What are some trendy places to eat in Raleigh, or unique places. Kind of like the melting pot where its a little more of a unique experience than your average run of the mill place. Looking for places like the melting pot, kanki, and places that are "fun" and not uptight like a nice steak house.

Is there a place here that provides you with all the food/spices/etc and you create a dish and cook it with someone, kind of like a cooking class?

Has anyone tried the sushi place next to the eyewitness news station on fayettville st.?

3/17/2009 8:47:01 PM

Crazy Fire is cool, cheap and awesome

3/17/2009 8:49:03 PM

Mongolian Grill
Churrascaria
That Italian place in Morrisville with the cooking classes

3/17/2009 8:49:05 PM

crazy fire

3/17/2009 8:49:13 PM

3/3 posters agree: Crazy Fire is the bomb

3/17/2009 8:49:41 PM

Ruckus

3/17/2009 9:30:40 PM

You could snuggle on one of the big couches at the red room and drink sangria and share tapas.

3/17/2009 9:37:54 PM

Flying Saucer
Shabu Shabu
Chosunok
not a restaurant but the paint-your-own ceramics place in downtown Raleigh lets you bring in your own food and booze while you paint

3/17/2009 9:45:22 PM

^ I went online to look up that place - if it was called Amazing Glaze, it's gone according to their website:

Quote :

"We have fired our kiln for the last time and have hung up our hats. Thanks for all your support and for the great times over the last 11 years!"

http://www.amazinglaze.com/

Or, there's Bisque Art Ceramic Studio. That looks like its still in business. The other place looked more fun - oh well.

3/17/2009 10:00:10 PM

mmmmm crazy fire

3/17/2009 10:05:21 PM

^^ Oh lame

I went there all the time with my friends when I was still in the area.

Another business bites the dust

3/17/2009 10:06:58 PM

are you guys talking about the crazy fire off buck jones rd near the ice house??

3/17/2009 10:16:05 PM

^ It's a chain so any one will do.

3/17/2009 10:16:37 PM

Quote :

"Has anyone tried the sushi place next to the eyewitness news station on fayettville st.?"

Are you talking about Sono? The sushi there is excellent...they have alot of original sushi rolls they invented and all four of the rolls we ordered were delicious. Also got the beef tataki appetizer, which was the best one I have ever had. Meat was perfectly cooked and tasted great.

Oh its a little on the expensive side (4 rolls, beef tataki, and sake came to $70) but the food was delicious. I will definitely be back.

[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 11:53 PM. Reason : price]

3/17/2009 11:52:52 PM

Quote :

"4 rolls, beef tataki, and sake came to $70"

I hope the rolls were huge for that price.

3/18/2009 12:07:11 AM

yeah they all had 8-10 pieces. The ones we ordered usually had a few different fish too.

3/18/2009 12:12:20 AM

Chef's Table at Second Empire

Trendy and "fun" usually don't go together. Trendy is almost always going to be more pretentious and uptight. If you just want restaurants with a different feel than I highly recommend Poole's Downtown Diner (Ashley Christensen's homage to classic southern food). Zely & Ritz is interesting too (small plate oriented with a focus on organics and local products).

3/18/2009 12:28:40 AM

I've always wanted to try Zely and Ritz but never had the chance.

3/18/2009 12:32:41 AM

bttt you guys have some terrible dining recommendations.

Homeslice, your criteria is pretty vague. How about you narrow down what type of dishes you like: Asian/American etc

3/18/2009 12:47:15 AM

Ruckus

3/18/2009 5:27:45 AM

In the 80s it was Chuck E. Cheese and Darryl's. Fun, unique.

3/18/2009 7:59:13 AM

^^^the food type doesn't really matter. Just looking for something fun and unique. Some of the suggestions in here were really good like Sono and the Chef's table.

Although crazy fire is in the area of what I'm looking for, looking for a tick more upperclass than that. I hate to keep mentioning asian places, but mura, the an might both be good suggestions.

What about a place you can maybe eat, and there is some activity in the same building - like eat and play pool (non smoke stack places - that'll kill the vibe).

[Edited on March 18, 2009 at 8:01 AM. Reason : ^]

3/18/2009 8:00:36 AM

Quote :

"What about a place you can maybe eat, and there is some activity in the same building - like eat and play pool"

Chuck E Cheese

3/18/2009 9:06:01 AM

Irregardless...close to campus, has "different" food options (ie: veg & vegan friendly foods) and live band

3/18/2009 9:21:41 AM

Bali Hai

3/18/2009 10:07:48 AM

Seoul Garden

3/18/2009 5:31:17 PM

Yo Ho Asian Bistro

heard it was good

3/18/2009 5:39:45 PM

Quote :

"I've always wanted to try Zely and Ritz but never had the chance."

it's ok. the food isn't fantastic by any means, but if you want a majority local sourced meal, that's a good start.

3/18/2009 5:46:28 PM

The Bavarian Brathaus on the corner of Cary pkwy and Tryon rd in cary is pretty good. They make all their sausages on site i think (or at least at one of their other locations) and it is pretty unique for the raleigh area. Really only a couple maybe three places to go get good german food.

3/18/2009 6:16:29 PM

Quote :

"3/3 posters agree: Crazy Fire is the bomb"

Crazy Fire is good.

Bali Hai in Raleigh (off Wake Forest Rd) is the best though. It's cheaper, the food is better, and I've never known a single person to go there and not like it.

Quote :

"Although crazy fire is in the area of what I'm looking for, looking for a tick more upperclass than that. I hate to keep mentioning asian places, but mura, the an might both be good suggestions."

It actually depends on what Crazy Fire you go to. The one on Buck Jones is kind of piss poor, the one on Capital is a lot fancier (same prices I believe, but it's got a full sushi bar and alcohol bar) and then there's one on Leesville that's supposed to be even nicer.

Quote :

"Yo Ho Asian Bistro heard it was good"

I didn't think the food was much to write home about, however the interior is pretty nice.

3/18/2009 7:03:56 PM

^ Yeah the one on Leesville is nice. The one on Buck Jones is kind of ghetto lol.

3/18/2009 7:05:12 PM

Quote :

"Irregardless"

I can't stand when people say this.

3/20/2009 9:31:44 AM

that IS the name of the place...

3/20/2009 9:37:57 AM

^^Haha, fail.

3/20/2009 9:49:44 AM

^^ He can't help it he goes to Chili's and Olive Garden for a special night out

3/20/2009 10:07:30 AM

we don't even have an olive garden here

3/20/2009 10:20:15 AM

Quote :

"Bali Hai"

lol nothing like freeze-dried meat chips

I haven't been there in forever so maybe they improved the quality of the meat but last few times I went I ended up with bubbly guts...If you are going there, make sure you pile your bowls FULL and use the 2nd bowl to squish down your 1st bowl...b/c once they put your stuff on the grill, 1/2 of it will cook away.

3/26/2009 9:00:03 AM

just go to 5 Star and call it a night

3/26/2009 9:03:16 AM