What To Have

After a long week, I was in the mood for a good burger and fries. I knew that the Lamb Burger and Frites at Riveria was exceptional. I’ve raved about their fries (frites) and knew you basically can’t go wrong at riviera. The lamb burger is mixed with angus beef and ground fresh. This lets you choose how you want it cooked. The chef suggests medium, which didnt disappoint. The burger itself is fairly large, they use quality meat so you don’t lose a lot of volume when cooking. They top the burger with buffalo mozzarella , baby arugula and a roasted garlic aioli. It’s hard to go wrong here, a fresh burger, fresh spices and quality cheese along with some of raleigh’s best fries, it makes me hungry every time I think about it…

-Matt

I tried some of the lighter fare at Riviera this time. I started with one of my favorite apps in Raleigh, the Colorado Lamb Brochettes. This starter is two skewers of lamb quick seared over their grill served with a fresh tatziki. While fairly simple in ingredients the flavors abound. The seared lamb is juicy and tasty, the tatziki is fresh and you can taste the dill. I got the Tomato Basil Flat Bread Pizza as my main course. While I wouldn’t consider this a pizza place, this did not disappoint. It shows that if you use fresh ingredients you can make excellent dishes. The pizza was exactly as described in the name, fresh flat bread, large pieces of very fresh basil, chunks of mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil. This was about 12 inches in diameter so it was a lot of food. The tastes came together amazingly as I’ve learned to expect from the group at Riviera.

-Matt

I’ve been trying some new things at 5 Star recently. They arent on the menu, but they’re run as specials occasionally.

They are making a really good curry right now. One of the cooks likes to experiment with different ingredients and I’d say he’s doing a fine job. This meal was presented in a long plate with three different “courses”.

The first two were meant to be eaten together with the third serving as a means to calm down the palate. Item one was fried rice with crispy ginger and garlic. This wasnt traditional fried rice you’d find on a chinese buffet. This rice was still white, but the garlic and ginger slices were crispy fried and mixed in. Onions and black seasame seeds completed the rice. Very tasty, “fried” but not heavy soy like other dishes with the same name.

The second part to the meal was curried seafood. This was shrimp and tilapia in a red curry sauce with onions, chili’s and peppers. A traditional curry, but the heat of chinese chili’s and jalepeno’s added noticeable spice to this dish. Everything melded together well in dish, the spicy peppers of the curry matched well with the ginger in the rice.

The last part of this dish was rice cooked with coconut milk and pineapple. It’s to cool down after the heat of the previous two items. I really appreciate the thought that goes into this type of presentation. It’s the type of meal that has extreme’s (bold and spicy flavors) but still provides a means to reign in the taste’s so that at the end of the meal you dont remember one specific flavor, instead you’ve enjoyed the whole experience.

This is probably a one time thing, but i’d eat this all the time if offered.

–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