dos taquitos xoco

Well, it’s Thursday again so that means we have a new downtown Raleigh restaurant for you. This week we stopped by a sweet (or maybe not so sweet) little place called Dos Taquitos XOCO located in the heart of downtown Raleigh, right on Glenwood Avenue. As you maybe be able to tell from the name, Dos Taquitos is a Mexican/Tex-Mex style restaurant that has a very funky but vibrant vibe. When you walk in the doors you become immediately overwhelmed by all the decorations covering the walls as well as hanging down from the ceiling. They have indoor and outside seating as well as bar seating. If you catch them on the right day when the weather is nice, I would definitely recommend sitting outside.

This was my first time ever going to Dos Taquitos (and I love Mexican food) so I was really excited to go and see what they had on the menu. I went around lunchtime so they had a lunch special menu which had a lot of great choices. Just about everything on the lunch menu was under ten bucks, which is freaking awesome. They had everything from fajitas, to tacos, as well as quesadillas and soup. Along with the lunch menu they also have a full menu available any time of the day with lots of different choices. After talking with one of the waiters about their menu she told me some of their most popular items on the menu were the Enchiladas de Puebla (three enchiladas each with different fillings and sauce), Steak Tacos, Tacos de Mariscos (tacos with either tilapia or shrimp), and the chicken quesadilla. If you’re a taco fanatic I would also recommend joining Dos Taquitos on Thursdays for their karaoke night where they have a $10 taco buffet. That’s right, all the tacos you want for just ten bucks.

Along with an awesome lunch/dinner menu, Dos Taquitos also has a great drink menu. They run specials just about everyday on margaritas, draft beer, and other mixed drinks. If you’re of age take advantage of these awesome deals and enjoy some hearty Mexican food while you’re at it.

what I ordered:

Since I was trying a new restaurant for the first time, I wanted to order something I wouldn’t traditionally order at a Mexican restaurant. After much deliberation, I decided to take advantage of the lunch specials and order the “Fagrillitas.” I don’t normally order any kind of fajitas because I’m not a huge fan of spicy things, but these fajitas were awesome. My plate came as a skillet filled with peppers, onions, squash, and tomatoes along with flour tortillas and a bowl of toppings including sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and pico de gallo. As you can see from the picture, they vegetables came out still cooking and I absolutely couldn’t wait to build my fajitas. I was a little nervous to try them at first but after taking the first bite I was sooo happy with my meal. The vegetables had the right amount of seasoning, not too hot but just right, and with the toppings, the fajitas were perfect.

Another thing that is absolutely to die for is the Queso (cheese dip) and Guacamole. I went with one of my friends during lunch and decided to get both dips to share between the two of us. Let me just tell you, they have some of the best queso and guacamole that I have ever had. No lie. I would definitely recommend ordering one of them, if not both.

If you’re interested in a good Mexican food and looking for a cool place to hang out with friends, eat dinner with your family, or have date night with your significant other, I say go to Dos Taquitos. You won’t regret it and your pocket won’t too much either.

Also, if you would like to read more about Dos Taquitos be sure either to visit their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DosTaquitosXoco) or head on over to “The Triangle Explorer” and see what they have to say! (http://triangleexplorer.com/2013/04/12/a-peek-inside-dos-taquitos-xoco-in-downtown-raleigh/)

Like what you’ve been seeing? Love eating in the downtown Raleigh area? Be sure to keep reading to see where I go next!

the station

For this week’s feature I visited a little corner bar called The Station. You can locate The Station on the corner of Person Street and Pace Street in Raleigh’s Historic Oakwood neighborhood. As some of you Raleigh historians may know, an Amoco gas station stood in the exact same place years and years ago (also where the name The Station comes from). The Station is a very friendly place to visit and is super creative and cozy on the inside and out. It’s mostly an outdoor restaurant but they do have some inside seating as well as fire pits for when it gets a little too cold outside. Whether you’re stopping in for lunch or just grabbing a drink, the Station is the perfect place to visit with an awesome atmosphere. Also, this week’s weather made for a perfect outdoor meal, so why not visit The Station?

The Station offers a very unique menu. They take super traditional menu items and put creative spins on each one. The  Station has a full menu including starters, soups and salads, sandwiches and kid items as well as a full drink menu. No matter what you traditionally like to eat, I promise you will be able to find something on the menu you will enjoy. Some of the main dishes that The Station offers are the Cuban sandwich, the Bahn Mi, a Smoked Salmon BLT, their famous Station burger (which btw are only FIVE BUCKS on Mondays), a Sloppy Joe, Black Bean burger, and the Brown Butter Beer Grilled Cheese. For sides they offer homemade chips, season wedges (fries), roasted vegetables, and my personal favorite, mac and cheese.

what I ordered:

Having been to the Station multiple times prior to my most recent visit, I have had the opportunity to try different items from the menu. But this time I wanted to try something I had never had before. After talking with my awesome waiter, Chyna (maybe his name was Chad, I’m not really sure), he convinced me to order the Sloppy Joe. I’m not one to traditionally order some so messy, slightly because I’m prone to food stained clothes, but I was really excited  for my meal after it being recommended so highly.

The sandwich was your typical sloppy joe filling topped with pimento cheese and a few of the homemade chips and I also ordered the chips as my side. I wasn’t particularly excited about the pimento cheese because I don’t normally eat it, but I’m so glad I got it because it made the sandwich a hundred times better. The homemade chips are always amazing and the homemade ranch makes them even better. Another side I would recommend getting is definitely the mac and cheese, it is freaking awesome. I was very pleased with my meal and I would definitely order it again.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention!!!! Make sure you order yourself a glass of sweet tea, because it’s surely some of the best in downtown Raleigh and even comes in a little mason jar.

The Station is a great place to go for a lunch break, on a date, with your family, or even for a drink. It’s laid back atmosphere will make you forget about the craziness beyond in the downtown Raleigh area. So if you’re ever in the area be sure to drop in.

Don’t forget to check back next week to see where my next stop will be!

stationraleigh.com

fiction kitchen

This week’s DTR adventure takes us to a very small, but very bright restaurant located in the warehouse district of downtown called The Fiction Kitchen. It sits near the corner of Dawson Street ad W Cabarrus Street and it’s bright green exterior makes it hard to miss. The Fiction Kitchen is a full vegetarian restaurant meaning every single item on their menu is 100% vegetarian friendly. This was my first time visiting a vegetarian restaurant and even though I myself am not a vegetarian I was really excited to try something new. To begin with I was a little nervous about what to order because I wasn’t sure of a lot of the menu items but after discussing all the options with one of the waitresses, I was ready to order my first vegetarian meal.

I’m no expert on vegetarian foods, but the Fiction Kitchen had a variety of very unique items on their menu. For appetizers they had a couple of different things to choose from such as vegetable root fries (which are amazing), squash and zucchini cakes, lettuce wraps and cornmeal-fried oyster mushrooms. They also have a small selection of soups and salads to go along with their appetizer selection. Some of their entree options include the NC peanut noodle bowl,  a curry bowl, a braised and grilled tempeh sandwich, succotash farro risotto, “chicken” and waffles, eastern NC styled BBQ pulled “pork” and tinga tacos. The waitress that I had was absolutely fantastic and took the time to go over and  explain what each of the meals were.

After telling you all the awesome things that FK has to offer, you’re probably wondering how much of a dent a meal here is going to put in your wallet. Well here it is, it’s not going to hurt at all. The Fiction Kitchen is a totally affordable vegetarian restaurant with all of their meals being fifteen dollars or less. You definitely don’t have to worry about wasting money here, because the value and quantity is totally worth the money you’re paying.

what I ordered:

My favorite part of each of my blog posts is telling you all what awesome meal I ordered while visiting each restaurant. This week was a little bit different for me though. Like I mentioned earlier, I am not vegetarian so I was completely new to all these meals and especially the substitute meat. After much consideration, I decided to order the crispy fried “chicken” and waffles.

At first I was really skeptical about ordering any kind of substitute meat (I am a true meat lover) but after talking to my waitress I was confident with my choice. The “chicken” part of the meal is of course not actually chicken, it is a mock version made of soy products made pretty locally in Morrisville, NC.

The meal was presented as a belgian waffle with the mock chicken on top, then topped with arugula and agave as well as blueberries. I thought the meal was absolutely fabulous and I would definitely recommend it to any first time visitors at the Fiction Kitchen. The mock chicken was actually pretty good, but it definitely wasn’t the real thing. After visiting FK for the first time, I would most definitely come back again. I had a lot of fun exploring the menu and I cannot wait to try something else the next time I visit.

If you’re ever looking for an awesome vegetarian restaurant, Fiction Kitchen is the place to go. With all that being said, be sure to check back next week to see where I visit next!

sushi blues cafe

On this weeks adventure through downtown Raleigh, I visited a little place called Sushi Blues Cafe. Located on Glenwood avenue, Sushi Blues is the perfect place to go when searching for any kind of sushi or Japanese food. They offer outdoor seating as well as indoor seating, but when the weather is right you can’t beat sitting outside. Sushi blues offers a very relaxing atmosphere with a very jazzy/blues feel (hence the name sushi blues).

Sushi Blues has an incredible sushi menu with other fifty different rolls to choose from. They have a lot of simple rolls and also have a lot of complex rolls with tons of different ingredients. Most of the rolls have some sort of seafood so I definitely wouldn’t recommend eating here if you’re deathly allergic to seafood. They have anything from crab and lobster to salmon, tuna and eel. They also have a roll that has chicken for all you chicken lovers out there. And if none of that sounds appealing or you just don’t eat any kind of meat, they have a vegetarian list to choose from. One of my favorite things about this restaurant is that on the “specialty” menu, all of the rolls are named after someone/something famous and well known Raleigh names. Some of these include: the Marilyn Monroe, the Steven Tyler, the Rat Pack, the Carter Finley, the Gottfried, and Jimmy V.

So they have a variety to choose from and even give their sushi cool names but the absolute best thing about the Sushi Blues menu (and I really don’t think anyone can argue with this) is the buy one get one free deal!!!! Yes I said free. To a college student, that word means everything. Always take advantage of anything and everything that is free, so surely take advantage of this BOGO deal. So basically make sure you come to Sushi Blues on a full stomach and splurge on your favorite roll because guess what? That second roll is free and you will want to eat it all.

Sushi Blues also offers a lot more than sushi though. On the lunch menu they offer items such as teriyaki and tempura meals, stir fry, and even have roll specials that come with soup. The dinner menu is basically a step up from the lunch menu offering most of the same things with just a lot more options. Along with the dinner and lunch menus, Sushi Blues also has a complex drink menu with lots of different options to choose from. They even offer daily specials, so if your of age be sure to take advantage of that. And if at the end of your meal you still haven’t had enough, they even offer dessert items.

what I ordered:

I will start with saying that I’m not a huge fan of all Japanese food and I totally only come to this place for the sushi and  since there are sooo many choices it was hard for me to narrow it down to just two different rolls. But somehow I managed to finally narrow it down and I decided on the Sweet Home Alabama roll and the Big Count Basie.

The Sweet Home Alabama roll is my absolute favorite thing to order. Inside it has tempura chicken, cucumber, spicy mayo sauce, fresh spring mix and has roe and sesame seeds on top. I love this roll because unlike most types of sushi, it has chicken instead of some kind of seafood. It’s very different and has a very original taste.

The other roll I order, the Big Count Basie, is actually from the vegetarian section. Although I am not a vegetarian, the big count is another one of my favorite rolls. This roll has sweet potato tempura, zucchini tempura, as well as cucumber and sesame seeds on top. I feel like this is also very original because it has sweet potato which isn’t your go to sushi ingredient.

Although these two rolls are what I ordered and happen to be two of my favorites, there are so many more choices and I would totally recommend trying new and off the wall things. One day I even want to step outside my comfort zone and order something other than sushi (maybe, lol).

As this post comes to an end I just want to say thank you for reading my blog and be sure to come back each week to see where I visit next!

https://soundcloud.com/brentbrown/bannana-pancakes-jack-johnson