Tapased Out

Posted on October 16, 2016 by culina23_wp

Spain

For Spain I wanted to go to a Spanish restaurant for tapas. There are a number of tapas places in the area but Miro Spanish Grille in Ballantyne, NC has Spanish in the name so it was a no brainer. Tapas is more enjoyable with company and not just because you can order more dishes to share (that is a huge bonus though). In this case it was a great opportunity to catch up with a former colleague, friend (current not former) and fellow food lover. Thanks Jody for joining me.

Miro is in a little shopping square and would be easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. I don’t know if they do all the time but this evening they had tables outside with a few patrons enjoying the fall weather and outdoor dining. It is not a large place but the tables and booths are roomy and the booths were comfortable with high backs that muffled the sound and made conversation easier. They take reservations so I felt compelled to wear my good jeans and something other than a t-shirt and that turned out to be a good choice. It’s not fancy but it’s definitely a few steps up from Chiles.

The waiter, Jay, was quite helpful and tried to entice us with 2 seafood specials and a rack of lamb special but I had a plan and didn’t want to be swayed. He almost had me with the halibut special that came with a chorizo stew but I remained resolute to the tapas.

We started with 4 dishes, 3 of which are pictured below. The 4th came a bit later and I was otherwise occupied and forgot to snap a shot. Pictured are empanadas, gambas al ajillo and patatas bravas. The slow dish was pinchitos morunos.

The empandas were nice and crispy outside and the filling was beef and vegetables nicely seasoned and pretty mild. Gambas al ajillo is garlic shrimp cooked in that clay dish and you might notice it was still sizzling when it arrived. It was cooked with olive oil, garlic and had some peppers but it wasn’t spicy at all. The shrimp were cooked perfectly to be tender and delicious. The potatoes had what was described as a slightly spicy aioli. They did have a nice taste but I wouldn’t call it spicy at all. They were cooked soft but not mushy and very thoroughly coated with the aioli sauce. Pinchitos morunos was grilled pork skewers with a chimichurri sauce. They were tender and the sauce was understated. I washed mine down with a Railhouse K-bar Brown beer that was pretty good and was a little bitter and a little sweet so it paired well with all the dishes. We had one more plate that also didn’t get photographed because I was too busy talking. It was the queso del dia, which was thick slices of tetlilla and manchego cheeses and a small variety of olives. This was where we tapped out since we didn’t finish all the cheese and when Jay came back around asking if we wanted dessert there was no hesitation in passing it up. Now if we had seen him pass by with that tray of dessert samples before (wow they looked great) the cheese likely never would have made it out of the kitchen.

Overall I’d definitely recommend Miro Spanish Grille to anyone as the staff is very friendly, he atmosphere was comfortable and the food was great quality.

If you’re interested the Tell Me More page has a gambas al ajillo recipe and more little tidbits.

Better Luck This Time

Posted on August 20, 2016 by culina23_wp

Ireland

Image result for irish passport stamp

This week I decided to take another stab at an Irish pub since I struck out the last time I tried. This time there must have been a leprechaun riding shotgun because my luck was great when I hit McHales Irish Pub in downtown Rock Hill. Not only did I get a space on the street almost in front of the place it wasn’t very busy either.

McHales has that pub feel, kind of dim with heavy wood furnishings stained dark and a couple of regulars sitting at the bar chatting with staff. As I said, I pretty much had the place to myself aside from the guys holding down the bar so the waitress was able to be attentive. She was attentive and friendly without being annoying.

Of course since I was in an Irish pub I had to get my standard pint of Guinness while I checked out the menu.

The menu was loaded with bar food but there were some more “Irish” dishes on the menu and I opted for a small bowl of potato soup and the corned beef and cabbage.

The potato soup was very good. It was creamy with diced skin on potatoes that were firm and not cooked to death. The cheddar and bacon were great garnishes. A little black pepper and it was about as good as you could ask for.

The shredded corned beef and cabbage came with some potato cakes and it looked quite good. My first taste was of the cabbage and it was disappointingly bland. Oh, wait just a second. Grabbing a fork full of the corned beef, “There it is!” A big old dose of salt. Either of these two by themselves would actually be off putting, however if you balanced each forkful with a bit of cabbage and a bit of the corned beef you had a winner. The potato cakes had a hint of cheese and were good but needed just a bit of onion to be great.

Overall I enjoyed the meal and the staff was very pleasant and attentive. It was heavy though and I’m going to have to go for a long walk to burn it off. Right after my nap.

Don’t forget to checkout the Tell Me More page for a recipe, some music and goods with an Irish theme.

It’s all Greek to me

Posted on August 7, 2016 by culina23_wp

Greece

This week’s culinary passport trip was to Greece as represented by Akropolis Kafe in Ballantyne. It’s a small place in a little square with several other restaurants and bars. You order at the counter and they bring it to you so it’s not a fancy joint. On the day I went they were having the opposite problem their mother country was in that they were lacking employees rather than jobs. They had a big help wanted sign on the door. When I walked in there was just one man in the place and he looked harried. He took my order while mentioning he didn’t know where his help disappeared to. As he was ringing me up she showed up and finished the transaction while he went to the kitchen to get things started on my meal.

The décor didn’t scream Greece but there were a couple of paintings on the wall intended to evoke that Greekish feel.

I ordered the Gyro & Shishkabob plate which came with a salad and fries. The baklava was sitting there taunting me so I had to get a piece to eat for vengeance. I had a choice between the pork or chicken and got the pork which came out nice as you can see below.

The shishkabob was tender and had been thoroughly marinated so the flavor was in every bite. The gyro meat was ok and once you threw it in the pita with some tzatziki sauce you had something going. I don’t really know why fries are included except as a filler and I didn’t bother to eat a one. So now I’m going to say something that I can barely believe I’m putting to words but I was most disappointed in the salad. It wasn’t bad but the lone olive, tomato slice and cucumber slice made it feel like some kind of weird orphan vegetable salad. There was enough tzatziki to dress the salad so didn’t even try the provided dressing. The baklava was quite good and very cinnamony. I will say my sister & brother-in-law team up to make one that’s better but I could be biased.

Overall the place wasn’t bad. In spite of any employee issue the staff present was very friendly and the food was solid if not exceptional. I’d go back if I was in the area but wouldn’t make a special trip.

You can check out their web site by clicking their name above and don’t forget to check out Tell Me More for a tzatziki recipe, music and more.

Visiting the Balkans

Posted on May 28, 2016 by culina23_wp

Serbia

That’s right it says Serbia. I was as shocked as some of you probably are to find out we had a restaurant in the area that had Serbian dishes. Honestly I didn’t even know what those might be but it turns out the one I tried was good.

So the place du jour was the Intermezzo Pizzeria & Café. It’s on 10th St. in Charlotte and pretty easy to get to. It wasn’t very busy when I arrived and I was seated immediately. They probably have more seats outside than in and since it wasn’t too hot I opted to sit outside. The waiter was very nice and we discussed beer to start and I went with a La Fin du Monde from Canada. He also brought me a sample of the Blanche de Bruxelles which he thought would be refreshing on the warm sunny day. He was correct.

The outside view was traffic heavy but there were a couple of interesting looking businesses to liven up the scenery. The coffee place and tattoo parlor were pretty easy to get a bead on but I’m not sure what the White Rabbit is aside from colorful.

I had it narrowed down to two items on the menu and I appreciated the candor from the waiter with his thoughts on the two options. He mentioned that one was pretty plain and not that flavorful. So I went with the Karadjordjeva and skillet potatoes.

If you are like me and had no clue what a Karadjordjeva was until now let me enlighten you on this version. It is a pork cutlet pounded like schnitzel with ham and kajmak cheese rolled up inside, breaded with site made bread crumbs, pan seared and finished with dill tartar sauce. “Tartar sauce on my pork, that’s crazy” you say? So did I but figured what the heck and that was a gamble that paid off. As you can see from the dissection photo there was plenty of ham and cheese rolled up in this thing and with that squeeze of lemon plus the dill tartar sauce the whole thing was very tasty. I don’t want to give short shrift to the skillet potatoes. They would have gone great with any meal. Cooked with a little onion and fried enough to have some light crunch in spots, tender throughout and salted just right so it was a good accompaniment but not competition for the main dish.

Overall I really liked it but for me I think it would be better as an evening meal rather than lunch on a warm spring day. I will say the pizza smelled good so if I’m back in this neighborhood I think I’ll have to give one of those a try. My streak of good places to dine continues and if you are interested their web link is below and if you want an interesting fact on Serbia check out Tell Me More.

Intermezzo Pizzeria

Vive le Cafe

Posted on April 2, 2016 by culina23_wp

France

This week was a bit of a late lunch, early dinner situation so it seemed like a jaunt to the café would be just the thing. That being the case France seemed the way to go and Amelie’s French Bakery & Café the place to be. We have one in Rock Hill that I have been to several times for breakfast and it is fantastic but this time I thought I’d visit the flagship location in NoDa. For those who “ain’t from ’round here” NoDa is an area of Charlotte in and around North Davidson street. Kind of cool, a little artsy.

Anyway, back to Amelie’s. It’s in what looks like an old industrial building converted to a boutique strip mall and anchors one end. It’s a good sized place with some outdoor seating I was hoping to take advantage of on such a beautiful day. Alas mine was not an original idea and the tables were full of people enjoying a beverage and / or snack. When you step inside you are greeted by a hodge podge of decorations that look like someone took one piece of something from every café ever and collected it in this spot. The walls are striped light blue and lighter blue and there are both faux chalkboards with permanent menu items and real chalkboards with “du jour” items scrawled on them. Depending on the line the next thing you notice is the pastry case as pictured below from my point in line. You place your order and if it is not something from the case they bring it to your table. I decided to try their seasonal bouchée as an appetizer, and a half sandwich and side.

For the bouchée, which is the pastry shell below with a savory filling, I went with the bacon asparagus. The sandwich I opted for was the croque monsieur with a fruit salad side. The soups were not to my liking and they were out of the red potatoes with haricourts vert (green beans). It all looked good and tasted good.

That bouchée was flakiest thing since (I was going to insert a blonde joke but that just doesn’t seem cool) the baklava I had a while back. The bacon and asparagus were lightly applied and added good flavor without being overwhelming. The croque monsier for those who have never had one is basically a fancy ham and cheese sandwich but in a good way not a pinky extended way. This one was made on a croissant with a Dijon mustard spread, ham and cheese and a slice of gruyere toasted on top. Very tasty. The fruit salad was essentially a selection of fruit chunks with a dressing of what I believe was yogurt and poppy seeds. The tang nicely offset the sweet from the fruit. I don’t know what the calorie count was but it wasn’t a very heavy meal and it was quite delicious. I think it would have tasted better if I had been enjoying it at an outdoor table but c’est la vie.

I did manage to console myself by stopping by the pastry case and picking up this little item for a snack later.

Overall Amelie’s was great and that goes for both locations I’ve visited. The pastries were flaky, the coffee smelled good and the place has a relaxed atmosphere and eclectic décor that make it a nice, if potentially fattening, place to spend some time.

Here’s a link to their website and do forget to check out Tell Me More for some good café music and other assorted bonus content on France.

Amelie’s French Bakery

A little foreshadowing, next week is China and dim sum.

Pub Time

Posted on February 21, 2016 by culina23_wp

England

Kept it close to home this weekend and got the England stamp at the Six Pence Pub in Baxter Village. I have been to Six Pence before and enjoyed each trip. It has pub food but also a lot of other things so if you have folks who might have heard British food is not the best in the world they’ll be ok.

They start laying the English pub mood with the red phone box out front and then when you go in it has dark wood and heavy furniture aplenty to continue the motif and of course a nice bar area.

I thought about going with the fish and chips as the typical English meal but instead went for the Shepherd’s Pie and the accompanying salad with a Strongbow Cider to wash it down. This turned out to be a great combination. The salad was a nice start and gave the feeling of healthiness to the meal. The shepherd’s pie had a ground beef filling (I know that technically makes it a cottage pie) with peas & carrots and some nice herbs and spices. There was a layer of mashed potatoes and then a scoop smothered in cheddar cheese. The potatoes were skin on mashed which personally I like and these were made with red potatoes which I also have a fondness for.

The really pleasant surprise was the Strongbow Cider and how well it paired with the pie. The cider was crisp, dry and enjoyable by itself but it stepped up a notch once I started eating the pie. The first sip after a bite had an aftertaste of fresh apples like you had just bitten into one. I immediately had to take another sip to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. Same result. Once the pie was finished and I was drinking the cider by itself the fresh apple after taste faded so it was the combo that complimented one another so well.

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Overall I’d have to say this was quite a good meal and an excellent surprise pairing. The portions were sufficient and didn’t make me feel like I was waddling out of there after what could have been a heavy comfort food lunch. I did forgo the Scotch egg appetizer they have which is one of my favorites since I was eating solo but if you visit give it a try.

Don’t forget to check out the Tell Me More page for an extra little bit of England.

North to Germany

Posted on February 2, 2016 by culina23_wp

Germany

This week we moved from Africa to Europe and I chose Germany as the target country and Waldhorn Restaurant as the establishment. This was a bit of a cheat as I have been here several times before but didn’t find any place else that really seemed to typify German cuisine.

Waldhorn is a large white building with foliage around the perimeter of the property to lend it some separation from the other businesses and the nearby James K Polk museum. This particular Saturday they weren’t very busy but there was a meeting of some kind of Mercedes owners club so my Hyundai and a little Nissan were the only non-Mercedes in the parking lot that I could see. I felt like I should have stopped at the car wash first just so my car would have at least been shiny. Enough about that.

My impression of the interior of the restaurant is that it has 3 areas with different feels. There is one section where they have windows on three sides and during the day it has a bright, airy feel to it. The main part of the restaurant seems darker and heavier but in a good comfortable way. Finally there is an upstairs area good for groups but not private as it is open to the rest of the restaurant. It does get you up out of the traffic pattern though.

The staff was friendly and attentive and Paul and his trainee Ashley took good care of me while I was there.

Although Waldhorn was not new to me and I had tried their Jaegerschnitzel and my go to is usually the Schwaebische wurstplatte I had never tried the Wienerschnitzel so that was the choice for the day. It came with spaetzle and red cabbage. To accompany the meal I decided to go with a beer sampler to maximize the variety and still be able to drive home. I tried the Spaten Premium Lager, Warsteiner Pilsner, Warsteiner Dunkel and the Spaten Oktoberfest.

The wienerschnitzel was thin and tender and cooked a perfect golden brown all the way around. The spaetzle by itself could have used some more salt but along with a bite of the meat it worked. The cabbage was a little sweet but complimented the rest of the meal. Being a good southern boy I could have used a ladle full of that gravy but there was enough to enhance the schnitzel and spaetzle without drowning either.

Oh and the beer. All four were decent but the Oktoberfest was far and away my favorite of the lot. Neither the pilsner or the lager really stood out. The dunkel was bitter, in a good way. That Oktoberfest though was nothing but smooth.

As I was eating I could overhear Paul schooling young Ashley on the finer points of being on staff and he described to her his favorite menu item and you could tell it was not just what he considered the most edible thing on the menu but that he truly liked this particular dish a lot. That says something when your wait staff is enthusiastic about the food when they don’t have to be.

If you’re in the market for German and in the Charlotte area you won’t do better than Waldhorn.

Here’s a link to their website

http://www.waldhorn.us/

Next week I’m heading east to Asia.

Tell Me More!

Culinary-Passport

Experiencing foods of the world locally

Category Archives: Europe