Where to Eat in the Triangle
If you have a yearning for Chinese food, Crystal Palace in Raleigh is the place to go. It boasts a large buffet with a nice selection of food where you can find anything from sweet and sour chicken to meatballs and if you pay a little extra crab legs. The buffet stays well stocked and if you have any room left after eating you can try something from their modest selection of desserts. Crystal Palace also offers a kid-friendly children’s buffet. The restaurant is large and has plenty of seating, but the weekends can be busy so be prepared to wait.
If spicy food is more your thing try Suchi’s Indian Cuisine in Cary. The decor in this small strip mall restaurant is sparse, but the food more than makes up for it. The cuisine is South Indian making it slightly different from its North Indian counterparts, but once you taste it you will never go anywhere else. They have a small buffet, but I usually opt to order off their menu. Their food ranges from mild to extra spicy and be forewarned, when they say spicy, they mean SPICY. Orders are served with Basmati rice and there is a selection of breads from the well-known Naan to my personal favorite Chapathi and the hard to find Madras Paratha. They have a nice selection of drinks from Indian beers to the popular Mango Lassi (kind of like a milkshake). Also, let me suggest their butter chicken, it has a subtle sweetness that will leave you hungry for more.
If you prefer to stick to American food, you can’t beat Cheeburger Cheeburger in Raleigh. The atmosphere is 1950’s diner, the music is lively and the servers are friendly. The milkshake list is the most extensive I’ve ever seen (79 flavors) with flavors such as snickers, pineapple, mango and almond joy. They have a modest selection of sandwiches and salads, but their specialty is…you guessed it, cheeseburgers. There is a variety of sizes ranging from a 5.5 ounce to the big 20 ounce. The burgers come plain so you get to choose what type of cheese (8 types) you want and what toppings (23) you want. The toppings range from the normal of onions and pickles to the unique like crushed garlic and barbeque sauce. As for your side you can order a basket of fries, onion rings (which are huge), or frings, which is a combination basket of fries and onion rings. The baskets come as small, medium and large and sharing a basket is easy to do and even encouraged (their menus tell you how many people each size basket will feed). If you enjoy getting recognition for your eating than this is the place to go. Order their largest burger and if you are able to eat the whole thing, they will announce it to the rest of the customers and they then take a picture of you holding a large stuffed cheeseburger, and then they hang the picture on the wall.
If you want some food that is really different try Baba Ghannouj Mediterranean Bistro, a blend of Greek and Lebanese food, in Cary. It’s small and sparse but the atmosphere is nice with ethnic music playing in the background. You order at a counter and you get your drinks yourself, but the people behind the counter are very friendly. There is a good selection of food from falafels to pita wraps, to cheesesteaks and even vegetarian dishes. I personally recommend the chicken shawirma, a pita wrap stuffed with spicy marinated chicken, garlic dressing, seasoned potato strips, parsley and pickles. The drinks are pretty basic, but there is a selection of juices including mango juice and the tea here is the best and sweetest tea that I’ve tasted anywhere in the triangle.
I hope this short guide to some of the restaurants in the area helped. I included 4 different types of cuisine so that there is hopefully something for every taste. So, head out tonight for dinner and try out one of these great restaurants.
