by Leo Suarez

A Visit To Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue

It has been awhile since I’ve had any of Clyde Cooper’s delicious barbecue. Since I’m never in downtown during the workday, Saturday is my only time to visit so this past weekend I made a point to go. Cooper’s has been in business since 1938 and the restaurant on Davie St. is an old diner-style barbecue place. They have been in downtown Raleigh for a long time and it is tough to compare them to the newer, and more talked about, barbecue place, The Pit. It is a great restaurant and I enjoy visiting but in my opinion, Cooper’s has defined their style and really serves downtown Raleigh better with a neighborhood, friendly feel. You cannot beat their $3 barbecue sandwich and for the money, the trays and dinners are one of the best deals in downtown.

In the coming years, it will be interesting to follow what will really happen on this corner of Davie and Wilmington St. when the The Edison starts to come alive. The plan is to remove the older buildings on this block for a 39 story tower. Nothing is certain yet so only time will tell. Enjoy Clyde Cooper’s and the other businesses on this block.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

The 100 block of East Davie St. has LED lights installed and running at night. Notice the difference between the new, brighter lighting and the traditional lighting along Blount St.

Raleigh is leading an effort to become more energy efficient. One way is through the use of LED lights around the city. We would become an ‘LED city’ as its referred to by the LED City Initiative. Here’s some more reading for you to get your daily greens in.

Some American cities, including Ann Arbor, Mich., and Raleigh, N.C., are using the lights to illuminate streets and parking garages, and dozens more are exploring the technology.

Green Promise Seen in Switch to LED Lighting (via The New York Times)

Raleigh Recognizes Greater than 40 Percent Energy Savings as Municipal Garage Switches to LED Lighting.

Raleigh, NC the First LEDCity Installs LED Parking Garage Lighting (via Solutions For LED Lights)

The Mayor also said this is the time for Raleigh to vigorously pursue its role as the first LED City and explore and implement further ways to use LED lighting.

Mayor Calls For Boldness To Combat Economic Challenges (Via City of Raleigh)

by Leo Suarez

BeerCon: Wine Specials in Downtown Raleigh


Wine! (picture by Abbyladybug)

BeerCon does not have to be all about tasty suds. As I close in on my 200th beer at The Flying Saucer, I’ve been recently thinking that wine would be a taste I want to improve on. I’m terrible at tasting wine, which is expected because I drink very little of it. My first approach is to simply drink more of it and take note of the bottles I’m sampling. The easiest, and cheapest, way I see to dive into this is to chase the half price specials. Here is a short list of places that offer half price wine each week.

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Where have you been? Any wine connoisseurs out there want to recommend a place on or off this list in downtown that has a good selection?

by Leo Suarez

Time Capsule Buried In Downtown Raleigh

Next to the sidewalks of Salisbury Street, there is this plaque on the ground that states the following:

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

BICENTENNIAL CAPSULE

BURIED JULY 4, 1976

TO BE OPENED JULY 4, 2076

The church is on the corner of Salisbury and Morgan Streets if anyone is interested in looking for it. 2076 is quite a ways out so pass this along to your kids so that they can see it being opened on our country’s 300th birthday.