Croquette is Paris in Raleigh

For my daughter's graduation present we took her to Paris. It was reward for taking four years of French. She knew the language and many of the customs (like shopping at Printemps and requesting the check). Good thing too, or we would still be waiting on the dinner check.

If you would like to visit Paris in Raleigh I suggest you try Croquette Brasserie in North Hills. This place opened with two strikes against it, first it replaced South, one of my very enjoyable restaurants, second it is French. Many times I find French dish flavors are just too mild. Not exciting. But Croquette is casual and eloquent all at the same time. And some of the dishes are very good.

We have been a number of times and the mussels in chorizo sauce ($13) with frites are a winner. They are plentiful and fresh. The scallops ($9 for three) are super also, sauteed to a nice brown and just so. The wine is a bit pricey, but whose isn't these days. It is a French wine list, so brush up on your French wines and I have yet to find or be able to afford a big bold red on the list. They also have some carafe deals on the wine by the glass if you are not too picky about your wine and the beer ($4) comes in way cool glasses. Our friend was disappointed in the trout--too bland. But other dishes have been very good and flavorful, but don't ask us to remember them. We had too much wine.

The ambiance and the scene are very cool. If you don't think y0u are in Paris, I am sure you will think you are in Midtown Atlanta. And when the weather gets warmer, they open up the doors on the side to give a open air feel to the restaurant.

So make reservations if you want to eat in the dinning room, but you can always just hit and run at a bar table. It is a short drive from Apex, especially comparied to Paris, so the next time my daughter wants to go out to eat, I am taking her here.