Good Googly Moogly That Sandwich Was Juicy!

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of joining Brit for lunch at Village Grill located at 8470 Honeycutt Road right off of Falls of Neuse Road in North Raleigh.  We had a $25 gift certificate, compliments of the lovely Lynn Owens, which was very helpful because the menu was just slightly above the usual college kids’ price range.  We were in North Raleigh though, about 20 minutes away from all of the college bars and restaurants so it is understandable.  I would definitely go back if I had my parents with me so I could mooch free food off of them.

The restaurant was pretty spacious and nearly empty which was somewhat surprising because we came right at lunchtime.  It was really pretty inside with paintings everywhere and a big, beautiful bar plopped smack dab in the middle.

The service was mediocre seeing how empty it was but, I must say our server, Jeremy was so sweet and polite and had a beautiful accent.  He was from Minnesota.  Minnesotans are well known for their politeness.  My water was often low to empty but aside from that, he was so helpful in assisting me in picking out the perfect sandwich on my one day of carnivorism for the week.

Brit and I ordered a starter of Texas Ranch potato chips with bleu cheese dressing.  They tasted a lot like the kettle-cooked chips from the store but they were warm and crispy.  They weren’t too ranchy which was good for us both.  Brit hates ranch and I’m not a huge fan of it or anything either.

Jeremy suggested that I order the Grilled London Broil Sandwich.  Manwich.  The thing is made to perfection and served with a side of horseradish sauce, au jus (whatever that means…) and fries.  The baguette bun was crispy and tough on the outside and soft and delicate on the inside.  It was topped with slices of London broil, Habenero cheddar cheese, and onion straws.  The only negative thing I can say about the sandwich was that the steak was pretty tough and difficult to chew through (especially with the whole prairie dog-like mouth issue).  If the pieces had been cut into smaller portions it may have been easier.  The cheese brought a perfect blend of spice and cheddar.  It was just a tinge above mild for me and I can’t take even the slightest amount of heat.  To a normal person it could possibly be considered bland but it was perfect for me.  The fried onion straws brought a juicy crunch to the whole sandwich.  They were my favorite part.  I was pulling them straight off the sandwich and shoving them down my throat before I even started eating it. 

The horseradish made the sandwich just like good ole’ JereBear told me it would.  The creamy sauce added a sweeter taste to it but still had that mustardy kick.  I did not use the “au jus” which, I think just means “grease” or “meat juice” or “cooked carcass runoff” in fancy talk.  The horseradish sauce was just enough.

The fries were extra crispy and tasting them flooded me with nostalgic memories of MoJoe’s…  I think Brit was haunted by those same memories, too… I could see the look in her eye as she bit into her burger.  “It’s good,” she said with just a glint of disappointment and dispare in her sad blue eyes.  “But we should definitely go back to MoJoe’s…”

The Village Grille is a must-go if you have money, a date who has money, or a kick ass professor with a gift card she’s about to trash.  Although my sandwich was great, I think I can get food just as good downtown for a few bucks cheaper.  The VG seems like it may be a better place for drinks but if you’re ever craving a good steak sandwich, definitely check it out.  (It’s just not top of my list of cravings… RALEIGHTIMESNACHOZFORLIFE)

I Betski You Can't Find Better Sausage Than This!

I am close to 100% German so when I recently heard about J.  Betski’s a few weeks ago, I knew I had to try it for my blog.  I get these ridiculous hankerings every few weeks for the genuine German lunch meat that I get at my Omi’s house in Frankfurt every few years when I get to go visit.  (Omi means Granny in German.) I love bratwurst, fleischwurst, bloodwurst, mettwurst, leberwurst… Oh my God the list goes on and on.

J.  Betski’s is located at 10 West Franklin Street in Raleigh.  It’s directly across from Peace in Seaboard Station, ladies!  The lunch menu is super affordable… my meal was roughly $8.00. 

Every now and then my parents try and recreate the meals we get at my Omi’s house by going to some place like A Southern Season in Chapel Hill and buying meat, cheese, bread, and pickles.  After trying J.  Betski’s I wonder if they’ll even bother with the trouble of that when the restaurant is so much closer to where they live and it’s relatively cheap!

The restaurant was very simple and cozy with wooden tables like the ones that they have at the casual schnitzel places in Germany.  Our server was very friendly, helpful, efficient and quick.

To start, I got a pint of beer on tap called Schneider & Sohn’s “Schneider Weisse.”  Seeing as I’m used to the cheapest, most watered down beers of all time like Natural Light and PBR… this was a delicious surprise.  It was a nice amber color, not too dark so I didn’t want to pass out whilst walking out of the restaurant to the car.  It was very smooth going down and tasted only as what I can describe as a campfire.  If you could take a beautiful campfire with family and friends while roasting food on sticks on a perfectly cool and crisp night in the middle of October and put it in a glass… this is what it would taste like.  Please go try it.

Our server suggested that I order the pierogie and sausage platter because it would give me a little taste of a few different things.  The platter comes with two pierogies made one way, and two pieces of kielbasa (delicious, juicy, German sausage) any two ways you like them.  The plate also comes with a small serving of sauerkraut, and two types of mustards for your dipping pleasure. 

I got the cheese and potato pierogies and the beef and pork kielbasa, and the smoked kielbasa.  The pierogies were amazing and hand made and delicately pressed together and stuffed with potato and cheese.   They were sprinkled with crispy little breadcrumbs which added a nice texture to it. 

I bit into the made in house sausage and immediately could hear the Vienna Waltz playing in my ears.  It brought me straight back to my Omi’s little apartment.  The smoked sausage was my favorite.  Anything with that smokey flavor is my favorite.  Nothing compares.  It tasted like fall and the fair and it’s just ever so seasoned, salty, and smoky.  Omnomnomnomnom.  Both kinds of mustard that they put on the plate were amazing, too.  I am not a fan of the neon yellow American mustard but I love the European stuff.  One was smooth and the other one was grainy.  The smooth one was super spicy and tasted perfectly with the plain beef and pork kielbasa.  The sweeter, grainy one went so well with the smoked kielbasa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFaZEPLTCZU&feature=related

            The saurkraut was good.  It wasn’t as good as what my mom makes, though.  It was very sweet and my mom makes hers a little more on the sour side so it always contrasts perfectly with whatever salty food we’re having.

            Dessert was DEE-VIINEE.    The chocolate hazelnut torte with sea salt, caramel, and crispy bacon (yeah, I said it) is the perfect dessert to split on a date.  It fulfills both the girly chocolate, and the manly bacon cravings.  Personally, I love anything with chocolate or with hazelnut and the two of them together is just spot on.  The bacon and sea salt are so subtle that they just leave a slightly salty and crunchy texture that was so delicately smoothed over by the thick and creamy caramel drizzled on top.  The only thing that I thought could be missing was a little bit of rum or bourbon in the cake.  That could just be me, though.  Either way, it was phenomenal.  The dessert was dusted with powdered sugar and homemade whipped cream.  You can really tell the difference between the homemade whipped cream and the whipped cream in the can.

“The whipped cream can really make or break any dessert,” said Ingrid London, forty-one of Cary.   “If it’s too sweet the whole thing is ruined.  That’s why the homemade stuff is the best.”

            I certainly recommend J. Betski’s to anybody who loves German, Polish, Hungarian, or anything of that nature kind of food.  It was such a pleasurable experience.  The food was great, the service was great, the weather was great and now I’m hungry.

My HeartBurns for MoJoe's

This past freezing cold Sunday with a wind chill of -10 degrees, Brit and I decided to check out the Oxford.  Their burgers were recommended to me personally by Triangle Food Tour over a personal Twitter message.

Brit and I parked and walked over to the restaurant.  Aside from the uber friendly homeless fellows meowing and barking at us, the atmosphere was pretty nice.  It was definitely hip but it smelled like pancakes and bacon.  Needless to say, we were a little confused.

It turns out they were only serving brunch at that time.  We needed burgers.  Brit has a burger blog.  So we left.

We ended up going to MoJoe’s located at 620 Glenwood Avenue on the corner of East Peace Street.

MoJoe’s is really relaxed.  You seat yourself and the menus are already on the green and white plastic clothed table.

Our server came up and asked us what we wanted to eat.  Brit ordered her usual delicious and generic burger while I asked our friendly server what the most popular item on the menu was.

After two of the waiters debated over the most popular things, they came to a conclusion.  I was afraid of the answer I was going to get… but in the back of my mind, I knew my fate.  I knew exactly what they were going to tell me.

Why is it that everywhere I go… the most popular and most delicious foods that Raleigh has to offer me are the same things that are going to end up shortening my lifespan by 25+ years?

The pork pile.  That is the name of the burger.  “The Pork Pile.”  Really?  Spring break is just three weeks away and I’ve been working so hard…

OH WELL!

Where do I begin?

First of all, I love it when buns are sprinkled with delicious little sesame seeds.  I don’t know why, but I do.  It doesn’t add to the taste but it sure does make the burger look so much more appetizing.  It seemed so lightly toasted that you hardly noticed it, but the crust on it was just flakey enough.

On the bun was a perfectly cooked 1/3 lb. burger grilled straight through.  It was topped with succulent pulled pork, a couple of strips of bacon, cheddar cheese, and slabbed with ketchup and mustard. 

I hate ketchup.  I hate mustard.  I hate mixing meats.

But alas, I have sworn myself to trusting the general public in lieu of my new found vegetarianism (as of November)… for you, friends.

I was skeptical to try it.  So many things I detest all piled high between two perfectly flawless bunny-buns… now tainted.

I cut the heaping man sandwich in half in order to stuff it into my relatively small mouth.  (I’m told I resemble a prairie dog.)

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  I am so proud of myself.  I am trying so many new things every week and the food just keeps getting better and better.  I’m trying things that I would never dare try under any other circumstances.  Thank you, Raleigh men and women for making the right decision for me once again.

The burger was so sweet and salty and thoroughly cooked.  I’m sure you can imagine what pork on top of a burger patty tastes like, but the bacon added just that extra little oomph of salty flavor.  The ketchup and mustard added just enough sweetness and a little kick.  I hate to admit that I am going to keep reordering these disgusting  (yet oh so delectable) entrees that these places keep serving me.  Are they trying to kill me!?

Aside from the burger, Brit and I split an appetizer of mozzerella sticks and a side of fries.  “I love the fries,” said Brit of our class, “I’m so glad we got them.”  They were extra crispy and not doused in too much salt.

My experience at MoJoe’s was phenomenal.  It helped that I was in good company as well.  I definitely recommend it to anybody who loves a good burger.  I cannot wait to late night it there after a ladies night out on Glenwood.  

Pork This, Not That...

In the heart of North Carolina, there are so many amazing barbeque places to choose from that sometimes one doesn’t even know where to begin.  The Pit, you say?  Coopers?  Q Shack? 

How about that tiny, little, rundown building on the side of Hillsborough Street across from the railroad tracks that mostly only people who have lived here for years know about?

Ole’ Time Barbeque is a family owned restaurant.  It’s that tiny, little, yellow shack on the side of the road that many pass by daily without giving it a second glance.  It looks like the kind of place only a trucker would stop for a quick bite to eat on a long trip. 

The inside is adorned from wall to wall, floor to ceiling with plastic, stuffed, painted, and porcelain pigs.  (As well as a few family photos.)

But the pigs.  Pigs.  Everywhere.  All around me.  I almost felt guilty ordering the pork platter, what with all the hundreds of swine staring me down.  That is, until I took a bite.

I ordered the small pork platter with coleslaw, French fries, and complimentary hush puppies to go.

Sierra Clarke, 22 of Raleigh and Peace College graduate said, "Don't judge me.  I am getting the large order.  It is so good and I want leftovers for days... and days... and days... and days..."

I remember the free hush puppies from when I used to go to Ole’ Time for lunch in high school with my friends.  They’re a lot less doughy and a much more crispy than hush puppies I’ve had at other places.  There’s no need for butter with these little guys.  They dissolve in your mouth just fine on their very own.

I’ve hated coleslaw since the first grade when my TA (who shall remain nameless) would savagely destroy bowl after bowl of the mayonnaise covered cabbage shreds.  White spray would spew everywhere throughout the air whilst she talked and chewed with her mouth open and full.  I hated the idea of it.

I can honest to goodness, hand on the Holy Bible, cross my heart and hope to die say that I have not once had coleslaw ever since until Saturday night.

It was astoundingly pleasing considering the mental scarring that I have had to endure for the past fifteen years of my life.  It was crisp and fresh and very sweet.  It was seasoned with black pepper as well as some other spices that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.  I think caraway was used, but something else added a perfect kick to the sweet dessert like salad.  I’m glad I didn’t order dessert because I wouldn’t have needed it anyway. 

The fries were clearly frozen, which was a minor disappointment shortly trumped by a fleeting whirl of aroma and flavor cast by the Pork God himself.  I could feel his presence in the still air of my kitchen.   The unbearable mound of guilt that these hogs had thrust upon my soul at the restaurant was lifted so quickly by him that I forgot that I even had those feelings of shame to begin with.

The tender, succulent, pork was marinated in what tasted like the most simplistically perfect blend of peppers, spices, and vinegar of all time.  It was so basic, yet something this flawless must have taken years to perfect.  It is called Ole’ Time for a reason… this recipe has been passed down for generations.

The portions at Ole’ Time are plentiful so certainly plan to go on an empty stomach. 

I ordered the small platter and had to put over half of it in the fridge.  All that food cost me under $10. 

If you’re not from Raleigh, it should be a definite stopping point for you.  The restaurant has so much character.  From the decor, to the truly authentic food, to the quick service, to the candid gossip and joking going on behind the counter… it’s the kind of place that makes you feel like you’re back in time (the ole’ time) in the South eating one of the most North Carolinian native meals of your life. 

Ole’ Time is “a great placed to get PORKED.”  The mighty God of Pork will tell you himself.  Just look for him among the many statues throughout the restaurant and ask.