Over the Falls Restaurant Review

Yesterday, I decided to spend the day in downtown Wake Forest with my grandparents. After spending a few hours shopping and walking around we decided to try out a nearby restaurant, Over the Falls.

 

First off, the place is absolutely adorable. It’s decorated rustic and provides a very homey feeling as soon as you walk in. The hostess was friendly and we were sat almost immediately, and even our 5 minute wait was just because we requested a booth.

 

We sat and our waitress was friendly and welcoming. We put in our drink orders which came out within a few minutes. After looking at the menu, I decided on getting the plunge, a roast beef sandwich with pesto, cheese and tomatoes.

 

We were all very impressed with how soon our food came out, and even more impressed with how good it tasted. It was me, my pregnant sister, and my grandparents, and all of us loved what we ordered. My sister has become EXTREMELY picky about tastes and smells since she has become pregnant, so for her to be so pleased what a great victory in our house.

 

Overall, the service was fantastic, the restaurant was quaint, and the food was delicious. I think my only complaint of the entire experience was getting roast beef stuck in my teeth. We definitely will be dining here again soon.

Friday Night on White Schedule

One of my all time favorite things about this town is downtown Wake Forest. The cute shops, great restaurants, and quaint coffee shops, what’s not to love? So when I found out about this FREE event, I was beyond excited. Being a few weeks into the summer already, we only have four nights left of being able to go to Wake Forest’s most fun event, Friday Night on White! There’s food, drinks, music, and fun for the whole family. My advice? Bring a blanket, some lawn chairs, your friends and family, and a little beer money. Now let’s look at the schedule;

The bands left are:

June 9th- Bull City Syndicate

July 14th- Big Love

August 11th- Love Tribe

And finally, September 8th- Crush

PDQ Review

For those that have not had PDQ, it is quite the experience. Some would argue that it is a mix between Chick-Fil-A, Zaxby’s and Bojangles. If you are a fan of fried chicken that has a little bit of a different flavor, PDQ is the place for you.

This PDQ is located in the same area as Carolina Ale House and the new Panera Bread. Parking is not an issue as their parking lot is solely for PDQ customers. During the first few months it was open, there was often a line at PDQ but that is no longer the case. Unlike Chick-Fil-A across the street which seems to always be busy, PDQ seems to be much easier to get in and get out.

The one knock on PDQ is their french fries. If you enjoy french fries with your chicken sandwich or chicken tenders, PDQ is not the most ideal place. Their fries are shoestring fries and are often very small. You have to get four or five of them to equal what would be one waffle fry from Chick-Fil-A.

If you are seeking a fried chicken sandwich that has a different taste and is also covered with a unique sauce, PDQ is an excellent choice. This is something in which Chick-Fil-A and Bojangles cannot compete. When ordering a chicken sandwich at Bojangles or Chick-Fil-A you cannot ask them to put sauces on it for you. You can ask for sauces and then put it one yourself but it is not nearly the same as what they do at PDQ.

Overall, PDQ is a great alternative when it comes to fried chicken. We would not eat it over Chick-Fil-A but it is comparable to Bojangles and Zaxbys.

Panera Bread Near US 1 Review

In early 2017, we believe March or April, the Panera Bread behind Carolina Ale House finally opened. As with many of the brand new Panera Bread locations, the greatest feature is the order by kiosk in which you don’t even had to talk to a cashier. We first started to notice these types of Panera Bread kiosks in the Washington, DC area and now they are throughout the entire Triangle. In fact, it is hard to go into a Panera Bread in Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill without seeing the self serve order kiosks.

If you have been to Panera Bread you know what this one offers when it comes to food. The one complaint we have is there aren’t more than one or two large tables. If you have three or four people that are using their laptop, there isn’t a lot of room in this particular Panera location. You can go outside to do this, but it is much more enjoyable to do so inside.

We also noticed that the Internet wifi speed is not where it needs to be. In fact, this is a complaint we have with many Panera Bread locations – the wifi is way too slow. As someone that goes to Panera for business and using my laptop, this is very frustrating. We would spent many more hours in Panera is the wifi was up to speed. We would also spend a lot more money.

We have not used this Panera for takeout but noticed it is available. There are also more and more Panera customers that are ordering food for delivery. This is something we will have to try with the Panera Wake Forest, NC location near US 1.

Hasentree Country Club Golf Course Review

Understand that this is one of many reviews we will do for the Hasentree Country Club. We will do a review for the restaurant and dining options, for the pool and for the overall experience when it comes to living in Hasentree. This review will focus solely on the golf course and the experience one would have while golfing at Hasentree.

Hasentree golf course is a par 71 Tom Fazio design that is one of the best layouts in all of North Carolina. If you are a fan of Tom Fazio golf courses, you will love Hasentree. At the present time, Hasentree has bermudagrass fairways and rough with bentgrass greens. There is zoysiagrass around the bunkers and some hybrid zoysiagrass in the rough on specific holes.

On June 20th, 2017, the Hasentree golf course will convert from bentgrass greens to championship bermuda greens. The course will be open, but in essence, it will be unplayable until Labor Day weekend 2017.

Hasentree is one of the best golf courses I have played with the current bentgrass greens. If you are looking for a true putting experience, there is none better than Hasentree when the greens are in good shape. Unfortunately, Hasentree has lost a handful of greens over the last few summers therefore Toll Brothers, the owner of the course, has decided to convert to championship bermuda which is a much more durable type of grass for greens.

The one complaint many golfers have when it comes to Hasentree is the length of the course. While the 3 tees show only 6300 yards on the scorecard they play much longer with a number of uphill tee shots and uphill second shots. The first hole plays like a par five with many average distance hitters having a long iron or a wood into the green for their second shot of the day. The final hole of the day also plays like a par 5 unless you can carry the ball over 275 yards in the air.

If you are up for the challenge of the distance, there is no better course in terms of design and layout. There are many, many bunkers on the course. If you are not a great sand player, you could really rack up a score by landing in fairway or greenside bunkers. Clean up your sand play before going out to Hasentree Country Club in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Over the last year, the maintenance staff has decided to cut down the rough to make it more playable. Years ago, it was nearly impossible to find your ball in the bermuda rough. In fact, many balls would roll off the fairway and would be lost. If you could find the ball, you had to punch it out and accept a one shot penalty. This is no longer the case as the rough is at a moderate length and the ball will often sit up on the bermuda.

When it comes to the greens, there are none better. If you are one that loves putting the golf ball, there is no better course in North Carolina than Hasentree. Some PGA Tour professionals have stated that Hasentree is almost as good as Augusta National. That is what makes it so hard to see the bentgrass greens converted to championship bermuda. But, what can you do?

If you are ever in Wake Forest, North Carolina and you want a true Country Club golf experience, do your best to get on at Hasentree. The golf course is a very special Tom Fazio design and you can be rest assured that you are going to find grass under your ball if you hit it anywhere near straight.