Our most recent weekend getaway was to Charlottesville, a college town in Virginia that also happens to be a prime tourist destination due to its central location for visiting wineries and the Blue Ridge mountains. I’d also heard that it has an impressive food scene, and I’m always game for investigating such claims. So we
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Tico Fresco W XYZ Lounge Aloft Hotel, Chapel Hill $9 The Tico Fresco is a beautiful cocktail made with Myer’s dark rum, fresh watermelon and lime juice, and jalapenos. It is a dark-rose pink, and the flavor of watermelon comes through strongly then is chased away by the tingly heat of jalapeno. The rum and
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About two weeks ago, I was invited out with other food and drink industry types to come for a special wine tasting at the Angus Barn. It was the second event in a tour promoting Virginian wares to their neighbor to the south: us. The first was a Virginian wine and food event at Fullsteam
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Lucid Absinthe, 67% AC Loire Valley, France It’s no secret to those who read this blog that I love absinthe. In fact, we had an absinthe cocktail throwdown for New Year’s Eve, and I was the main recipient of the drinks because, well, not everyone loves absinthe. Only a select few of us do, mostly
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  In the last Minneapolis Blogging post, we had some tasty treats on Eat Street after an afternoon spent at the Sculpture Garden. What could possibly be left to do in Minneapolis on this five-day trip? A stroll through Lowry Hill and around the Lake of Isles and a few more memorable meals, that’s what.
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Rainbow 910 West Main Street Brightleaf District Website We’ve posted on plenty of great restaurant options in the Brightleaf area, but I realized recently that I’d never tried one that is smack-dab in the middle of them all: Rainbow, a Chinese order-at-the-counter spot. It’s primarily a take-out restaurant, but they do have a seating area
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Fire in the Triangle Round 6 Mia Francesca versus 518 West Last night was the sixth round of the Fire in the Triangle competition. What’s that, you ask? Well, it’s a six-week-long culinary adventure pitting sixteen chefs of our prized restaurants against each other. All of the ingredients for the battle come in on one
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Calavera 444-101 South Blount St. Downtown Raleigh Website $3 per empanada Calavera is an empanada and tequila bar that—praise the lord—has a kitchen that stays open until 2 am. This is a wonderful, wonderful thing, as any night owl would tell you. Quality empanadas as a late-night snack? It’s divinely inspired, and Raleigh is lucky
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Cocobon 2010 Red Wine California   This is one of those wines I selected based on the label design, and I’m not ashamed. Look at how pretty that brown and beige label is! I love it. The taste ends on mildly sweetened cranberries, and it starts with milk chocolate and pomegranate seeds. Those fruit flavors
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Wilmoore Café *CLOSED* 223 S. Wilmington Street Downtown Raleigh Website Sandwiches/Salads: $5.75 to $8.00 M to W, 7 am to 5 pm Th to Fri, 7 am to 10 pm Sat, 5 pm to 10 pm I have passed Wilmoore Café many times, and I’m always intrigued by the protruding display windows full of tables
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