What To Have

Fins Restaurant downtown is finally open! I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. You may remember Fins from their old location off Lead Mine. I never made it out there but everyone I know that’s been there has raved. I heard last week they were doing test dinners so I knew they’d be open soon. I headed down there Wednesday to try it out.

Let me just say, the impression I got throughout the whole meal was excitement. Fins is unlike any other restaurant in the area, and this adds yet another spectacular option for downtown Raleigh dining. They specialize in different fishes, I believe fish represented 8 of the 12 entrée items.

The start was a dish called something like hot and cold fishes, you’ll have to forgive me for the names in this review, I had so many different things it’s impossible to recall all the exact names. Anyway, this starter consisted of 6 samples of dishes on the menu. It included marinated mushrooms, sliced Japanese cucumber, tuna roll, scallop ceviche on plantains, crab salad and seared salmon. The menu name of each of these is far more complex, but I’m sure you’d be able to pick it out. ANY of these items would make a great appetizer or meal by themselves. The tuna roll pieces were large and carefully prepared. The seared salmon was crusted with sesame seeds and served atop a bed of seaweed salad. I don’t like cooked salmon, and I couldn’t get enough. I would order each of these items again without a second thought. Yes, they were that good.

My main course was Tai Snapper this fish was seared crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. It was topped with wok’d mushrooms (cremini slices I believe) and crispy spinach. The whole thing sat in a sauce that was both spicy, garlicky and sweet. It looked almost like red chili oil, but nothing overpowered. With a bite of each you got a little spiciness that led to lite sweetness. The crunchy seared outside of the fish gave way to a flaky middle that matched with the mushrooms and made the entire experience enjoyable.

Finally, dessert was a chocolate soufflé. The menu asks you to allow 25 minutes for preparation, of course I’m willing to do just that for anything that is going to made to order. The soufflé is just as you’d expect chocolate decadence. It’s light, fluffy and not too overpowering. The soufflé is plated with a chocolate truffle drizzle (yes, apparently it’s possible). A scoop of vanilla almond (not 100% on this one) is served on the side. Absolutely worth the wait!!

Fins new place downtown is a welcome addition. I could write 2 or 3 more pages about the tastes and subtleties in these dishes, instead I’ll let you give it a try. I know I can’t wait to go back and start trying everything on the menu.

–Matt

Dined on some new items at Riviera last night. As usual, they did not disappoint. I started with Chips to Order with salsa/guacamole. These are freshly fried tortilla chips sprinkled with a little salt. They’re served with a fresh salsa and fresh guacamole. I’m a sucker for chips and salsa and these did not disappoint. I especially liked the salsa, they used red onion instead of yellow onion, I’ll have to incorporate that into my salsa.

My main meal was a new addition. Mini Burgers and Frites. I’ve talked about the frites before (aka the best French fries ever) so something served with them would have a lot of competition. The mini burgers were up to the task. You get three burgers which I wouldn’t exactly call mini, they were fairly big and after this meal I was stuffed. Each burger has a different topping. One had crispy proscuitto, mozzarella and arugula; one had guacamole, romaine and manchego; One had lettuce tomato and onion. I really enjoyed the wide variety of tastes. This dish represents what I’ve come to expect from such a tasty dining establishment.

–Matt

Grabbed dinner Monday night with some friends at Raleigh Times and as usual I wasn’t disappointed. If you haven’t read previous reviews about this place, all you need to remember is that everything is made fresh in house. The corned beef for the Rueben is made there, the chips and quacamole are made in house etc..

Tonight, we started with some pickle chips. These are long thin pickles fried and served with a garlic ranch sauce. The chips aren’t greasy and they retain a lot of the pickle flavor. I know the sauce is made in house, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they made the pickles here too! Everyone enjoyed these.

My next dish was the Rueben. This is what I’d consider a signature dish for the times. The corned beef is made in house and it’s piled in thick chunks on the sandwich. Think 1 inch cubes of beef, not that sliced thin stuff. That’s topped with fresh sauerkraut and gruyere on toasted rye. The side of fresh made thousand island dressing completes the dish and makes for one of the best sandwich’s I’ve ever had.

Side Note: They’ve added fresh made chips to their menu. I’d give them a try. I have to admit, I have always been a fan of fresh chips that just came out of the fryer. They go an extra step and add a little salt and what I think is a touch of lime juice. Needless to say, they were one of the most popular items on the table.

–Matt

Grabbed a bite at the duck and dumpling tonight, and as usual I was pleasantly surprised. I started with Wonton Soup. I usually go for the hot and sour soup but I decided to give this a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. It was an unusually cold April evening and this soup worked just right. It contained 3 dumplings floating in a smooth beefy broth. The dumplings were of course some of David’s famous. I would certainly rate this as excellent.

I didn’t know what I was in the mood for so I asked for some suggestions. The response was “enough said”, my menu was removed and I continued with my wine. I was informed that I would be receiving one of their new lunch menu items. Pad Thai. Anyone that loves spicy Asian food has had pad thai, and there are many versions out there. I will whole-heartedly say this was the best. It contained the regular ingredients, noodles, vegetables, meat and seafood, but the quality of the ingredients is second to none. The beef was thin sliced filet that falls apart in your mouth. The shrimp were large and juicy. The best part about the dish is what I didn’t get. There is not too much oil in the meal. The sauce in many pad thai’s is very heavy on the oil, it can almost over power the dish. Not the case here, I wont say it was lite, but the flavor with noodles and other ingredient is the focus. If you’re around downtown Raleigh during lunch, I would absolutely give this a try.

–Matt