Relishing Relish in Raleigh

I've recently moved into a new place, which immediately warrants checking out the new restaurants in my part of town.  After scoping out the options, I was immensely pleased to find that Relish, a modern southern fare establishment, was in my neck of the woods.  After scoping out the menu on-line to make sure that the price tag fit my pocketbook, I made the trip last night.

The menu looked exciting.  With appetizers like barbecue nachos, pimento cheese fritters with pepper jelly, and fried avocado with jalapeno ranch dressing I was ecstatic. There were sections for a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches and a wide array of macaroni and cheese skillets, burgers (stroganoff burger anyone?) and some amazing sounding desserts.  The menu was definitely heavy on the sandwiches, but that would probably explain why their prices fit my wallet.  To save money I skipped out on the appetizers, but I did get a free little appetizer by tasting a couple of the homemade salsas and pimento cheese being sampled in the gift shop.  Sampling is pretty amazing when you're broke...and even when you aren't.  The pimento cheese was outstanding...and with my Yankee heritage I've never really considered myself one for certain southern staples, like pimento cheese.  You could tell it was the real deal.

I always order water to drink in restaurants, it's a financially disabled person's best strategy to help keep down the tab.  What most restaurants charge for drinks (especially if it's alcohol) will hike up your check considerably. When possible it's best to meet up at a friend's house for drinks before going out.

Regrettably I was made a fairly boring choice of entree... I had a the Reuben, which was good, but nothing terribly exciting.  Just your standard Reuben, although accompanied by freshly made potato chips (ask for the side of jalapeno ranch for those!)

My date ordered the Alfredo mac and cheese skillet, which was a hefty portion and looked delish.
I didn't see a whole lot of blackened chicken in there though...  It tasted great (you know I had a to do a taste swap,) but I'm glad I didn't order it.  My stomach couldn't have handled the giant mountain of cheese that went into it.  I have never in my life seen so much cheese on anything minus maybe a Chicago deep dish pizza.

I highly recommend the tomato basil bisque...creamy and delicious with the perfect complement of garlic croutons on top.  A great side to one of their many grilled cheese sandwich options.  The pimento cheese and fried green tomato sandwich gets my vote.
The true highlight of the meal was the dessert.  I don't usually order desserts to save money, but they sounded so good that I shared one. We shared a banana pudding served in a mason jar with whipped topping, creamy dreamy vanilla pudding (sorry Mr. Cosby this wasn't any of that Jello pudding crud) and CARMELIZED bananas with brown sugar and butter.  If it had been socially acceptable I would have licked the jar.  As it was I scraped out every small bit I could salvage.  By far the BEST banana pudding I've ever had in my life.

The wannabe "Euro-chic" decor doesn't fit the southern comfort food menu at all, and is a little dated but not entirely upleasant.
First restaurant in my new part of town looking good...good prices and amazing desserts.