I had a puzzling phone conversation with a reader today. He and his wife had done some drive-bys to see the exact locations of some well-regarded Raleigh restaurants. What he saw surprised him and during our conversation I was struck by how worlds apart I was from this man in terms of our evaluation of restaurants.

He specifically mentioned Poole's and Bida Manda. Where I see the charm in Poole's modern update of this former diner, he saw a "dump" and wondered why a James Beard finalist didn't pick a better restaurant location. Where I see the sleek Asian design of Bida Manda, he again failed to see any beauty.

As we were talking, he mentioned Bruno, a steakhouse near Wake Forest, as a restaurant aesthetic that he liked. He called it "charming." I've never eaten at Bruno so I don't know what it looks like. But Greg Cox gave it four stars so I know it is a worthy dining destination. (Go HERE to read Greg's review.)

I urged the gentleman to look beyond whether he likes the look of the place and taste the food. But I'm still scratching my head about this phone call.

Is this a generational divide among diners? He seemed older than my 38 years, maybe close to 60. Is it based on a person's prior dining experience? He said he and his wife moved here from Boston. Are big city restaurants really that much different than what's here in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill? Or maybe some folks have very different ideas about what a restaurant experience should be? I'm as happy to eat off a food truck as dine at Lantern in Chapel Hill. Maybe others don't see dining that way. How can two people be so far apart on the beauty of a place?

What do you think?

Our food writer Andrea Weigl has got a great story in the Life section today melding healthy eating with frugal living.

Her story, which you can read HERE, gives you tips and recipes for cooking with dried beans.

Full of protein and incredibly cheap, dried beans will help you trim your budget and your waistline.

Remember that Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake shaped like a turkey that my colleague Andrea Weigl gave away on the Mouthful blog last month?

Well, she's at it again, but this time she's giving away a $31 Baskin-Robbins gift card to purchase an ice cream cake shaped like a snowman, an elf, or Santa.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on Andrea's post on the Mouthful blog HERE. You have until noon Friday to enter.

Good luck, everyone.

N&O food writer Andrea Weigl is giving away a coffee prize pack on the Mouthful blog.

Included in the prize pack are a pour-over brewer, a box of coffee filters and a bag of Counter Culture Coffee's holiday blend.

Head over HERE to Andrea's blog to enter.

Good luck.

If you make the same old cookies for Christmas every year, N&O food writer Andrea Weigl has got some recipe inspiration for you today -- provided with the help of N&O readers.

Head over HERE to see the six winning recipes in our inaugural holiday cookie contest.

The grand prize winner is a New Zealand Holly Cookie, a spiced sugar cookie sandwiched together with raspberry jam.

Other winners include: Sweet Carolina Biscotti, Andes Mint Cookie, Cream Wafers, World Peace Cookies and Buckeyes.

I don't know about you, but I've got a kitchen date with my daughter this weekend to try my hand at some of these.

Roast a chicken for supper and then turn the leftovers into two additional meals.

That's what our food writer Andrea Weigl is writing about in today's Living section.

It's a time saver, Weigl points out.

And a money saver!

Talk about stretching your grocery budget.

Check out her story HERE, which also includes some clever recipes for those "leftover" meals.

Do you have any favorite chicken leftover recipes from your kitchen? Please share them in the comments section below.

A big heads up to all my readers who love giveaways.

My colleague Andrea Weigl, who writes about food for The N&O, is giving away all kinds of things on her blog, Mouthful.

She's got a gift card, free product coupons and lots of cookbooks to mail out to readers. All it will cost you is a comment on her blog. Enter one of the giveaways or all of them.

If you'd like to win a $5 Baskin Robbins gift card or a free product coupon for Smart Balance milk for kids, click HERE.

If you're interested in winning a Cake Boss cookbook, click HERE. Instead of baking, Buddy is cooking in this book.

To win an Emeril cookbook on sandwiches, click HERE.

To win "Hubert Keller's Souvenirs: Stories & Recipes From My Life," click HERE.

And if you'd like to win a "Fire in My Belly: Real Cooking," by former Top Chef contestant Kevin Gillespie, click HERE.

Good luck!

My colleage Andrea Weigl, our talented food writer and Mouthful blogger, has got stacks upon stacks of new cookbooks and she's giving them away.

Lucky you, she's offering them up to readers.

Head over HERE to her Mouthful blog and enter to win the first of several books she's offering this week.

And be sure to return each day this week for more cookbook giveaways.

If you got a chance to read my column today, you know it offers readers' advice on what every beginner cook should know. I promised to share a few recipes. 

The one I really want to share with you is my go-to roast chicken recipe: Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken with Croutons. This is from her "Barefoot Contessa in Paris" cookbook. While indulgent, the croutons make this dish so don't skip them. 

Go HERE to see that recipe. 

Here's Emeril's simple balsamic vinaigrette recipe. 

And here is a recipe I found on a blog for a cheater omelet. 

And I'll like use Mark Bittman's money-saving marinara sauce HERE.