BigBoom Vino

Vincent Barresi opened his newest restaurant, BigBoom, following the closing of his popular home style Italian restaurant Vincent’s. BigBoom adds blast to traditional Italian recipes, enjoys a full bar, linen napkins, attentive service, plenty of seating and easy parking down on Glenwood South.

My sister was again in town so my wife and I invited her along for our visit to BigBoom; she had been with us on the old restaurant’s last day; it seemed only fitting she be with us when we explored its successor.  BigBoom’s own take on traditional Italian fare, though most enjoyable, occasionally suffers from its own earnestness; the gussied up recipes sometimes lack subtlety. The setting is fun-funky, with the bar and several walls painted in a vibrant graffiti style.

That evening the weather was Chamber-of-Commerce perfect, not too hot, cooled by the incoming drift of evening air. We sat outside and watched a much younger world walk by, with the strollers getting younger and younger as we ate into the evening.

The Big Boom has a complete bar – and most importantly, a very good bar tender.  I told Scott that he was one of only a half dozen bartenders in Raleigh that could make a good martini – good by my specifications.  The martini was as delightful as the evening.

Kacy, our waitress for the evening, belongs to a dwindling population, a Raleigh native.  Her delightful smile and fond manner added greatly to our comfort. 

The three of us shared two appetizers, the “rice ball” and the Eggplant Rollatini.  The rice ball, aka arancini, was denser than I prefer, heavier on flavors, not the simple, traditional rice and cheese balls my wife’s aunt used to make. Still good, despite being over the top.  The Rollatini, unbreaded eggplant rolled around mozzarella, ricotta and pancetta, was very good.  I enjoyed the pancetta, though I would have preferred having the eggplant be the predominant flavor.

The menu almost dares one to make changes in the presentation, “Don’t see it on the menu? Just ask! We’ll be happy to make anything your heart desires.” My sister took them up on this and subtracted the cream and mushrooms from the Fusilli Carbonara and replaced them with marinara.  It came just as she ordered, a fine dish.  My wife ordered the “Orecchiette” in a marinara sauce. I enjoyed the melt in your mouth Chianti braised short rib with its elegantly decadent sauce.

My wife and sister ordered a nice Chianti which set the meal off just right.  And, at $7 a glass, the price was also most pleasant. As per my usual, I indulged myself with a second martini.

Towards the end of the meal, one of Vinny’s partners, Schaefer, dropped by to say hello. The perfunctory, “How was your meal,” turned into a long, fun conversation.  Schaefer has led a most interesting life. Next time I will ask him to pull up a chair and enjoy a glass of wine with us. During our discussion about gnocchi, he left suddenly and quickly reappeared bringing three gnocchi for us to taste.  All their pasta is imported from Italy. I wondered if this gnocchi hailed from Rome where the Gnocchi alla Romana uses semolina flour rather than potato as its main ingredient, the benefit being more than just preference, Gnocchi alla Romana’s strong independent personality can bully even the most imposing of sauces such as BigBoom’s marinara with sausage and broccolini.

What surprised us the most was finding the dining room entirely empty, though at 6:30 the night was still quite young. Even the outside tables never reached full capacity.  Perhaps the Big Boom just needs to be discovered. 

We are looking forward to going back. Those of you, also of a certain age, fear not; Glenwood South in the early evening is fun, convivial, sober, and cheerful. Getting there is easy, and the parking garage on the same block makes it truly convenient. 

BigBoom is located at 510 Glenwood South, Raleigh, NC.    919 307 4778.

IRREGARDLESS CAFÉ

My wife, sister and I left Burning Coal Theater chatting about Sunday in the Park with George, getting my sister’s first impressions of the play, and filling her in some of the production differences in the Broadway version. None of us, of course came away humming a tune, but that’s Sondheim.  Eager to share more insights and also hungry, we retired to Irregardless, which we had visited a few weeks back with our old friend Rhonda Rosenheck. I called to make a reservation. Maggie, in her clear and ever chipper voice, asked me the time, I responded, “In ten minutes, for three, preferable with Aaron as our waiter?”  On a Sunday Irregardless opens at 5:00; we arrived at 5:03, the very first customers. Maggie sat as at a booth near the bar.  Aaron saw us coming, grinned his sweet, loopy smile, and sauntered over, all 6’ 3” of him, shaggy hair and all. 

In Raleigh Lyn is eager to try new flavors, back home in Maryland I think she is more of a meat-and-potato gal. Irregardless has evolved since its founding in 1975; Arthur Gordon, the owner-chef, was vegetarian and so was his restaurant. Now, however, his menu is far more varied, among the entrées eleven dishes were strictly vegetarian, six featured fish, and eight focused on lamb, chicken, duck, or beef. All three of us took the vegetarian route, partly because the items were so intriguing, and partly because they were also less expensive, though I found it hard to pass up lamb lollipops, or duck. Meat dishes average $23 each, fish $25, while herbivorous specialties are only $17 each. . Irregardless runs its own Well Fed Community Garden, but even when not using its own produce, it strives to serve locally sourced meat, fish and vegetables.

Like my favorite pair of shoes, the décor is a bit scuffed around the edges but oh so comfortable. Nothing Arthur couldn’t fix with a good shinning. I’m so glad we called ahead, by 5:30, the restaurant was filled. Couples predominated though there were a few larger groups, all from across the generational spectrum. Musicians played in the background, it was truly a sweet atmosphere.

As a former English teacher, I still get miffed by the name.  Though “irregardless” is dictionary listed as a recent dialectical addition, the preferred word is “regardless.” And so, regardless of my syntactic bias, I do love this restaurant, partly because of the food, and even more so because of the people and their stories.  Raleigh can be a bit homogeneously bland; Irregardless is eclectic. 

Arthur the owner in his beret regularly visits tables; on our first visit he sat with us for over 20 minutes telling story after story, Anya. his wife, came over and listened as Rhonda poured out her current situation, Dodge, the general manager has his own special history(1)  and one of my all-time favorites, Aaron Squires, our waiter and bar tender, regaled us with his knowledge of liquors.

Aaron's martinis are a work of art.  This night he and I experimented with glazing (2). When I asked him for suggestions, he bubbled with enthusiasm and suggested I try Domaine de Canton, a ginger liqueur, he even brought out a sample for us to try.  Wow. Vivian and Lyn liked it straight up. Its addition to my martini provided two major changes, first was the very sophisticated hint of ginger, and second was how easily it took the edge off the gin, without sacrificing the wonderful juniper fragrances.

Lyn tried the Irregardless version of a “Dark and Stormy” made with Canton. I’d first heard of this drink in the novels of Nelson de Mille, sited on the Gold Coast of Long Island, not the new-rich Gatsby peninsula, but the old rich of Locust Valley and Centre Island.  I could picture coming from my large sailing yacht and relaxing on the porch of the great Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, sipping my Dark and Stormy, while staring out at Long Island Sound alongside the Doubledays, duPonts, Roosevelts, and Vanderbilts. Though a thirst quenching summer highball, however, it was not so great with dinner.

For my second martini, Aaron recommended a glazing with Cointreau – also fine, and also smooth, but not quite as exotic as the Canton. 

Having had two martinis, I was happy with the arrival of bread: homemade herb bread and muffins, made with finely ground white corn.  Both real treats.

On our previous visit, we had ordered seafood cakes for the table, tasty but with an all-in-the-blender texture; the accompanying cilantro coleslaw however was delightful.  My Shepherd’s Pie, yes vegetarian, was a casserole layered with spinach, sliced carrots, caramelized onions, fennel, braised cabbage, mashed potatoes, and bulgur wheat in a medium of steamed pomegranate, topped by short crust pastry and served with miso gravy.  It’s as good as it sounds.  Our other two entrées included Vegan Sex and Lentil Cakes, the latter actually being the high light of the evening. We shared dessert, an excellent apple crisp.

Eager to try more on the menu, Lyn ordered acorn squash stuffed with wild rice, lentils, pumpkin seeds set astride a bed of black beans and roasted beets and an adjacent bed of white beans and roasted pineapple.  The squash was fine, but the double beds were engagingly terrific. Vivian selected vegan and gluten free lasagna made with soft polenta cakes, béchamel, and a variety of root vegetables.  Vivian enjoyed it; I would have preferred the polenta cakes to have a bit more texture.  I enjoyed my “scallops,” actually grilled oyster mushrooms served over a mushroom risotto.  The oyster mushrooms were fun because they looked much like real scallops, but the real pleasure was the mushroom risotto.

For all food adventurers, and particularly for those who delight in vegetables, Irregardless is worth the visit.  While there, be sure to meet Arthur, Anya, Dodge, Maggie, and/or Aaron.  Enjoy!

Irregardless Café is located at 901 West Morgan Street, Raleigh, NC.  919 833 8898.   www.irregardless.com

1-      http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/past/liveus.html

2-      More on this in a future blog.

BOLT BISTRO & BAR

A kitchen that charms and confounds.

 

Strolling through downtown Raleigh, showing off our adopted city to my visiting sister, we chanced upon a bucolic cluster of chairs and tables. When a waiter appeared, we ordered sandwiches and beers. 

Bolt Bistro & Bar had found us. 

Later that summer, we returned to Bolt for diner.  My wife and sister chose their wine; I recited my martini recipe: straight up, filled to the top, Tanqueray gin, stirred with ice for ONLY a few seconds to avoid dilution.  Shocking both my table partners, I took a sip and promptly sent the drink back; it was half water.  William appeared quickly and introduced himself as manager; he listened patiently, and solved the problem by replacing the ill formed drink. He apologized for Bolt, laying no blame except to say that a waitperson, in order to expedite my order, had filled in while the regular bartender was busy

We proceeded to order when something happened, something very surreal, even magical.  I found myself ordering lobster bisque. How could this be? Why take the risk of being served the thick and lumpy paste that all too often passes for bisque. Somehow I intuited that this soup would be different. Bolt justified my gamble. The chef, rather than relying on cream and flour, built up levels of flavor: starting with a medium hued roux; adding a strained broth consisting of the New Orleans trinity (celery, peppers and onions) and his own herbs and condiments; then simmering very large chunks of lobster along with a final finish of sherry. Delicious. 

My wife ordered the scallops for her main course; my sister the shrimp and grits. I asked for fried oysters atop a Caesar salad. We were delighted with all our choices. The shrimp and the grits were cheesy yet not leaden.  The scallops were crisp edged and yet very tender. My salad dressing was house made and finely tuned.

 

At my wife’s urging because she had enjoyed the food so much, we returned again. The lure of the bisque beckoned.  This time it was she who fell prey to Bolt’s seductive spell; she ordered the short rib; she almost never orders beef.  The aroma from a neighboring table caught her fancy. What an excellent choice. Not only was it fork-tender but also extremely tasty.

 The joy in my martini and my wife’s quality wine, the snippets of pita and homemade bean humus, meeting William again, and the opportunity for more bisque promised a successful evening.  Our prospect dimmed a bit as we tried to read our menus. The single table votive proved insufficient for the small and faded print. Our helpful waitress brought over more candles. The menu amply described seven possible starters, five soups or salads, and fourteen entrées.

 The lobster bisque was as wonderful as I remembered.  My wife’s short rib had been slow cooked to perfection, making her knife superfluous.  My entrée fell short of what I had come to expect from Bolt.  AD’s Stuffed Chicken, named after David Sadeghi’s Maryland partner, lacked any taste of chicken, the meat did little more than provide a stringy texture to the congealed cheese.  Perhaps the new corporate chef, Jeff Williams, brought in only a few weeks before from Los Angeles, will have among his recipes a tastier replacement.

 Of the three restaurants owned by David Sadeghi, Bolt is considered the most upscale. Its downtown prime location, fronting both on a treed corridor-park and busy Fayetteville Street, its slightly uneven but enticing menu, its relatively easy parking (a city parking deck is only a block away), along with its affordable prices give ample expectation that Bolt will establish itself among Raleigh’s several fine restaurants. To do so, I’d recommend attention to a few inexpensive basics: the owners need to be clear on how this restaurant defines its “upscale” claim in all its aspects: hiring, training, menu, service, bar and kitchen; and though this generation may find some of the old, seemingly quirky rituals, out of fashion, upscale elegance requires hints of old world charm, such as not rolling the silverware, putting down a clean napkin before the cocktail is introduced, and periodically changing what is brought to the table initially. The bean humus is adequate for one visit, but not forever.

 Would I go back for yet another visit?  A definite yes.  My wife enjoys Bolt’s range of taste options; William brings personality (and a good martini); and there are several gastronomic delights yet to be explored.

Bolt Bistro & Bar is located at 219 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC.  918 821 0011.  www.boltbistro.com.

Good Every Day!

Welcome to Jay’s, an intentionally opinionated view of the restaurant world in Raleigh.

 

Friends have frequently suggested that I write a food blog as a fitting thrust for my definite opinions. Their reasons? That’s to be seen; I’m eager for responses.

 

Me? I’m Jay, a retired educator who happily did most of his work in states that paid teachers far more than North Carolina, leaving me a retirement that enables me to continue my love for dining out.

Like my avian namesake, the jay,  I can be noisy and garrulous; I tend away from the ordinary,  socialize happily even with strangers, eat with gourmand gusto after pickily refusing anything less than gourmet, fling out words  indiscriminately,  love life, delight in the hunt, and puff out my hunter’s quill extolling a great new find.

 

The blog, what’s it about?  Mostly restaurants, sometimes about food, frequently about beverage. My judgment is both experiential and intuitive i.e. I both taste and feel what makes a restaurant truly special.  My personal criteria Include:

 

Décor and Service: a place that welcomes, a room that wraps me in contentment; I realize fully that snugness defines differently, depending on occasion and frame of mind.  I prefer formal settings for my wife’s birthday or our anniversary; but far more relaxed mountings for those let-it-all-loose celebrations of another week alive.  The word “restaurant” not coined by the French until 1821 referred originally to food that restores. Great dining evokes a fantasy of senses that stirs up our youth, so long banished from our morning mirror.

 

Social: I insist on the privacy of talking to those I am with – and yet welcome the opportunity to visit at the table next door. Too much noise or music too loud diminishes this pleasure. I enjoy meeting interesting people, especially waiters who I find, as a breed (or perhaps tip driven) respond to my chatter with smiles and quirky humor.  Miguel, one of my favorite waiters in Maryland, gathered jokes from fellow staff, in order to cheer me during the weeks after my father’s death. Good restaurants quickly sift out waiter-chaff, male or female; dullards don’t last; those who remain tend toward complex, smiling individuals, cherished by the establishment, and by me. 

 

Food and drink: Unlike many restaurant bloggers, I rely less on the common denominator of recipe and presentation. I rarely stick slavishly to the menu, and far more on the full experience. Except for the occasional need for comfort food, my wife and I choose healthy over greasy, savory over sweet.  My taste in beverages ranges from craft beer to well-proportioned cocktails; my wife’s toward a good red wine.

 

Price: We’re retired; our income is fixed. We’re dedicated to finding ritzy quality on our tap water budget.

 

Sit back, these writings hopefully will tickle forth that youthful exuberance to which we all cling. Perhaps they’ll provide insight, perhaps they’ll guide judgment, but mostly I hope that they’ll evoke pleasure.