Monday, April 9, 2007

Lunch in RTP: Part 6

Confusion Japanese Restaurant: I love saying "let's go to confusion" first of all. Confusion has a very good and very unusual Japanese luncheon buffet, including sushi. They make everything fresh. The only thing that comes out of a can is some sweet corn they put in a salad. At least this is what they told me. My favorite thing was a spicy daikon salad.

Smithfield BBQ: finally good NC 'cue in the Park! Actually it is Morrisville at Davis Dr. and Morrisville-Carpenter. I have heard they even have good fried shrimp though I've not tried it myself. I cannot go there and not get the pulled pork, slaw and hush puppies! MMM. Speaking of hush puppies, I'm so glad I live in the South. You know there are whole parts of the country where you cannot buy a single hush puppy!

India Palace: The best Indian buffet in the Park is located on Airport. Decor is not as elegant as Saffron but the food is better. It tastes fresher. The place is hard to find. It's on Airport in a little strip mall on the left behind the gas station before Hooters (if you are coming from I-40).

Hilton: I never thought I would say this, but the Hilton Hotel on Page Road has a surprisingly good lunch buffet where the food, including desserts, seem to be homemade. One of my colleagues and I went on a business lunch there w/ a candidate in town for a job interview. The menu is different everyday. In addition to the food, this hotel is apparently the best, most civilized option in RTP.

Salsa Fresh: On Davis Dr. just off of Morrisville-Carpenter has great burritos as I mentioned before. I recently tried their tamales. They were outstanding and easily the best tamales in the triangle! Unlike your average Mexican restaurant tamale which looks like it was preserved in can in 1985, these tamales are bright yellow flecked with red pepper andfilled with chicken that actually looks like, um, chicken! They make them homemade every week. I've actually made tamales myself (big, multi-person job) so I can attest that the ones at Salsa Fresh are the real deal. YUM! For those of you who have an issue w/ transfat, tamales are made with LARD so consider yourself warned. IMHO, a little lard never hurt anyone. Just don't eat tamales everyday!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recommend you try out 9N9 in the Alexander / Miami strip mall.

I personally order the Tofu Pho. Incredible!

EMT Tim said...

Salsa Fresh is by far the best kept Mexican restaurant secret in the Triangle. I've been going to their location on Blueridge Rd near Glenwood for a couple years now.

The steak quesadillas are amazing - the steak is well flavored and just simmers in your mouth.

Apparently they have won awards for healthy cooking as well, using better oils, etc.

Anonymous said...

BTW, you can't get trans fat from animals, only from hydrogenated oils. What you're worried about from lard is saturated fat.

That said, Salsa Fresh rules!