Having grown up in the DC metro area, and having lived there until my early thirties… at first blush, Raleigh appeared decades behind in many ways. As a new Triangle resident back in 2003, one of the first questions that popped in my head, was ‘where’s there to go out and eat around here?’ and ‘what’s to do?’ Really there is much more in the Triangle than ‘meets the eye’. Like Madonna’s hit from the 80’s, you just have to ‘get into the groove’!
While there may be a lot of eclectic and international influences common in a major metro area like DC, some of that has made its four hour driving distance to the Triangle. And just over the past few years, I’ve noticed the growth in local Raleigh businesses and diverse restaurants. Sure, there may not be the club scene like downtown DC. And no Marrakesh Moroccan lounge… but if you look hard enough, there’s an experience you can create similar at Raleigh’s Oliver Twist Tapas Bar and Lounge. And Raleigh may not be Asian restaurant central like Arlington, VA where you can’t NOT see a Chinese, Sushi, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, or Asian Fusion restaurant… anywhere you go. But if you look around Raleigh, there’s all these kinds of restaurants…
Keep looking around Raleigh, you’ll also see the franchise restaurants. We already have Outback Steakhouse, Champps, Maggiano’s, Cheesecake Factory, and PF Chang’s, just to name a few. One place I miss up in the DC area is Cosi. It’s a small eatery restaurant where you seat yourself and can get anything gourmet you want. Kinda like the modern day cafeteria. I’m predicting that we’ll be seeing that eatery trend here soon (…and hopefully Cosi). I’ve already seen a taste of it with LaVitaDolce at Streets of Southpoint.
Summed up, my experience in Raleigh has been, if I say, ‘oh I wish we had so-and-so restaurant here’…a few months later it happens.
But then there are unique places to the Triangle like Angus Barn, and the Rocky Top Hospitality restaurants like Twisted Fork at the Triangle Town Center. (They’
So then if all these food options are here in the Triangle (and much more), what else is unique about the Raleigh area besides the year round mild weather? For starters, I think we take for granted the universities. I mean, residents knows they’re here ‘cause of all the college sporting events, non-stop obsessive coverage, and all the college flags sitting out on neighbor’s lawns. But coming from a non-university town like Northern Virginia, there’s just not a big college feel there even though there are colleges all around. They just gets lost in a big place like that. Sports there revolve around professional football, basketball, baseball, and every other sport where there’s money put into it. Most universities in downtown DC are very prestigious and just don’t have that campus feel. It’s more of a commuter experience. I know ‘cause I attended both a Northern Virginia and a DC university. The big Virginia colleges are all two hours driving distance and beyond. In the Triangle, of course we have NC State, Duke and UNC as the big ones right in our backyard.
There’s also a big focus on healthcare and a lot of smart scientist types buzzing around RTP. And besides healthcare and education, there’s also a lot of fun stuff to do around Raleigh…like shopping, which is my personal favorite at mixed indoor-outdoor malls like Crabtree Valley, Streets at South Point, and Triangle Town Center. Or pretend “window” shopping in outdoor malls like North Hills and Cameron Village. And there are always little events that are going on from our Farmer’s Market, to all-kinds-of-
The Raleigh pace is slower than in DC or any big city. That’s what makes it less stressful. People aren’t blowing their horns left and right and trying to pass ahead nearly as much. And it’s not an all-day driving and dealing with traffic, to-and-from-
But give Raleigh a few more years and a few more Northerners, and I’m sure there will be some big events for those of who miss the really crowd drawing events. And there may not be the annual Cherry Blossom Parade or the Big 4th of July fireworks like down in DC’s mall. But these events are fun to go to once or twice and get ‘old’ real quick. They become funner to watch on TV without hassle. In comparison, Raleigh hosts the annual North Carolina State Fair which is always a blast and something for everyone of all ages. It’s just good ‘ol amusement park fun and easy to get in and out of. There’
Did I cover Raleigh entertainment in a nutshell? If you wanna keep discovering ‘insider’ places to go in the Triangle…then follow me on my daily updated blog where I give the GOOD, BAD, and the UGLY. www.raleighvipclub.com
