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Late Night

October 10, 2018 by Ron Wen 3 Comments

Cook Out: Burger, Hot Dog, and Milkshake Heaven in North Carolina

$6.48

That’s the magic number when you’re eating at Cook Out.  Or maybe it’s $7.57 if you go full on out and add the milkshake upgrade.  No matter how you count it up, Cook Out is all about wonderfully cheap eats, quick casual and delivered through a take-out window with a smile.  What’s that you say, my Yankee friend?  You’ve never heard of Cook Out?!  Well time for a quick lesson, you can thank me later!  (Note: The popular Cook Out tray is now $5.99 as of July 2021)

Cook Out on Capital Blvd in Raleigh, NC Triangle Dining
Cook Out on Capital Blvd in Raleigh, NC Triangle Dining

When I first got to Raleigh I was introduced to Cook Out by a friend!  I remember my first visit on Western Boulevard and thinking to myself, this place is sorta weird.  Walk-up window, double drive-thru’s and pretty much no place to sit.  So I ordered up my burger and foot-long without thinking twice about it.  Five years later and all I can say is that I’ve got Cook Out in my blood, both literally and figuratively speaking.  I mean, where else can you spend $5 and get a great meal?  And where do you go if it’s 2am and you’ve got the hungries gnawing at your insides?  Cook Out delivers again, they are open way late on the weekend.  So yeah, if you’re a transplant or newbie to the area, you’re going to learn about Cook Out really quickly.  Because unless you’re vegetarian or vegan, Cook Out will keep you happy and full even if you’re on a total budget.  Think Extra Value Meal but way better and really local.  Definitely one of the best grills around in the Triangle and a total bargain!

Cook Out on Western Blvd in Raleigh, NC Triangle Dining
Cook Out on Western Blvd in Raleigh, NC Triangle Dining
Cook Out on Walnut Street in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Cook Out on Walnut Street in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

Cook Out was founded by the Reaves family and is a privately-held company so there’s not that much information out there.  No website, no publicity, they just keep opening these wonderful little drive-thru’s.  Supposedly there’s over 100 Cook Outs spread throughout NC, SC and Tennessee.  And that’s what so odd, you see them everywhere and you really don’t know much about the business but who cares, we’re here to eat!  My three favorite locations are the classic Western Boulevard-NC State Cook Out, Capital Boulevard and the Cary-Walnut Street location.  Food is consistent at all of them, with some slight differences in access and egress to locations.  The Western Boulevard spot is a hard, uphill right off the street, work your way around to the back unless you want to order at the window and grab one of their outdoor tables.  They’ve got the usual double drive-thru but as a plus, both allow for pick-up on the drivers side.  Not the same for the Cary location, you have to work your way to the parking lot off a busy intersection.  Hit the double drive thru but if you go to the shorter line on the left, you better have a second person or do the lazy Ron tactic.  Pull up REALLY close to the window, unlatch your seat belt and do a super-yoga move to pay for and grab your food out the passenger window.  Probably doesn’t work too well for SUV’s and larger vehicles.  And the same deal for the Capital Boulevard Cook Out.  This location has an even odder configuration on a corner and in some cases, you have to cut through multiple paths of traffic to exit so be careful!

Menu as of May 2017

Once at the menu, Cook Out has a bunch of classic grill offerings ranging from foot-long hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches and wraps.  But it’s just about ALWAYS a better deal to go with the Cook Out tray which delivers one sandwich, two sides and a drink for a ridiculous $4.99.  The key to the Cook Out platter is to know all the options out there and bling out your order.  They’ve got two types of burgers wrapped in foil in four different styles. Cook Out style with homemade chili & slaw, mustard & onions. Steak style with A1 sauce, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, mayo.  Out West style with BBQ sauce, bacon, mayo, pickles, onions. Cheddar style with cheddar cheese, bacon, grilled onions, and mayo.  All the styles are generous in their toppings.  The standard 1/4 pounder is thick and meaty while the Big Double consists of two thinner patties which are a bit more charred.  They’re all pretty solid styles and any Cook Out burger type is satisfying!

Burger, hushpuppies and corn dog from Cook Out - nctriangledining.com
Burger, hushpuppies and corn dog from Cook Out – nctriangledining.com
Big double Western-style burger from Cook Out - nctriangledining.com
Big double Western-style burger from Cook Out – nctriangledining.com

The foot-long is a nice grilled dog with a lot of surface area for you to slather condiments on.  Cook Out’s barbeque is even pretty good, a nice pile of vinegary, pork topped with a mild cole slaw and a couple of shots of Texas Pete, yum!  The chicken sandwiches are solid but not my favorite, Cook Out delivers them in plain-grilled, spicy and cajun. And finally their chicken strips, whoa-so-good!  I tried these for the first time recently and was way impressed.  You get three largish, breast meat pieces in a crunchety coating that isn’t greasy or salty, perfection.  Add in some honey-mustard sauce and you may have THE best main item for your Cook Out platter.

Chicken tenders from Cook Out, NC Triangle Dining
Chicken tenders from Cook Out, NC Triangle Dining
Grilled chicken sandwich from Cook Out - nctriangledining.com
Grilled chicken sandwich from Cook Out – nctriangledining.com
Barbeque sandwich from Cook Out, Raleigh - nctriangledining.com
Barbeque sandwich from Cook Out, Raleigh – nctriangledining.com

But wait, there’s more!  For your two sides choose from fries, onion rings, hush-puppies, slaw, a chicken or bacon wrap, there’s even a corn dog on the side menu!  I favor the hush-puppies and corn dog but I’ve got my eye on the chicken wrap too.  The bacon wrap is a tortilla wrapped around 2 – 3 slices of bacon, lettuce and shredded cheese.  Toss in a variety of fountain drinks, and you can even bump up to a Cheerwine or Coke float for your Cook Out platter for free!  However if you notice the Cook Out menu, they’ve got a SLEW, a PLETHORA, a whole BOAT-LOAD of milkshakes which you shouldn’t miss.  For a $1 upgrade to your platter choose from 40+ flavors.  I enjoy the peach cobbler, peppermint (seasonal) and watermelon (seasonal) which makes for a happy ending dessert.  Seriously, for $6.48 you’ve got yourself a full-on, high calorie delicious meal.

Foot-long from Cook Out, NC Triangle Dining
Foot-long hot dog from Cook Out, NC Triangle Dining
Bacon cheese hotdog from Cook Out, Raleigh - nctriangledining.com
Bacon cheese hotdog from Cook Out, Raleigh – nctriangledining.com
Bacon wrap from Cook Out - nctriangledining.com
Bacon wrap from Cook Out – nctriangledining.com

Beyond the food, the young people working the window at Cook Out are usually super polite, accurate and sweet, bonus!  They do train them well from a customer service standpoint.  The only downside to Cook Out is its popularity so there’s typically a line at all hours. Thankfully, Cook Out has started opening restaurants with indoor seating, woo-hoo!  So yeah, if you haven’t been to Cook Out you better be a vegetarian.  Or a food snob.  Because what they do here is amazing for the price even if my pictures don’t show the food off, properly! Just drive on over, you don’t even have to get out of your car to enjoy their grilled deliciousness.  Grab your little white styrofoam container from the drive-thru window, pop it open and it’s time for bon appetit!

 

Cook Out- 200+ Locations in the Southeast

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Filed Under: Local Information, Raleigh, Restaurant & Bar Reviews Tagged With: Cheap Eats, Grill, Late Night

August 5, 2017 by Ron Wen

First Take: Benny Capitale’s in Raleigh for Ginormous Pizza Slices!

Front of Benny Capitale's in Raleigh - NC Triangle Dining
Front of Benny Capitale’s in Raleigh – NC Triangle Dining

Ahh, pizza! I don’t know about you but I can never get enough and I’m always looking for my next slice.  And in my pizza nirvana, I’ve got pizza goals. One of them is to eat one of those super large slices that I’ve seen in pictures from Washington, DC. Known as the super-slice, they’re usually as big as your head which sounds like perfection to me. So I was excited to hear about Benny Capitale’s. Part of a 16 restaurant chain of pizzerias specializing in the super-slice, they were coming to Raleigh in the summer of 2017 after opening locations in Charlotte and Chapel Hill. And I’m happy to say, they’re here and dishing out huge slices of pizza as advertised!

Order counter at Benny Capitale's in Raleigh - NC Triangle Dining
Order counter at Benny Capitale’s in Raleigh – NC Triangle Dining

Located in the old space that used to house Crema, you can find Benny Capitale’s behind some bright pane glass windows looking out on Fayetteville Street. Inside, the space is casual and built for serious pizza volume and business. A handful of vinyl covered booths and single diner stool seating around the edges. It’s a bit spartan but given the “by the slice” model, I’d expect a good chunk of Benny Capitale’s business to be take-out, walk out or in this case “Imma gonna eat this slice right now” standing! Note that Benny Capitale’s will be open until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights for the weekend crowd.

The super-slice at Benny Capitale's in Raleigh - NC Triangle Dining
The super-slice at Benny Capitale’s in Raleigh – NC Triangle Dining

Chatting with the manager, he tells me a bit about the history of the chain and shows off a super-slice to me. The menu is super-simple at Benny Capitale’s. Three standard slices along with a couple of monthly specials. Cheese is $4, everything else $5 and canned drinks at $1. Benny Capitale’s is still working on their ABC license right now but I’m looking forward to pizza and beer in bottle/cans in the future. Full 28″ pies go for $30 and with one topping for $38. I can’t imagine trying to get that pizza box in my Mazda, I’m guessing I’d have to tie it up on my roof to get it home safely! Note, there is a Benny’s pizza challenge. Eat the whole 28″ pizza in under an hour and you can win $500…

Lunch at Benny Capitale's in Raleigh - NC Triangle Dining
Lunch at Benny Capitale’s in Raleigh – NC Triangle Dining

We order up a couple of slices since we’re headed off for some beers at Trophy. My cheese slice is perfectly browned and served up on two plates, woo-hoo! It’s pretty darn big but only slightly larger than the slices at Randy’s Pizza RTP in my opinion. I take a bite and yes, this is some good NY thin-slice. The sauce is tangy with some seasonings, great cheese coverage and the crust is interesting. It is a thin-crust and holds up well to the topping but it seems to have some flakiness to it. A bit different than what I’m used to. But it’s tasty and impressive, I’ll just HAVE to come back and do some more taste-testing, eh? Overall I’m really happy with having Benny Capitale’s downtown. They’re doing a solid slice of pizza here for the lunch and late-night crowd and hey, if it happens to be bigger than your head, it’s only even better!

 

Benny Capitale’s

121 Fayetteville Street, Ste 11

Raleigh, NC 27601

919.239.4173

 

Location on Google maps

Filed Under: Raleigh, Restaurant & Bar Reviews Tagged With: Late Night, Pizza

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