Only Burger from a Truck

Why is it that food seems to taste better when it comes from a truck? At least when it comes from the local celebrities that run Only Burger. Unlike the name would imply, they don't only sell burgers, but they keep it simple and therefore there's not much to trip up someone like me who has a hard time making decisions. Your choices? Your meat (yes, they do have veggie burgers and turkey burgers on most days), your toppings, and whether or not you want fries and a drink with that. It doesn't get more simple than that.

So how do you find this fabulous mobile food joint? Follow them on Twitter for their daily spot updates. Every morning they post where they will be for lunch and dinner, as well as if there are any specials for the day (like fried green tomatoes or carmelized onions to put on your burger). They usually end up at the same places on a regular basis and there's always a long line so get there early or call ahead to make sure they don't run out (which has happened before). 

And what makes this food truck so great? Well, it's the care they put into their food. The burgers are freshly made, placed on a butter toasted bun, and topped with the freshest ingredients. The fries are awesome too; perfectly cut each day to the perfect size. 


Only burger is a local staple. So log on and find out when they will be cooking up a fantastic burger near you!

Scratch is exactly what it's made from

Scratch got it's claim to fame around here from it's regular appearances at the local farmer's markets so imagine the pure delight of everyone when they opened an actual shop with brick walls on a side street in downtown Durham!

There is no typical menu. All their ingredients come from local farmers, made from scratch daily, which means the menu changes daily. There's always something different. Everything from chorizo, tomato and farmer's cheese empanadas to fresh eggplant focaccia. They also have daily side salads and of course, deliciously sweet baked goods. Stop by for a hot cup of fresh-brewed coffee, or my personal favorite: the bowl of hot chocolate. Yes, I said bowl. I'll be spending many winter days hanging out in this quaint little cafe.
 
On this particular visit, I had a butternut squash tart. The savory filling in a typical pastry dough was fabulous. The salad of the moment (as I like to call it) was a beet salad. I've always grown up thinking I don't like beets. I definitely don't like pickled beets. But in the name of the blog, I had to try it. Well, let's just say I'm going to be trying beets more often. This beet salad was almost like a slaw, with a vinegar-based dressing over thinly shredded beets, mixed with a fabulous variety of herbs. It was amazing!

Of course, you can't leave Scratch without having one of their made from scratch desserts. Typically I'd recommend their famous doughnut muffins. Yes, I said doughnut muffins. It's everything you love about doughnuts, combined with everything you love about muffins (mainly the shape and the texture of the muffin top). Tell me that doesn't sound amazing. Well you don't have to tell me because it is. Another favorite (and one of their other usuals) is their chocolate and sea salt tort. It's the perfect salty/sweet combination! But this time, something else caught my eye. The heirloom apple crisp. The apples were the perfect combination of tart and sweet, topped with a delectable crunchy topping. It was the perfect end to the meal, and the perfect beginning to my afternoon food coma. 

Whether you stop in for a bowl of hot chocolate and a fresh-made pastry, or to sit for a delightful lunch, you'll love Scratch!

Sometimes there are no words...

You know when something devastating happens to someone you know and you literally don't know what to say? You want to do or say the right thing so bad, but you can't. You're literally speechless.

That's how I feel right now. A friend of mine is so broken-hearted that it breaks my own heart. The kind of broken heart that there's no way anyone else could understand. The kind where she's probably slightly embarrassed, completely overwhelmed, and there's so much to do, she probably doesn't even know where to start. They kind where she probably wants to disappear for a while but is afraid to leave everything behind. I want to say that we all know that type of pain, but I honestly don't think we all possibly can. 

Then there's my heartache, which could never match hers right now. It's the kind where you would put your life on hold to help her get through it, if only you knew what to do when you got there (besides provide the shoulder to cry on and copious amounts of ice cream and alcohol, but even that won't scratch the surface). When literally, nothing you say can make a difference. When you wish you could stop the pain, but you can't. And trust me, the last thing a person with a broken heart wants to hear is "I know how you're feeling." -Or- "This is just like the time [something not quite the same] happened to me." Because to that person, at that time, no one could ever understand.

And for that, there is my next revelation. Sometimes there are no words and that's okay. Sometimes there is nothing you can say. Sometimes actions really do speak louder than words. And sometimes, you just have to let that person know you are there for them and then let time take its toll and be patient. 

And to my dear friend: you're allowed to hurt right now but remember that there's always that silver lining; that everything happens for a reason; and trust me, it won't hurt forever...it just takes time to get there. xoxo

Busy Season

Every job has one. And for my job in advertising (you know, that thing that I do to pay my rent...and because I love it), September begins my busy season. It's when all the next year's campaign planning begins. That means extra client meetings, extra brainstorm sessions, extra concepting, extra pre-pro and that means extra late nights....which in turn, always puts a slight wrench in my oh-so-fun social abilities...which of course means from here on out, I'll have to tone down the amount of blog posts for the utter lack of time to go out and enjoy the fabulous restaurants here. I assure you, there will be lots of ordering in for the team (which, if it's good enough, will warrant a post) and plenty of revelations, so stay tuned!

Merci Beaucoup, Buku

I dare to say that Buku is the most unique restaurant in Raleigh. Buku comes from the "international slang twist" on the phrase "merci, beaucoup" (thank you, very much) and I am thankful (very much) that this restaurant has opened in Raleigh. The premise of the restaurant is an eclectic mix of international street foods, all in one place with a fabulously elegant and modern twist (not to be confused with any type of "fusion" restaurant because that's not it). Basically, to an international foodie like myself, it's heaven on the corner of East Davie and Wilmington Streets downtown. Think of all the regional foods in Disney's Epcot classed up and rolled into one restaurant. 

Walk off the bustling Raleigh streets and step into a calming atmosphere. The decor is very cool with a wall of water behind the bar, beautiful and intricate overhead lighting and pictures everywhere of various international street-food scenes. 


The menu, may be intimidating to some...actually, scratch that...it's probably intimidating to most. On it you'll find many ingredients you've probably never heard of before (don't worry, the waitstaff are very knowledgable in the ingredients and giving suggestions) and combinations that might scare a picky eater, but trust me, Chef William D'Auvray will do you no wrong. You can tell that he spent his early childhood in the Philippines and traveling Asia and that he studied under some of the best chefs in the world including Wolfgang Puck and my personal favorite, Nobu Matsuhisa (founder and chef of one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Nobu, in Tokyo...and other locations around the world). Personally, I think William and I would be great friends, but that's another thing altogether!

Peach & Cucumber Cocktail

Ok, now that I got my school-girl-crush rant out of the way, back to the food...I started out this spectacular meal with the special cocktail of the evening. It was a cucumber and peach cocktail (the beginning to an evening of seemingly odd ingredient combinations that are absolutely fabulous) with gin, sweet and sour mix, and a few other things I can't remember off the top of my head. It was light and refreshing and an absolute wonderful start. With one sip, I felt like I should have been at an exclusive spa on the beach somewhere tropical, relaxing with a refreshing drink. 

Viet Cucumber Salad

Most of the menu is designed for a tapas-style meal, with two or three plates a person sufficing. There are a few large plates too, but I love trying many little things, so that's exactly what we did. I started out with the Viet Cucumber Salad with crisp shallots, chilies, fried peanuts and a sweet rice vinegar. It was awesome. Brought me back to my days living in Asia with those delicious ingredients. It was light and refreshing (perfect pairing to my cocktail, which again made me think seaside spa...this time on the Vietnamese coast, which is beautiful, by the way, but again, that's another post). I impressed my fellow diners with my chopstick skills as I practically inhaled this delicate dish. 


We also shared the Empanadas filled with bay-braised chicken and avocado leaf, farmers cheese and salsa. They were crispy on the outside, and filled with perfectly cooked ingredients on the inside. The mix of ingredients added a fabulously elegant twist to these empanadas. 


For round two, I went with the Koren BBQ. Now, having lived in Asia, you must understand that I am very particular when it comes to Asian ingredients and "typical" Asian dishes (which means something different in Asia than it does in America because no, Japanese people do not eat sushi every day). I know what is and isn't authentic; what's "Americanized" and just out-right wrong. When ordering this dish, I was hopeful, yet skeptical. And the result? Perfection. After taking my first bite and suddenly feeling like I was back in a real Koren BBQ restaurant, I fell in love with William D' Auvray. He really knows how to hand-pick his ingredients and pull out all the stops to maintain the authenticity of his dishes. The shaved prime sirloin was grilled to perfection. The dipping sauce was the best I've had in America (without making my own). The Kimchi was as good as it gets and the sesame spinach was a perfect compliment to the entire dish. 

Koren BBQ

Another fabulously executed dish was the True American Red Snapper, "Indonesian style." It was a beautiful marriage of sweet and spice with cashews, tamarind, Thai chiles, house mushrooms, palm sugar, jasmine rice and stir-fried Asian greens atop perfectly cooked fish. It was absolutely delightful. The Chef is truly after my heart. 

Now for dessert. In all truth I was really too full to order dessert, but one in particular caught my eye and I just couldn't resist...in the name of my blog (or so I kept telling myself) I ordered it anyway. I mean, honestly, could you say no to anyone that said: Creme Brulee Trio...??? I think not! Especially when that trio consists of chocolate, vanilla and ginger Creme Brulee....yes, I said ginger. I couldn't pass it up! And I'm glad I didn't because just look at how beautiful it was:

Creme Brulee Trio

Three perfect "shots" of different Creme Brulees surrounded by [what my sense told me were] mango and strawberry swirls and finished with a dish of fresh strawberries. Seriously, if your mouth isn't watering right now, you must immediately call a doctor because something is wrong! Now, in order of uniqueness (least to most), I will take you through this amazing dish, starting, of course, with vanilla. It was sweet and creamy, chock-full of vanilla bean remnants (which always make a good creme brulee even better when you can see what you're tasting). The chocolate was thick and rich and absolutely decadent. My favorite spoonfuls of the chocolate included some strawberries for that perfect pairing. As for the ginger, you may think it was weird as you try to imagine incorporating a big piece of ginger root in something as sweet and creamy as Creme Brulee, but it was sheer genius. It was like taking a bite of a purified, creamy ginger snap. The ginger wasn't too overpowering and it was perfect against the texture and sweet cream of a typical Creme Brulee. Again, the Chef comes out on top with pairing not-so-typical ingredients to make something spectacular. 

Buku is a not-so-hidden gem in Raleigh. A real treasure chest of your "atypical" ingredients combined in such a way that would ease the fears of any Plain Jane's tastebuds and brings comfort to someone like myself who grew up on typical Asian street food (or other regions for that matter). No matter which one of these categories you fall under (or anything in between), you must try Buku and don't worry about what ingredients you may or may not understand, just put your faith in Chef D'Auvray and do as many foreigners do in other countries: close your eyes and point. You won't be disappointed.