This past year was an interesting one for Raleigh’s food and bev scene. We saw many longtime faves shutter permanently (RIP Humble Pie and The Rockford, to name just a couple), making way for a bounty of new businesses to emerge (hey, Ajja, Madre and Peggy’s, among many others!). Plus, naturally, a cast of sup spots had us coming back again and again—namely our 25 Best Restaurants of 2023 (*wink wink*).
It’s safe to say the City of Oaks is a hotbed for hospitality covering all types of cuisine, budgets, trends, etc.—and we couldn’t have been more spoiled tasting and sipping our way through it all. Here, the bites and bevs that particularly wowed us this year.
“Lobster shumai at multicultural masterpieceM Test Kitchen—one of RM’s best burb restos of 2023 for a reason. The food that comes out of mastermind Michael Lee’s kitchens—never mind at the hands of master Michelin-pedigreed executive chef Connor Johnson—isn’t even food. It’s pure epicurean poetry. … For spirts, I’m a sucker for whatever marg spin Lily and company are concocting at Willco.” —Melissa Howsam, Editor-in-Chief, @mahowsam
“An octopus tostada dish from Stanbury was my fave dish from 2023—and hands-down the best octopus I’ve ever had! RM’s best resto of the year never disappoints. 😉 My fave drink probably came from Willco!” —Lauren Kruchten, Associate Editor, @laurenn_nicol
“The octopus from Madre is a clear winner for me!” —Anna Beth Adcock, Editorial Assistant, @_annabethadcock
“Rabbit ravioli this past spring at Cucciolo—and, to drink, the Adictivo tequila olive oil and rosemary margarita at RM’s The Cocktail Classic!” —Debby Serena, Account Executive
“Whipped sheep’s cheese from Barcelona Wine Bar! It’s so delicious with honey and nuts as a garnish.” —Cameron Rhinehardt, Account Executive, @camrht
“A Grandchamp Hospitality x Heights House dinner! Gorgeous setting, fascinating people and truly unbeatable food. I’ve had some great meals this year, but immediately point to this as my No. 1!” —Eric Ginsburg, Contributing Writer, @eric_ginsburg
“The burgers from Standard!” —Carlee Nilphai, Contributing Writer
“One of my favorite things I’ve drank this year has been the horchata at Chido Taco’s new location on Fayetteville Street! I live nearby, and it’s a delicious little afternoon treat.” —Rabekah Henderson, Contributing Writer
“East End Bistrot. My goodness, what incredible cuisine. So excited to have chef William & co. in Raleigh!” —Forrest Mason, Contributing Photographer, @fmasonmedia
“The gnocchi at Mulino! Best I’ve ever had.” —Sean Junqueira, Contributing Photographer
“(ish) Delicatessen’s Sloppy SPO is just killer. When it’s available, it’s not to be missed! And I love the familiar atmosphere there.” —Joshua Steadman, Contributing Photographer, Steady Film, @steadyfilm
No more spitballing—Raleigh could actually have a chance at getting a Major League Baseball team.
“It’s a no-brainer that an [MLB] team would make it here.” So maintains Lou Pascucci, who—alongside original partners Ryan Foose and Will Gadd—helped kick off the ongoing MLB Raleigh campaign in 2019 to toss Raleigh into the mix of cities being batted around for an expansion team.
The ultimate game changer, though, is Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon’s confirmation that an effort is underway, telling the North Carolina Sports Network: “I will lead a group to put our best foot forward to get a Major League Baseball team in North Carolina.” Adding, “I know I’m biased, but I think Raleigh is the best place in the country for a new MLB team. And when I say that, I think we have the facts to back that up.” Namely viable market data demonstrating Raleigh is in line—if not ahead of—current MLB cities in metrics like population, media market, growth and overall wealth.
Despite the big names now involved, Pascucci stresses the campaign wouldn’t have gotten this far if it wasn’t for staggering community support. “We knew this community was special; we knew they loved baseball and would be willing to put in the work to have this dream come to fruition,” he says.
It’s this community support he hopes will be the deciding factor: “This market wants it, and I think that’s a real differentiator for Raleigh that ends up tipping the scale if it comes down to it.” And not only will an MLB team further community camaraderie, it’ll be super-beneficial to the city’s economy.
“We knew this community was special; we knew they loved baseball and would be willing to put in the work to have this dream come to fruition,” says Lou Pascucci.
Baseball is the third-most watched/followed sport after football and basketball, with 81 home baseball games played per year. Those games might keep Raleighites home during the summer, and, at the same time, attract people from out of town to come here—see: The Battery, the home of the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park, which hosted more than 10 million visitors last year alone. “Raleigh is losing a lot of money that could be staying here,” says Pascucci.
Next stop? Taking the movement statewide to get the backing needed to make MLB Raleigh a home run. “This would be the first grassroots community group in history to help bring the MLB team they’d be eventually rooting for,” says Pascucci. Here’s hoping they hit it out of the park.mlbraleigh.com
Inside Baseball
We tapped Eno Sarris, national baseball writer at The Athletic, for his take on Raleigh actually landing an MLB expansion team.
How realistic is an MLB team here? Together, the Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham corridor is the very best candidate for U.S. expansion, almost always coming in the top 20 in terms of industry size, population, population growth, proximity to other major league teams and—perhaps most importantly—TV market size. The problem for Raleigh might be that Charlotte is most likely for a stadium with higher scores on almost all of these metrics.
What should Raleigh do to score one? Differentiating Raleigh from Charlotte and proving population density is at least comparable is probably the biggest work. The Raleigh group already has a strong case in terms of numbers and stadium locations. The Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville TV market is the 23rd-biggest—only two spots behind Charlotte, whose population is more dense and centrally located. Both areas are growing at about the same rate. Raleigh may need to prove more Fayetteville residents will travel there over Charlotte.
Next steps? A political movement for funding a stadium might get the attention of baseball, which seems to have been a big driver in Vegas. Stadium funding and TV market size may be the two most important things to the commissioner.
*This Q&A has been lightly edited for style and space.
By the Numbers
30 Current number of MLB teams
2 Number of teams MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred hopes to add to the current roster
1998 Last MLB expansion
6 Times expansion has occurred in Major League Baseball
4 Number of possible U.S. cities for an MLB expansion team Manfred named in 2018 (Portland, Vegas, Nashville, Charlotte)
Here to sprout an obsession, Raleigh restaurants’ spins on Brussels
I’m not gonna lie—I hated Brussels sprouts until my sophomore year of college. Like most of my peers, my childhood experiences with the cruciferous veg were not the best (think soft, overcooked and ~moist~). … Fast-forward to today, and I’m a sprouts superfan. Though I hate cooking them at home because I can never get the texture right, I will always order Brussels if I spot them on a local menu. Here, some standouts around town.
Wye Hill Who knew everything bagel seasoning would pair perfectly with Brussels?! After tasting these bad boys, you’ll never want sprouts another way—NTM the fromage blanc is to die for. wyehill.com
MOFU Shoppe If crispy sprouts are your love language, MOFU’s are gonna be your weakness. These are fried with tofu puffs, tossed in sweet chile sauce and served on a bed of creme fraiche. Talk about a well-balanced app. mofushoppe.com
Tazza Kitchen Everything’s better with bacon, and the bourbon bacon jam on Tazza’s crispy brick-oven sprouts are a total game changer. Try to have just one—I dare ya. tazzakitchen.com
ORO The hearty veg gets an Asian treatment with the likes of soy sauce, ginger and garlic—plus a fiery kick thanks to chile flakes. Spice, spice, baby! ororaleigh.com
Whiskey Kitchen Saucy (hey, pop glaze!) and oh-so-crispy, Whiskey’s Brussels are a real crowd-pleaser—easy to share and pairing perfectly with a bev. whiskey.kitchen
Bella Monica Sweet meets savory in this Italian resto’s fan-fave sprouts, tossed in balsamic brown butter and topped with pancetta. bellamonica.com
Coquette Brasserie The best way to eat your veggies? With bacon lardons, pearl onions, orange sherry vinaigrette and creme fraiche, natch. coquetteraleigh.com
It’s the most wine-derful time of the year—as the holidays = lots of wine and lots of snacks (yes, please!). So we asked Vitis House owner and wine connoisseur Doreen Colondres for her tips on pairing the two, no matter what kind of snack situation you have up your sleeve this season—and whether you’re hosting a festive soiree or taking your “girl dinner” next-level. Cheers to balanced bites and bevs!
Crudité For the vegetarians and veggie-lovers alike, Colondres recommends pairing vegetable dishes with a sauvignon blanc from Chile, New Zealand, Sancerre or any area of the Loire Valley—as “high acidic wines will pair to perfection with highly acidic foods.”
Charcuterie Super Tuscans—traditionally blends of sangiovese with international grape varietals like merlot and cabernet—tend to be smooth with great acidity, the perfect amount of tannins and a not-too-high alcohol content, making them a good pair for meats and aged cheeses in a charcuterie plate, says Colondres.
Fruit + Desserts You can’t forget dessert! Sweet fruits and the likes of cookies, brownies and other treats are best paired with a sweet wine, naturally, like moscato. Or opt for bubbles, which pairs well with pretty much anything, says Colondres.
Dips What’s a holiday party—or any party really—without dip?! Because most dips are mayo-, sour cream- or yogurt-based (all of which have relatively high levels of acidity), they req a high-acid wine to complement. According to Colondres, the Gewürztraminer from Austria would be a great pairing due to its complexity and rounded and almondy flavors: “Any seafood or vegetable dip will be fantastic with that.”
Crunchy, Spicy Foods If you’re going super-basic—read: you didn’t have time to grocery shop or prepare anything more substantial—and chips are all you have in your pantry, go for a bag that serves up a little bit of a kick (like, say, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or Doritos—really). You’re gonna wanna lean simple when it comes to the wine, so Colondres recommends pairing with a riesling from Mosel.
Take everything you know about “traditional” pasta and throw it out the window. As you likely know, a refreshing new pasta concept is twirling into the former Humble Pie space in early 2024. Now, we have a first look at Figulina’s tasty menu and additional details on the restaurant, opening at the hands of former Poole’s Diner chef de cuisine David Ellis, along with his wife, Sam, and CDC Dylan Shook, who also worked with him at Poole’s.
While the menu will feature some of your classics—done really well, naturally—like a super-comforting Bolognese, the highlight of the menu will be less-common pasta types you may not have heard of. Think rotolo, in which the fillings are rolled up in pasta sheets and baked in the oven; and corzetti, which Ellis makes with a white wine-based dough flavored with pimentón (a type of paprika) and Old Bay—a nod to the South—that’s cut into circles and imprinted with different designs using a special stamp.
Local ingredients will be prominent throughout the entire menu, which, in addition to six or seven pastas, will also include lighter fare like crudos, charcuterie and salads. Because, you know, balance. A large full-service bar will serve up wine, beer and simple cocktails incorporating local elements as well.
Having worked at Poole’s for four years, Ellis is well-versed in cooking with local ingredients, and pasta will serve as the ultimate vessel for showcasing the state’s harvest. Before that, the Stoke-on-Trent, England-born chef proprietor also honed his pasta-making skills working in kitchens across the world—from England to France to New Zealand and Australia.
It wasn’t until the pandemic, however, that making pasta became a “new obsession,” says Ellis. And having always wanted to open a restaurant, going with a pasta concept just made sense at the time. “There is a small pasta scene in Raleigh, but I felt there was space for a fresh handmade pasta restaurant,” he adds. “There seems to be a little bit of a pasta buzz right now and we hope that people will be excited by what we bring to the table.”
But Figulina is guaranteed to stand out from the rest. In addition to an extraordinary menu, the restaurant will also feature an on-display pasta production room, where guests will be able to see the pasta being rolled and cut into shapes, and a provisions aspect that will start small and eventually grow to offer take-home pasta kits, dry and fresh pasta, sauces, and the like.
Additionally, Ellis and his team envision Figulina will grow and evolve as a whole over time. “We have so many ideas,” says Sam, who created the branding for the restaurant. “We look forward to growing into the space and bringing all those ideas to life.” In the meantime, prepare yourself for a world of new pasta-bilities (!). @figulina.raleigh
