appealing — crazy art in bold colors adorned the walls, and the blue patterned tables made me smile. My table for 4 with a reservation was seated promptly. The menu is New American
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I met a friend at Olea at 10:15 on a Friday morning, and I was surprised it was nearly empty. I didn’t think that happened anywhere in San Francisco! Perhaps brunch is only popular on the weekends. The restaurant was charming, reminding me of a small country kitchen.  My friend was delighted they offer coffee
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Leopold’s Gasthaus 2400 Polk Street Russian Hill, San Francisco Entrees: $16–$20 Website Welcome to my first post on a Bay Area restaurant! I didn’t take any pictures of the interior or exterior — I wasn’t sure I was ready to blog at the time we dined, but apparently I was. So let’s roll right into
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Poole’s Downtown Diner 426 McDowell Street Downtown Raleigh Website Entrees: $19-22 This highly praised foodie haven from Raleigh celebrity chef Ashley Christiansen was Number #1 on my must list for places to try before leaving the Triangle. And I am super glad I did. It’s a foodie haven for a reason. But I was surprised
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When An’s (2800 Renaissance Park Place, Cary) promotional team invited me to a blogger night to sample some cocktails and appetizers, I was thrilled. An’s beautifully presented dishes, photographs of which are always on rotation at the RDU baggage claim screens, have tempted me for years, but I had not managed to visit the restaurant
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Saint Jacques 6112 Falls of Neuse Rd. North Raleigh Website $25-$40 Saint Jacques is not cheap, but it is my favorite fine dining experience in recent memory, by which I mean since winter or so. My memory is that bad, I promise. Regardless, Saint Jacques is an oasis in a North Raleigh strip mall. Cream
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I’m moving to California. There is no set “when” yet, but if all goes well after listing our house next week, it will be sometime in August.  There is no set “where” yet, but if all goes well with Ben’s employment options, it will be in the Bay Area, with LA as a second choice.
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Last year, Ben and I spent a weekend in Charlottesville, VA, which I blogged about previously here, here, and here. We happened to pick the weekend a derecho hit the East Coast, which is only relevant to this blog because we got a free hotel stay from that natural disaster. Yay? I use the question
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Kinston, NC, Blogging: Chef and the Farmer This is the third and final installment on our recent day trip to Kinston, NC. Blog 1 covered the various ways we amused ourselves by the Neuse riverfront last month. Blog 2 was on Mother Earth Brewing, which we were delighted to discover is based in downtown Kinston
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