Alright, so a girl challenged me to find a fancy restaurant (she said some kind of barn was real fancy) so that she could take me to it...not really sure why, but I'm down. Anyone know of good restaurants?

12/1/2006 11:04:49 PM

youd do a lot better to search for old threads. i can already tell you whats gonna happen.

1/3 of the people will flame you for posting this
1/3 will give suggestions
1/3 will flame the 1/3 that gave suggestions because they are so much "richer" or "classier" or whatever image they want to convey at the moment.

12/1/2006 11:09:45 PM

go to Bella monica on Blue Ridge Road

it's in the harris teeter shopping center with the word "pizza" over the restaurant

it's not that fancy, but it is awesome

12/1/2006 11:13:22 PM

^^Ah, will do.

^Thanks!

12/1/2006 11:19:16 PM

Is she talking about Angus barn?

Meh

Bloomsbury Bistro
Second Empire
Nana's Chophouse
Magnolia Grille
Vin Rouge
Enoteca Vin
Fin's

Those are by far the best restaurants (quite high-end) in raleigh and durham. Widely considered so by the general public, and most professional chefs in the area

Ive only been to Nana's chophouse, Bloomsbury Bistro and Enoteca Vin, and they were all fucking stellar.

Then again, this is all getting into weird mixes of classical french, and contemporary fusion.


[Edited on December 1, 2006 at 11:47 PM. Reason : ]

12/1/2006 11:46:50 PM

message_search.aspx?type=topic§ion=1&searchstring=restaurant&username=&usertype=match&sortby=date&sortorder=descending&page=

also there are a ton of old threads to go through if you get really curious

12/1/2006 11:58:10 PM

Yea, it was Angus Barn.

12/2/2006 12:05:14 AM

Hell, if the challenge is to find a fancy restaurant, and it is on her dime, hit up Fearrington.

12/2/2006 12:14:41 AM

ah, its probably the most well known nice place in raleigh. probably cause its been open for something like 40-50 years. so while its obvious why it would be on most peoples list, a lot of people hate it because its popular. there was a thread about steak places too you might wanna look up.

moral of the story -- if shes trying to take you to angus barn, i would definitely go. maybe there is a more obscure place with better steak, but unless youre writing a book i wouldnt worry about it too much. hahah

^ is that the place that serves bass and things along that line?

[Edited on December 2, 2006 at 12:18 AM. Reason : ..]

12/2/2006 12:16:48 AM

Margaux's in North Raleigh is great.
Go to Enoteca Vin for Sunday brunch, but skip dinner-- far too pricey for the pay-out.

12/2/2006 6:33:54 AM

holy shit, she's offering to drop possibly $40-50 on one meal for you?

Where can I meet meat a broad like this?

12/2/2006 7:35:37 AM

move out of the homeless shelter?

12/2/2006 9:59:21 AM

omar plz dont lock this thread move it to chitchat

it will be lots of fun there

thx

12/2/2006 10:01:33 AM

Screw Angus Barn...Ruth's Chris is where it's at.

12/2/2006 2:40:19 PM

^

12/2/2006 2:40:49 PM

I took my wife to the Melting Pot for her birthday last year. Total cost was around $175, including wine and tip. It was fun and lasted a long time.

Simpson's off of Creedmoor Rd. is good. Costs about $45 per person for food.

There are some other local places that aren't expensive, but are as good as anything I found when I was living in Boston:

Twisted Fork (Triangle Town Ctr.) - everything on the menu is incredible and only local foods are used. Their owner also owns a brewery in Fayetteville, so you can get some local microbrews as well.

Michael Deans is great, as is Hi5

12/2/2006 6:39:02 PM

OKay, How much *is* Second Empire or magnolia ? I keep hearing about them, and might in the future want to take my guy, but, I wanna know how much I'm talking about here.
$50 a head? $100?

12/3/2006 12:13:44 AM

Quote :

"Fearrington."

actually "ferrington house" but
yep that would be as fancy as you can get around here.

[Edited on December 3, 2006 at 12:18 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on December 3, 2006 at 12:19 AM. Reason : er]

12/3/2006 12:17:54 AM

i have a gift certificate for magnolia grill................expires next month


guess i better use it

12/3/2006 1:15:24 AM

^^i was up there a couple of weekends ago for a wedding. awesome place.

12/3/2006 1:48:35 AM

I heard Magnolia Grill is the only restaurant between DC and Atlanta that is listed by AAA as... well, I don't remember exactly but it was something impressive sounding

12/3/2006 5:31:54 AM

^ mainly for the pastry chef - she's world reknown

while the food is outstanding - it's not really a romantic place. The atmosphere leaves much to be desired and is usually chock full of dry Duke professors and the such. If you're going, you're going strictly for the food (particuarly dessert )

12/3/2006 10:14:51 AM

Quote :

"OKay, How much *is* Second Empire or magnolia ? I keep hearing about them, and might in the future want to take my guy, but, I wanna know how much I'm talking about here. $50 a head? $100? "

I can only witness for 2nd Empire.

It really depends on whether you order from the Main restaurant menu or the tavern menu. You can order from either menu in the tavern, and probably in the main restaurant but I am not sure. at any rate, the prices there are not bad. You can get an entree from anywhere between 18 and 30 dollars. Usually the filet mignon is the most expensive item on the menu with lamb in a close second.

it is very good and if you want a good casual, romantic dinner try the tavern. Upstairs is more formal.

12/3/2006 10:25:20 AM

2nd Empire

12/3/2006 10:27:50 AM

i hear 18 Seaboard is quite the elegance.

12/3/2006 1:21:14 PM

I just went to this place called 'An', which is close to SAS and Harrison blvd. VERY 'nice' and 'fancy'. Probably one of the nicest restaurants in the triangle although the service left much to be desired. I was an impressed foodie.

12/3/2006 2:01:10 PM

^ speaks the truth

http://www.ancuisines.com/

[Edited on December 3, 2006 at 3:56 PM. Reason : .]

12/3/2006 3:55:32 PM

Nelson's in Cameron Village (where foster's used to be)

They have Kobe Beef Steaks there and like oysters from 7 different regions

12/3/2006 4:05:20 PM

^^^
I need to try An.
It is owned by the Goodnight's, hence the name "An".

12/3/2006 4:26:35 PM

^yeh his wife is named ann or smthg right?

12/3/2006 5:22:57 PM

yup

12/3/2006 5:29:37 PM

i was VERY dissappointed with the atmosphere at angus barn, too many families. not romantic at all. the food was decent, but we could barely hear ourselves talk. it was our anniversary, we reserved a table way before hand and asked for a more secluded spot. they sat us in the middle of an open space with tables of kids all around.

12/3/2006 6:16:58 PM

barn and fancy dont go together

unless you are talking redneck-fancy-shmanzy

12/3/2006 7:13:42 PM

i'm gonna keep posting and recommending St. Jacques in all these restaurant threads until someone else goes there and tells me if they enjoyed it or not.

http://www.saintjacquesfrenchcuisine.com/

12/3/2006 9:32:12 PM

^I went there in middle school for a french class lunch field trip and went there for my senior prom. Back then it was called Jean Claude's and had different owners etc. It was really good back then, but I heard the restaurant is different now. Is this true or is the style/food the same?

12/4/2006 12:09:12 AM

She neglected to mention that she didn't like Angus Barn because she doesn't eat meat...o wait, dammit, .

She has looked over your results and told me that she does not like the Melting Pot or Nelson's. Good desserts are a plus.

12/4/2006 12:57:29 AM

nelson's really isn't all THAT nice. oh yeah and their service is pretty much garbage. food was pretty good though

12/4/2006 1:04:30 AM

Dude, get some game. Seriously. There was a flyer in your "game" packet that had all of this information.

PS, angus barn, twisted fork, and ruth chris are all "off limits" if you consider yourself to have any style. can't buy taste.

[Edited on December 4, 2006 at 1:11 AM. Reason : ps]

12/4/2006 1:10:46 AM

Second Empire is awesome.

Been there 2-3 times for Valentine's Day, pre-engagement meal, etc.

Upstairs (i.e. wear a tie) meals run ~$28-55 without alcohol per person
Tavern (downstairs, dress nice, but casual) runs ~$17-30 without alcohol

Amazing food, great service...top notch.

Bella Monica is DELICIOUS but definitely not a suit & tie place. More like dress-casual, but again, FABULOUS Italian eats. Bout ~$15-30 per person without alcohol.

[Edited on December 4, 2006 at 1:19 AM. Reason : .]

12/4/2006 1:18:39 AM

Dress-nice/casual is more along the lines, she 'doesn't have a little black dress.' That said, Saint Jacques will have to wait for another day unless its more casual than it appears.

We've taken a look at and liked Second Empire, 518 West, Magnolia Grill (no), Bella Monica (nothing special)...I'll research some more.

Thanks for all the help so far!

12/4/2006 1:32:00 AM

i wasnt very impressed with twisted fork. my gf's parents took me and my gf there a month or two ago. Not that great of service and what i ordered wasnt memorable either

12/4/2006 1:46:23 AM

^^ It's more casual than it appears. Note the Cash Points outside the window.

12/4/2006 1:54:23 AM

god how many times are threads like these going to be made?

try searching

[Edited on December 4, 2006 at 6:57 AM. Reason : :]

12/4/2006 6:56:33 AM

Quote :

"I went there in middle school for a french class lunch field trip and went there for my senior prom. Back then it was called Jean Claude's and had different owners etc. It was really good back then, but I heard the restaurant is different now. Is this true or is the style/food the same?"

i never knew it was a different restaurant b4 so i can't answer...all i know is it was good and perhaps my favorite restaurant in raleigh.

Quote :

"Dress-nice/casual is more along the lines, she 'doesn't have a little black dress.' That said, Saint Jacques will have to wait for another day unless its more casual than it appears."

i wore dress pants and a nice top when i went there.

the downstairs restaurant (the tavern) of Second Empire is more casual...if you're planning on sitting in the dining room and she doesn't have a little black dress you can probably mark that one off your list too then. i'd be more inclined to dress up more for second empire.

[Edited on December 4, 2006 at 8:50 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on December 4, 2006 at 8:58 AM. Reason : ]

12/4/2006 8:48:58 AM

there's an italian place behind crabtree mall called tavola rossa that is pretty damn good. not too pricey, and not too fancy.

i would find the website for you but i would imagine your internets come equiped with google too.

12/4/2006 9:43:21 AM

I can vouch for Bella Monica. Great place to take your girl or your fam to get a nice Italian meal.

12/4/2006 10:47:59 AM

Bloomesbury ftw

12/4/2006 10:55:53 AM

^^what they lack in "fanciness" they make up for with great service.

12/4/2006 12:41:05 PM

Quote :

"she said some kind of barn was real fancy"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA




HAHA





HA






HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA





!!!1ONE

12/4/2006 3:49:53 PM

The Rockford
18 Seabord
Vivace
Nelson's
Riviera
Nana's
Prime Only - just opened up on Jones Street where southend brewery used to be, sushi bar, VERY nice

12/4/2006 4:30:39 PM