Quite A Year

It’s been a banner year for Raleigh chef and entrepreneur Ashley Christensen. Along with her James Beard Foundation award, she can now add Triangle Business Journal Businessperson of the Year to her mantle:

While her businesses are small in revenue when compared to previous Businessperson of the Year honorees, like Red Hat leader Jim Whitehurst, ChannelAdvisor CEO Scot Wingo, or Adam Abram’s Franklin Holdings, Christensen’s impact as an economic engine for the region has been growing.

Poole’s Diner is my favorite Raleigh restaurant and I’ve enjoyed every visit to Joule, Chuck’s and Beasley’s1. Christensen’s efforts have been a boon for economic activity in downtown Raleigh and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us with her future ventures.

  1. I haven’t been to Fox Liquor Lounge yet, but I hear it’s pretty all right.

And There Are Two

Two of Raleigh’s best restaurants made Southern Living’s Top 100 Restaurants in the South. Poole’s Diner and Stanbury represent the City of Oaks but quite a few other Triangle and Elsewhere, North Carolina restaurants made the list so be sure to check out the list. It took me a long time to grow up and grow out of chain restaurants, but I don’t think I could have picked a better time to jump on the bandwagon. Poole’s Diner is a personal favorite of mine and has long been on my list to write about since starting this site but I can’t land on a narrative. Stanbury was recently recommended to me and I’ve been trying for a while to get out to Chapel Hill to try Lantern. Mmmm, food is good.

(Hat tip: New Raleigh)