Aviator Smokehouse 525 East Broad Street Fuquay-Varina Website $6.95–$13.95   The Aviator Smokehouse in downtown Fuquay-Varina is an offshoot of the Aviator Brewing Company, which is a favorite of plenty of Triangle-area beer drinkers. That beer connection carries over to their menu. The first thing I noticed under the list of sides was a proclamation
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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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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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Saketini Shiki Sushi Southwest Durham Website $8 This is a very simple martini, consisting of vodka and Gekkeikan nigori sake, which is the creamy type for those of you not up on your sake terminology. Frankly, there’s no need to have a martini this simple; you might as well drink vodka or sake on their
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Karen “Coy” Junmai Sake Niigata, Japan Note: In no way, shape, or form are those quote marks of my generation. The rose-colored bottle is very pretty, which counts for automatic bonus points—I’m not afraid to admit it. As the bottle description says, it smells like lychee, with a bit of cream in the nose, too.
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Once upon a time, three little tweeps named @demandycom, @thegourmez, and @BCwritr decided to meet up for dinner at a new restaurant by the locally famed David Mao. This was fated, because all three loved food and hanging out with others who also loved food. A date was set and other tweeps of the same
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Butter in the Forest Adapted from Japanese Cocktails by Yuri Kato 1/4 avocado 1 tsp honey 2 shots junmai nigori sake 3/4 shot vodka 1/4 shot triple sec 1 shot almond milk I made this drink from a sake cocktail recipe in order to use up less than a glass of sake. I had to
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Momokawa Pearl Sake Junmai Ginjo Nigori Genshu Oregon This sake is nigori, so it’s unfiltered, and I’m happy to report that it doesn’t taste like sour milk like the Snow Maiden nigori sake did. Instead, it’s got a delicious creamy flavor of banana, breadfruit, and a bit of kiwi. There’s a strong floral element also,
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Trader Joe-san’s Junmai Ginji Premium Sake I haven’t developed a sake nose yet, because I can only say that Trader Joe-San’s sake smells like . . . sake. It tastes clean and crisp, and of rice, of course, but it’s also densely creamy, without actually being an unfiltered sake. It’s like drinking toasted marshmallow cream
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Tozai Snow Maiden Kyoto, Japan Snow Maiden is a junmai nigori sake; in other words, it’s sake made with no added alcohol, only pure rice water with yeast, and is unfiltered. I’ve enjoyed unfiltered sake before, so figured why not try a more creamy one?  I think that was a mistake for me. You, of
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