Coal-Fired Pizza Finally Here

June 30, 2010

I love pizza, and even mediocre pizza is pretty damn good.  But great pizza is so hard to find — the Triangle has not had a great pizza place.  And when I say “great”, I mean the pizza is hauntingly memorable, where you can’t get the taste out of your head.  I’ve had great pizza in New York, New Haven and Phoenix.  This pizza is all about the crust, with a slight char, where the toppings almost melt into oblivion.  Moreover, these pizzas (or pizze) are inevitably cooked in super-hot ovens, typically 900 degrees or more and fired with coal.  Most pizza joints have gas-fueled pizza ovens, which can get up to 500 degrees or so, but still far cooler than what’s needed.  Wood-fired ovens get a bit hotter, but not quite enough.  Coal is where it’s at.  And we now have a coal-fired pizza oven in the Triangle.  In Cary, of all places.  And very close to my home.

This place is Bella Mia, in the Arboretum at the corner of Weston Parkway and Harrison Avenue.  The place is owned by Rick Guerra, a New Yorker if there ever was one.   Guerra is friendly and passionate about what he does.  His sons man the two ovens that are fueled initially with oak, and then hard coal to bring up the heat.  The flour is imported “00″ grade.  The tomatoes, San Marzano.  The mozzarella, from water buffaloes.  This place doesn’t put second rate ingredients on its pies, and damn, the crust is so good.

We’re talking fairly thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizza here.  And as I said above, it’s all about the crust — perfectly charred, with just the right amount of texture and salt (and not even the slightest bit of sweetness, thank you very much).  I’d prefer it just slightly thinner, but I’m not complaining.  This is the real deal, folks, and I suspect Bella Mia will soon have lines snaking out the door, as NO ONE in the Triangle has a pizza this good.  Just order the Margherita and enjoy.  I just finished an hour ago, and I’m already wanting to get back.

Bella Mia
2015 Renaissance Park Place (in the Arboretum off Westin Pkwy)
Cary, NC
919-677-3999
www.bellamiacoalfire.com

22 Comments | Best Of the Triangle, Cary, Restaurants | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Varmint

Restaurant Review Roulette: Carini

June 30, 2010

Another week, another review of a restaurant that I may never visit.  Oh, the glamorous life of a restaurant reviewer!  Seriously, I know Greg Cox’s primary objective is to be a consumer advocate.  He’s trying to help his readers make dining decisions, but for god’s sake, wouldn’t it be maddening to have to go to middling places day after day?  Places that are new not in concept or cuisine, but only in name?

This week’s subject: Carini, an Italian place in Cary (warning: home page has music that cannot be turned off).  Now this is the exact type of restaurant I look for in unfamiliar towns when I’m trying to line up a team meal for one of my kids’ soccer teams during a tournament.  I want the tried and true Italian-American menu, with lots of inexpensive pasta offerings and the availability of pizza.  There are thousands of places like this across the country (maybe even the state), and rarely does one stand out, on either the good or the bad side.  But this is not the type of place I generally want to visit on a night out in the Triangle.  I’m sure it’s just fine — but that’s the problem.  I want more than “just fine” when dining in the area.

I don’t know the history of Carini.  I don’t know the owners.  I don’t know how long they’ve been around.  I don’t know what type of pizza they offer or whether their red sauce is piquant or sweet.  I don’t know if their desserts are made in house or purchased from a supplier (I suspect the latter based on the pictures).

What I’m pretty sure of is that you can probably get a very reliable meal at Carini, just like most other Italian joints.  I base this on a couple of diner reviews floating around the internet.  It’s not great and not bad.

So, I’m guessing it gets 3 stars.  Not great.  Not bad.  Here are this week’s odds:

5 stars — 150 to 1

4.5 stars – 80 to 1

4 stars — 14 to 1

3.5 stars — 3 to 1

3 stars — 2 to 1

2.5 stars — 3 to 1

2 stars — 7 to 1

1.5 stars — 25 to 1

1 star — 45 to 1

If website design were part of the review, I would have given the place less than 2 stars, but even Greg Cox doesn’t use that in his process.  How many stars do you think Carini will get?

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Edit — July 2, 2010: As predicted, Carini received 3 stars.  No, it’s not that I’m that good in predicting what Greg Cox will do, it’s just that this restaurant was so predictable.

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Posted by Varmint

Iconic Restaurants of the Triangle

June 24, 2010

I’m about to start a series of articles on the iconic restaurants of the Triangle.  I’ve visited two of those places in the past week: The Irregardless Cafe and The Fearrington House.  To make my list of “iconic”, the restaurant had to have opened no later than the 80′s, when I was in school at Chapel Hill.  Some of these places are owned by friends, such as Crook’s Corner and Magnolia Grill.  Others are institutions that I haven’t visited in 20 or more years, such as The Angus Barn or La Residence (and, until last night, the fantastic Fearrington House).  I’ll probably not write about the cheap-eats places like Cooper’s or The Roast Grill or the Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen, but then again, I might.

What restaurants would you consider to be iconic in this area, based on my temporal qualifications specified above?  And frankly, any place that has survived for over 20 years is iconic by definition.  Here’s a list that I just started (and again, just because it’s on this list doesn’t mean I’m going to write about it).

  • Magnolia Grill
  • Crook’s Corner
  • La Residence
  • Spanky’s
  • The Angus Barn
  • Irregardless
  • The Fearrington House
  • Casa Carbone
  • Fishmonger’s
  • Mecca
  • Bullock’s
  • Roast Grill
  • Carolina Coffee Shop
  • Ye Olde Waffle Shop
  • Time Out
  • Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen
  • Cooper’s
  • Mama Dip’s
  • Breadman’s

I haven’t listed places that are hotel restaurants such as the Carolina Inn or Il Palio (and Fearrington is a bit different).  I know I’m missing lots of places, as I just thought about this idea 10 minutes ago,  so I’d love your help putting together this list.

23 Comments | Best Of the Triangle, General, Restaurants | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Varmint

Restaurant Review Roulette: Shula’s 347 Grill

June 24, 2010

I’ve heard many people tell me that it would be a great job to be a restaurant reviewer, where you actually get paid to eat out and write about it.  I thought along the same lines several years ago until I actually got to know a few people who reviewed restaurants for a living, including our own Greg Cox. And one of the reasons I wouldn’t want that job is because in a market like this, you eventually have to write a review on a restaurant like Shula’s 347 Grill.  Now I have nothing against Don Shula, the former coach of the Miami Dolphins (I grew up a Dolphins’ fan until I saw the light with my beloved Green Bay Packers), and I know he has steakhouses all across the country. I also like steak.  But the problem with a place like Shula’s 347 Grill is that it’s pretty much the same as any other steakhouse in any city in the country.  Look at the menu and find me one dish that you haven’t seen in a bunch of other places.  So the problem with a place like Shula’s 347 Grill (and by the way, the 347 comes from the number of wins Shula had in the NFL) is not with the food, but with the review.  I mean, how do you write something interesting about a place that you’ve seen time and time again?  That’s the challenge for Greg Cox, and although I’m sure he’ll write a nice review, I’m also confident that it wasn’t his favorite assignment of the year.

But onto the review.  I think that when it comes to steakhouses, it’s all about the beef and the value for Cox.  First, the steaks have to be really damn good, or the place will not get a great review.  Second, the place has to provide food at prices that don’t shock the consciousness.  I’m pretty sure that Shula’s has decent steaks, but I have no clue about the value of the place.  How expensive are the sides?  If they’re pricey, is there a reasonable justification for the expense?  I don’t know the answer to these questions as the Shula’s online menu provides no prices.

But if I had to bet, I’m thinking that Shula’s is going to be a solid 3.5 star review.  The Angus Barn and Sullivan’s were both awarded 4 stars, whereas Fleming’s only got 3 stars.  What’s the difference between these?  I haven’t a clue — and that’s part of my point above, where steakhouses are so similar that trying to state one is better than the next is quite difficult.

Anyhow, here are this week’s odds:

5 stars — 60 to 1

4.5 stars – 20 to 1

4 stars — 4 to 1

3.5 stars — 2 to 1

3 stars — 3 to 1

2.5 stars —  7 to 1

2 stars — 15 to 1

1.5 stars — 45 to 1

1 star — 210 to 1

Have you been to Shula’s?  Is it a touchdown or a fumble (ugh, sorry about that)?

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Edit, June 25, 2010 — Greg Cox gave Shula’s 347 Grill 3.5 stars.  And that’s all I have to say about that.

2 Comments | Chapel Hill, General, Restaurant Roulette | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Varmint

Restaurant Review Roulette: Zayka Indian Cuisine

June 16, 2010

This week’s review is an Indian restaurant about which I know nothing: Zayka Indian Cuisine.  Might be good, might be not so good.  The teaser in today’s N&O talked about “hits and misses.”  That’s usually a bad sign.  So I’m just going to cut to the chase and say this will be a 2 to 2.5 star review.  How do I know that?  I don’t.  And I have not done one bit of research.  I’m just guessing now.

5 stars — 500 to 1

4.5 stars –450 to 1

4 stars — 40 to 1

3.5 stars — 7 to 1

3 stars — 5 to 1

2.5 stars — 2 to 1

2 stars — 7 to 2

1.5 stars — 8 to 1

1 star — 19 to 1

Tell me about Zayka, please.  Tell me that I’m wrong and it’s great.  Please!

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(June 18, 2010 Edit) — He liked it.  He really, really liked it.  OK, so Greg Cox gave it 3 stars, but that’s more than what I thought he’d do, so congratulations to Zayka!

3 Comments | General, Raleigh, Restaurant Roulette, Restaurants | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Varmint

Restaurant Review Roulette: Lucky Chicken

June 9, 2010

Damn you, Greg Cox!  This week, Greg is reviewing yet another restaurant about which I know absolutely nothing: a Peruvian chicken joint in Clayton named “Lucky Chicken.”  However, I think I can come up with a pretty good guess of what Greg’s going to say about this, as I’ve got this guy figured out (yes, restrain those chuckles, please).

First of all, this is by no means a white tablecloth establishment.  It’s a simple, out of the way, mom and pop joint that could be given a label of an “ethnic eatery.”  I really don’t know what such a label means anymore, but it’s a non-Western European cuisine.  Greg Cox loves these types of joints, and when he decides  to write a full review of such a place, it’s because he likes it.  I also know that when it comes to cheap eats sort of places, like Lucky Chicken, Cox will not give it more than 4 stars (unless it’s truly transcendent, but I’m not sure if he’s found one of those places).  Moreover, I know of no other Peruvian chicken place in the area.  I’ve only had Peruvian chicken once, from a great take-out place in the Upper East Side of New York, and it was fantastic.  Because of the uniqueness of Lucky Chicken to the area, it gives it another half star.

So, the question is whether this place is going to be a top-notch 3.5 star hole in the wall, or a knock-your-socks-off 4 star place.  I’m really thinking of 3.5 stars, but for some reason, I can’t let go of the possibility of 4 stars.  Call it a hunch, but I’m going with 4 stars.  Call me Lucky.

Here are this week’s odds:

5 stars — 300 to 1

4.5 stars – 45 to 1

4 stars — 2 to 1

3.5 stars — 5 to 2

3 stars — 5 to 1

2.5 stars —  9 to 1

2 stars — 15 to 1

1.5 stars — 25 to 1

1 star — 60 to 1

How lucky will Lucy Chicken be??

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Edit June 11, 2010: Greg Cox gave Lucky Chicken 3.5 stars.  Argh, I thought this was going to be one of those 4 star review places, but I was off by half a star.  Still, he called the Peruvian roast chicken “gloriously delicious.”  Looks like a trip to Clayton may be in order!

5 Comments | Restaurant Roulette, Restaurants | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Varmint

Restaurant Review Roulette: Tribeca Tavern

June 2, 2010

Rocky Top Hospitality’s latest restaurant, Tribeca Tavern, is an homage to burgers.  And it’s the subject of News & Observer restaurant critic Greg Cox’s review this week.  Located in a huge space in Cary, I’ve heard a few decent things about the place and their burgers.  I’ve heard they grind their own beef and bake their own brioche rolls.  I’ve also heard that the service is a bit suspect, which should not surprise anyone — as any new place of this size will take quite some time until they get the kinks worked out.

I love me a good burger, and I’ll be heading over to try a Tribeca Tavern version one of these days, regardless of what Greg Cox’s review says.  I suspect he’ll like the burgers.  I suspect he’ll not like the service.  I suspect he’ll think the menu is too expansive, leading to inconsistency in other foods.  And I suspect he’ll give Tribeca Tavern 3.5 stars.

Here are this week’s odds:

5 stars — 50 to 1

4.5 stars – 14 to 1

4 stars — 5 to 1

3.5 stars — 2 to 1

3 stars — 4 to 1

2.5 stars —  7 to 1

2 stars — 11 to 1

1.5 stars — 18 to 1

1 star — 64 to 1

So, what do you think Greg Cox will give Tribeca Tavern?

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(Edit — June 4, 2010) – Well, it’s a 3-star review for Tribeca Tavern.  Restaurant critic Greg Cox noted that the place was still on the upside of the learning curve, and the burgers outshine anything else on the menu.  Cox also prefers his burgers to be of the simple variety, instead of the myriad “baroque” combinations on the menu.

Point of correction: the buns at Tribeca Tavern are not baked in-house.  They’re baked by the local Neomonde bakery.  They get a lot of their stuff from in-state providers including beef, cheeses, produce and even pickles!  Thanks to owner Dean Ogan for pointing this out to me.  I’m really going to have to give their burger a try.

4 Comments | Cary, General, Restaurant Roulette, Restaurants | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Varmint

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