Brunch, Lunch Vivace!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Vivace is an Italian that is located at 4209 Lassiter Mill Road, Suite 115 in Raleigh, NC at North Hills Mall.

The restaurant is a nice, romantic place for brunch, lunch and dinner with incredible deals and delicious meals.

With a patio on the outside and plenty of seating on the inside, there is always room for big parties or a girl’s night out along with great music.

I started off with a couple of pieces of bread with their homemade cream sauce called Purcc. It was so delicious that I even asked the waiter to give me the recipe so I could make it on my own.

As for my meal, I ordered the shrimp fradiavolo bucatini pancetta which is san marzano tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. Even though it was 11 dollars, it was more than enough for at least two or three leftovers.

I guess my boyfriend, Daniel enjoyed it too because I got home and it is nowhere to be found in my refrigerator and the box is in the trash. When I confronted him he said, “It was staring at me. And my stomach was calling its name.” After he devoured it, he says “This is the only pasta I’ve ever tried from an Italian restaurant that had any taste to it. It was dank.”

The sauce was original spaghetti along with green peppers, onions and a little pinch of red pepper just to give it that burst of spiciness. The shrimp was grilled also with a little kick to it but combined together, tasted amazing.

The noodles were probably my most favorite. They were extremely thick and the inside was stuffed with cheese. Almost reminded me of ravioli but they were skinny.

Vivace was definitely a great experience with great service and food. After three weeks of bashing other restaurants, I was thankful not having any disappointments.

Tuscan Blu, Gets A Bad Review

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Tuscan Blu

This Italian restaurant is located at 327 W Davie St Raleigh, NC in the backside of the building on a brick stone pathway.

From the outside looking in, Tuscan Blu looked like a cozy place to have a date night or a glass of wine or two. But my view of this place was all about to change.

As I walked in, instead of being greeted like a normal hostesses would do, the manager started snapping his fingers at me (while on his cell phone) and held up an employee application. I did not even know what to say, I just looked at him with my confused face and said the first thing on my mind, “Um, I just want a takeout menu…”

After all that was said and done, I ordered the lobster ravioli in cream fresh sauce with cherry tomatoes on top.

When I was leaving I asked the hostess if I could have a cup of ice water to go along with my meal, she said “of course” and walked back with a foam coffee cup half way filled up with no ice. Apparently getting a cup of water is also hard to do.

With all that behind me walking out of the door, I could not wait to try my pasta. I got back to William Peace and opened my to go tray and immediately smelled red pepper flakes and other spices mixed in.

I took my first bite and I felt my heart beat start to race and burn. I took my second bite and I could seriously hear my heart screaming “No more, no more!” And since my water had no ice and was lukewarm, it was impossible to stop the fire coming out of my mouth.

I did not take another bite, I wrapped it up and threw it right in the trash and did not even care that I wasted 9 dollars on this meal.

Disappointed is not even a word to describe this meal or my experience at Tuscan Blu. I would have much rather gone back to Vic’s and drank my oil with my pasta.

Amedeo's, Famous Since 1963!

Wednesday, March, 13, 2012

Amedeo’s Italian Restaurant

This restaurant is located at 3905 Western Boulevard in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Just by searching Italian restaurants on Google, I never thought I would find a place with so much history behind it.

Amedeo’s was founded in 1963 by one of the North Carolina State’s football star, Amedeo “Dick” DeAngelis.

Walking in, I noticed there was a huge portrait hanging in the center of the wall. I went to the hostess counter and a woman named Jill gave me a menu and as we made a conversation I told her I was doing a blog on Italian food for my class. She simply replied, “I’m the right person you need to be speaking too.”

Above is Mr. DeAngelis himself and his father.

She began by introducing herself once again, then mentioned that she was the daughter of Amedeo DeAngelis and began telling their story.

DeAngelis, was from Reading, PA and came to NC State in 1954. He missed his mothers and grandmothers home cooked Italian meals so much he decided to open up his own restaurant.

Only seating 12, DeAngelis settled right in and has been famous ever since.

Trying to decide what I wanted to eat, I asked Mrs. Jill what she thought would be a great choice. She said, “The spaghetti with meat sauce was what they were famous for.” So with that in mind, I trusted her judgment and went with that.

Along with the spaghetti, it included a medium house salad with three slices of bread and a drink all for $8.95. I could not believe it! This was the first restaurant where I felt like I got my money’s worth that came with a large amount of food.

As I am waiting, Jill also mentioned that everything that they cooked was homemade from the sauces to the bread everything was fresh. I started to become overly excited.

The sauce was sweet and not as heavy as most of the spaghetti sauces that I have ate before. I loved how there was not a lot of tomatoes chopped up because that is a disappointment to me. It had just the right amount of spices mixed in with their homemade meatballs.

The salad tasted fresh and I have never tried homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette before, but goodness gracious it was delicious.

Before I left, I walked around and took some pictures of the man who started it all and some of the famous athletes and coaches that came through NC State.

Head Football Coach, Tom O'Brien!

Even one of NC States finest, Zach Galifianakis has visited.

Amedeo’s was so welcoming and delicious; I told Jill I would be back very soon. It was a great experience and learning about the history behind this place made my visit even more enjoyable.