Peep our list of fun, fab and flirty happenings around town this V Day.
Alexa, play “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Still looking for fun plans with your boo or your buds this Valentine’s Day? We’ve lovingly supplied some selects for how and where to spend your day… and they’re straight from the heart. Are you feelin’ the love?!
Calling all young hearts, old hearts and everyone in between! Book a rez for Young Hearts’ prix fixe Valentine’s Day dinner by chef Josiah Halbohm to celebrate your love over life’s finest thing—food.
Eating your feelings—or eating with someone you have feelings for—is especially encouraged in the form of red velvet cake rolled ice cream (!). Raleigh Rolls and Bitten Bakery have partnered up to combine cake and ice cream (the best pairing, tbh) for this lovely pairing alll month long. Can you think of anything sweeter?!
Dinner and a show? We’re sold. Dance and dine the night away with burlesque performances and a three-course meal feat. sweet potato croquettes, smoked oysters, strip steak, chocolate mousse and more. How divine!
For plans that can’t be topped—unless it’s with extra cheese—grab a piece of heart-shaped pizza, spanakopita or salmon filet from Sassool, plus all your other fave Mediterranean foods. We absolutely a-dough it!
Not to be cheesy, but a charcuterie moment is for sure the V Day vibe. Botanist & Barrel is offering a perfectly prepared afternoon picnic for you and your loved one inside an igloo (!) with wine, cheese, dessert and a blanket to keep. So char-cute!
It’s sure to be both a good day and good night in the heart of DTR with GDGN’s prix fixe Valentine’s Day dinner feat. three courses of mouthwatering apps, entrees and desserts to fill both your heart and your tummy. Delish!
Spreading a whole latte love is 321 Coffee, which is hosting an after-hours event on Feb. 14 with sweet treats, mocktails and a toast to supporting others. To boot, your ticket includes a bag of coffee that you’ll get to address to someone in the city, like a teacher, health care professional, etc., who could use some extra love.
Stir things up this Valentine’s Day by booking a rez for a speciality supper menu slammed with delish eats—from crab bisque to charbroiled oysters to grilled salmon and more. Only available Feb. 14, these exclusive eats’ll have you falling in love after the first bite.
For an activity sure to float your goat, take a trip to this little farm and show some love to a few furry farm animals via its Valentine’s With Goats event. Not a baaad way to spend the day, in our opinion.
“Time together is time well spent.” Pair The Mayton’s Valentine’s Day room package—which includes chocolate-dipped strawberries and a bottle of sparkling wine delivered to your room to kick off the evening, plus a breakfast for two the next morning—with Peck & Plume’s three-course V Day dinner for the ultimate romantic staycation.
Hey, lovebirds! If staying in is your style this V Day, then book a package with your hun and get ready for a pampering sesh. To boot, the bundle includes Champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, a stay in a studio suite and a $50 credit to any of the Residence Inn outlets.
Nothing beats a hot bowl of soup on a winter day. And though I hate the cold, I look forward to #SoupSzn every year (but, tbh, you can also find me downing soup in the summer. Sue me!). This year, I leaned into my soup obsession extra hard to find some of the best bowls in Raleigh. After weeks of sipping, slurping and dunking, here are my top local soup-er stars.
This soup will no doubt have you scraping up every last drop from the bowl. It’s creamy, smooth and a little sweet thanks to the Granny Smith chutney—and you best dig for those rosemary croutons and blue cheese crumbles. bloomsburybistro.com
You could almost even classify this soup as a dip—it’s that thick (get a roll on the side for dipping!). Like your fave broccoli cheese soup counterpart, Cafe Carolina’s rendition is creamy, cheesy and hearty. Panera, who? cafecarolina.com
Everything’s better with cheese, and the amount of cheese on Jolie’s French onion soup is ideal (read: a lot). Underneath the thick layer, you’ll find soft onions in a hearty beef broth and crunchy croutons—altogether resulting in the perfect bite. restaurantjolie.com
Wye Hill takes everything you know and love about a loaded baked sweet potato and puts it into a slurpable soup form (um, yum). The toppings—fried sweet potato skins, country ham crumbles—take it next-level. wyehill.com
Creamy without being too heavy, Relish’s tomato basil soup is perfect for grilled cheese dipping (and the resto has plenty of those from which to choose), or just slurping by the spoonful. Childhood nostalgia, unlocked.relishraleigh.com
I didn’t know why they call it Italian wedding soup (turns out: “marriage” of greens + meat)—but it’s a thing. And you may just wanna marry Bella Monica’s. Starring fresh chicken stock, meatballs, spinach, egg drops and orzo, it’s a hearty yet light savory explosion. bellamonica.com
QR codes are starting to replace servers—and people are passionate about it.
It’s no secret that scannable QR codes are a thing. In fact, restaurants nationwide are starting to use them to supplant servers. Raleigh is no exception. But owners and patrons alike are divided on the trend.
A couple of local restaurants are on the short list of spots that have jumped on the emerging trend—from essentially self-serve situations like Longleaf Swine and Standard Beer + Food (though Standard offers a counter-service option) to a more curated, hybrid version of tech-meets-service, such as what you’ll find at J. Betski’s.
While the latter may surprise given its former fine-dining, traditional vibe in its OG Seaboard Station locale, the recently reopened restaurant in Highpark Village has shifted to a modern vibe, complete with hip ambiance and rollup garage door. Patrons are able to immediately pull up the menu and start ordering food and drinks, skipping the step of waiting for a server to approach the table.
Clearly, this tech-forward shift serves up a benefit for the industry. According to J. Betski’s owner and executive chef John Korzekwinski, it has translated into shorter wait times, less stress for the staff and a better overall flow throughout the restaurant.
“Earlier on, when everything opened up, it was difficult to get people back in-house,” he says. “I thought, ‘Why not look into a hybrid system?’ We have servers and runners, but with the QR code system, people can start the process themselves, and we’re able to run a leaner, more efficient team.”
Leaning more entirely into the do-it-yourself model, Longleaf Swine owner Adam Cunningham echoes a sense of satisfaction with the sans-server concept. “It’s been working great,” he says. “The staff loves it; the customers get exactly what they want with no concerns about mishearing or misordering; and we still have table runners to touch tables if anyone has a question. It’s a lot more efficient, and we turn tables over more quickly.”
Yet for many patrons, that “time” value doesn’t trump the significance of service. Said one flabbergasted local hospitality industry owner we spoke to: “You want us to pay more for food, tip more, make reservations, be understanding about empty tables—and now you want me to order food and pay on my phone? Why am I here? Why wouldn’t I just get takeout?”
Another Raleighite echoed that sentiment: “Why even go out to eat if you’re gonna order from your phone? You can do that from your couch.” And yet another local, upon learning these restaurants have gone server-free, simply stated, “I would never go there now.”
This opinion, though, is not unanimous. For others it depends on the mood. “If I want to go somewhere to chill without too much interruption, I love the idea of QR ordering,” notes a recent Longleaf Swine patron, “but if I want a place with full hospitality, I would choose to go elsewhere.”
Korzekwinski admits it hasn’t been smooth sailing. While many embraced the system right off the bat, others were slower to take. But for older guests or those sans smartphone, the restaurant is ready to adapt and accommodate with physical menus and helpful servers.
Ultimately, wherever you land on QR codes—get used to it. It’s clearly a trend that’s not going away.
Ooh la la. Regal restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias is opening passion project East End Bistrot in East End Market—and it’s a production, in the best way possible.
Going to a Giorgios Bakatsias restaurant isn’t just “grabbing dinner”—it’s a whole experience. “It’s a play,” says executive chef William D’Auvray, “and you’re not going to see the play until you come to the theater.”
The food, the drinks, the atmosphere and the service all come together to form a perfectly choreographed dance, if you will. And the same rings true for the prolific restaurateur’s newest concept, East End Bistrot, bowing in East End Market early this year.
The dance, of course, starts as soon as you walk through the door. A collaboration with local artists, the restaurant’s regal interior is, in a word, stunning. Inspired by Bakatsias’ pond-jump to Paris at a young age, the design evokes a whimsical sense of “pure joy and romance,” he says. Think bold red walls and gold and black elements serving in contrast to feminine large-scale florals by interior designer (and old friend) Tula Summerford and muralist Arianne Hemlein, a showstopping floor-to-ceiling gold tile wall anchoring the open kitchen, a sizable marble-topped bar, vintage French mirrors, and a host of nostalgic photographs and paintings—all grounded by a classic black-and-white French bistro floor. In essence, très magnifique.
Even the playfully wallpapered bathrooms—also selected by Summerford—are whimsically gorgeous. “Bathrooms can be small but clever little spaces to design,” says Bakatsias. “We like to remind our guests we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re here to escape—and enjoy each other!”
Outside, the sashay continues with a spacious garden terrace surrounded by lush greenery (perfect for more casual dining or groups, says Bakatsias) and a Champagne garden touting comfortable lounge seating that’s ideal for wine and cocktails and light bites or dessert before or after dinner.
Ultimately the “sexy French” bistro—as Bakatsias describes it—is “a place to dress up and experience the theater of dinner,” he says. But it’s the opposite of stuffy. Essentially, Bakatsias and D’Auvray (whom Bakatsias has a long history of working with at his restaurants, such as Parizade and Cafe Giorgios), are taking the old-school concept of a formal elevated dining experience and turning it on its head, giving it a modern spin that feels like, well, a fun production.
The level of service, the food and the wine will naturally remain high, as you’d expect from a Giorgios Group concept. In fact, Bakatsias is hiring a sommelier for East End Bistrot, which alone speaks to the concept’s caliber. As for food, diners can expect succulent seafood selects for which D’Auvray is known (oysters, crudos, raw, cooked, cured, smoked, etc.), plus delicious cuts of meat (chateaubriand, côte de boeuf, lamb—available a la carte with your choice of vegetables), dry-aged in-house and cured with different crusts and the like and presented tableside.
Don’t go looking for apps on the menu, though. Instead, East End Bistrot will feature hors d’oeuvres to up the tasting and sharing experience, says D’Auvray. “Obviously everything here is gonna be as local and organic as possible,” he adds, “but we’re not gonna beat our chest about it; it’s just a standard we have.”
The restaurant’s modern “return to the time-honored classics,” if you will, is fitting for the two seasoned professionals who are coming back together to provide something that’s unique to the area. “East End Bistrot will introduce a luxury dining experience to match Raleigh’s growth and character today,” says Bakatsias. “This is a jewel of a location, and we’re so excited for Raleigh to be part of the discovery.” Let’s dance. eastendbistrotraleigh.com
East End Bistrot (Forrest Mason)East End Bistrot (Forrest Mason)
The James Beard Foundation just announced its 2023 James Beard Awards Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists—and Raleigh’s Preeti Waas of Cheeni Indian Food Emporium nabbed a nod as Best Chef: Southeast semifinalist!
The seasoned restaurateur opened her whimsical concept last year—which quickly soared in popularity thanks to its unique food offerings, colorful bazaar and vibrant interior. Should Waas win, it will be a two-peat James Beard Awards grab in the category for the Triangle—as Durham chef Ricky Moore of Saltbox claimed the top industry award for Best Chef: Southeast last year.
Preeti Waas of CheeniKingfisher | Scott Myers PhotographySeabird’s Dean Neff with wife Lydia Clopton | Lindy Schoenborn
“Congratulations to all our 2023 James Beard Award Semifinalists! This is always an exhilarating moment as we kick off the Awards cycle and recognize the outstanding achievements of individuals and teams across the country,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation. “After a year of fundamental changes, we look forward to building on the progress made, celebrating those paving a better future for us all—through their talent and craft, service to others, and commitment to a better, more sustainable industry. We look forward to sharing more exciting details for the 2023 ceremonies in the coming days.”
The 2023 Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists are recognized across 23 categories, including the new Award for Outstanding Bakery. Nominees will be announced on Wednesday, March 29, and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 5, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Additional 2023 James Beard Awards semifinalists in the state include:
