Bull McCabe's

Cheesecake

The Borough

unmemorable

Busy Bee

mac and cheese

allagash

Cantina 18

write

A journey to Ethiopia...

... in a shopping center.

Abyssinia Restaurant is quite convenient to our neighborhood, just a short jaunt down Western Boulevard.

It has classic ethnic-restaurant ambience: none. It was also almost entirely empty on a Friday night, which was a bit disconcerting. I wish I'd taken a photo of the menu -- the cut-and-paste graphic design and the seemingly-endless innovations in English grammar and spelling were memorable.

But we'd heard good things about the food, and in general lived up to its reputation. Our table of four was served a giant platter, covered with Injera (a spongy bread), and arrayed with Kay wat (spicy beef), Miser Wat (cracked lentils cooked in a spicy red pepper sauce), and Yebeg Alicha (lamb braised in turmeric sauce), as well as a few garnishes including peppers, cheese, and collards. The presentation and eating experience is considerably different than a run-of-the-mill restaurant -- not just that it's family style, but we ate with our hands, using the Injera to grab little bites of the various dishes. My personal favorite was the spicy beef, but it all hit the spot.

The verdict: novel, fun, and tasty.
User experience recommendations: improve the ambience through decor and lighting; expand the beer list; hire a design student from NC State to redesign the menu in exchange for free food.

NC State Friday

Today Abe and I had a quick breakfast and we rode together to NC State. He had an interview at 9, but gave me a quick tour of Hill Library. They have an awesome hat collection on display in the special collections area, and the learning commons area is very cool. A guy was playing a video game on a big screen they have set up, distracting other students who seemed mesmerized by his progress. I clucked inwardly at their being so easily distracted, but then I saw their computer screens: Facebook. So his was not the first distraction.

I met some people on Abe's team, then he got to business and I got comfy reading a great new book that just came in. I asked about public terminals so that I could check my email. I figured it'd be easy, since when I was at UNC there were dozens (and they had the porn-viewing and homeless problems that go with it). State is a public school and I'm an NC citizen, after all. But, sadly for me, there were only 3. 2 were out of order and the other was being used, so no luck for me. So instead I read my book and student-watched in a mezzanine-kind of area while I waited for Abe to come back. (I just finished the book before I started writing and it was fantastic! It's the new Maryrose Wood and I loved it.)

When he came back, we headed out and walked around the campus. There is a lot of brick, as you may have heard or noticed for yourself. There were some cool new buildings or new additions to old buildings, though, and the grounds were very nice, especially the Brickyard, the Court of NC, and the area around the horticultural building (which should be nice, when you think about it). We were both getting a little hungry, so we walked up to Hillsborough Street to get something small (explanation to come). H. Street doesn't seem to have too many exciting lunch options. Abe had eaten at the Mediterranean place and said it was so-so, and there is a Gumby's, Jimmy John's, a pizza place -- you get the idea. There is also a coffee place that was very cute -- Global Village. We didn't try their coffee (but it says "organic" so that's promising), but they had some premade, saran-wrapped sandwiches from a local catering company (I can't remember the name now). We had a smoked salmon-cream cheese one and it was decent, but nothing amazing. Probably would have been better fresh, but it served the purpose.

And that purpose was to leave enough room to get a milkshake at The Creamery!

The Creamery is inside the library (they also have a coffee place with bakery items) which is pretty fantastic, and they also have an outside window you can order at. It's a good thing they do, really, because despite there being lots of glass that lets you see inside the library, and two doors, you can't actually get in from the Hillsborough Street side. Which is kind of weird, if you wanted to go into the library. The doors are emergency exit only, and duly marked and alarmed. I actually saw a workman go through the doors, setting off the alarm, but he seemed quiet unsurprised and cavalier about it, but that's how I know the alarm is in fact active.

So, the milkshake. Their Blue Ribbon milkshake is named that because it won first prize at the State Fair, I believe. After some flavor negotiations, and after a taste of Java Bean, which was actually kind of weird (not coffee, as you would expect, but more of a coffee-ish vanilla with coffee beans that I wouldn't ever order and am glad we tasted first), we settled on a mix of chocolate-chocolate chip and cookies and cream. It was my opinion that the vanilla base of the cookies and cream would balance the extreme chocolate of the former flavor, and I'm pleased to report that I was spot-on. The milkshake was very, very good. Delicious, in fact, and the flavors complemented each other perfectly. Abe agreed that it was outstanding, but we both thought the size was a little small. It comes in a 16-oz plastic cup, like you would get an iced coffee in, with whipped cream on top (optional but who would turn that down? I ask you). At least, I think it was 16 oz; could have been 12. Either way, we felt like it was too small and were definitely left wanting more (especially since we had to share it!). But that's okay, I suppose. The milkshake, like I said, was really incredibly good, so I heartily recommend checking out The Creamery sometime if you are nearby.

Abe and I parted ways again, and he went back to work while I made my way to Cameron Village to pick up a few groceries. It was a lot closer than I thought it would be -- couldn't have taken me longer than 10 minutes to get there. I walked back through the lovely Cameron Park, starting two blocks earlier than I had in the past (on Park St) and was rewarded by seeing some very nice houses, including two that were kind of tucked into a ravine-looking thing right next to a park. I really like walking through that neighboorhood -- so much green space to admire and play in. There is a house for sale that is only $650,000, so maybe we'll move. Har har har.

Cameron Park Neighborhood

Today the sun finally came out, and it was warm in Raleigh! This was an amazing and rare thing, I promise you, so Abe and I decided it was time to get out and explore. And, truthfully, it was warmer outside than inside our apartment (it had been a cold night and the apartment seems to take a while to warm up from cold nights). I had walked through this neighborhood once before, walking home from Cameron Village one day, and it seemed like a good place to go today -- I figured that Abe would enjoy it.

First Day Out

As the title indicates, today was our real first day out in Raleigh. Abe worked in the morning, then we met up for lunch. He jumped on the R Line and was going to meet me at The Diner, but he said it was too crowded (it had just opened), so instead we met at the Brewpub, which was definitely high on our list of places to check out. I was pleased to see the BLT+E (egg) on the menu and needed to look no further. Abe got the special, a BBQ sandwich. We also both got onion rings (of course). Everything was delicious, although I wanted my egg to be over easy, so I would get runny-yolky-goodness, and instead it was fried so the yolk was cooked through. But otherwise, very good and very reasonably priced. Another great thing is that they serve half pints, so I got one of their porter and it was great. Abe wasn't into the idea of a flight (boo!) but I guess it was lunch, and he had to get back to work.

Afterwards, we were pretty full, and decided to walk it off on Glenwood South, checking out shops and such. Very cute, and lots of great culinary options to try. Later we walked down West St and headed over to downtown, to catch the R Line back to Abe's office. I rode the R Line home but actually missed my stop. I got off near the convention center (only about 4 blocks farther) and walked back home via Carabbus and Lenoir, a very industrial walk indeed. I passed the Amtrak station and I know The Pit is around there somewhere and that is also very much on the to-eat list.

Moonlight Pizza

Today Reed came to meet us for dinner, and we went to our local pizza place, Moonlight Pizza. Abe and I hadn't eaten there yet so we were excited to try. They had some great pizzas on the menu, and we ordered a veggie thing that was quiet delicious. I think Lilly's is better, though. I walked up to meet the guys there, and at a kind of fast clip, it took ten minutes to get there, basically the first block of Boylan Heights. Not too bad. Probably would be 15 at a more leisurely pace.

Hot Yoga

Best thing so far about Raleigh: hot yoga at Open Door. It was my first time but it was great! It's the cheapest yoga in town (suggested donation of $12) and it was quite a workout. I'd never been so sweaty in my life! But I definitely want to go back, and it seems like this is going to be my go-to yoga place here in Raleigh.

Fresh Market

Today I dropped some serious coin at Fresh Market in Cameron Village buying ingredients for the first dinner cooked in the apartment, a kind of very simplified Beef Bourginon or however you spell the damned dish. I don't know about FM as a regular grocery store -- it seemed pretty expensive and I'm not even sure they have organic (or the like) meat. But they do sell bacon by the slice, and that is pretty cool.

Moving in!

We have everything in the apartment now -- no more shuttling back and forth like we did all day. Oh, well, except for tomorrow, when we go back to pick up Abe's dresser, which I forgot to point out to the movers. In my defense, it was in the closet. But anyway, we are in, and our first Raleigh discovery has been a good one: Lilly's Pizza is amazing! It had been highly recommended from a few different friends, and it certainly lived up to its reputation. The crust was pretty much perfect and I see it as a sign of many more culinary wonders to come!