Triangle Restaurant Week allows diners to sample some of the best food at the best restaurants for an affordable price. Each participating restaurant has a TRW Menu that features three appetizers, three entrees and a few desserts for one price. Lunch is $15.00 and the dinner menu is set at $25.00.

Five Star Restaurant, located at 511 W Hargett Street in downtown Raleigh, is part of the Triangle Restaurant Week extravaganza. Their featured menu includes:

First Course: choice of

Heat Seeker Shrimp

Crab Rangoons

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Second Course: choice of

Filet Mignon, cooked to order, with Teriyaki Reduction, Stir Fried Vegetables and Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

Seared Duck Breast with Spicy Orange Glaze and Asian Greens

Yellow Fin Tuna with Spicy Szechuan Sauce and Stir Fried Vegetables

Third Course: choice of

Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

New York Style Cheesecake

Five Star has been located in downtown Raleigh since October 13, 2000. They were one of the original catalysts for revitalizing the Warehouse District along with other longtime dining establishments such as Humble Pie and Moonlight Pizza. Five Star has witnessed the district’s landscape change as new restaurants, bars and clubs open and close, high rise condos pop up and rickshaws scurry patrons from one place to another.

Five Star’s menu sets the bar for Chinese cuisine in the Triangle. Their local, fresh and quality ingredients keep their patrons coming back. One regular customer stated, “Five Star’s menu offers [us] a wide variety of food and we can even stay late if we feel like a cocktail after dinner”. I had the opportunity to sample Five Stars’ TRW featured menu and I would suggest bringing friends and sharing each choice.

The Heat Seeker Shrimp and the Crab Rangoons are long time favorites for Five Star diners but the new Chicken Lettuce Wraps are light, healthy and great to share.

The second course choice was a tough decision because Chef Dan Gray is featuring three of my favorite dishes.

I’m typically not a duck fan. Restaurants tend to not prepare it properly and it usually ends up oily and fatty. Gray is the exception when it comes to duck dishes in the Triangle. He sears the duck breast with crispy skin and adds a spicy glaze with just the perfect hint of orange. The duck is simply incredible and a crowd pleaser every time. (My suggested wine pairing - Pinot Noir, Malbec or Tempranillo)

The Yellow Fin Tuna is also one of my favorite dishes at Five Star. Cooked to order, you can have this prepared from rare to well done. I like my tuna medium rare with a cool center. The stir fried vegetables include broccoli, snow peas, carrots and other fresh produce. (My suggested wine pairing – Pinot Gris if you prefer white or the Pinot Noir if you prefer red)

The third entrée choice is the Filet Mignon. Gray is very selective about his cuts of beef and also cooks it precisely to order. The Teriyaki Reduction brings a fine flavor to the dish which is plated with mashed sweet potatoes that will have you begging for more. (My suggested wine pairing – Cabernet or the Red Zinfandel)

The third course features their infamous Warm Chocolate Cake which puts your grandmother’s rendition to shame… just don’t tell mine I said that. If you are a cheesecake fan, you’ll love Five Star’s cheesecake but the Chocolate Cake is always my recommendation. I definitely suggest bringing a guest and getting them both with your meal.

Five Star’s dining room is opened only for dinner from 5:30pm to 12am. Reservations are not required but suggested.

After dinner, stick around for some good music and an after dinner drink at their expansive bar or play a game a pool in the loft.

FIVE STAR

511 W Hargett Street

Raleigh, NC

919.833.3311

In the mean time, our College and Singles group is going to be doing some outreach ministry this Summer.  We wanted to spend some time downtown praying and planning, and Sitti is also one of Chad’s favorite restaurants so we thought that would be the perfect place to meet! JJ and I were a little hesitant when Chad picked it but we were definitely impressed.

We kept it pretty simple, but it was good. We tasted Chad’s appetizers: Hommos and Tabouleh which were both pretty tasty. The best was definitely are Chicken and Artichoke Pizette. I would compare it to a pizza without the red sauce. It was really tasty!

The service was prompt and friendly, and the atmosphere was probably the best. They have huge open windows that look out onto S Wilmington Street where you can watch the people walk by.

If you are in the mood for something different or wanting to try something new Sitti is the place to go!

They are located in the Moore’s Square area at 220 Wolfe St. The atmosphere is great inside and outside of the restaurant. Walking to Big Ed’s you pass old buildings and cobble stone streets. Inside it’s like walking into gradmas house. They have everything you can possibly imagine…from the past who knows how many years! Our waitress was really nice and we had a lot of fun with her. The food was delicious and came out so fast!

Watch the video to see what it is all about, but do stop by if you are in Downtown Raleigh!

Milton’s Pizza & Pasta is a long time favorite in the area. They have been serving the North Raleigh area since 1983 and opened their Wakefield location at the end of 2003. They are a family friendly restaurant with good food at a great price! They are open Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm. They also offer a lunch buffet from 11am-2pm Monday-Friday and from 11am-3pm on the weekends. 

Their menu offers a lot of options so no matter what you are in the mood for you will probably be able to find it. Both locations are very spacious and have a lot of seating. There are a lot of great people that are a part of Miltons including Steve at the Wakefield location and Leanne at the North Raleigh location, I had a great time with both of them! The service was very friendly and everyone made you feel like you were right at home!

The North Raleigh location has a side room that you can use for a banquet room. The banquet room is great because it has a lot of windows, a TV you can plug your lap top into, and can hold up to 70 people. Check out the video and their website for more information!

Sometimes you don’t want to go out to eat or maybe in this economy you are trying to save some money, either way eating in might be the better option. When that’s the case a romantic night in, with a home cooked meal is the way to go.

Last week I had the pleasure of working with a wonderful couple Bill and Rebecca Deegan. Bill and Rebecca have recently written and published a cook book that not only gives you the recipes for great meals, but also gives you advice for creating the atmosphere of the country/city the food comes from. The book will take you all over the world and help you to create an evening in that city!

With the help of Courtney (photographer, editor, producer) and Jason (intern and pretend husband) we were able to create a great video about the cook book! Watch the video to see all about it!

Living near Cary Crossroads I tend to spend a lot of my time there! One place I love to go is The Chocolate Bean. I discovered the Chocolate Bean one day while having lunch at Moe’s. We went in to the store to check it out and that’s when I saw they had Gelato!! Now I try to go there as much as I can and see what flavors they have in Gelato and get some chocolate! I have also been there for meetings and enjoyed their coffee and latte’s.

The Chocolate Bean is a great place to go because they have a lot of seating for whatever you want to do and a lot of choices. They are open Monday-Saturday from 9am-9pm and are closed on Sunday. Not only do they have a location in Cary, but they also have a location in Fuquay-Varina. Check out their website and my video to see more!!

I know I have blogged about San Carlo  before, but I didn’t get any video. Last week I had the chance to go back and definitely wanted to bring my camera. San Carlo is a great place to go for lunch and dinner. Technically, I’ve never been there for dinner, but as good as there lunch is I’m sure their dinner is amazing!

This past week I went with my fiance and our Pastor/friend Chad so I had the chance to try some other meals and the Tiramisu! Everything was just as good as I remembered if not better. I got my now “regular” Ziti Rigati, delish! JJ got a Shrimp Sub, and Chad got the pink sauce over Rigati with Shrimp on top. It’s not on the menu, but boy was it good! We then all shared 2 pieces of their Tiramisu! Everything was really good, and reasonably priced.

Another thing to keep your eye out for is their specials. They have $4.99 lunch special and a slice of pizza special as well! Check out the video and try San Carlo!

They also have great coffee and food! They have everything from smoothies, frappes, and milkshakes to cappachinos, teas, and specialty drinks, with so much more in between.  Each of their sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, and breakfast wraps are made to order. They even have options for the health conscious, including heart healthy and weight smart. They have a 99% health rating without safe serve which is also a huge plus to me!

Check out the video to see for yourself and stop by Stone Wolf Cafe next time you are in the North Raleigh area!