Raleigh’s Best Food? You have to be kidding me!
Well, apparently Raleigh is full of jabroni’s. I was sent the AOL City Guide for Raleigh’s best food places in a variety of categories such as barbecue, Italian, steakhouse, mexican, sports Bar, Burger Joint, Sweets, pizza, breakfast and a variety of nightlife spots in Raleigh.
Given that AOL City Guide’s lists are full of chains and the obvious choices I am going to give my suggestions for what the real winners should be. Although I haven’t been to some of those places, I feel like I’ve lived here and went to more than enough places to be qualified. I may even make up my own categories
Raleigh’s Best Burgers
AOL - 1. Char Grill, 2. Fat Daddy’s 3. Spanky’s, 4. Abbey Road 5. MoJoe’s Burger Joint
The Real Top 5 - 1. Abbey Road 2. Two Guy’s Grille, 3. Remington Grill, 4. Fat Daddy’s, 5-tie Char Grill / Cook Out.
Raleigh’s Best Pizza
AOL - 1. Mellow Mushroom 2. Lilly’s Pizza 3. Tony’s Pizza 4. Amante Gourmet Pizza 5. Piccola Italia
The Real Top 5 - 1. Randy’s Pizza 2. Lilly’s Pizza 3. New York Pizza in Cary 4. Brooklyn Boys 5. Vic’s Pizza
Raleigh’s Best Mexican food
I’ve never been that big of a Mexican Food fan until we found El Meson in Morrisville. Great food, service, atmosphere and drink specials. El Rodeo and Los Tres I have also heard are good.
Raleigh’s Best Dessert and Sweets
My wife is the best baker in Raleigh so I don’t have to go far for good sweets but one of our vices is good gelato. We have been struggling to find a good Gelato place in Raleigh since we got back from Italy, until Friday. Henry’s Gelato in Cary just opened and it is phenomenal. (Review Coming)
AOL - 1. The Mad Hatter’s Bake Shop 2. Edible Art 3. Hayes 4. Neomonde 5. Francessca’s
Raleigh Best Barbecue
AOL’s - 1. Smithfield’s Chicken and BBQ, 2. Bullock’s Bar-b-Que, 3. Allen & Son Barbecue, 4. Old Time Barbeque, 4. McCalls BBQ and Seafood, 6. Dixie Bell BBQ
The Real Top 5- 1. Smithfields Chicken and BBQ, 2. Danny’s BBQ 3. Dixe Bell BBQ 4. Red Hot and Blue.
*I’ve never been to Allens, McCalls or Bullocks.
Raleighs Best Restaurants
*Category is filled with ridiculously expensive places that are just unreasonable for me to even comment on.
Raleigh’s Best Steakhouses
AOLs - 1. Angus Barn 2. Ruth’s Chris 3. Lone Star Steakhouse 4. Sullivan’s 5. Peddler 6. Brasa Steakhouse 7 . Prime Only 8. Vinnie’s Steakhouse
The Real Top 5. 1. Angus Barn 2. My Grill 3. Rio Churrascaria
Raleigh’s Best Philly Cheese Steak (My own category)
1. Two Guy’s Grille 2. Andy’s (added a new cheesesteak to their menu) 3. Jersey Mike’s 4. Jumpin’ Jonny’s
Best Chinese
1. There is really only 1 place to even mention in this category. Orient Garden!
Any other suggestions?
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7 Responses to “Raleigh’s Best Food? You have to be kidding me!”
You’ve never eaten Bullocks?? Your not a true north carolinian
Firstly and foremostly, you are dead on with your burger ratings. Abbey Road is the m-effing shiznit. Everyone else is just jockeying for 2nd place. I would suggest trying 5 guys near Cary High. I had a burger there on Saturday and it was top notch.
I will have to politely disagree with your BBQ rankings however. Smithfield’s has decent Q for being a chain, but they are not even close to being the best. Roll down to Cooper’s in Downtown Raleigh and experience what Eastern NC BBQ is supposed to taste like. also - RIP Don Murray’s BBQ on Capitol. Your family style nearly killed me on a number of occasions in the late 90s.
The fact that Smithfield’s even squeaks in to the top 5 is indicative of a much larger problem, i.e having to drive to Wilson, Kinston, Goldsboro, etc. to get decent BBQ.
ahh yes, i had 5 guys in the Outer Banks, i heard they opened here and was excited.
about the BBQ. I like smithfield’s chicken thats why I like them near the top, but on the BBQ front, I’m not a NC BBQ fan, more of a Texas style Beef BBQ fan. mmmm Brisket!
we need to pay Danny’s a visit
sign me up.
Randy’s IS the best pizza! I still get it when I’m in the area.
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