First, Friday night, the first evening gracing us with a tolerable heat index, we decided to celebrate the break in the heat wave with new friends, T and L, at Humble Pie. Downtown was thumping because it was the weekend of Artsplosure and Wide Open Raleigh (2), both events celebrating the arts, music, and downtown life. Humble Pie is not directly downtown but is off in a little warehouse district, but nonetheless we had to circle the block a couple of times to find a parking spot. We sat on a lovely outdoor deck festooned with paper lanterns. No horribly obnoxious music. Great service. HP offers a great tapas menu with an array of small plates ranging from salads to heavier offerings. We had the mahi which was served with a potato gratin, some wonderful shell pasta (conchelles?) with ricotta and sauce, some shredded beef taco things, and some wonderful melted Mexican cheese with grapes and a grape reduction served with lavosh. We shared everything, and P and I sampled the mojitos (very decent) while L and T downed a couple of icy brewskis. (ok, no one says that anymore unless you live in New Jersey or something, right?) Anyway, we will return for sure!
