Island Cuisine

Located at 6246 Towncenter Drive in Clemmons, Island Cuisine offers Filipino and Asian Fusion cuisine. It is open from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11-8 Friday-Sunday, and closed Monday. Outdoor seating, online ordering, and catering are available.

 

It had been too long since I had Filipino cooking, so I was eager to give Island Cuisine a try. It didn’t disappoint though there is room for improvement in a few areas.

 

Island Cuisine boasts a fairly extensive menu, offering everything from apps to noodles (pancit) to rice bowls to various proteins to soups and more. You can do breakfast for dinner here, and there are several vegetarian options as well. For our first visit, my wife and I went with a meat lumpia, a pinakbet (Japanese eggplant, squash, green beans, and okra over rice), and a pork binagoongan (pork with pineapple in a coconut milk sauce). We didn’t have long to wait for our food, and the pricing here (our entrees were in the $10 to $12 range) left no complaints.

 

The food offered more hits than misses. The lumpia were quite thin but tasty and crispy. The vegetables in the pinakbet made for a vibrant medley, and the Japanese eggplant in particular shined. The pork dish featured a very satisfying sauce that reminded me a bit of a Panang curry. However, the accompanying sauteed zucchini was confusingly lukewarm. We'd also paid $3 extra to add fried pork belly to the pinakbet, and it proved very dry.

 

Overall, Island Cuisine offers a good change-of-pace, and I will keep it in mind the next time a Filipino craving hits.

 

SouthEnd Brewing

Located at 117B West Lewis Street in Downtown Greensboro, SouthEnd Brewing offers more than a dozen craft beers on tap and a menu featuring pub fare. It is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 2-12 on Friday, 12-12 on Sunday, and 10:30-9 on Sunday. Dog-friendly outdoor seating is available, live music is held regularly, and a brunch is offered on Sundays.

 

Though it would have benefited from the location regardless, SouthEnd definitely does not coast on that or fun beer names (such as the Wendover River blonde ale or the HaHop with Nelson hops) alone. For fans of the building’s previous tenant, the master brewer here is a Gibbs Hundred veteran. There is also plenty of space, some eye-catching murals, and food that is several notches above standard brewery fare.

 

My wife and I tried SouthEnd for Sunday brunch and found it bustling but far from full. It’s counter service here, and you’ll want to watch where you line up so that you don’t block anyone’s path. A preponderance of tantalizing options (poke nachos, chicken and waffles, and various specialty fries among them) made decisions difficult, but we ultimately went with a brunch bowl, a maple porter brisket sandwich, and Bavarian pretzels to share. My wife also opted for a Three Raccoons in a Trench Coat vanilla porter and found it to her liking.

 

Food took a bit to arrive, but it was well worth the wait. The brunch bowl offers a choice of egg styles, meats, and potatoes or grits, and my wife opted for potatoes (fried nice and crispy) and pork with a delectable gravy. The pretzels were very salty (as, perhaps, they should be), and we paired them with very good beer cheese. Both of these items came in rather filling quantities. However, “rather filling” does not even begin to describe the brisket sandwich. Unless you fast beforehand, this is a two-person job. Thick slices of brisket join bacon, onion straws, tomato, egg, and pepper jack along with maple porter honey mustard on a bun that can barely contain it all. It’s a glorious meat-tastic mess of a sandwich, one that will require several napkins and considerable resolve and stomach capacity to get through while leaving you thoroughly enjoying every bite even if you can barely move afterwards.

 

Given the quantities, prices here definitely aren’t anything to complain about. Pretzels with beer cheese were $8, the brunch bowl was a mere $10, and the overstuffed brisket sandwich was $14. Add to that friendly staff and bartenders, and SouthEnd sets itself apart from the other downtown breweries and bars.

 

Al-Falah Kabab & Gyro

 Located at the Mobil station at 1010 North Main Street in High Point, Al-Falah serves Middle Eastern and Pakistani halal cuisine from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

 

I must have driven past this food truck a hundred times before I finally paid it a visit. It was enough to make me wish I had stopped much sooner. Al-Falah offers a combination of Pakistani (chapli kabobs, chicken tikka, samosas), Middle Eastern/Mediterranean (gyros), and American (hot dogs and cheesesteaks) sandwiches and entrees, all made fresh to order. Expect a ten or so minute wait.

Prices aren’t posted, but my chapli kabob over rice came out to $10. It ended up being quite a bit of food for the money, and while not quite on-par with the best Middle Eastern or South Asian in the area, it was still very tasty. The meat was well-seasoned and the white sauce made for a nice complement. If offered spicy sauce, be forewarned that it lives up to its name.

 

If you made my mistake of passing Al-Falah by without a second thought, let a gyro or kabab be your penance. You won’t regret it.

42 & Lawrence

 Located at 134 East Martin Street in Downtown Raleigh, 42 & Lawrence offers coffees, teas, and pastries. It is open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 7-7 Friday and Saturday, and closed Monday. Specialty beverages rotate seasonally, and online ordering is available.

 

Named for a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference (and for local roaster Larry Larson), it is perhaps somewhat fitting that this gem of a coffee shop has become our annual post-GalaxyCon caffeinate-and-cool off destination. While it boasts a sleek modern ambiance and welcoming staff, the biggest draw can be summed up in two words: coffee flights. With options including nitro cold brews, draft lattes, and more, this is a great way to sample a bit of everything and still get your caffeine fix. They are my wife’s go-to order while I usually opt for one of the seasonal drinks. The orange creamsicle I tried during our most recent visit isn’t something I would repeat, but I do credit them for trying out a variety of syrups and flavors.

 

There are plenty of coffee shops in Downtown Raleigh, but if you can abide by the limited seating, 42 and Lawrence offers all the strong coffee, inventive flavorings, and charm that you need.

The Big Easy

 

Located at 222 Fayetteville Street in Downtown Raleigh, The Big Easy offers Cajun and Creole cuisine from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. There is a full bar with craft cocktails and daily drink specials as well as live music on Saturdays. Catering and private dining are available.

 

I’m always on the lookout for Louisiana cooking and was glad to have found it in Raleigh. It isn’t the best representation thereof you’re likely to have come across, but it still made for a very enjoyable lunch.

 

Housed next to the City of Raleigh Museum, The Big Easy offers a comfortable atmosphere with low lighting and vintage photos on the walls. There is a large bar area but plenty of tables as well.

 

The menu here is true to the establishment’s concept, offering up everything from jambalayas and gumbos and etouffees to muffuletas and po boys and more. It all sounded good, but with some more walking around in our near future, my wife and I bypassed the heavier entrees in favor of two sandwiches (fried green tomato & pimento and a half shrimp, half oyster po boy) and an app (fried alligator bites).

The Big Easy’s food rates as good, not great. The po boy was generously stuffed with well-breaded seafood and featured a flavorful creole mayo. A side of slaw was nice and creamy, but it was outclassed by the other side, a wonderfully smoky red beans and rice. The tomato and pimento came on toast that held everything together well and offered a very satisfying crunch albeit at the expense of being a bit dry. The alligator bites, while not tough or unpleasant, were somewhat chewy (the dipping sauce was quite good though).

 

Given the Downtown Raleigh location, The Big Easy’s pricing wasn’t as high as expected. The alligator bites ($12.95) weren’t cheap, but they are also not something you can find easily elsewhere. The po boy was only $1 more while the tomato & pimento ran $10.95, both with sides included. We weren’t waiting long for food to come out, and Monique was a friendly and knowledgeable server.

 

They might not do the single best version of anything here, but if you’re looking for a large selection of mostly satisfying Cajun/Creole fare in Raleigh, look no further. The promise of bananas foster bread pudding alone merits a return.