Eating in... Raleigh: Beasley's Chicken + Honey

OMG, this post is soooo delayed!  It's been sitting in my drafts for-ever and I finally realized I never published it.  Oops!  Enjoy!

After the half in Raleigh, Michelle and I did brunch in the downtown area.  We had walked past this restaurant (Beasley's Chicken + Honey) the day before and it had been packed.  After checking out the menu online, we decided to see if we could get in for brunch.

There was wait (about 30 minutes), but fortunately for us, two seats opened up at the bar and we decided to eat there.  You could order the full menu at the bar, so that worked for us!

They had a lunch/dinner menu and a brunch menu.  To keep things simple, the menu is on a giant chalkboard on the wall.  The menu was extensive, but everything on it looked delicious.  And the prices were reasonable as well.

I started brunch with a Bloody Mary.  This one was pretty good.  It was nice and spicy, which I like. And it was pretty strong, which I also like.

Picture with medal is a must!

For my meal, I went with fried chicken.  I mean, chicken is in the name of the restaurant, so I had to try it!  I did the fried chicken breakfast sandwich, which came on a biscuit with cheese and an egg on top.  The whole thing was topped with hot sauce. I also ordered a side of coleslaw, because, I love coleslaw.

The fried chicken was amazing.  It was perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  The batter was seasoned perfectly and was the right level of thickness.  The biscuit was also delicious.  I love a good southern biscuit and this one did not disappoint.  It didn't fall apart, but it also wasn't so hard you couldn't bite into it.  The egg and cheese paired nicely with everything and rounded out the sandwich.

The coleslaw was also unbelievably good.  It was not mayo based which was nice (I don't mind a mayo based slaw but sometimes it's too much mayo).  It also had a hint of sriracha in it, which was a nice complement to the crispness of the veggies.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at Beasley's.  If you are in the Raleigh area, I recommend trying it out!

Beasley's Chicken + Honey
237 Wilmington St
Raleigh, NC 27601
http://ac-restaurants.com/beasleys/

Eating in... Raleigh: The Pit

I love traveling with friends and it's always great when their eating goals align with yours.  When Michelle and I went to Raleigh, we both agreed that barbecue was a must for us.  Michelle had done some research and found The Pit.

It was within walking district of the hotel and after our visit to the expo, we made our way over there.  It was a short 10 minute walk and gave us a chance to check out more of Raleigh.  The fact that it was gorgeous out, didn't hurt either!

We could actually smell the restaurant before we could see it.  We were probably about 2-3 blocks away when the smell of barbecue hit us.  And let me just say, it smelled delicious!

We had made a reservation, which I wasn't sure we needed to, but I figured better safe then sorry.  Turns out it was a good idea as the restaurant was packed and there was a lot of stand by guest waiting for a table.  Since we had the reservation, we were seated within about 2 minutes of checking in with the host.

We started with a small beer from a local brewery.  I had the Shotgun Betty, which is a Hefeweizen style beer from Lonerider Brewing Company based in Raleigh.  It was really good!  Nice and light - perfect for an warm spring afternoon.

Michelle and I decided to split an appetizer and went with the Barbecue Fries.  Here is the description from the menu: hand-cut fries with melted pimento cheese, chopped cue, chives and barbecue ranch dressing.

I can't speak for Michelle, but I thought they were delicious!  The cheese was so rich and tasted great with the meat.  The barbecue ranch was also so good.  I probably could have liked the small bowl it was in.

For my entree, I went with the Double Combo (basically you can pick two of their meats and two sides).  I got the pulled pork and fried chicken with the brussels sprouts and mac'n'cheese.  The fried chicken was fried perfectly: crunchy on the outside and moist in the middle.  The pulled pork was also very good.  It was Carolina style which means it comes dry and you add the sauce yourself.

The sides were also very good - I am pretty sure the mac'n'cheese was made with the same pimento cheese that was on the fries.  It was so good!  I liked the brussels sprouts (they are cooked in bacon!) but were not my favorite item on the plate.  That honor goes to the fried chicken.  I would have eaten of bucket of it!

We were so full from our meals, we decided not to get any dessert, although they looked really good!

If you are in Raleigh, I recommend you check out The Pit!