Feel the Bahama Breeze in Raleigh!

A few days ago, I visited my brother and his wife in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Dinner time arrived, and we discussed going out to get a bite to eat. The all-important question: where? Brother Brice mentioned a few possibilities, but his strongest suggestion seemed to be a place called Bahama Breeze, a restaurant he vaguely recalled having eaten at once before some time ago.

We enjoyed very good meals there, but beyond the food quality (and quantities), Bahama Breeze's atmosphere itself is special. A particular part of the restuarant really grabbed us, and after we finished our dining experience, we all remarked on what a treat it was to enjoy the indoor "outdoor" seating. It was raining when we arrived, and I dropped my brother and his wife off at the door before rolling around to the other side of the restaurant to park. Had I not driven to the other side of the restaurant, my dad and I might have missed noticing the open-windowed patio seating. Brice and Lynette were already inside and had put us down for a table, receiving one of those devices to alert us when a table became available. My dad and I asked if they would be interested in the semi-outdoor seating we had noticed, and they found the suggestion agreeable. When we indicated our preference to the hostesses, we were told that we didn't even have to wait; if tables were available there, all we had to do is go sit at one, which is what we did. I'm assuming the food would have tasted just as good had we chosen to eat at one of the traditional "inside" tables, but I can't imagine that we would have enjoyed the atmosphere as much (and that's not saying anything negative about what we observed on the inside; I'm just emphasizing how cool our surroundings were "outside").

Apparently, Raleigh is the lone North Carolina city to have a Bahama Breeze, and the only other bordering state to have one is Georgia. (Georgia and Florida seem to be the most popular locations for this chain.) From the website, I did notice that at least one Bahama Breeze appears to be on the water, and that's perhaps the only missing ingredient for the Raleigh restaurant. The website offers a virtual tour, but I'm not sure that it really captures the quality of the experience we had. (I haven't even mentioned the service, something that always matters when dining out, but that too was on a superior level; we had a great waiter!)

So if you're in the Raleigh area, I recommend Bahama Breeze for your consideration. More specifically, I recommend trying the virtual "outdoors" dining the patio area provides.

From the website: "Bahama Breeze brings you the feeling of a Caribbean escape, featuring Caribbean-inspired seafood, chicken, and steak, handcrafted tropical drinks, and a vibrant island atmopshere." From my perspective: Bahama Breeze achieves exactly what it sets out to accomplish.

CORRECTION: I indicated that Bahama Breeze is only located in one of North Carolina's bordering states; I just realized that, in addition to having three stores in Georgia, there's one in Memphis, Tennessee also.