picture:goodnightraleigh.com
I’m a sucker for these James Beard awards – and try to visit establishments that house these gifted folks whenever possible. Apparently, the Poole’s Diner has recently received some decent recognition from the pros.
Talk about timing — Saturday night ~ 7:30 – we decided to go to Poole’s diner for a first-time dinner and sat down at the bar almost immediately.
Huge sangria fan -and Poole’s tasty version did not disappoint, in fact – I had two.
Appetizer menu was pretty diverse – my dinner date and I were playing safe and ordered the pimento cheese+toast, and the turnip green salad. Got what we ordered: safe. Nothing too spectacular — pretty cliché plates. Big portions.
Dinner was a total let-down – again, James Beard winner?? We were instructed to split an entrée and order sides by our waiter – Our selection “Rosemary Chicken” was out and was replaced by their fried chicken. Word on the street is the owner of this establishment is opening several other restaurants – one being a fried chicken joint. Delivering this news only made the expectations higher—this has to be ridiculous chicken!? I love my fried foods, but holy salt – I couldn’t eat it? And the “notorious” mac&cheese was just as salty and another downer with it’s too simple/literal recipe of…macaroni pasta…and…cheeses. These sentiments were shared by my dinner date.
Dessert? No thanks. Perhaps I visited with just too high expectations, considering the press and local reputation Poole’s diner has received… but I left confused what the hype was about.
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