When I went to school in Santa Cruz, Star Bene was one of the fancier restaurants I heard about but never had the chance to go to because (a) it was outside the range of my college student budget and (b) none of my dates chose it for dinner. Thus, it remained an out-of-reach of
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La Volta 411 Fayetteville Street Downtown Raleigh Website Entrees: $13–$20 La Volta is an Italian restaurant on Fayetteville Street, right off the pretty City Plaza stretch of downtown Raleigh, which means it’s a prime location for people watching, especially if there’s a costume convention in town. There are plenty of outdoor tables, but I found
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Wine: Snapping Turtle Chardonnay 2007 Region: California I popped this one open to simmer some risotto in it.  It tasted like lemon meringue pie, though not as tart. When cold, it seemed dry but got sweeter as it warmed to room temperature. There was some green apple peel in the mix as well.  It was
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