4 out of 5 stars

O’Malley’s Tavern is hidden in a quaint shopping center off of Glenwood Avenue, across from the Rooms to Go and just up the road from Crabtree Mall. Fellow reviewers’ descriptions of a dive bar are correct, but this is a dive bar with personality. Well-worn wooden booths welcome you on one side, and the other sports pool tables and comfortable-looking couches. Patrons seem to be made up of a come-as-you are local crowd, which is a breath of fresh air compared to many places farther down Glenwood. Speaking of fresh air, now that all bars are non-smoking it shan’t deter you from visiting this hidden gem. They even have a nice patio out front.

I actually only stopped in here for breakfast, but really did enjoy the simple meal and friendly service. The breakfast menu here is actually pretty broad, taking up two sides of a menu page. I had the country fried steak and two eggs with toast, plus choice of hash browns or oatmeal or grits for $5.75. My steak was relatively small, but quite satisfying for the price paid. Hubs had Byron’s Breakfast, consisting of two eggs, two sausage links plus wheat toast for $5. His sausage links were deliciously herby and tasted homemade. Prices are reasonable with lots of options to choose from, including corned beef hash, sweet potato sticks, yogurt, omelettes, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, french toast and more.

Drink (including pitchers) and food specials look generous, so try them out any time of the day.

View Larger Map

2 out of 5 stars

I was particularly dissappointed in my snack at Baker’s Dozen because I had been wanting to try out this hidden bakery around the corner for quite some time. All the glowing reviews had led me to believe I’d find here a wonderful snack. The bakery selection looks great, except my brownie was more than a little bit stale, and Mom’s muffin wasn’t very fresh either. For me there is no excuse for serving day-old (or more) items at full price at a bakery!

View Larger Map

4 out of 5 stars

Kadhai, which is hidden in the back of a Ross and Marshall’s shopping center off Glenwood, has a good quality buffet at a reasonable price. Affordable Indian food is hard to come by in Raleigh, so it’s nice to find one so close to our house. We stopped in on Saturday afternoon to check out the food. The entrees here are normally pretty expensive, in the $15 range. However the buffet was $11 when we visited Saturday at lunchtime.

The buffet has a good number of items, including fluffy rice and fresh naan. There were three chicken dishes- butter chicken and two types of chicken curry. They also had lots of veggie options, of course, including a chickpea dish, a lentil dish, peas and mushrooms in sauce, sauteed cabbage, and some other items. Another small area had two types of vegetable fritters and samosas, and the cold bar had a selection of sauces and relishes plus fresh cut fruit and rice pudding. I gorged myself and felt quite full!

View Larger Map