Brandy's first weekend here we decided to go see what Raleigh's about. A co-worker directed me to a bar. Seriously, I work with four men who are all in their twenties and they keep telling me about great bars to try. We decided to start at one of the bars. It gave us a jumping off point. Raleigh is divided into districts sort of like Durham but on a larger scale. It's the busiest city I've seen so far. I was in heaven.
Our night began at The Flying Saucer, http://www.beerknurd.com/. They've got about a million beers on tap. Our bartender was very helpful. I suspect she gets tired of women coming in and saying, "I don't know what I want...I don't really like beer." Then why are you in a beer joint?! She came up with a mixture of two beers for my daughter and for me that both ended up being pink but delicious. Maybe it was an editorial comment on women and beer...I don't know. Hints of raspberry. According to man law you're not supposed to put fruit in beer but it wasn't bad.
After beer, we discovered Raleigh is crawling with rickshaw drivers. Translate, cute boys on bikes with wagons attached. They were everywhere. We managed to dodge them. "Would you ladies like a ride?" "Oh, no thanks, we're just heading across the street." Across the street was where we'd spotted The Cupcake Shoppe, http://www.thecupcakeshopperaleigh.com/index.html. The rickshaw driver enthusiastically yelled "Cupcakes!" What better way to get the fruity beer taste out of our mouths? The girl working the cupcake shoppe hadn't gotten the memo on southern hospitality but she gave me chocolate so it was okay. Yeah...I'm that easy.
Lots of cool things on Glenwood Avenue, an art gallery Brandy wouldn't go in. A gym called heat studios where you exercise with rubber bands strapped to the wall. What a fun way to break an arm! A pizza place called Bada Bing which made us wonder where Bada Boom was.
Several dinner choices. We opted for Sushi. Cast iron stomachs are a blessing and a curse. I got something called a bunny roll, vegetarian. Brandy got something with raw fish. (The concept of Sushi passes me...you're supposed to cook meat...don't even get me started on carpaccio.) She liked mine better. You know why? No raw meat. I'm just sayin.
We ended the evening at a turkish coffee store. http://www.turkishdelightsusa.com/ At first I thought the women behind the counter were stalking us, thinking maybe we'd shoplift but then I realized they were just trying to take our order. Bran got an uncomplicated latte and baklava. I ordered turkish coffee, seemed fitting. Turkish coffee takes some time to brew so we wandered around. Gorgeous vases for sale, gelato, desserts including turkish delight. I'd wanted to try turkish delight for years thanks to The Chronicles of Narnia
. My sister got me some for Christmas one year. It was NOT delightful. It's rose scented goo covered in a little powdered sugar...like that's going to make it taste better. When my coffee got ready it was brought to me in a lovely glass coffee mug. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wanted that to go." This was upsetting to the ladies that work there. Seems you can't change your mind about the coffee once its made. That's when I noticed the signs about not adding milk or sugar to the turkish coffee once it's brewed. The grounds are brewed into the coffee and you can't disturb the grounds. After much discussion and with my solemn vow that I'd let the grounds settle before any attempts at drinking the coffee, she put it in a to go mug and we were permitted to leave. I didn't touch it for a while because I swear that woman would have somehow known, found me and forced me to eat rose flavored goo. It was the strongest coffee I've ever had, certainly worth the wait. I give Raleigh a two thumbs up.
. My sister got me some for Christmas one year. It was NOT delightful. It's rose scented goo covered in a little powdered sugar...like that's going to make it taste better. When my coffee got ready it was brought to me in a lovely glass coffee mug. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wanted that to go." This was upsetting to the ladies that work there. Seems you can't change your mind about the coffee once its made. That's when I noticed the signs about not adding milk or sugar to the turkish coffee once it's brewed. The grounds are brewed into the coffee and you can't disturb the grounds. After much discussion and with my solemn vow that I'd let the grounds settle before any attempts at drinking the coffee, she put it in a to go mug and we were permitted to leave. I didn't touch it for a while because I swear that woman would have somehow known, found me and forced me to eat rose flavored goo. It was the strongest coffee I've ever had, certainly worth the wait. I give Raleigh a two thumbs up.
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