One of the best chuckin' burgers I've ever had

Ashley Christensen is a busy woman these days. Despite a "meh" review here or there, her Poole's Diner seems to be chugging right along quite nicely. As if having one successful restaurant is not enough, she has managed to open up three new spaces in the span of about three month (and snag a spot on "Iron Chef America" as well).

Beasley's Chicken & Honey was the first of Christensen's "newbies." I've personally not eaten anything there yet; however, the reviews have so far been mixed. "Good chicken -- not GREAT chicken," is how one friend put it. "There was barely any honey on my lonely piece of chicken" said another. To be fair, the menu is limited. One person was also perturbed that he couldn't get chicken and waffles at anytime.

A minimal menu is also the order of the day at Chuck's, Christensen's burger joint right next to Beasley's on Wilmington Street. (Her third new spot, Fox's, a liquor bar, is open around the corner.) A group of about six of us went to Chuck's for lunch the other day and were all blown away. "Easily the best burger I've had in this town" said one. I may agree.

I had the Bear In Heaven, which comes with a roma tomato, lettuce, onion, pickle (the thickest pickle slice I've ever seen on a burger), "Switzamerican" cheese and Duke's real mayo. Nothing crazy about it, but it was fantastic. Most everyone else in our group got the Dirty South burger, which is essentially a Carolina-style burger but with chili made from pork shoulder and Anson Mills Sea Island red pea chili, as well as Ashe County Mountain Cheddar cheese. Folks could not stopy oohing and ahhing over it.

We split two orders of fries ($4 a piece) between us, and it was plenty. Burgers are steep at $9, but well worth it. I can't wait to get back to try one of the milkshakes. It will hopefully be soon.

Best local place you've never been?

OK, I'll admit: the title of this post doesn't make a whole lot of sense. After all, how can you judge a place if you've never been there?

However, I was thinking about this the other day in relation to the ever-changing Raleigh restaurant/bar scene and how some places that are good (in my opinion, at least) and seem popular don't seem to make it, yet some other places soldier on.

Then there is the aspect of those places that have a great reputation, but you have personally never been to (or maybe you've only been once or twice).

So this is essentially a two-pronged question: What are those places that you can't believe are still open? And what are those places that you just must believe are pretty good because they've been around for forever, even if you've never been?

For me, one that comes to mind is Tasca Brava on Glenwood South. I don't think I've ever met anyone who has actually eaten there, but it must be pretty good. (It just has never worked out that I can go there, or we just don't think about it.)

I'll also throw The Mint, La Volta and Spize (all on Fayetteville Street) into the mix as well. Never been to any of them for dinner, and none of them ever seem that busy, but they must be good ... right?

One place's success that I'll never quite understand: Vic's in City Market. Can someone explain it to me?


Looks like a normal night at The Mint to me.

Bakery coming to Cameron Village

The Sugarland Bakery, which currently resides on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, has designs on a move to Raleigh's Cameron Village, according to sources. The move is slated for early 2012; the new location will take up about 3,000 square feet. No word yet on where in CV it will actually be located.

In other retail news, Capital Club Properties is beginning to renovate about 3,400 square feet of space on the 12th floor of 16 W. Martin Street for what is being dubbed "Grand Ballroom" operations. Hopefully more details will emerge.

Cheetie Kumar of King's Barcade is slated to open up the Garland Restaurant at 14 W. Martin Street -- formerly the site of Martin Street Pizza.

A nice Scotty review from Seattle

I can't claim to be a huge fan of country music, but I am nonetheless excited and proud of the accomplishments of Garner's Scotty McCreery. He sounds like a genuinely nice guy, and he's a Wolfpack fan, so he's A-OK in my book.

In case you live under a rock, then you don't know that his debut album shot the top of the Billboard charts. Not too shabby. So far, the reviews of that album, Clear As Day, have been very good. Here is a bit of one from a blog in Seattle, of all places.

I always wanted to hear more uptempo numbers from McCreery during his time on Idol, and he has more than made up for it on Clear As Day with songs like "Better Than That" and "You Make That Look Good." Both selections really showcase his personality and a whole different side to his vocals.

That said, the two big standout tracks on the album for me are "Water Tower Town" and "Dirty Dishes." When I first listened to "Water Tower Town," I just knew it had to be some sort of tribute to McCreery's hometown of Garner, North Carolina. Turns out I was right. "[The song] reminds me of Garner, which has a big water tower right across from the baseball fields where I grew up playing ball," McCreery said in a press release. "It has a lot of elements in there that remind me of Garner."

Hands down, this song has the catchiest chorus on the album. It's the one track that I still catch myself humming along to. I also like how McCreery utilizes multiple aspects of his vocals in singing it. You hear the deep, rich side of his voice that we fell in love with on Idol, along with a slightly higher range during the chorus, which allows him to show off more of a contemporary sound. ...

Clear As Day is a 12-song snapshot of who McCreery is not only as a country music artist, but also as an 18-year-old guy ready to leave his mark on the world. With his album debuting last week on multiple Billboard music charts at Number One, I think the young singer is well on his way to being a country music star.

Go, Josh, Go!

In case you haven't noticed (and, I'll admit, with it being baseball, I haven't really paid close attention), Raleigh's Josh Hamilton is back in the World Series for the second straight year. Hamilton's Texas Rangers will try to earn a ring this year when they face St. Louis. (First game is Wednesday night in St. Louis.)

"Consider this an old-school World Series: top names on both sides, many of them facing each other for the first time - the way it was before AL and NL clubs began playing each other all through the summer.

"Think of Ted Williams vs. Stan Musial, maybe," writes the AP.

Musial, in fact, might even be at the ballpark next week. The 90-year Hall of Famer who helped the Cardinals win three World Series crowns was at Busch Stadium during the playoffs for pregame ceremonies.

Stan the Man and the Cardinals beat Williams and the Red Sox in the 1946 Series. More than a quarter-century later, Williams became the first manager in Texas history after the franchise moved from Washington.

It took a lot longer for Texas to finally reach the Series. Hamilton, Cruz, Michael Young and the Rangers made their first appearance last year, only to get shut down by San Francisco's pitching in a five-game wipeout.

Calling Raleigh home

Every now and then, we like to highlight the good work of a friend, either a blog they've created or some cool work they've done. This time around, we want to give a little shout out to Calling Raleigh Home, a blog by a Realtor friend of ours, Matt Nowak.

I am an outsider. I was neither born nor raised in Raleigh. Of course, many people who live in Raleigh can also state that fact. (From the year 2000 to 2010, approximately 127,999 have moved to Raleigh.) The one commonality that we share, whether we are a transplant or a native, is this: we are all calling Raleigh home.

Almost ten years ago, after my girlfriend and I packed up all of our belongings, our two cats, and hitched the car to a back of a U-Haul, I thought to myself: I wonder what Raleigh, North Carolina, is like? Will my girlfriend and I be able to start the life together that we want? Will we gain the opportunities that we could never get if we stayed where we are now? Simply put, driving to a brand new place with nervous optimism was easily one of the scariest moments in my life.

A home is more than walls, a roof, and a floor. When a person asks you where you live, you usually don’t state your address. You mention the city. Living in a specific city can define a person. The diversity within this city of ours is not found only in its people, but also its schools, businesses, religions, politics, social causes, sports, hobbies, and anything else you would say is important to you. If a person can’t find what they are looking for in Raleigh, I simply don’t know where else to suggest.

It's brand new, but check it out.

My guess is it will be called 'Something Something 18' or '18 Something Something'

The word on the street is that Cantina 18 and 18 Seaboard owner/chef Jason Smith has a third restaurant in the works. No word yet on what type of food or its location. Stay tuned.

And though not necessarily Raleigh related, former N.C. State basketball player Cameron Bennerman has opened up a retail store in Greensboro. Bennerman, a native of Greensboro, recently opened The Pines (241 E. Market St.) in downtown.

The shop sells things such as beverages and chips and his line of hats and T-shirts called LiKuid Nation, with styles influenced by hip-hop music, sports and art, writes the News & Record's Mike Fuchs.

“Along with what I feel can best represent my brand, I also want to be able to make available other kind of products, as well,” the 27-year-old Greensboro native said. “Magazines. Food. Snacks. Accessories. Toys. A wide range.”

He also plans to have a fitting room and televisions displayed throughout the shop.

The Pines, which pays homage to North Carolina’s official state tree, also can be rented for events including wine tastings and after-hours parties.

The interior is filled with reminders of the shop’s namesake, including pine panel walls and a few pine logs from Bennerman’s property in Kernersville.

Friends and family spent the summer helping Bennerman remodel the 60-plus-year-old building, which is across the street from the News & Record parking lot.

His grandfather laid the concrete.

His father, Rik Bennerman, owner of the Masters Grill at Gillespie Golf Course in Greensboro, also pitched in.

New life for Blount Street

Looking back, the Blount Street Commons redevelopment project was probably about 1 year too late. I remember talking to a friend who was on one of the committees involved with the project, and she was discouraged at the slow pace of the project. There was momentum -- at least from a community interest standpoint. But apparently the developers were dragging its heels and the city wasn't really on board. This was probably around 2007. Well, we all know what happened within the next couple of years.

Several years later, there is slow but tangible evidence of the Blount Street project. There are condos and a few row houses, but the big, old Victorians remain vacant and highly overpriced.

But there may be new momentum.

Now, a new developer is hoping to breathe life into the historic area, according to WRAL.

When the project began in 2008, it sought to not only preserve historical homes, but bring the people back.

Joe Adams moved into the project’s first phase of condominiums on Blount Street two years ago.

Not long after, the builder of the project went bankrupt, leaving Adams with an empty lot next door. ...

“It’s not exactly going according to plan, but it’s still fun to live down here,” Adams said Friday.

A new builder has signed on for the project and said he hopes to start building next year. Any plans will have to go before a before a public hearing in January.

There is still a lot of promise to Blount Street. It was envisioned as Raleigh's new "grand boulevard," and could still be it. Here's to hoping it happens.