Triangle Restaurant Week: Best bets outside the beltline

RALEIGH, N.C. — There are many restaurants participating in Triangle Restaurant Week located outside the 440 loop. These eateries are definitely worth the drive!

Girasole Trattoria brings flavors of Northern Italy to the Triangle with simple, fresh and delicious ingredients. With a wide range of dishes, from pizzas and pastas to salads and grilled meats, this simplified cooking is sure to please. For TRW, Girasole Trattoria is offering a $30 three-course dinner.

The casual setting of Little Hen is perfect for the upscale American cuisine they serve. This week's special menu has several mouth-watering options, including Roasted Local Shiitake Mushrooms, Grilled Beer-Marinated Shrimp Skewers and Honey Semifreddo Meringue. The restaurant uses local ingredients wherever possible, and during TRW, Little Hen is offering a three-course dinner for $30.

This quirky and unique restaurant near Six Forks Road and 540 brings fresh, local and ever-changing dishes to the table. Zest Cafe & Home Art delivers healthy and delicious food in an artistic setting, such as the Baked Polenta with Goat Cheese, Coffee Braised Pork Belly and Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake available this week. You can dine at Zest for just $20 during TRW.

Now known for its victory in the Final Fire dining competition, Weathervane has a reputation for great contemporary Southern cuisine. Weathervane's menu for TRW was created during the competition series, so you can try some of the dishes that propelled them to victory, including Bourbon-Spiked Sweet Potato Bisque, Korean BBQ'd Pork Shoulder and Pork Fat Funnel Cake. Dinner during TRW at Weathervane is $30.

Watts Grocery is another restaurant where locally available ingredients shape the menu. The restaurant is a favorite in the area for its modern take on North Carolina cuisine, and was named one of our Five Fave places for brunch. During TRW you can grab dinner at Watts Grocery for $30, and we recommend the Hushpuppies with Basil Mayonnaise, Pan-Seared North Carolina Speckled Trout and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie.

There are many choices for Triangle Restaurant Week – 80 restaurants are participating, so we couldn't include many of them on this list. Are you headed outside the beltline for a special TRW dinner? What are your favorite places to eat outside the confines of 440?