I attended a Kentucky Derby-inspired media luncheon for the launch of Washington Duke Inn in Durham, NC.  It was only 40 degrees the day the luncheon was held, but we put on our spring hats anyway and enjoyed the spring blooms around us.

Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club

The Washington Duke Inn, located in Durham, N.C. on the campus of Duke University, is a gorgeous property. If I lived closer, I think you would find me on this terrace a lot more enjoying lunch or dinner. When I am able to get to the hotel to dine, it is a treat because Jason is a fabulous chef. You already know it is a favorite spot of mine for afternoon tea, and his partnership with Carolina farmers and artisans make dining here special. His Dinner at Dusk menu served daily from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with a prix-fixe price of $35 per person, is one of the best culinary bargains in the Triangle.

The Fairview Dining Room Terrace

Happy St. Patrick's Day! My friend, Michelle, hosted a St. Patrick's Day party at her Wilmington, N.C. home this past weekend. I fell in love with this rainbow fruit tray she assembled with strawberries, oranges, pineapples, grapes, bananas, and marshmallows.

Rainbow Fruit Tray

I think this is a fantastic idea for a kid's themed party, especially for  St. Patrick's Day, but any party really. Think My Little Pony! There is a horse named Rainbow Dash.  Cute, simple, and clever idea.

I think I could make the fruit tray, but I leave yummy baked goods to the Raleigh baking professionals.

At Yellow Dog Bread Company in Downtown Raleigh this week, I tasted this great shamrock sugar cookie.

Shamrock Cookie at Yellow Dog  Bread Company

Yellow Dog is one of my favorite Tuesday spots in Downtown Raleigh. It's located on Franklin Street in the Historic Mordecai area. I hit this bakery/coffee shop after dropping my son off to school. You-know-who and I have about an hour to kill before her dance class. Yes, the cookie was for her, and I barely even got half a clover.



LaFarm Bakery in Cary, N.C. is my other favorite place in Wake County to go for coffee and  baked goods. It's off my normal beaten path, but I love to get over there when I can. It's located off of Cary Parkway. I was there last week working on a feature store with bakery owner and master bread baker, Lionel Vatinet. It was such a treat to pop in during one of their busy, seasonal times. On this day, the bakery was busy making Irish Soda bread in addition to their other popular loaves. I was invited into the kitchen as they were making Irish Soda Bread that day. Lots of yummy butter goes into 40 loaves.

LaFarm Bakery has 70 employees and they bake a lot of bread while we sleep

LaFarm Bakery's Irish Soda Bread

Look for my feature with Lionel Vatinet soon

I'll be sure to let you know when my feature on Lionel and LaFarm Bakery runs because it may be published on a few different sites before it runs on this one. Be sure to follow me on social media and never miss a HinesSight Blog post by subscribing by e-mail, which can be done on my sidebar. I post about 2 to 3 times a week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! And I leave you with one more rainbow. One of my little sparkles in life.



And for my travel lovers, follow @todestination on Instagram. She's my colleague at Skimbaco Lifestyle. She captured this beautiful Irish rainbow in Ireland last fall.

@ToDestinationUnknown on Instagram

I've got a new lunch place in Raleigh to chat about today. I'm excited about this one because it's like dining at a country club or on a resort patio by the golf course. The view of Raleigh's skyline is cool.

PR @ the Poole in Raleigh, N.C.

One of Raleigh's well-known and iconic dining establishments, Player's Retreat, which has been serving State students on Oberlin Road since 1951, has opened a second restaurant at the Carol Johnson Poole Clubhouse on the Lonnie Poole Golf Course in the heart of Centennial Campus at N.C. State University.

Yeah, that's a lot of names, but all you have to remember is PR @ the Poole. 

Carol Johnson Poole Clubhouse on N.C. State Centennial Campus

The Atmosphere

PR@ the Poole opened about a month ago. Now that the weather is getting nicer in Raleigh, PR @ the Poole is ready to get the word out about its opening.. As it gets warmer, the restaurant will be extending its hours into the early evening as well. I'm probably most excited about that for the summer time. Diners will also be able to go to the club for holidays like Easter and the 4th of July. Special holiday menus will be served. It is important to note that even though this feels like a country club, it's public and anyone can dine there.

N.C State University invited me to come out to try the food at PR @ the Poole in order to experience the restaurant's atmosphere firsthand. Before I was contacted, I had no idea the restaurant was there and open for business. This was also my first visit to the public golf course, which serves as the home course for NC State's golf team.

With the original Player's Retreat being a popular Raleigh favorite among diners, I think PR @ the Poole will become a Raleigh jewel for people like me who want casual food in a resort-like setting. Nothing could be more relaxing than drinking a NC Craft Beer on a patio.


The Menu and Food

The menu is in line with the original Player's Retreat menu, but pizza is not served here. The menu is also not as extensive since it does not serve until 2 a.m. PR @ the Poole owner, Gus Gusler, carefully chose some of his more popular items to serve at the clubhouse.

What golfer wouldn't like a beer and a burger?  And I'm not talking about just any burger. I'm talking about fresh, Angus beef grounded daily by the restaurant.  And boy, you can taste the difference.

PR @ the Poole serves fresh, Angus beef

My entire family got burgers. Sorry!  That was not a lot of variety on our part to try different things, but I couldn't help it. Sitting on that deck overlooking Raleigh's skyline and this golf course made a burger and a NC beer the best choice for me.

My son probably has had a burger in at least six luxury hotels in the past two years, and I don't remember getting this type of reaction after a first bite anywhere, except maybe at the Inn at Biltmore last year. At first bite, he immediately said, "Mmm...this is good!"


Family-Friendly and Food Price Points

PR @ the Poole is kid-friendly. At our visit, a children's menu was not printed yet, but Gusler says they will get that taken care of right away, and the kid's menu will be in line with what is served at the main Player's Retreat. The prices will also be reasonable with hot dogs at $1.75 and other entrees under $5.00.  My burger included house-made chips and a non-alcoholic drink for $9.95. The restaurant's menu has a concept of 15 meals for $9.95 which include favorites such as a Reuben, chicken salad, grilled chicken, veggie burger, veggie stir-fry plus chili and salads. Heavier entrees are also served with a price point around $15.

I will certainly be back. I probably need to branch out and try something else, but it's going to be hard not to order a burger.



PR @ the Poole is also a new location in the area for wedding receptions and other parties, events, or celebrations.



Want to Go:
PR @ the Poole
Carol Johnson Poole Clubhouse
Centennial Campus
NC State University
Raleigh, N.C.


Disclosure: My only expense at this restaurant was for alcohol beverages, and gratuity. As always, my opinion about a restaurant or property I visit is my own. 

The New York Times wrote a piece called "36 Hours in Raleigh." 

Downtown Raleigh, N.C.

Reporters put together a fast-paced agenda that would exhaust my leisurely side, but they certainly hit the city's highlights. 36 hours in Raleigh is simply not enough time because there is so much to see and do.  But, most people take short weekend trips, and if you've got 36 hours, then you should spend it in North Carolina's capital city.

I agree with the NY Times restaurant choices in the article for Raleigh.  I've been to every one. I love Bida Manda and the Stanbury. I have a few other favorites as well as a local. 

If you noticed, accommodations were mentioned at the very end of the article. I want to expand more on that today because when you plan a trip, a hotel is an important part of that vacation. Raleigh has a lot of great places to stay, but where you choose to stay really depends on what you are doing in the area and the feel you want for your trip. 

The lobby in the Marriott Raleigh City Center

If I were visiting Raleigh (Wake County only), I would probably choose to stay in four areas. Those areas would be in Raleigh's Midtown area, which was not mentioned in the article, Downtown Raleigh, the heart of Raleigh near Crabtree Valley Mall, and of course, The Umstead Hotel and Spa, located in Cary, N.C. The luxury hotel is not located in Raleigh, but it's only a couple of exits away from RDU-International Airport and is still a short drive (about 20 minutes) to the heart of Downtown Raleigh or Raleigh's Midtown. 

I recommend these specific areas for the leisure traveler to choose a hotel.  If you are a business traveler, visiting family, attending a wedding, or coming for a specific purpose such as a little league tournament, then you may have very specific needs. We have lots of great hotels throughout the Raleigh area that would suit those needs, including the hotels in the areas I recommend. 

Renaissance Raleigh North Hills

But let's talk specifically to this N.Y. Times article. Everything the writer listed is located inside the Raleigh beltline. For that reason only, I feel Downtown Raleigh hotels would be the best places to stay to tackle that particular 36-hour itinerary. 

Those of you who are regular readers of my blog know that I absolutely love the Umstead Hotel and Spa, but this five-star hotel is a destination of its own. 36 hours in Raleigh is not enough time to soak up the flavor of Raleigh, and also soak up all that the Umstead Hotel offers its guests. You need more time in the area so you can enjoy the hotel. 

The Spa at the Umstead Hotel in Cary, N.C.

You should not go there without visiting the spa, and the hotel's food is some of the best in the Triangle. I had the chicken pot pie in the hotel's lobby bar last week, and it was divine. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to check into the Umstead, pay the luxury prices that go with that experience, and then be gone for 16 hours of the day, especially if all you want to do is pack in as much sightseeing, nightlife, and visit as many craft breweries as possible in a short amount of time. 

A balcony off a room at the Umstead Hotel and Spa

The Downtown Raleigh hotels are within walking distance of most of the places this N.Y Times article recommends to see. The Umstead does have an outdoor, resort-like pool, and I would choose the Umstead as a base for families to explore Raleigh at a more leisurely place, especially in the summer. 

The Marriott and The Sheraton, located downtown and mentioned in the article, have indoor pools, which kids love in the colder months. The Sheraton recently underwent a major room renovation and added the Jimmy V Osteria Bar, which I've not tried yet.  Another new downtown option is the Hampton Inn and Suites, located on Glenwood South, with breakfast included in the rate. The hotel also has a manager's reception a few days a week and has an indoor pool. 

The Sheraton Hotel in Raleigh, N.C.

The Renaissance Hotel at North Hills also has an indoor pool and a great restaurant. Shopping, more restaurants, a movie theatre, and a bowling alley are all within walking distance of the hotel. That's a great perk for families with teens. North Hills is in a different part of Raleigh, but it makes a good base for exploring. 

North Hills, a popular shopping area in Raleigh's Midtown area

The Hyatt House, also located at North Hills in Raleigh's Midtown, has family suites and a small outdoor pool. Breakfast is also included in your rate. 

The lobby in the Hyatt House North  Hills

Raleigh is a great city to visit. I just hope you take longer than 36 hours. We have so much to offer here. 

Outside of Nature Research  Center at N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences

All of these Raleigh photos were taken by me for Instagram, so be sure to follow me @Hinessightblog.