Finally Settled and Solas for dinner
After much hard work and lots of sweat I am finally moved in and our house is complete! It is such a relief to be done and finally we can actually sit and relax! Imagine that! We busted out a ton of unpacking on Friday night and then tackled the garage and attic stuff on Saturday. Once the extra washer and dryer set and futon are sold and moved I should be able to park in the garage :) Sunday was lots of little details included pictures and blinds being hung and CLEANING! I love starting the week with a clean house and all of the laundry done!
Here is a picture to show you what the living room looked like when we first started:
After pics:
We ended the weekend with a visit from my parent’s and their friend’s Chris and Diane, who were in town for the Jeff Dunham show. We had a cocktail hour before the show at our place and got to pull out a bottle from Napa, which was fun. They went to the show and we went to the grocery store and did a few more loads of laundry (I think 8 in total-ugh!) Since their show was at 5, we decided to meet for a later dinner. Since the Triangle Restaurant Week was just wrapping up I thought we could take advantage of the lower prices some restaurant were offering. Since there aren’t a ton of places open on Sunday, we went with Solas in downtown Raleigh. This is the swanky new, Miami Beach style restaurant/lounge/club that opened a few months ago. Scottie’s parents have been and gave their approval so I thought this would be a fun place to try. I was slightly concerned about going after reading the review over at E&L but though we would still give it a try.
The show was a little later to let out so Scottie and I went ahead and explained the delay and we grabbed a drink from the bar. It’s funny how differently you look at a wine menu after visiting vineyards. Solas has an extensive wine menu with tons of wines from Napa and Sonoma so it was fun to peruse the list. I ordered the St. Francis red which was nice a smooth, my Mom also got a glass of this when they arrived. We waited for a few minutes for a larger table to open up and were seated in a large booth. I took Leandra’s comments to heart and steered clear of the hot rock appetizer and the shrimp entree. I ordered the duck quesadille which was very good, Scottie ordered the She Crab soup which was WAY salty, and we LOVE salt so that is saying something, Dad got a mixed salad with yummy fried goat cheese but Mom’s appetizer was the best, the shrimp and scallop ceviche. So good! We may need to recreate this for Memorial Day!
For dinner, Dad and I got the filet with goat cheese, which was really fantastic. Scottie and Mom got the citrus marinated flat iron steak which was very “cool” and didn’t taste at all citrusy, but both seemed to enjoy it. Note that they do undercook their beef, I ordered mine medium which was perfect but I felt the flat iron steaks could have been cooked a bit longer.
Dessert proved to be a difficult thing to decide upon. Dad knew he would get the sorbet and Mom got the blood orange creme brulee. I LOVE creme brulee but went with the chocolate filled crepe, Scottie revealed his decision upon ordering and got the chocolate lava cake. The crepe was very nice but very rich, I almost couldn’t finish it, but I did :) I didn’t get to taste Dad’s sorbet but his plate was empty so I figured it couldn’t be that bad! Scottie’s lava cake was quite nice, especially paired with the madagascar vanilla ice cream. But I think Mom’s dessert took the “cake” she said it was probably the best creme brulee she had ever had. It was REALLY good with lots of blood orange flavoring, another thing we need to recreate.
You can’t beat the price either, three courses for $25 per person, it was a great way to try out a new restaurant. Their entrees range in the higher $20’s so this isn’t a cheap place but it is a good quality meal. The portions are also not “Applebee’s” sized so be aware of that as well. I was completely satisfied after my meal but someone with a larger appetite may want an extra salad or a snack before dinner 
Next time, maybe we will come for drinks, appetizers, and dancing on the glass dance floor…I will be wearing pants ofcourse 
May 19th, 2009 at 6:12 am
Can we see an ‘after’ shot of the living room?!