WRAL’s site features a section called “Because It Is Friday: show each other some love today”. I don’t know if this icon exactly expresses the sentiment they intended. I know a few Republicans who would say this is the way things are…
Today the leading foodservice industry publication, Nation’s Restaurant News, has named the Angus Barn to its list of 50 All-American Icon restaurants. The Barn has “become synonymous with hospitality and service excellence” according to Nation’s Restaurant News. That’s one of the primary reasons why the establishment made the NRN 50. The Angus Barn is the only North Carolina restaurant on the list, and joins such noted dining institutions as Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, St. Elmo Steak House in Indianapolis and The Four Seasons in New York City.
This comes as no surprise. The Angus Barn is known for going out of their way to present an outstanding experience. The restaurant has a rigorous training program for its waitstaff, and only hires people who make it their profession. Owner/manager Van will not accept customers waiting unnecessarily. Case in point: I recently stopped by at 5:30pm one day to buy some blue cheese dressing from the gift shop. The refrigerators were out of stock, but the nice, helpful lady who was running the shop went to the kitchen to make a couple for me. When Van found out that I had been waiting 10 minutes for the dressing, she went to the back, got things rolling, and comped my purchase.
If one is paying attention, they will notice some of the many details that go into the experience at the Angus Barn. The restaurant’s Christmas Tree every year is the finest in any restaurant around. The relish station, an unnecessary perk that was put in place decades ago to placate those waiting for a table, is always fresh. Much of the wood from the restaurant was salvaged from barns in the area. Inset in the brick floor of the gift shop is a 6” thick disc of wood from the state’s largest loblolly pine tree. In the last couple of years, The Angus Barn opened The Pavilions, a rustic lakeside special events facility. A trip to the men’s room of the facility is another example of the fine detail that (along with the excellent, consistent food) has earned this restaurant’s status among the nation’s top restaurants.
The Angus Barn was already one of the early inductees to the publication’s prestigious “Hall of Fame” list. Magnolia Grill is the only other North Carolina restaurant to receive that honor.
Today’s day off of school due to slight amounts of lingering snow will result in extremely disrupted vacation plans for many Wake County families. The day off will be made up on March 29, Day 3 of a 10-day Spring Break.
What is exceedingly ludicrous about the decision is the fact that the school system is still holding a Teacher Work Day on Monday, April 5. That day is “Easter Monday”, a North Carolina vestigial quirk held over from the days when NCSU/Wake Forest baseball actually meant something.
While the school board frets over ways to discredit a survey that plainly states the public’s discontent with [mandatory] year-round schools, they are forgetting to approach the school calendar logically. If they must ignore Good Friday and hold Easter Monday as a sacred holiday when planning the calendar, at least make Easter Monday a part of Spring Break week.
Has anyone looked at what the year-rounders in Tracks 1, 2, and 4 get? From April 26 thru May 14 those students will be in school for 17 of 19 days. Why are the two Saturday makeup days on consecutive weekends? Fatigue will be a big factor approaching the end of that stretch.
To expect traditional calendar students to return for Day 3 during a 10-day vacation is asking for mass absences and, therefore, drastically reduced productivity. The school board should make up today’s loss on either Saturday, March 27 or on Easter Monday, and allow families to proceed with their vacation plans. The teachers should do what all small business owners must do, find a way to get work done during a holiday or weekend.
It was January 31, 2008 when gogoraleigh hit the internet. Since then it has grown to overtake Google and is poised to be more popular than Facebook. Well, not quite, but we’re still growing. To celebrate, I wanted to make some changes with the interface. Most obvious was the disarray in the sidebars. I’ve finally put the custodial sections together on the left. However external internet tools to help your life in Raleigh are now more comprehensive, and reorganized in the right sidebar. Hopefully this realignment will not only help readers find what they need quicker, but also realize what tools are available.
Also, don’t forget the iPhone interface! When one visits gogoraleigh on the iPhone, the little arrow in the upper right accesses a pull-down menu where the “Mobile Tools” tab items are found. Quick links to things you want when you’re out from movie times to taxi companies are all listed.
Finally, be sure to follow @gogoraleigh on Twitter, and friend gogoraleigh on Foursquare!
Hopefully this couple of years has been as enjoyable for readers as it has been for me. The past 12 months have been a bit slow in the area, but hopefully the economy will get through its second dip quickly and we can get back to building the next great city.
Tired of the rest of the nation associating us with the #1 butt of all late-night jokes? Let them know by tagging your car with this new bumper sticker that reads:
I’m from North Carolina and John Edwards is NOT my daddy.
The stickers are just $3.49 a piece thru Cafepress.
Last year RDU Airport Authority put together a wonderful Open House event to show off the new Terminal 2 (formerly known as Terminal C). Because I finally have my video setup in place, I’m now able to easily present some short video from the open house. The first scene is from the parking garage, where a combo jazz band’s music filled the atrium. Next is a pan of the ticketing area with live piano music. The third scene is from the concourse where all of the Terminal’s restaurants were serving free samples.
In 2011 Phase II of Terminal 2 will open. There will be 16 new retailers, including:
The RDU website contains a collection of the latest construction updates and renderings for Terminal 2.
![buble[1]](http://www.gogoraleigh.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/buble1.jpg "buble[1]")
Michael Buble will make his return to the Raleigh on Friday, July 9. He’ll be at the RBC Center, hopefully pronouncing our proud city’s name correctly!
rduwtf has a very interesting article about a discussion overheard just before Christmas regarding former traffic reporter Mark Robert’s aspirations to unseat Brad Miller. It’s a great read!!
Excuse me while I go off topic: Over the past 50 days I’ve been sharing my countdown of the top 200 songs of the decade with my Facebook friends. The countdown is complete, and I’ve compiled the results, complete with YouTube, Rhapsody, and iTunes links. Rhapsody users get the added bonus of being able to immediately play the entire list or add it to their playlist collection. The 2000s weren’t dramatically different than the 1990s, to be honest, but it was a decade full of fantastic music.
