Change in college can be hard to come by. With my schedule, I usually walk the same route and see similar people, which can get old, so last week I realized that I enjoyed food and needed some change in my life, so I decided to let other people choose my food for me.
I realized that the task of picking out food had become too monotonous in my everyday routine. I am usually someone who is rather picky when it comes to what and where I eat. Recently as my life has changed, so have my tastes. I have eaten a lot of food around the Triangle and decided that I would trust the likes of Raleigh’s moderately to expensively priced restaurant offerings. I decided that at three different restaurants I would ask the wait staff to bring me whatever food they wanted in an attempt to broaden my tastes. All the restaurants I went to for dinner were in downtown Raleigh, where prices range from $15 to $30 total without a tip.
Berkeley Cafe
The first stop on my experimental food excursion was the Berkeley Cafe. The Berkeley Cafe could only be described as an upscale dive bar. The menu consists of various bar snacks from sandwiches to quesadillas.
When my waiter came to take my order and comprehended what I was doing, he brought me something he called the “Shut up and Eat It.” At first I was a little taken aback by his statement, but as it turns out, this is actually an item on the menu. It was explained to me that for $10, the chef can cook me whatever the heck he wants to and put it in between two slices of bread.
After a 10-minute wait, my sandwich came. My first instinct was to go back to my old habits of pushing away any food that was unfamiliar to me. The sandwich was constructed with chicken strips, coleslaw, mayonnaise and buffalo sauce, and it was accompanied by a side of fries. The result was astounding. I never knew something so random and unlikely could be so good for a final price of $15 even. There were so many flavors mixing that shouldn’t have mixed whatsoever. My waiter really looked out for me. For a dive bar that is too expensive to be a dive bar, the Berkeley Cafe sure was a good dive bar.
Bida Manda
My next stop was Bida Manda, a Laotian restaurant downtown with an upscale vibe, routinely ranked one of the best places to eat in Raleigh. The brother-sister team who owns the restaurant works hard to create an inviting environment for guests, and the hard work they have put into crafting that environment shows. The sister in the team is actually an NC State alumna.
I walked in and had a seat at the bar. The wait staff and bartenders came to me immediately and tried to make light conversation and a welcoming environment. When I told them they could bring me anything, the bartender was very interested. She asked for my feelings regarding spices and meat preferences and said she knew the perfect meal for me.
The first course came, and I was shocked. I sat at the bar and looked at a plate of sausage. I thought to myself, I was at one of the hottest restaurant in the Triangle and there was just a plate of cut sausage with a small ginger garnish beside it. When I tried it, I kicked myself for being so closed-minded. The luang prabang lemongrass sausage was something you don’t taste every day. The ginger was sweet, and the sausage, which had jasmine rice in it, melted in your mouth as the flavors mixed together. Those flavors led right into the entree, beef larb. Larb is a type of meat salad with a spicy sticky rice. The total came to $31.80 before tip.
The heat definitely cleared my sinuses and kept me wanting more. Eventually I did get burnt out on the spices, but it still was an amazing meal to accompany the amazing atmosphere and hospitality. Sometimes a meal isn’t all about the food.
Fiction Kitchen
My third and final stop was Fiction Kitchen, a vegetarian stop with something to accommodate everyone. Fiction Kitchen got its start with pop-up brunch at the Pinhook in Durham. In 2013, it opened a permanent location on the outskirts of downtown Raleigh.
I’d heard it was good, but I never thought that a completely vegetarian restaurant would have any appeal to me. I was greeted with a relaxed staff and environment. Everything in the dining room felt personal to the owner and the eclectic style of the restaurant matched the style of the food.
The staff was once again interested in my experience, and I could tell that this was not the first time they had served an uneasy guest. After about 15 minutes I was handed a plate that had a waffle and what looked to be a flat patty of chicken. The Crispy Fried “Chicken” and Waffles was my entree.
I can’t stress enough how much I love to try new places in Raleigh despite how picky I am when it comes to new meals. I have probably missed out on some of the best food in the state because of my closed-mindedness. Fiction Kitchen was, hands down, the best meal I have ever had in my life. The “chicken” was tender, juicy and seasoned to perfection. The flavors of fresh apple and a hearty Belgian waffle accompanied the fake chicken. I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell if the chicken was real or not had I been blindfolded. The total came to $12.89 before tip.
This wasn’t just a chance for me to try some food around Raleigh. I think as college happens, we as people should start to reevaluate what is meaningful and what is good in our lives. Eating three mystery meals alone seemed like an isolating and an honestly depressing task when I took it on, but I found that evaluating your likes and dislikes in an isolated state is a task that helps you find yourself. Food isn’t always just a way to obtain the nutrients needed to live, it is a way to find the cultures and tastes that have helped shape you as an individual and your community.
The Beef Larb from Bida Manda at 222 S Blount St.
