Marmalade Skies Frozen Yogurt

When I used to think about frozen yogurt, my mind immediately went to images of TCBY or Seinfeld, "it's non-fat!" That was until I went to visit my friend Casey at Yale. Walking the streets of New Haven, my friend informed me and Sara of a restaurant that not only serves yogurt but allows you to control the amount and toppings. We were enthralled with the idea and gleefully slam down the yogurt dispenser's lever. Piling on the toppings I jokingly said to Casey, "Mine is going to be like 6 dollars," thinking it would be a ridiculous amount of yogurt. The cup ended up to be $6.75.

When we returned to Raleigh I searched the interwebs to find a place that replicated the concept, thus leading me to Marmalade Skies. Tucked away in a little nook off of Walnut St., once you open the doors you are welcomed with a soundtrack of acoustic, alternative, and 90's rock. Nostalgic for me, confusing for Sara who never listened/heard of Pearl Jam or Dave Matthews Band's Under the Table and Dreaming. The workers wear tie-dye and the walls are full of bright colors.

You start at the back of the space with the cups and yogurt dispensers. Marmalade Skies has 8 flavors daily. Besides the main stays of tart, vanilla, and chocolate, the others are rotating featuring flavors such as cookies & cream, cake batter, red velvet cake. I typically enjoy going with vanilla as the canvas for my concoction.

Fruit, wet, and candy toppings

Dry toppings

I've learned after multiple trips to Marmalade Skies that one shouldn't overload on the yogurt. While the yogurt is tasty, the real star of the show is the toppings. This particular trip, me and Sara split a cup, so I allowed the Mrs. to decide the toppings.

Final product

The final product was cake batter yogurt, topped with pound cake, Reese's cups, sprinkles and Sour Patch Kids... but I eat those separately.

the result

....."See, how could this not have any fat? It's too good!"

Marmalade Skies Frozen Yogurt
280 Meeting St. Cary, NC 27518

(919) 859-7373
http://marmaladeskiesfy.com/

Ruben's Downtown - CLOSED

When I started to hang around downtown Raleigh, Biscuit Station was already closed. As I drove by its location and looked up at its dilapidated sign, I'd imagine the wonderful biscuits it produced. The location laid dormant for a couple of years. I kept wondering, with downtown Raleigh's blossoming food scene, why someone has yet to reopen a restaurant in what I felt like was prime real estate.

Ruben's Downtown answered the call. When I saw the announcement that Ruben's would be inhabitating the old space I roamed the Internet in hopes of finding more information about the concept of the restaurant, but alas I found nothing. Months passed and I wonder if the place would be opened at all. Suddenly hand painted labels started to fill the front glass. A new sign replaced the deteriorating Biscuit Station sign. At first, I was underwhelmed by the outside appearance. Passing by it just seemed amateur. But after the tornado devastated our typical dog park, we were force to take Norton to Oakwood park, thus causing us to pass by the location everyday. With each pass, I found the bright orange hand painted signs more endearing.

Grits Casserole

Entering into the space I was greeted with friendly faces from owners and customers alike. There was a hand painted mural in the back and a hand painted table, all which added to the uniqueness of the experience. Researching the restaurant once they finally created a Facebook page, I saw an enticing photo of grits casserole.

I like to remind everyone that I am not a native Southerner. I didn't grow up on grits and I can't tell you how they are "supposed" to taste like. Honestly, I just started to like grits and it's mostly because I found out you can throw things like shrimp or Gouda in them. With that said I enjoyed the grits in the grits casserole. They had a nice texture. The casserole was advertised to have 3 different sausages, and after eating it I was able to detect kielbasa and breakfast sausage. I imagine the third was turkey, but I of course could be wrong. The sausage made up most of the flavor of the dish and was very hearty. The cheddar made a nice crust on top but I wish it was more stringy throughout the dish. Egg was there for extra flavor and filler. Overall a nice bowl of food, especially for 2.99.

I enjoyed Ruben's, and I hope in the future I am not passing by at a dilapidated sign and left to imagine the food they used to produce.

Ruben's Downtown

(919) 354-1470

100 N Person Street
Raleigh, NC 27601

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rubens-Downtown/216842531666163?sk=info