First Legal Brew in Joco

MM's job sometimes takes to parts of Central NC that we may not usually traverse.  So one day, we end up in Smithfield, about 45 minutes southeast of Raleigh, in Johnston County, or as it's known, JoCo.  JoCo is what you would expect out of a county in the south, not one infiltrated by us yankee types.  So I volunteer to go to Smithfield on one condition - that we stop on our way home at the new brewery that popped up in Clayton, the town near the border of Johnston and Wake counties (Wake being where Raleigh resides).

We find this brewery nestled in an industrial area just outside the downtown Clayton area, and it's a simple setup - a bar, with 4 brewing tanks behind and plenty of room to grow.  Their claim is that they are the first "legal" brew in Johnston County...paying homage to the fine art of moonshine.

The owners Paul and Lynn are from upstate NY, so immediately I am obligated to like them.  However, their beer speaks for itself.  Of their every day beers, I enjoy their Riverbank Rye-It, a Rye IPA.  Their First Run IPA is not too hoppy, but smooth and delicious.  Other offerings such as the 4042 Stout and Twisted River Wit are great brews.  Paul is also willing to experiment, such as his Bourbon Infused Stout, and my current favorite for summer, Double D's Watermelon Lager.  Our bartender recommended a half Rye-It, half IPA.  It is MM and staff approved.

North Carolina has become a hotbed for breweries, as craft giants such as Sierra Nevada and New Belgium make their way into the state.  However, small brewers like Paul and Lynn make this the true beer haven that it is.  A weekend with a pint, some music, and the food truck du jour make the 30 minute trek into JoCo so worth the drive.

Deep River Brewing Company
700 W. Main Street
Clayton NC 27520
www.deepriverbrewing.com

Let's Cook with Titina

It was of my dear friend's birthday this past week, so I tried finding something fun and different to do to celebrate.  We both love to eat and cook, and I remembered taking a cooking class at Capri Flavors, a Italian food distributor in Morrisville, NC.  Perfecto!  I had her go to their website and peruse the menu - there are four different menus offered in a three month span, and the menus change quarterly.  She settled on the Bologna menu, and settled on a Friday evening class.  (They also have classes on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings, as well as private classes).

We arrive about 15 minutes before our class, and we walk into a small store stocked with all Italian specialties, from Italian pastas and tomatoes to cured meats, cheeses and wine.  Costanzo, one of the proprietors, greets you and checks you in for class.  Through the store, there is a beautiful kitchen with twelve barstools lined around it, and Titina, Costanzo's wife, greets you with an apron and name tag.  Her son, Ugo, was also assisting in the kitchen this evening.  We go back out into the shop and purchase a bottle of Sicilian wine to enjoy while taking our class.

Titina and Costanzo came to the United States from the small island of Capri back in 1994, settled in North Carolina after spending a couple years in Rhode Island.  They had run a hotel back in Capri, and desired to bring all the Italian specialties to the United States.  Titina's mother is credited for creating the caprese salad back in her restaurant in Capri.

We begin our class by preparing a simple bruschetta, which my friend and I are asked to help assist by chopping grape tomatoes, while Titina puts the olive oil, garlic, and parsley together.  Then we mix our chopped tomatoes in, and top some warmed ciabatta bread.  Once assembled, each student gets a couple pieces to enjoy as class begins.

Titina starts preparing dinner by preparing the dough to make fresh sheets of pasta for our lasagna bolognese, which one of the students helps mix and knead, then lets set.  While the dough is resting, she begins teaching another student to make prosciutto and peas, by simply crisping up some proscuitto in olive oil, onions and garlic, then adding peas to a pan and letting simmer.


We continue through the class making a fine meal - watching two gentlemen cut dough and make the fresh pasta sheets, another student help make the bolognese and bechamel sauces, and my friend and I help assemble the lasagna.

Not to forget a dessert, two students help assemble a tiramisu.  Although it needs overnight to properly set up, another class graciously assembled the one we got to eat.  Tiramisu always seemed like it was a daunting task, but after this class, I am ready to add it to my dessert recipe arsenal.

Lastly, we make a quick opening plate of prosciutto and melon and a salad with a light lemon dressing.  Once everything is ready, we sit at a family style table with the entire class and Titina and Costanzo, and exchange stories of Italy and good food.  The food you are taught to make is not only delicious, yet relatively easy to make, and if you don't have the tools (like a pasta rolling machine), Titina will take questions and help you make simple, wonderful Italian food in your home.  The cost of all this is only $60/person, and with the $13 bottle of wine we bought (which would have been $40-50 in a restaurant), you get a high quality restaurant meal, without the restaurant price, and you get the recipes to try your hand at it.

My friend absolutely loved her gift, and we are looking forward to doing the same thing for Christmas. Hopefully, we can get in the class where we can make gnocchi, and enjoy yet another fabulous Italian meal with two wonderful hosts from Capri.

Capri Flavors
1012 Morrisville Parkway
Morrisville NC 27560
www.capriflavors.com

Beasley's Chicken + Honey

Fried chicken never really was my thing. However, being entrenched in the southern lifestyle, I've discovered that fried chicken, when done right, can be amazing.  Beasley's Chicken + Honey gets it done, and then some.

Beasley's is part of three establishments opened in 2011 in one corner spot in downtown Raleigh. The trio is owned by local chef Ashley Christensen, who also owns the very popular and previously blogged Poole's Diner.  Beasley's focuses on fried chicken - serving a quarter chicken standalone, a chicken biscuit, or the combo chicken & waffles.  The chicken biscuit is an entire fried chicken breast served on a huge buttermilk biscuit served with a fried green tomato, dijon mustard and honey.  The chicken and waffles is by far my favorite - the waffle is so soft and flavorful, and the combination with the moist fried chicken (with your option of light or dark meat) make it extremely craveable.  This picture below was taken on a Friday night (alongside a moonshine margarita...), and I went back a week later and couldn't order anything else....and was just as delicious as I remember.

In case you want to branch out from fried chicken, the pork shoulder meatloaf, served with charred onion gravy a top a bed of whipped yukon potatoes.  The flavorful gravy truly brings this dish up a notch.  The man sitting next to us, who is a regular who always gets the fried chicken, said he was not disappointed on his opportunity to branch out.

Now what would a southern food restaurant be without its sides?  Sides are served a la carte, but you can buy a trio of sides as an entree.  The sides seasonally rotate, such as sauteed summer squash, watermelon with sea salt & olive oil, and stewed field tomatoes & vidalia onions, but the staple is the Ashe County cheddar pimiento mac and cheese custard.  It arrives at your table in a block of glory, and the pimiento gives it that added kick.  I'm not ashamed to say when I offered to split a side of it with a friend, we ordered a second helping because it was that good (and I think I got one forkful of the first serving...)

They go old fashioned by serving Nehi, RC Cola, and North Carolina favorite Cheerwine all in glass bottles, and also make fine cocktails as well like the moonshine margarita pictured above.  They are open for lunch every day and serve an additional brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays until 4pm.

When I went to Beasley's, my expectations were not as high as when I went to the sister restaurant Poole's, since I left disappointed.  However, Beasley's simply blows all expectations out of the water, and think Beasley's far exceeds Poole's. I will put the chicken and waffles up against any I've had - even at the famous Roscoe's in Los Angeles and Hash House in Las Vegas.  And the mac & cheese here is better than the mac & cheese at Poole's, which is what they are known for.  If Ms. Christensen can keep up this high quality southern food, I will be channeling my inner southern girl more often, and I'll be saying "y'all" before you know it.

Beasley's Chicken + Honey

237 S Wilmington Street

Raleigh NC 27601

http://www.ac-restaurants.com/beasleys/

Carolina Brewing Company

As craft beers have become more popular over the past few years, MM and I have developed into a bit of beer snobs.  I do enjoy me a Labatt Blue or two, but with the increasing number of craft beers that are available, I would choose a good Pale Ale by a small brewery over a mass-produced bottle that I can have any time.  North Carolina has started to become the East Coast gem of craft brews, with most of the growth in Asheville, on the western side of the state.  Landing New Belgium (Fat Tire) and Sierra Nevada as site of their East Coast facilities will catapult them into a beer lover's mecca.  Not to be outdone, the Triangle area has a handful of breweries with their own delicious offerings.  The most popular brewery is Carolina Brewing Company, which is housed in suburban Holly Springs, about 30 minutes southwest of Raleigh.  Their Carolina Pale Ale is available in many bars and restaurants in the Triangle area.

Every Saturday at 1pm, they have a free brewery tour to show their facilities and their brewing process.  MM and I get to the brewery, which is nestled in a business park off a major state highway, about 10 minutes before the tour starts.  We grab a pint glass, and walk into the facility and get our pre-tour complimentary beer.  I get a Wiggo, which is a seasonal IPA, with more hops that their traditional IPA, and MM gets a Carolina Nut Brown Ale, which is one of their original brews.  The Wiggo has great flavor, but the Nut Brown seems to be slightly lacking.  The tour begins by Mark (one of the 4 partners in the brewery) giving an overview of the history of the brewery, which has been in existence since 1995, and distributes to 25 counties through North Carolina.  Then he goes through the brewing process and shows the bottling line, which is only being used at 2/5 capacity, as they look to stay small and work only with bottles and kegs.  

Once the tour concludes, the taps re-open, and I enjoy the seasonal Spring Bock - a seasonal Maibock to complement my pint glass that says "Fear the Goat."  MM enjoys another seasonal - the Winter Porter.  The taps stay open for approximately another hour.  We move to the retail room to get some A/C (60 people + brewing supplies = HOT), and chat up a couple that live nearby, and learn the husband always comes up on Saturdays to have a couple pints, have a quick tour, and pick up a six pack for the week.  Quickly, we learned there are many "regulars" on these tours, but it is quickly compensated by the stream of people leaving with kegs and six packs, since the retail room is only open on Fridays and Saturdays.  We leave with a six pack of Wiggo, and the promise to head back to the brewery again - next time with some friends.

Carolina Brewing Company

140 Thomas Mill Road

Holly Springs NC 27540

www.carolinabrew.com

Lent and a Boatful of Sushi

As a catholic, I spend 8 Fridays a year observing the lenten obligation abstaining from eating meat.  As a person who loves a good ham sandwich or a nice juicy steak, this isn't the easiest to accomplish, since I always crave a meat product on these select Fridays.  It's like wanting Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday.  But, there is one thing that helps this catholic get through this - sushi.

I had sushi for the first time 10 years ago while on my honeymoon.  MM and I found a place in San Francisco. I was skeptical, but he said "don't worry, it's OK.  The Montreal Expos are here." Sure enough, while they were in town playing the Giants, Bartolo Colon and a couple other players were eating at the sushi bar.  We ordered mostly cooked items, since I still was unsure.  One thing we ordered was deep fried prawns.  The sushi chef asked me "how you want the head - raw or fried?"  My response? "No."  Well, he didn't like that answer, so my logic was "everything is good deep fried, so I just humored him and said fried.  I ate it, MM didn't.  But what we had was so good and fresh, I was hooked.

A couple years later while living in Richmond, we found a place close to our house that had 1/2 price rolls each night, so we would go every Friday night, get a couple rolls, a Kirin Light, and the bill barely made $30.  It was awesome.  They knew MM since he always asked for Srichacha sauce (the hot sauce with the rooster on it), so he was dubbed Mr. Spicy.  We were brokenhearted when arrived one night saying they were closing on Sunday, as they had sold to a new owner.  The new place, called Ichiban was just as good, if not better, since Sue (the owner) made her own spring rolls that were to die for.  She was so successful she opened a second restaurant called Umi in the high traffic, high rent Short Pump area which at last check, was named as one of Richmond's 25 best restaurants.

In Raleigh, we are very fortunate to have found 3 places all within a few miles of our house all that serve amazing sushi, so we just have to decide which one to hit up.  This Friday, we hit up Sushi Thai right before closing.  Even as we were probably the last customers of the night, everything came out super fresh and delicious.  And there is something about when your food comes out on a boat....

MM is a spicy tuna guy (see Mr. Spicy above), and I like Philadelphia or Bagel rolls, since I love the play on textures with the cream cheese.  My new favorite at Sushi Thai is the Florida Roll - spicy tuna and batter served inside out (rice outside) with avocado and Srichacha on top.  The avocado cools the Srichacha, and the tuna has just a bit of texture.  Oh, and did I mention their rolls were buy one get one free?  There are two locations (which supposedly are not related - they just have the same name.  This one is in Raleigh, but the one in Cary is allegedly even better.)

Other places we like are Waraji, where you can dine a a true Japanese-style table with pillows and no shoes, and they have a secret menu, like their crack rolls - a cone style roll with spicy tuna and avocado.  The other is Haru Sushi, which is tucked in the back of a shopping center (actually next store to the previously blogged  Glenwood Grill), where they have great sashimi, like fatty white tuna.

Lent makes our trips to the sushi bar a little more frequent, but give me a boatful of sushi any day, and I'm one happy girl.

Sushi Thai

2434 Wycliff Road

Raleigh NC 27613

sushithairaleigh.com

Waraji

5910 Duraleigh Road

Raleigh NC 27612

warajirestaurant.com

Haru Sushi

2603 Glenwood Avenue

Raleigh NC 27608

harusushiusa.com

Glenwood Grill

One night at my local watering hole, I was chatting with one of the regulars, who mentioned they worked at a nearby restaurant.  I hadn't heard of it, so one night we wanted to go out for a nicer dinner but wanted to try something new, we ended up at his restaurant - the Glenwood Grill.  While on the busy Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, it is set off the road a ways, so unless you are in the shopping center at the grocery store, pastry shop, or spa, you wouldn't know this hidden gem is back there.

The chef comes from the highly touted Magnolia restaurant in Charleston, SC.  The menu is mainly seafood, with southern flair such as seafood and grits.  However, for the carnivores, there is rack of lamb and the house specialty Carpet Bagger - 2 - 4oz filet mignons served with parsnip mashed potaoes, parmesan fried oysters, cabernet veal reduction, over a bearnaise sauce. Everything my dining companions and I have had have been fantastic, and pricing is extremely reasonable.  Wine list is not extensive, but is moderately priced.

There is a hidden gem on the menu though.  On the a la carte menu, there is a 8 oz filet served with pimiento cheese on top, with the cabernet veal reduction.  I've seen blue cheese served a top steak, but putting a spin with this southern delicacy is nothing short of brilliant.  MM ordered it one night, and definitely won the best meal contest that night.  The best part?  $19 for one of the best filets I've ever had.  Bargain.  That's what makes this restaurant great - high quality food at reasonable prices. 

 What I like best about Glenwood Grill is the atmosphere - it's very metropolitan inside with a cozy feel.  Tables are close together, but each time we've been there, we've chatted up the adjacent table, and discussed our fabulous meals. For example, last time MM and I were in there, the gentleman sitting next to him ordered the lobster pot pie, and advised us we "couldn't go wrong."  Next visit, MM took his suggestion, and was not disappointed.  People come in dress clothes or in their NC State sweatshirts straight from Carter-Finley Stadium.  One thing is for sure - they know they're going to get a high-end meal without the high-end price.

Glenwood Grill

2603-151 Glenwood Avenue

Raleigh NC 27608

www.glenwoodgrill.com

Bella Monica

I loved Italy when I traveled there years ago, and can't wait to get back.  People see me and think I'm Italian with my olive complexion and dark hair, but I don't have a lick of Italian heritage (mainly German, with some Polish, French & Irish if you're wondering).  I married an Italian (well, he'll tell you Sicilian...).  So it's no surprise that I am a huge fan of Italian food.

Growing up in Buffalo, there were great local Italian restaurants over town, especially in North Buffalo, which is where many Italian immigrants settled.    When we moved to Virginia, MM and I tried to find good quality Italian, and nothing ever compared.  We did find places that were OK, but nothing that ever reminded me of the little Mom and Pop places back home.
When we moved to Raleigh, a co-worker of MM invited us for dinner and told us he was taking us to "the best Italian in town."  Although he is known to eat a meal or two or ten (football players never lose that appetite...), we were skeptical, since we had lived in Virginia for 6 1/2 years without finding great Italian.  We went to Bella Monica, which is tucked away in a shopping center, with only "pizza" on the storefront.  Really?  Best Italian?  One meal, and we were sold.  This is our go-to when we have visitors in town to try their deliciousness.

You walk in, and during peak hours, is always a wait in their small waiting area.  If I have a downfall with Bella, it's that it's too small.  There are only about 20 tables inside (and I think I'm overestimating). It's an hour wait without reservations, and the bar area is usually full with people eating, so usually you have to wait outside, which is even difficult now since they've taken over the walkway outside for al fresco dining (or in winter closed in with heat lamps, but allows about 10 more tables).  The hosts are very accommodating to get you a glass of wine from the bar.  I would HIGHLY recommend not going without a reservation for dinner (they are on Open Table).  They are open for lunch which while busy, is not as crazy for dinner.  Regardless, it's worth the wait.


The base menu has several appetizers, salads, Italian classics such as Manicotti, Spinach Stuffed Shells, and Chicken Parmigiana, and some with a spin like Portabello and Sun Dried Tomato Lasagne and Chicken Balsamico.  The back of the menu is their neopolitan pizza and flatbreads.  (They have started a frozen pizza business, which offers gluten free options, and are available in various specialty grocery stores, including Whole Foods).

Where Bella Monica shines is their specials.  Their specials are recurring, and some only appear on certain nights.  The Eggplant Rollatini appetizer is only available on weekends, and is a staple order each time we go.  Fresh ricotta cheese wrapped in fried eggplant, smothered in marinara and topped with shavings of basil.  I could eat that as a full meal, but then I'd miss out on all the other specials.  When the Rollatini isn't on the menu, we get the Brussel Sprouts.  Yes, I said it - Brussel Sprouts.  This completely changed my opinion on this much-despised vegetable.  They are sauteed with pancetta in a sage brown butter sauce.  

Eggplant Rollatini

For dinner, Lobster Ravioli, Veal Chop Parmigiana and Mussels make frequent appearances.  In fall, pumpkin ravioli graces its presence on the menu, and it is a must. Served with spinach, pancetta, sage brown butter sauce and parmesan reggiano, it is the ideal fall meal.  Tuesdays are chicken fennel lasagna, which was the inspiration for my recipe (see Lasagna? Not so fast my friend. entry).  They do rotate their freshly made pastas, and have gnocchi, cheese stuffed rigatoni, and squid ink pasta.  

Lobster Ravioli

Veal Chop Parmigiana

I would be remiss if I didn't discuss dessert.  They have gelato, cannolis, and a personal favorite, a deconstructed creme brulee, which is served in a tiramisu-like format with flaky layers of phyllo. 


Everything the Monica family does is top notch, and keeps me coming back for more. With a reservation and an empty stomach.  


Bella Monica
3121-103 Edwards Mill Road
Raleigh NC 27612
www.belllamonica.com

Olive Oil Heaven

In years past, buying olive oil and balsamic vinegar was simply a guessing game for me - I'd just pick up a container at the grocery store, or buying the mamma jamma container at the warehouse store.  It never really mattered to me.  I didn't buy the best, but I didn't buy the cheapest either...just something serviceable.

That was until I found the Olive Oil store.  Olive oil stores have popped up throughout the U.S., and here in Raleigh, we have the Midtown Olive Press, located in North Hills - a growing trade area with trendy shops, restaurants and condos for those work/live/play types.  You walk in this small shop filled with tables set up with silver barrels of a variety of olive oils and balsamics.  There are your standard olive oils, oils infused with herbs like basil and garlic, and fruit-infused oils like blood orange.  The balsamics run the gamut from a standard 12 year aged dark balsalmic, to jalapeno white balsamic.  All oils and vinegars drums have spigots and can be tasted, as sample cups and fresh bread samples are available for tasting.  Recipes and suggested balsamic/oil combinations are available to expand your culinary horizons.

My eyes has been opened to this wonderful world, and subsequently, my pantry has now been stocked with several olive oils and balsamics.  My personal favorite is strawberry balsamic, which I eat with some goat cheese and fresh bread.  I could eat this as a dessert every day.   

The new items in my pantry help me experiment with different flavors to change every day dishes.  I encourage you to find your local olive oil store and explore. If you don't have one in your town, check the web - my store has a very interactive website with recipes. You'll never buy the 20 lb drum of olive oil at Costco ever again.

Midtown Olive Press

The Lassiter at North Hills

4421-205 Six Forks Road

Raleigh NC 27609

www.midtownolivepress.com

Poole's Diner 9-29-11

So the annual treat of my birthday dinner - the time where I can pick where I want to go.  Hooray me!!  So I chose Poole's Diner - the old diner in downtown Raleigh that has been turned into a foodie mecca.  Right in my wheel house. Chef Ashley Christensen's restaurant has received tons of praise and accolades, and she took on Bobby Flay on Iron Chef.

We show up at 7:30, and since they don't take reservations, we end up standing out front of the storefront on a beautiful fall evening in NC, since the waiting area is basically 4 seats.  We grabbed drinks between the two lunch counters where you can sit to eat (packed, of course), and stood outside our table was ready.  I had the Milan Mule - Tito's vodka muddled basil jalapeno/ginger sugar and lemon. The jalapeno came through a little more than I was expecting, but the basil and ginger gave this cocktail a definite different spin.  MM had a dark and stormy goslings black seal rum line spicy Ginger syrup and soda.

There are no menus at Poole's - there are chalkboards along the walls with appetizers, main courses and desserts.  Even the wine list and drink menus are on chalkboards. Wine prices seemed quite reasonable, and we order a bottle of Fontanafredda Barolo.  Not my favorite Barolo of all time - the finish was quite harsh.

MM's appetizer was beef tartare w marinated chick peas and piquillo aioli.  I'm still trying to figure out what the herb in the chick peas was, because it complimented the beef tartare so well.  My guess was tarragon, but as soon as that taste hits my lips again.....I'll remember.  My appetizer was a warm pistachio crusted goat cheese w roasted beets charred sweet onions Belgium endive and orange horseradish viniagrette.   I love beets and don't get enough.  And putting it with goat cheese and pistachios?  Party in my mouth.

My entree was braised boarder leg of lamb w begula lentils roasted tomatoes and oyster mushrooms.  By far the best lamb I've ever had.  That is no easy task, since I had some fantastic lamb at The First Crush in San Francisco on our honeymoon. (HIGHLY recommended...)  So tender, and the lentils brought a different texture to the meal.  I wouldn't ever go out of my way to eat lentils, but this meal made reconsider that decision. MM had rosemary roasted chicken w mashed yukons and double chicken stock.  Chicken was moist and flavorful, but after having the roast chicken at Bouchon, it's a tough, if not impossible, comparison.

Macaroni au gratin was our side, which is the house specialty.  The crust on the mac and cheese was nice and crunchy and delicious, but the molten lava underneath was tough to enjoy at first.  Once it finally came down to edible temperature, the wonderful crust flavor had lost its luster.  It was good.  Had they been able to put the warm crust with the edible heat of the pasta, it would have been perfect, but on each side something was lost.

For dessert, MM had hazelnut panna cotta with chocolate sauce toasted hazelnuts and meringues, and in my non-chocolate ways, had carrot cake w cream cheese mousse and ginger anglaise.  The desserts, sadly, were disappointing.  The anglaise just didn't seem to work well with the carrot cake in my opinion.

Dinner was delicious and I would say it makes my list of top 5 meals in Raleigh.  However, sometimes the hype can leave you underwhelmed, which I think is the case here.  I would be interested to go back to Poole's again, when my expectations were not as high.  I'll have to bear that in mind when I check out Ms. Christensen's other recently-opened restaurants in the City of Oaks.

Buffalo Restaurants

As a native Buffalonian, it is so tough to get good wings (or as they call them everywhere else in the U.S., Buffalo Wings), beef on weck, or any of the multitude of WNY goodies we grew up on.  While I am within 4 hours of a Wegmans (and don't think I won't make that pilgrimage...), I'd like to compile a list of Buffalo restaurants throughout the U.S. that will help satisfy those Buffalo culinary urges.  Please let me know if you have any to add - all are welcome! :)

Raleigh, NC:
Buffalo Brothers - 2 locations.  Owned by 2 guys from Batavia - great pizza & wings.  All you can eat wings on Saturday afternoons?  OK then.  Blue cheese, no ranch.
Blinco's - owned by a guy from Lewiston.  He has switched allegiances from the Sabres to the Hurricanes, although I think he still has a soft spot for the blue and gold.  Beef on weck, spiedies, and its own garbage plate (called a Hurricane Plate).  At least it's served with Zweigles dogs and not Brightleaf.

Phoenix, AZ:
Native New Yorker - several locations in PHX area, and now branching out into Washington and Texas.  Going chain on me.

Atlanta, GA
Barker's Red Hots - this was right across the street from my hotel on my last business trip.  I only learned of its Buffalo wonderfulness as someone tried to explain they had beef on "wick" (grrrr.....).  They serve Sahlen's hot dogs, polish sausage, italian sausage, loganberry (marketed as Crystal Beach....awesome), and yes, beef on WECK.  Making sure next time I have to go to Atlanta on work I make sure I get there.

Denver, CO
Big Hoss BBQ - OK...this isn't Buffalo food, but this is great BBQ in the Rockies.  And the owner went to my high school.  And he gave us free shots of whiskey when watching a Bills game.  Shameless plug.

Hilton Head, SC
Lee Wood's - another high school alum bringing Buffalo goodies to the Southeast.  Wings, beef on weck, and the house specialty chicken wing soup.

J Betski's 16 July 2011

This is one of the best kept secrets in Raleigh. Eastern European food with a twist. All sausages, meats and salmon are made in-house and never disappoint.
New item on the menu is liverwurst pierogies, served with fennel marmalade and sage brown butter. The pierogi itself was fabulous, but the marmalade added a nice sweetness to complement the saltiness of the liverwurst.
The owner John also brought us out the J. Betski's chopped salad. Romaine, cherry tomatoes, red onion, hardboiled egg, smoked bacon, crater lake blue cheese, with raspberry honey mustard dressing. Ingredients all work well together and salad was not overdressed. Nice light option.
Today's special that all 3 of us chose was the reuben burger. Their house house ground sirloin burger w in-house cured pastrami, coleslaw sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing on a brioche bun.  All of us also chose the side of fries w paprika mayo. The burger was so moist and the pastrami brings a nice savory element.  The softness of the brioche keeps it together and doesn't overpower the sandwich.  Easily one of the best burgers I've ever had.
It's a shame Seaboard Station hasn't taken off as a larger trade area in Raleigh, or more people would know about this gem. Take the few block walk east of Glenwood Ave and enjoy a fabulous meal with a tall Schneider Weisse. 

J. Betskis
10 West Franklin Street
Raleigh NC 27604
http://www.jbetskis.com/