A “World ” of Taste Awaits at the Best Restaurants in Raleigh

best-restauramts-in-raleigh- belmont-lake-preserve

Since you have been considering relocating to a new home in Rocky Mount, our posts often discuss the city’s location. The proximity of the Belmont Lake Preserve community puts you in a great spot to see everything the great state of NC has to offer. One of the major things North Carolina is known for is its great food establishments and Raleigh may be home to the most diverse and best selection of those. Seeing that the state’s capital city is under an hour from your new residence at BLP, we want to help you in selecting some “can’t miss” food options there. Thus, below is our listing of the Best Restaurants in Raleigh.

To call the choices you have at the Best Restaurants in Raleigh diverse, would be quite an understatement. In our Top 10 selections, we actually have ten entirely different styles of restaurants. However, no matter which is your favorite, we assure you that all of the below eateries are well worth taking the drive for at some point when your schedule permits.

The Ten Best Restaurants in Raleigh

In listing the top ten Best Restaurants in Raleigh, we refer to the city’s newspaper, the award-winning News and Observer (N&O). The highly respected publication recently documented the Best Restaurants in Raleigh and we will refer to their expertise in detailing the fine eateries below. Just as the N&O chose not to, these are not ranked in specific order, regardless of how they are listed in the text below.

In this piece, we will see restaurants specializing in basically every type of food imaginable. All left to do now is to find a time that works to make the trip.

Different Ethnicities Represented Among the Best Restaurants in Raleigh

Everybody has their favorites when it comes to food and different genres. Depending on personal preference, some may prefer Mexican, while others might opt for Indian or Chinese. Regardless of the origins and ethnicity of these Best Restaurants in Raleigh, we feel that these below are tops among all competitors.

Garland, 14 Martin Street, Raleigh

Your journey to the Best Restaurants in Raleigh starts out with a couple of choices on the same block. First, we will discuss Garland. Described by their own motto as “Indian and Asian Cuisine, Southern Spirit,” this has become a staple for not only locals in Raleigh. On the contrary, the vast and unique Indian/Asian menu has become wildly popular among those that have relocated to the area with these ethnic backgrounds also. 

This entry of our Best Restaurants in Raleigh, according to the N&O is “the brainchild of owner/chef, Cheetie Kumar.” Kumar, originally from India, lived in New York prior to his moving to the Triangle area and opening Garland in 2014. She has received nominations for the prestigious James Beard “Best Chef” in the Southeast award on four separate occasions.

According to Google maps, Garland is exactly one hour by car from Belmont Lake Preserve. (60.7 miles)

The Mecca, 13 East Martin Street, Raleigh

Next, we move literally, directly across the street from our first entry, Garland to The Mecca. This Greek entry among the Best Restaurants in Raleigh has been a city favorite since opening in 1930. 

While many things have changed over the past nine decades, The Mecca has stayed pretty consistent with its menu, not only offering traditional Greek fare. Consequently, one of the items always raved about by locals is the establishments fried chicken. Likewise, The Mecca continues its “diner” like feeling that it had some 90 years ago. This is backed by the restaurant’s signature, rich homemade desserts.

The Mecca literally is across the street from our first entry, Garland. According to Google maps, it too is a 60-minute drive from your new home in Rocky Mount. (60.7 miles)

Brewery Bhavana, 218 Blount Street, Raleigh

Moving along through cultures and countries, next up among the Best Restaurants in Raleigh is Brewery Bhavana. Their offerings are from what the N&O calls an “Asian dim sum-inspired menu, developed by the owners of Bid Manda, the award-winning Laotian restaurant next door. 

Given the name, Brewery Bhavana, obviously this entrant on the Best Restaurants in Raleigh would be likely to feature an extensive beer menu, too. It certainly does, with a selection of 40 craft brews that includes a delicious, choice of several types brewed in house. 

Brewery Bhavana has located almost the exact same distance from Belmont Lake Preserve as our two entries above. According to Google Maps, it is an exact one-hour drive and is 60.8 lies from your new home in Rocky Mount

Jose and Sons, 327 West Davie Street, Raleigh

Since first opening its door in Raleigh’s popular “warehouse district” in 2013, Jose and Sons has been a hit. At this family-run spot, the rich heritage of their family patriarch, Jos Ibarra, as well as their proud Mexican heritage is celebrated in every dish.

Jose and Sons does have a unique quality among our Best Restaurants in Raleigh and other area Mexican joints as well. his would be the fact that his sons have morphed the classic “Southern fare” that so many love in this area in with Jose’s authentic Mexican. The result is a dining experience you do not want to miss.

Jose and Sons is slightly closer to Belmont Lake Preserve than the first three eateries we document above. At 59.2 miles from your Rocky Mount location, Google maps estimates this to be a 59-minute drive.

The Roast Grill, 7 South West Street, Raleigh

Our trip through the first five Best Restaurants in Raleigh has taken us to several different countries and continents. However, our next stop, The Roast Grill, takes us right here to the good ol’ U.S.A. An iconic downtown Raleigh tradition, The Roast Grill has been a local legend for 80-plus years. 

Sometimes simple is the best recipe. If you ask anyone to have a hot dog off the flat top at “the Roast” over the past eight decades, good chance that they will agree. They offer toppings like homemade chili, mustard, onions,and hot sauce. However, this is a place you won’t get a burger, fries, and not a drop of ketchup. Hot dogs and only hot dogs. Their delicious but simple coleslaw recipe is equally as loved, and the old-time atmosphere is second to none. 

Amazingly, The Roast Grill is also estimated at exactly one hour by car from Belmont Lake Preserve. Google maps places this distance within a tenth of a mile from or first two entries at 60.0 miles away.

The Best Restaurants in Raleigh: More to Come!

These five well-known establishments are all very worthy of this one-hour drive. In our next post, we will cover the other five of our ten choices for the Best Restaurants in Raleigh.

If you would like any more information on the location and proximity of BLP to Raleigh or any attractions statewide, visit belmontlakepreserve.com.

by

Continuing Your Journey: Make the NC Monthly One Day Trip the Resolution You Keep This New Year!

nc-montholne-day-trip-bp

In this post, we will continue through what we called in our previous post, your monthly doses of much needed “me time.” Basically, to add positive change and focus on you enjoying your amazing surroundings, we followed the suggestions laid out on the Only in Your State website. Those ideas were to take advantage of the unique weather we get in each season. Likewise, in doing so, there was an NC Monthly One Day Trip for you to embark on throughout the entire year.

In our first post in this two-part series, we brought you through six amazing locations to visit. Covering the months of January through June in that introductory piece, we move along from the “dog days” of Summer in July and take you to the end of your NC Monthly One Day Trip journeys in December. Again, each of these stops epitomizes the wonderous outdoors and scenic beauty of your home state since you’ve moved into your new home in Rocky Mount. Consequently, much like we state about your new home community Belmont Lake Preserve, when you take the time to have a plan for yourself, “you are never too far from there.” 

Your NC Monthly One Day Trip Schedule Continues through the Heat of Summer Towards Fall

Ok, we all know and love those four seasons we get here in NC right? Well, the term “love” may sometimes come into question with the extreme heat and high temperatures we reach in July and august sometimes.\Regardless, this is your “you time,” remember. These months just like all the others will find you continuing your amazing NC Monthly One Day Trip voyage. Can you beat the heat? Come on, of course, we can, there are plenty of amazing stops left, let’s get started.

July- Sand Dollar Island, Morehead City

Time to “strike it rich” on your NC Monthly One Day Trip, as July brings you to Morehead City, where you take the ferry over to Sand Dollar Island. Plenty of beach, plenty of water. Plenty of ways to enjoy a gorgeous hot, summer day in North Carolina. Be sure to take home some sand dollars or any amazing shells and the like that you may find. Oh, and try and stay cool in this heat, ok?!?

August- Salty Pirate, Emerald Isle

Ok, we know, so those steamy days in July…they remain steamy hot through August, too. But as we continue your NC Monthly One Day Trip itinerary. Just as we planned for last month’s stop, it is essential in enjoying your “you time” that in July and August these destinations are near or on water. Unlike July, when we “hit the beach,” August finds you in Emerald Isle to one of the most classic, old-time water parks in the entire country, Salty Pirate Water park. Not to be confused with the more modern-day version of a water park, Salty Pirate is a throwback to or childhoods and simpler times. Features include old school tube water slides, toboggan slides, and even a main pool which is painted as a pirate ship. Sitting steps away from the gorgeous beach at Emerald Isle, this is another perfect day that awaits you.

September- Shatley Springs, Crumpler

As the temperatures finally seem to start dropping slightly, your next NC Monthly One Day Trip brings you on another scenic journey. Upon reaching your desired spot, you arrive in Crumpler at The Restaurant at Shatley Springs. As it commonly is referred to, the “legendary restaurant in the middle of nowhere,” is exactly where you want to be. Sure, the food is delicious, and you’ll want to try it for sure there are many more interesting aspects at this site of a mineral spring that was first discovered in 1890. Stop into the unique variety stores, check out the jewelry and arts and crafts, and if you ever wanted to extend past your day, feel free to rent an on-site cabin overnight.

October- Hickory Nut Falls , Chimney Rock

In our first post, we went through the winter and took you snow tubing. The summer months above found you nearby some type of body of water at all times. Now into October, and your NC Monthly One Day Trip, and it’s all about the Fall in North Carolina. Anyone who knows the Fall in North Carolina knows it’s the season for breathtaking scenery and fall foliage. When we say Hickory Nut falls is your destination, you actually will be looking at those falls from Chimney Rock State Park. Known statewide as one of the most beautiful spots to just enjoy the surrounding nature, the park does give an awesome view of the 404-foot waterfall, which was featured in the 1992 movie, “The Last of the Mohicans.”

November- North Carolina Renaissance Festival, Huntersville

For November’s NC Monthly One Day Trip we bring you back in time. In medieval times actually, you will visit Huntersville and the Medieval Village of Fairhaven. This stop for those who didn’t figure it out yet is the North Carolina Renaissance Festival. The annual festival is one of the largest of its type in the whole U.S. This brings your “personal journey” to a land of make-believe. More. than 100 vendors and hundreds more costumed characters wander around and run many of the day’s events. Sometimes, a journey back through time hundreds of years can be just what you need, right now.

December- Biltmore, Asheville

Ok, it’s the final month of the year and your final NC Monthly One Day Trip. Where else in December? In North Carolina? As the Holidays Approach? Where else could we possibly direct you than to Asheville’s iconic Biltmore. Not only is this one of the most impressive and spectacular places to visit statewide all year, but their amazing decor and holiday spirit make the Biltmore in. December a “must-see” at some point. Whether it’s the enormous, 35-foot Christmas tree in the banquet hall, the overwhelming 135,000 square foot castle completely decorated for the holiday or the other 55 trees that adorn this classic estate, or something else, this last stop is certainly a grand stop and a fitting way top draw close to your journey

The End of the Year Has Come for Your NC Monthly One Day Trip. 

You’ve seen the four seasons in all of their glory. But you only took the on the day at a time approach. You have seen an incredible array of events and places that truly show who and what North Carolina and its residents are all about. Consequently, it all began just by taking a small amount of time, even just one day a month, and staying true to a promise to yourself. Oh, and making it to some of these scenic and normally out of the way you have experienced in a year the full spectrum of what a North Carolina is all about. All it took was to just set aside some “you time.”

For any information on the Belmont Lake Preserve new home and golf community, visit belmontlakepreserve.com.

by

Be True to You! One NC Day Trip Per Month for the Entire Year!

one-nc-day-trip-per-month-belmont-lake-preserve

With the year that many have had in 2020, it’s an understatement to say a new year would be welcome by most at any time! But once this new year does come, just as many do every year, what truly do you go out and change in your life to make it more enjoyable? It is a common joke that people declare their “resolutions” for a year, but then never quite own up to or stay true to them. Well, only you can change and make that extra time for yourself, and likewise, only you can decide what exactly this new “you time” consists of. At the beginning of 2020, the tourism website “Only in Your State” offered an idea for just this type of thing. It was there suggested that one take One NC Day Trip Per Month to a Special Location.

So, where exactly does one consider to be a “special location?” This would be the logical follow-up question in moving towards taking One NC Day Trip Per a Month. Well, as you have come to see since relocating to your new home in Rocky Mount at Belmont Lake Preserve, the amazing outdoor activities and destinations across the state are seemingly endless. However, with your one day per month for these “trips,” we have laid out an awe-inspiring agenda for “you time” in the upcoming year.

This will be the first in a two-part series and will take you from January-June. In our follow up post, we will finish off your One NC Day Trip Per Month “agenda” for July through December.

Starting Your One NC Day Trip Per Month Schedule: Late Winter into Spring

Another key factor in choosing the move to Belmont lake Preserve, Rocky Mount, and North Carolina, for that matter is its four distinct weather patterns for its four distinct seasons.

Well, staying true to that pattern we will center your One NC Day Trip Per Month around taking advantage of this weather…and we will take advantage of it one day per month, all year long.

January- McGailliard Falls Park, Valdese

To kick start the year, we suggest you wait for one of those uncharacteristically warm January North Carolina days. The weather need not be perfect, but for the first One NC Day Trip Per Month, we explore McGailliard Falls Park. Now when we say “explore,” at this site, located in Valdese, we truly mean it. Enjoy the hidden 40-foot waterfall sitting next to a historic mill right inside a beautiful city park. Pack up a picnic and let yourself truly enjoy the serenity of this majestic location.

February- Hawks Nest Snow Tubing, Seven Devils

Our number two One NC Day Trip Per Month brings us to February and the largest snow tubing park on the entire East Coast. Whereas in January we waited for that elusive warm winter day, not needed this month. Even if there has not been actual snowfall, as long as temperatures reach cold enough temperature, they make their own snow at Hawks Nest, so all you need to worry about is steering that tube!

March- Lazy 5 Ranch, Mooresville

So far as the winter months slowly head toward Spring, we’ve had two entirely different, but wholly amazing experiences. Well, we won’t let the One NC Day Trip Per Month “streak” of amazement end, especially not if you’re an animal lover. Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville is our March day trip. This up close and personal wildlife experience takes you by wagon or you can take your car “on safari.” You will see and interact along this 3.5-mile journey with animals from six different continents that have been raised here at Lazy 5 Ranch.

As the Temperatures Rise, So do options For More One NC Day Trip Per Month

Winter is hopefully in our review mirror by the time March has given way until April. The Spring season is truly a season of beauty here in the “Tar Heel State.” Hence, moving along with your One NC Day Trip Per Month you will experience that beauty first hand. Let’s get back “on the trail,” shall we

April- Covered Bridge at Ole Gilliam Mill Park, Sanford

Scenic. Historic. A true time tested treasure is our first stop of the “swing into Spring.,” This 140-foot long covered bridge is actually the longest covered bridge in the entire state. This stop among your One NC Day Trip Per Month schedule is all about the sights, sounds, and scents of Spring. Connected to this walk back in time is a park that appropriately includes a near-exact replica of an old mill that once sat on this land before being washed away by floods. But back to the present time and more importantly your monthly voyage, soak in and enjoy the amazing array of spring blooms on your scenic drive to this destination. Likewise, continue enjoying all the way home until next month.

May- Cheerwine Festival, Salisbury

Nothing, and we mean nothing (well almost nothing) screams North Carolina like Cheerwine! The delicious soft drink that was born out of our home state has been delighting people with its sweet and bubbly cherry goodness for over 100 years. Now, readying for its fifth year in existence is your next One NC Day Trip Per Month destination…Salisbury’s Cheerwine Festival! The last festival in 2019 drew over 50,000 people to Salisbury to celebrate all things Cheerwine. Street performers, food vendors, live music, fun, and every possible recipe that could include Cheerwine you could ever imagine. Now, this was a day trip that truly cements your place as a North Carolinian!

June- North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro

The Spring has long passed, and the rainy or more mildly warm days are few and far between. Simply said, it’s hot, and it’s Summer in North Carolina. Yes, there are plenty of places statewide to enjoy on a gorgeous summer day. However, many do not realize that right here in Asheboro is not only your next One NC Day Trip Per Month is to the largest zoo in the world that features natural habitats for the animals. Just before the heat of June flames up even higher in July and August, June is the perfect time to visit the North Carolina Zoo. It’s also the perfect time for a visit to the grasslands of Africa, the North American Prairie, and all the habitats, right here in NC.

Continuing on Your NC One Day Trip Per Month Get-Aways From Red Hot to Ice Cold

In our next, follow-up post, we will take you through the last six months of the year and more specifically layout your day trip agenda from July through December. With the heat reaching in highest and the cold sinking its lowest within this upcoming six months, who knows where the trail to more positive “you time” will bring you. The one thing that we can be sure of is that it will be amazing, and it will be NC.

For any more information on the Belmont Lake Preserve new home community in Rocky Mount, visit belmontlakepreserve.com.

by