The Gourmez

Maximillian’s Grill 8314 Chapel Hill Road Cary Website $19-$35 Maximillian’s Grill, not to be confused with Maximillian’s Pizza Kitchen next door though I’m going out on a limb and saying they’re related, appeared this year on Greg Cox’s annual list of top 20 Triangle restaurants. It always flies under my radar; I keep forgetting people [...]

Firehouse Subs Sampling and Talk with the Founder Two weeks ago, I was invited to the Firehouse Subs on Kildaire Farms Road in Cary for a night of sub sandwich and soda tasting with my blogging peers. The real draw for me was the chance to hear Robin Sorenson, who founded Firehouse Subs with his [...]

KoMo KoMo Afternoon Tea 1305 NW Maynard Rd. Maynard Crossing, Cary Website Tea Service: $14 plus the cost of tea or coffee Komo Komo calls itself a Korean French kitchen, and it’s having a lot of fun with the idea of fusion cooking, at least in terms of afternoon tea. They offer it for only [...]

Biryani House 744-A East Chatham Street Chatham Square, Downtown Cary Website Entrees: $8 to $13 I’m always looking for Indian food that blows me away in the Triangle, and Biryani House made a pretty good attempt at that. Only Saffron has done better, and because it’s on the pricier side, my quest for more affordable, [...]

Would you like to know how good of a year 2012 has been so far? This is the second time I’ve had to replace one of my planned bragging posts with a just published one instead!  Let’s hope this is a trend that continues. This week, I’m directing you to an essay I wrote for [...]

Tribeca Tavern 500 Ledgestone Way Cary Website $9–$15 Tribeca Tavern, mainly a burger and sports venue, is an impressive view from the outside. It dominated the entry to this cute shopping center. There are two floors inside with lots of space and outdoor dining, too. Televisions are everywhere, including small ones in individual booths. The [...]

Unaabi Grill 914 Kildaire Farm Road Cary Website Entrees: $10—14 This is a restaurant with a lot of potential, but the service and food timing is definitely not doing the food justice. The ambience is pretty nice—it’s amazing how some track lighting and gold sheers can really transform an old Pizza Hut. There’s an Afghan-styled [...]

Press releases are running rampant lately! Triangle Restaurant Week is nearly here, and we’ve both a huge wine event coming up in February and the opening of a new butcher’s shop in April. First up, dining! The 4th Triangle Restaurant Week will run from 1/24 to 1/30, which has moved up to January from March [...]

This is the second Triangle-area foodie tweetup that Andrea Weigl (@andreaweigl), food writer for the News and Observer, and Johanna Kramer of local foodie renown (@durhamfoodie and seriously, she’ everywhere!) have put together. This time, they opted for a more formal foodie setup, appealing to those of us that love a prix fixe meal with [...]

Apparently, there’s a monthly competition held among the Triangle’s baristas, and I didn’t even know about it! I’ve always been a fan of a good espresso drink; heck, I even have a latté preparation featured in one of my short stories, so I was certainly excited to see a barista competition up close. Counter Culture [...]