Category Archives: fine dining

Bonne Soirée, Chapel Hill

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I keep a list of restaurants that I want to try.  One of those in the ‘for a special occasion’ category was Bonne Soirée.  When I heard that they were planning to close at the end of April, we made my birthday the special occasion to try it.  It is located in the Courtyard Complex onWest Franklinwhich seems to be a bit of a revolving door for businesses.  There is no marking or name on the door, just a beautiful, hand-written menu on a stand in the window.  The dining room is elegant with light blue walls, wainscoting, dark grey ceilings, hardwood floors, and simple gold framed artwork on the wall.

We were seated and within a few minutes we were brought our hand-written menus.  It was such a treat to have such a beautiful menu.  Though, we were a bit confused by the fact that they didn’t have a wine menu but rather would help us select a wine based on our preferences.  I wasn’t sure if that was because they weren’t restocking their wine since they are closing soon.  We opted to do a wine pairing with our meal for $35 each.  It was a nice way not to have to decide or think too much about it.  We were each brought a different rosé to start.

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Elaine’s On Franklin, Chapel Hill

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This past Saturday G and I went to a concert at UNC and we walked on Franklin before hand trying to decide where to eat.  We settled on Elaine’s on Franklin and walked in around 6:15pm.  The place was packed!  Of course we didn’t have a reservation but we were lucky enough to find a spot at the bar.  The space is smaller space with dark blue accent walls and a beautiful tin ceiling.  It is a open floor plan with many tables in the small space so it was a bit noisy.  But, the bar is a buffered a bit by glass partitions so it isn’t quite as loud.

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Ãn Restaurant, Cary

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G and I finally got a chance to try Ãn when we found ourselves with a free night during the busy holiday season.  It is a large restaurant in a quiet, slightly out-of-the-way part of Cary.  The entrance is a dramatic drive thru. The interior is just as dramatic with high ceilings and a sleek design.  Throughout the restaurant there are elegant modern design elements such as large mirrors, a stainless steel bar and glass dividers.  Since this was a last minute plan, we didn’t have a reservation and they were full that night but we were content sitting at the bar.

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Saffron at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill

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We went to Saffron to celebrate a friend’s birthday.  The original, which gets great reviews, is in Morrisville (we have yet to try it).  This new location in Chapel Hill is in the new mixed use development on 54.  The space is just lovely!  The dimly lit room is decorated with rich mahogany wood furnishings and Indian artwork in jewel tones.  It is indeed one of the most beautiful rooms!  We made a reservation but it wasn’t necessary as it was almost empty when we arrived on a Tuesday evening.

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French Laundry, Yountville, CA

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Anticipation is complicated; it can raise expectations so high that the anticipated event is doomed to failure yet without it we would not have anything to look forward to.  Our French Laundry visit, as you may imagine, was filled with much anticipation.  We had been looking forward to the experience and planning for it about a year, when we originally thought of celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in Northern California wine country.  I read the many, many blog posts on how to secure a reservation and started charting out a plan of attack.  In my research I had discovered that the American Express Platinum Card has a special concierge service which secures French Laundry reservations.  I remembered that my brother-in-law had this card so I emailed him right away.  Unfortunately, he had cancelled his card but a very good friend of his had the card and said he would be willing to ask for a reservation for us.  So, I emailed him the dates and times we were interested in and he passed the information along to the Amex concierge.  Luckily, we were able to get our first choice for our reservation.  We thought lunch would be nice so that we could enjoy the gardens and a leisurely meal.  Now with our reservation secure all we had to do was wait two months in anticipation!

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Cypress on the Hill, Chapel Hill

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Chapel Hill is lucky to have so many wonderful restaurants for being a small, college town.  We decided to try one of these for our anniversary in August (since we knew we had another much anticipated celebratory meal coming up to celebrate 10 years together!).  It is a nicely renovated building on Franklin Street near the Franklin Hotel.  The room is simple and modern with exposed duct work, sleek wooden furniture and crisp white tablecloths.  It was particularly quite when we arrived but filled up during the course of our meal.
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Mooo Restaurant, Boston

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Ever since we found out that Mooo had a Kobe beef steak on their menu G had planning on celebrating his MBA graduation there.  So, we made reservations for the Saturday in question and were looking forward to a nice celebratory dinner.

We were the first of your party to arrive for our 6:30pm reservation.  The restaurant is located on Beacon Hill with as side entrance that faces a parking area.  Once you enter you take a small step down into a modern, sleek room decorated in white and gray.  The soft, warm lighting makes the room feel inviting and comfortable.  We were seated at our table while we waited for the others and looked over the menu.  The menu is typical for a steak house with various cuts of beef for entree choices and side dishes which can be shared for the table.  The wine list is extensive without being overwhelming.  They offer a nice variety of choices though most were beyond our price range.  The waiter was helpful with our menu questions and also guided me through the wine list.  I particularly appreciated that he respected my request to stay within a certain price.  After some discussion, we decided on the Mount Veeder Winery, 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was delicious!  A beautiful big, bold, full bodied, smooth cab!

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