Menu Specials

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House Riesling

Our bar manager, Ian Willis, looks at the house Riesling in our latest video.

Green

Here at 518 we feel a responsibility to run the business in a way that minimizes our impact on the environment.

We buy fresh and local when we can and choose organic when it makes sense. We use polenta ground locally in Guilford County and goat Cheese (chevre) from Nash County. Local companies such as Cornocopia in Hillsborough and Capri Flavors in Morrisville provide us with many of our specialty products while U.S. Foods located in Zebulon provides us with many of our groceries. We also go to the farmers market to shop for North Carolina seasonal produce. At every point we source our products as close to nature and with the least amount of refinement possible, because that’s the way we like to eat.

When we began building 518 back in the mid ‘90’s there weren’t many “green measures” to guide us. But we recycled the brick in the building, both to maintain the historic integrity and to lower the impact at the landfill. All of the ironwork was custom cast by a local company in Pittsboro. The building’s original heart pine beams were sent away to be milled into our airlock and to provide the flooring for the upstairs portion of the restaurant.

Our to-go containers are made from either a compostable corn based material or from a sugar cane by-product. We use unbleached brown bags for bread. These all have a smaller impact on the environment than petroleum based plastic, which takes ages to break down in landfills. It also eliminates the bleach used to whiten paper sacks that ultimately leaches into the rivers near the paper mills.

And we have always recycled our cardboard, even before it was mandated by the city. Today we recycle all of our glass as well. We pay extra for this service, but it feels like the right thing to do. What we learned at 518 helped our sister restaurant in RTP, Mez Contemporary Mexican, to recently become the first LEED certified restaurant in North Carolina!

All these efforts come together to make 518 a more eco-friendly restaurant for you.

Blaine

Summer means local produce

Pick a summer afternoon and you're likely to see Blaine over at the North Carolina Farmer's Market searching for ingredients to make his next weekly special. He gives us the tour in our latest video.

New weekly menu specials

There's plenty of fresh local choices on this week's specials menu.

The Crab...a season inside

This year we were looking for an activity outside of the restaurant to initiate more team building and encourage everyone towards a sense of fellowship. We discussed joining an organized sport through the city of Raleigh with trepidation since six years ago we made an attempt at athletic team building with dodgeball, an activity we determined to be too demanding and strenuous (our 0-10 record spoke volumes). In came the grand idea of softball, a nice, leisurely sport, and interest was high amongst the staff. Soon 518’s official softball team, The Crab, was born.

We looked forward to a great season with the city of Raleigh's softball program. We began on a high note, winning our first game 8-5. Unfortunately The Crab did not experience much more success until two months and ten games later when we finally won again...via forfeit (they did not have enough players).

Many of our games were close, some were not, but through it all, we played our best and worked hard for each other. A tough season yes, but one that brought us all closer together as friends and generated a camaraderie I will not soon forget.


Check out more images of The Crab in action.

skirt! after work

Tomorrow it's our monthly skirt! after work party from 5:30-7:30 at 518. This month's theme is "I'm a feminist because..."

Enjoy $5 skirtinis and toast some of the featured feminists from this month's magazine. Look forward to seeing you here.

Lemon Linguine

Yesterday we talked about sharing recipes. Today you can see how we make Lemon Linguine in the Kitchen at 518.

Recipe Sharing

Here at 518 we often get requests for our recipes. I’m always happy to
oblige. I share those recipes online and in person because there are really
no great culinary secrets here. It's all been done before. Who am I to
horde the thousands of recipes I have collected or conjured up over the
years.

But there will always be some differences, big and small, between the dishes
we serve in the restaurant and the recipes that we share.

First of all, the actual recipes we use in the kitchen are designed to feed
large groups. So unless you’re ready to feed about 220 people, the recipe we
give you will have some adjustments.

Because we get so many requests for our most popular dishes, over the years
I’ve worked to scale them down for the home cook. The recipe for the Whole
Wheat fettuccine is one example. I gave that recipe to the N&O several years
ago and got great feedback, though including the caloric content was not my
idea.

When you create our recipes at home you may also notice some differences
because we are likely using different ingredients like the brand of olive
oil or cheese, different tomatoes, even a different pan, which could change
some characteristics.

Finally, I try to nurture the inner cook in someone trying our recipes by
talking them through the dish and helping them personalize it. For instance
here’s how I shared the “recipe” for our Angel Hair Primavera with a regular
patron that called me recently:

Me - "You'll get started by heating a little olive oil in a pan and slowly
caramelize some garlic.”

Patron – “How much?”

Me – “Well, how much do you like garlic? After the garlic, you toss in some
oven roasted roma tomatoes...you have to have those ready ahead of time.”

Patron – “How do I do those?

Me – “I toss the tomatoes with some olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic.
Roast in the oven until slightly charred around the edges. Then peel the
tomatoes, saving the juices and roughly chop them all together.”

Patron – “How long and at what temperature?”

Me – “Oh, at home, about 375 degrees and 2 glasses of wine. Then you can add
some caramelized onions, again that have been slow cooked ahead of time with
olive oil and rosemary.”

Patron – “How much rosemary?”

Me – “That depends too, how much do you like rosemary? Next start cooking
some pasta and add to the sauté some spinach, feta cheese, and toasted pine
nuts. Toss this with the cooked pasta and grate some fresh cheese on top.”

Patron – “What kind of cheese do you use?”

Me - “Well we use Romano, but you should experiment and decide what you
like. Don't be afraid to add another ingredient here or there if you’ve got
a favorite.

Patron – “Thank you.”

Me – “You’re welcome. I’m glad you called and we’ll see you again soon.”

Of course we have recipes that we use in order to keep things consistent.
That’s one reason why people have been coming back to see us for so many
years. And if you insist, we'll give you exact ingredients and amounts. But
what would be the fun in that? Make it your own...you're the one eating it,
not me.

cheers,
Blaine

This week's specials

The new menu of weekly specials is out here at 518 West.

New Menu Specials

See what's new on the menu this week at 518.

Urban Spoon

Thanks to all our fans who’ve made 518 West the most popular Italian restaurant in the Triangle and #9 overall according to Urban Spoon today.

Jersey Boys specials continue

Jersey Boys has been a hit at the Progress Energy Center. Big crowds and nice reviews so far for the musical about Four Seasons. We're proud to offer a free appetizer or dessert whenever you present two Jersey Boys ticket stubs at 518 West. The offer is good through the end of the show on July 18th.

Making Fresh Pasta

Get a look at how we make our pasta fresh everyday at 518 West.

This week's specials

The latest specials from the kitchen at 518.