My lunchtime adventure in downtown Raleigh

Oh how I wish I worked in downtown Raleigh. Weekdays (and first Fridays) are the only time you can consistently count on seeing people out and about downtown. It makes for fun people watching.

I was catching up on my blog reading this morning and (in true North Carolina blogger style) someone had posted a picture of some BBQ. This of course made me hungry, so I send a direct message on Twitter to one of my friends to see if he would be down with meeting me at Cooper’s for some cheap, mouth-watering, vinegar-soaked BBQ. He agreed and two hours later, I was steering down Fayetteville Street looking for a parking spot.

As we walked down Fayetteville Street, we spotted a guy holding a sign outside the courthouse saying: “Reality: Heaven or Hell It’s your choice.” I took a picture of it and promptly e-mailed it to the Raleigh Connoisseur with no explanation. I’m all about freedom of speech and the right to assembly, so rock on guy with the strange sign.

Then I needed to swing by the Bank of America ATM in City Plaza because Cooper’s is a cash only type of place.

As we approached the square, we saw herds of local media and lots of white men in suits. This can only mean one thing: It’s time for either another ground breaking or ribbon cutting. Turns out it was the ground breaking for the city’s $14.8 million project to transform the empty City Plaza into a more friendly venue for concerts, parades and markets.

Here’s more on the project from the N&O.

City Manager Russell Allen said all but $1 million of the project has been funded. He said the project is not in danger of being delayed by the wider financial crisis.Construction is expected to be completed by next October.

When it opens to the public, the plaza will include 45-foot-tall light towers, a motion-sensitive water fountain and four retail pavilions. Power lines, phone lines and water pipes will run under the plaza floor so merchants can set up shop temporarily.

Then it was time for the BBQ. I ordered the BBQ plate, which included the sweetest hush puppies a gal could ever want. I also had the Brunswick Stew (which I burned my tongue on, my bad) and potato salad. Total price with tax? Six dollars. Yes, $6.

So much more fun than eating lunch in north Raleigh.