Toast is anything but Plain Jane

Toast is inspired by authentic Italian sandwich shops. It's a little paninoteca in Durham, but with so much more! 

Panini with Goat Cheese, Honey, Pepper Crostini

Walk into the little shop and talk a look at the chalk board hanging overhead, above the cash register. Mix and match panini, tramezzi, bruschetta, and crostini (and if you don't know what each of those are, don't worry, they explain them on the menu) with homemade soups and delightfully simple salads. All of their menu items are simply designed and have that rustic, Italian feel. With one bite, you are instantly transported to a little sandwich shop in Italy, enjoying your palette-pleasing meal. Their local ingredients, artisan breads, and house-cured meats make it extra special and what they can't find locally, they import straight from Italy. 

What's the best thing to order? Everything is delicious. Try a panini with a green salad or homemade soup or a side of crostini. Or choose a few crostini to have with your soup. The flexibility of the menu really allows you to taste a little of everything. If you're a prosciutto-lover, try their Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Tomato Panino  with a deliciously light and simple green salad tossed with herbs, parmigiano reggiano and in a red-win vinaigrette (shown below). Try the warm olives with  orange, rosemary, garlic and crushed red pepper. The crostini with warm goat cheese, honey, and crushed black pepper is a delicious combination of tang, sweet and spice.  

Toast really is the perfect little paninoteca. 

Brio Tuscan Grille

Although I'm not usually one for chain restaurants due to their hit or miss quality assurance, if you're wanting an Italian restaurant with a large variety on the menu, Brio is a decent place to soothe your craving. 

Seared Shrimp and Orzo

The service is professional and quick. Anyone would find something they like on the menu. They have everything from pastas and salads to seafood and steaks in all varieties. The seared shrimp with orzo was very good. Well seasoned, although a little on the salty side. The lemon vinaigrette atop the sauteed vegetables and orzo was delicious.

Save room for dessert or make sure you shield your eyes from the fabulous-looking dessert tray the waiter brings around. It usually involves little tastes of typical desserts; key lime pie, chocolate cakes, creme brule, tiramasu, cannolis, etc.

If you're shopping at Crabtree Valley Mall and are craving a taste of Tuscany, Brio will hit all the right notes.

Viva Vivace!

Vivace definitely lives up to its name in Raleigh, NC. It's a lively, contemporary Italian trattoria tucked in the back corner of the North Hills shopping area. Expect a wait, or make a reservation relatively far in advance as this place is very popular. With a variety of antipasti and the traditional cured meats and cheeses, there's plenty to choose from to start off your night, whether you want to cozy up to the bar or sit down in the dining room. Their rustic brick oven pizzas are a great appetizer to share amongst a few people or as its own dish. Their traditional pasta dishes range from spaghetti with meatballs to the most sensational seasonal risotto. Their entrees (or Secondi) range from Roman Style Chicken and Veal Saltimbocca to Polenta Crushed Salmon and Grilled Tuna. 

Jen loves Chicken Agnolotti

As for my recommendations? You really can't go wrong. The four-cheese pizza with carmelized onions and portobella mushrooms is absolutely fantastic. The calamari fritti with spicy tomato aioli will impress any calamari fan. To top off the appetizers, the white-bean spread that comes with the rustic Italian bread is deliciously seasoned with a light hint of rosemary. As for the main course? The seasonal risotto is always fabulously rich and delicious. The smoked chicken and spinach stuffed agnolotti with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and a garlic cream sauce is to die for! It's Jen's favorite go-to dish. It practically melts in your mouth! If you're looking for another twist on a classic, the Capellini Fra Diavolo with shrimp, cherry peppers, roasted tomatoes and ricotta is wonderful. This spicy dish is perfectly topped with a dollop of ricotta which adds a creamy smoothness to the dish and soothes the spice. 

Capellini Fra Diavolo

Each dish has a contemporary twist on an old classic. If you're looking for Italian in Raleigh, Vivace is the place to go!

Things Change (a tale of a reunion with Boston)

Boston, Massachusetts. Everyone knows where it is and the history of it. Many probably have some sort of opinion about it. Some have a connection with it. I have a connection with it. As someone who has no hometown, Boston, Massachusetts is the closest thing I have. It's my home away from...well, my current living situation...I have been going to Boston my whole life. I can't say that about anywhere else (except maybe my Grandpa's farm, but that's another story for another time). There's nothing like going back to someplace constant in your life, to realize how much has changed in your life. Recently, I had a reunion with Boston.

Actually, my real reunion was with my cousin, Jackie, who lives just outside of Boston. We have been best friends since the day I was born...seriously. Jackie and I are one year apart. She is the blonder, shorter version of me. Our moms (who are sisters) even dressed us the same when we were kids. We had the same haircut, liked the same things, even went to the same University and always had that more-than-a-cousin, better-than-best-friends connection with each other. It's almost scary! Like last year, when she was visiting me, we walked out of our rooms in the morning, ready to start the day, wearing the exact same thing (same shoes and all!)...talk about weird connections!

Anyway, back to Boston...so I spent a much-needed, long weekend there visiting Jackie, seeing my family, and exploring a new side of the Boston (and the surrounding areas). First on the list, Brimfield. The Brimfield Antique Show, to be exact. Now this is a real example of how things change. Fifteen years ago (wow, saying that makes me feel old!), the mention of Brimfield would have sent Jackie and I running and screaming in the other direction. That, combined with the "A word" (antiques) were a deathly combination for any kid (especially a kid in our family which means you are dragged to countless antique shows a year in search of hatpins and Lucite purses, among other things). It meant hot days, and being dragged aisle after aisle while the grown-ups sifted through other people's junk. But now? Jackie and I jumped at the chance to go and peruse through the booths of old jewelry, unique dishes, antique furniture, intricate lamps and other chotchkes. We also found some beautiful hat pins to add to our collections. 

Rockport, MA

The disgustingly delicious cupcake ice cream sundae

When we had enough of the heat, Jackie, Aunt Susan and I headed to the beach! Rockport, MA for some more shopping and taking in the beautiful sailboat-lined scenery. Rockport is a quaint little beach town. One could spend hours looking through the art galleries, going into the unique beachy shops, and of course, eating a cupcake ice cream sundae from Rockin' Cupcakes...yes, you heard me...a peppermint patty cupcake consisting of perfectly baked chocolate cake topped with a mint buttercream, cut in half and topped with mint chocolate chip ice cream, whipped cream, a cherry and M&M's (you could have any combination of cupcake, ice cream and toppings, but this is what we ended up with).


The rest of the weekend we actually spent in Boston. Another change was that we treated this trip as a way to be a little touristy for once. It's amazing when you live (or "live") somewhere, how much you miss out on the legitimate touristy things that are really neat. 

We also spent some time in Boston's North End (and especially their equivalent of Little Italy). We had never tried Panza before, and we were in for a real treat. Panza is a traditional Italian restaurant that you'll need a reservation for. The atmosphere is what you would expect from a little restaurant in Italy. The inside was small and had an upscale family feel to it. We started with some bruschetta and garlic bread. Garlic bread is garlic bread...until you've had Panza's garlic bread. The way the literally grill the crusty italian bread and rub it with olive oil and garlic is just delicious. It almost has a sweet taste to it. The bruschetta is even better because it starts with the garlic bread. It's topped with marinated tomatoes, red onion, and goat cheese (I love anything with goat cheese), then perfectly complimented with a sweet balsamic reduction. Talk about a fantastic mix of fresh ingredients to make your taste-buds scream for more! And that was just the beginning! Just when we thought we couldn't eat another bite, our main dishes came. "Free form" lasagna made with black pepper pasta, an absolutely amazing seafood risotto, each dish was just fantastic. Unfortunately, we had to make room for dessert, but had already made plans so we couldn't try it here.

Me, Jackie and the rest of the family at "Asshole's Pastry"

Dessert was a few doors down. The infamous Mike's Pastry (or as my family now calls it, "Asshole Pastry"...but don't worry, it has nothing to do with the Pastry shop or the people in it). This place is always crowded. If you go to Boston, you have to stop (trust me, it's worth the wait)! I would argue (although the claim has not been proven since I have not tried them all), that they make the best canolis in town (*gasp!* Yes, I said BEST canolis in town)! The canoli shell is freshly made (I've had some horribly stale canoli shells in my life) and the ricotta filling is deliciously rich and creamy. My personal favorite is the chocolate chip one, but they have more flavors than I even knew could exist in the world of canolis: espresso, amaretto, cheesecake, pistachio...the list goes on. They also have traditional Italian pastries, cakes and gelato. A quick warning...as tempting as it might be to stock up, these canolis aren't at their best the next day around so you better plan on just coming back the next day to get fresh ones.

To continue in our touristy ways, we ended up going to the observatory at the Prudential building. I highly recommend this experience to any Boston visitor...or native, for that matter. It's a great way to see a totally different perspective of Boston (literally). The view from 50 stories up is really awesome. They also provide free headsets to give yourself a guided tour of the city skyline. This was definitely a side of Boston I've never seen before.


It's amazing when you think about how things change...whether over a period of a couple hours or a whole lifetime. Years ago I wouldn't have cared to go to an antique fair or to be a tourist in a city I know so well, but I've come to appreciate these things more as I've changed. 

So I challenge everyone...go do something touristy, something you've overlooked or never thought to do before in your own "hometown"?