Restaurants News in Raleigh

Irish pubs.  Downtown Raleigh has a handful of restaurants/bars that attach this “slogan” to the end of their name, but are they “public houses” in the true sense of the word?  Most of them are massive, serve pseudo-Irish food, and are more like mazes than the shotgun bar space that most authentic Irish pubs are known for in Ireland and the UK.  The James Joyce in Durham is one of the few spaces in the Triangle that actually resembles a true Irish pub (clientele: career drinkers, locals and raconteurs), but then again it is owned by an Irish lad.  The newly finished Smoking Times is another such bar.  Historically, the public House is synonymous with neighborhood bar and Raleigh needs more of these.  When The Landmark Tavern opens today, Raleigh may gain just that, a big city pub with the small town atmosphere.

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The song starts:  Cash, Rules, Everything, Around, Me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money dollar, dollar bill y’all.  From my understanding, rappers Raekwon and Method Man from The Wu Tang Clan weren’t referring to Raleigh in the y’all part of that lyric.  But, looking at the names of a few new restaurants and bars in downtown, you’d assume that cash did rule everything around here.

Two local breweries, Big Boss Brewing Company in Raleigh and The Carolina Brewing Company in Holly Springs are giving tours of their facilities and beer samplings on Saturday.

Update: Now opening Thursday
Wednesday Thursday will mark the highly anticipated reopening of Poole’s. The longtime diner has seen several iterations in the last years, but this latest incarnation is one built on the kind of experience and market sensitivity that almost assures its success.  Ashley Christensen, most notable for her tenure and evolution of Vin, has constructed a diner that will appeal to the longtime Poole’s customer as well as a much larger audience.

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Everything but the Squeal. Some may squirm at hearing this phrase, but the newest restaurant to open in The Warehouse District has the phrase in large script on its menu and are dedicated to it in their BBQ.  The Pit opened its doors last night for dinner in what used to be Nana’s Chophouse.  Nana’s closed just over a week ago, all the signage on the front was taken down (side signage still remains) and a new sign hangs above the front door stating:  The Pit: Authentic Barbeque, Whole Hog, Pit-Cooked, Ed Mitchell Pitmaster.  For many folks who have lived in Eastern North Carolina for more than a few years, the name Ed Mitchell may be synonymous with the word BBQ.

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