The Hungry Wanderers

We've Moved

2009-06-01T07:32:00.002-04:00

Hey all! We've moved! Check us out now at Wordpress - http://hungrywanderers.wordpress.com We're still getting the hang of it over there, but expect we'll be using that for the long haul...

Hope to see you soon!

The Wife

2009-05-30T15:06:00.001-04:00

Hi! The wife here... I'm finally getting into this blog thing and am trying to learn my way around. Once I do, you'll see many more posts to include our many travels over the last few years.

See you soon!

Mac's again.

2009-04-19T20:23:00.000-04:00

My wife's family and I went to Mac's again today.

I'll just give an update, as I have already written 4 other blogs today, and quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of writing!

The service was far better than the last time we were here.

I had the BLT, which was awesome. It was two layers of lettuce and bacon, and four layers of tomato, served on Texas toast. We also had the obligatory hushpuppies, which tasted a lot like superballs, and the brisket quesadilla, which was a remarkably pleasant surprise.

Also, I noted that Mac's was rated one of the 10 "Must See's" in Charlotte by the Charlotte Observer. They are pretty good at tooting their own horn; not that it's not well-deserved.

Happy dining.

Waldhorn

2009-04-19T11:12:00.003-04:00

There is exactly one German restaurant in Charlotte, as far as my wife and I can tell. We try to go there about once every two to three months. It's good German food. It's called Waldhorn. Since we had visitors, we asked them if they'd like to try it. No surprise, they did.

My recommendation: If you want real German food in Charlotte, I don't know that you have a choice. The food is pretty authentic (mind you, my wife and I were in Germany over the holidays), and the atmosphere rocks. Check it out.

Overall: Since it really doesn't have any competition, it's hard to award the Waldhorn first place. But even from the outside, you can tell that an authentic experience resides within. Fun friendly, but distinctly non-German service brings you exceptional meals and full litres of beer.

Ambiance: All the trimmin's you might expect from Germany. There is German music. The building is built to look like a Brauhaus, both inside and out, with large exposed wooden beams, and a distinctly Bavarian look. Fridays and Saturdays, they even have live entertainment.

Menu: All things German: spaetzel, bratwurst, Wiener Schnitzel (I know it's Vienese, but it's LIKE German), knockwurst, sauerkraut, etc. etc. etc. It's all there, and it's all good. They also have a great selection of German beers, including my favorite German beer, Spaten (pilsner und dunkel). They have also begun carrying Mecklenburg's authentic German beer from the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery.

Something you won't find on most menus: If the uniqueness of the cuisine itself isn't enough, you are offered pretzel bread while you wait for your meal. It's like a pretzel baked in the shape of a roll. I have never seen it in Germany, but it's awesome in Pineville.

Service: If I had to pick out a weak spot for the Waldhorn, it would be the service. To be clear, the servers are friendly and attentive, but they are about as authentic as "Molly" who helped me with my United flight reservation over the phone last week. They simply do not know much about the cuisine. Frequently, if you ask them something, they need to go ask someone that knows (the chefs).

Food: I have begun to settle on the Schweizer Schnitzel (Swiss Schnitzel). It's a pork cutlet stuffed with black forest ham and swiss cheese, and lightly fried. It's served with a vegetable and spaetzel, but I usually swap the vegetable for sauerkraut. Or I just get a side of sauerkraut in addition to the spaetzel and the vegetable.

BTW, if you don't know what spaetzel is, you're really missing out. In Germany, it would be akin to french fries or chips as a side (in terms of frequency). It is effectively small potato dumplings served with a light butter sauce, and it's awesome.

Waldhorn

12101 Lancaster Hwy

Pineville, NC 28134

Dennis Vineyards

2009-04-19T11:12:00.002-04:00

Since we had the family in town, we thought we would go check out some of what North Carolina had to offer. We really hadn't taken the time to go see any of the NC vineyards, yet, so we found a couple that were reasonably close and popped out for the afternoon.

Dennis Vineyards

24042 Endy Road

Albemarle, NC

Tour cost: $4

The first place we came to was Dennis Vineyards in Albemarle, NC. We arrived around 1:15 pm, and were dismayed to hear that they have two tours a day on the weekends; 11 and 3. It was 1:45 until the next tour, and the tasting room was not large enough to keep us occupied for that length of time. I was beginning to think maybe we hadn't thought this vineyard thing through.

While we were discussing what our options were, a young lady came out and asked if we wanted a tour. We said yes, and she said that normally they didn't do tours at off hours, so the vintner had time to get some things done, but if she asked nicely, maybe he'd squeeze us in. She came back in about two minutes and said that he'd be right out.

Well, the head vintner, Sandon Dennis, came out to give us the tour. He was awesome. His excitement for his trade was evident. I knew, academically, how wine was made, and knew it was far more complicated than "Pick 'em, squeeze 'em, rest 'em, and drink up." Sandon answered all our questions, showed us his entire operation, and candidly discussed how each process worked. It was nice to see such a personal touch throughout the tour. We were impressed how a weekend hobby had expanded into a quarter-million bottle (annually) operation.

After our tour, which included a look at some parts of the vineyard not included on the "normal" tour, we went to the tasting room. We were able to taste every wine we wanted while we were there. They primarily deal in the varieties of grapes that grow in North Carolina, so their wines are sweeter than the traditional European wines, and also include a couple fruit wines (blackberry, strawberry, blueberry, etc.).

In addition to the wide variety of wines, the wines were highly decorated with awards from competitions from throughout the southeast.

If you have an opportunity to check out the vineyard, make a short afternoon of it, and try a tour and tasting.

The Flying Biscuit

2009-04-19T10:38:00.001-04:00

With my siblings-in-law in town, along with their respective spouses, we needed a fun place to go to breakfast before our day of North Carolina vineyards. We decided to head to the Flying Biscuit in Stonecrest. As it was almost noon when we got there, it was probably nice that they had lunch available, too.

My recommendation: A fun place to go, and certainly "different," and if you like eggs, they have a great selection of egg plates. I would generally recommend it for its novelty before recommending it for its food, though.

Overall: The menu is extensive, the servers are friendly, and they do have hearty biscuits, as the name MIGHT suggest.

Ambiance: Funky. With a name like the Flying Biscuit, you would probably be thrown off if you walked in an everyone were wearing suits and ties. The walls are decorated with interesting murals, and even the drop ceiling tiles are all painted in a continuous ceiling-scape. The ambiance is completely consistent with what you might expect from the name.

Menu: Mostly natural selections of biscuits and eggs. There are also selections of sandwiches and pastas. My wife would say it's healthy food. I, however, do not equate natural with healthy. Butter is not healthy. Butter is not margarine; I understand that, but it's not healthy. It's just different.

Something you won't find on most menus: Creamy, dreamy grits. The grits are particularly creamy (made with some kind of dairy product).

Service: The service is a little slow, but nothing frustrating. The servers are knowledgeable and personable.

Food: I had the special, which was a biscuit with egg and gravy on it. It was awesome. I had a taste of a lot of the food on the table, including my wife's scrambled eggs with sausage, spinach and pasta in it, and my sister-in-law's multi-grain peach pancakes. Everything else was fine, and tasty, but the biscuit and gravy with the egg was dyn-o-mite.

The Flying Biscuit

7930 Rea Rd.

Charlotte, NC 28277

Salsa's Mexican Cantina

2009-04-17T23:38:00.002-04:00

My wife's sister and brother-in-law came to town this evening, and we wanted someplace close that we could walk to for a meal. They suggested Mexican, and since I had just been to Don Pedro's, my wife recommended Salsa's in Ayrsley.

My recommendation: It's nothing spectacular. In fact, I probably would recommend Don Pedro's over Salsa's, although Salsa's is a distinctly nicer restaurant on pretty much every account.

Overall: While the food is of good quality, and the service was good, I can't say that it has really left much of an impression with me. It's not a bad restaurant... just lackluster.

Ambiance: Salsa's is a Mexican restaurant that's still seeking it's an identity. The free-flowing fountain, and somewhat elegant decor is somehow undermined by the flat screen TV showing Latin American soccer, as if the restaurant WANTS to be a sports bar. The outdoor seating area perhaps supports this assertion, but the flat screen displaying MSNBC Money somehow undermines the sports bar intentions. And the free salsa and chips simply reminds you that it's neither a sports bar or elegant restaurant, but just a Mexican restaurant.

Menu: Mexican. While standard Mexican is certainly available, including burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, and tacos, the prices are not reminiscent of the authentic inexpensive Don Pedro's up the street.

Something you won't find on most menus: $6 guacamole. It's tasty, but I'm not sure it justifies it's $6 price tag.

Service: Prompt and friendly, but nothing spectacular. I drink water like a fiend, and they were good about keeping me topped off.

Food: I had the combination platter with two cheese enchiladas and a beef burrito. It came with Mexican rice and refried beans, and it was all very good. In general, the food is very good, and I feel like the ingredients are of generally high quality, which is perhaps inconsistent with what I normally expect from a Mexican restaurant (too much Taco Bell, I guess). The bill was a little steep at $37 (no alcohol, no dessert).

Salsa's Mexican Cantina and Bar

2015 Ayrsley Town Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28273

Don Pedro's

2009-04-16T00:04:00.001-04:00

A couple friends and I checked out the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery as part of Charlotte Beer Week. Don't be fooled, as the name is a bit of a misnomer. They had, admittedly, been open for 2 weeks. They had a beer tasting; for $10, you got 6 - 8 oz. beers, and a tour of the brewery. The catch was that they only had one beer on tap. The beer was tasty, though. For the record, I was driving, so I was not able to enjoy all the free beer provided for $10. Afterward, my friends and I were hungry, so we popped by Don Pedro's; a Mexican place down off South Tryon.

My recommendation: If you're in the mood for low-grade Mexican food, I haven't found anywhere in Charlotte that you can beat it (I have not scoured South Blvd, however). The food hits the spot, and every day seems to be half-price margarita night.

Overall: The service is prompt, but lacks a certain Anglo-articulation. The food comes out so quick, that you're barely done with one course when the next comes out. Depending on what you order, the food is either reasonably or large-portioned, and is tasty.

Ambiance: Authentic Mexican cantina. Down to the wrought iron benches (with cushions) that you might find in an outdoor seating area in a sun-drenched tropical country. And I have never heard so much mariachi music!

Menu: Mexican. Burritos, enchiladas, tacos, and combination plates abound! Most meals come with Mexican rice and refried beans. Everything is pretty reasonably priced, too.

Something you won't find on most menus: Every meal comes with something like a flat churro, covered in cinnamon and sugar, with whipped cream and drizzled in raspberry syrup. Perhaps the nicest complimentary dessert I've ever had.

Service: While perhaps a little impersonal, and that could be mostly due to the evident language-barrier, the service is like a machine. You enter, you're seated, your drink order is taken, and moments later, your food order. It only takes a few minutes to get your food, too. If you were trying to get in and out in 20 minutes, I bet you could.

Food: I had the deluxe burrito, which was good. It's not spectacular food, but for $7 in a sit-down restaurant, you probably shouldn't set your standards too high. If you want what I suspect is pretty authentic Mexican fare, I bet this is pretty close.

Don Pedro's

8943 South Tryon St.

Charlotte, NC 28273

The Melting Pot

2009-04-12T21:04:00.002-04:00

As is consistent with our tradition of hitting the Melting Pot for Christian holidays, we made reservations for 3 for tonight. Unfortunately, our third couldn't make it, so it was just the two of us.

My recommendation: If you've never been to the Melting Pot, you're missing out. High quality food, consistently great service, and wonderful ambiance. Just be sure to bring your credit card, or some serious cash, cause it's not a cheap dinner.

Overall: The service tonight was particularly spectacular, and the food was excellent, as expected.

Ambiance: Quiet, secluded, and personal. Individual booths with individual burners for keeping your personal fondue pot going. The music tonight was a smooth jazz sound; I think I heard Sade twice. It's the kind of place you should consider having an intimate dinner at, regardless as to how many you have in your party; they can accommodate large groups well, too.

Menu: It's all fondue, really. Take your pick of any cheese (appetizer), salad, entree, and dessert, as a complete meal. They have complete meals for 2, or individual meals for the loner (or third wheel). They also have an extensive wine menu. I'm not a huge wine guy, mostly beer (in case you missed it), but I do like a nice glass of wine from time to time, and they've got them all, I think.

Something you won't find on most menus: About everything, except salad.

Service: I commented to Amanda how the service is always excellent, but tonight our server, Adam, went above and beyond. Aside from being friendly and personable, right to the point you think he's going to be intrusive, and then breaking away just in time to be the perfect level of approachable, he provided any number of great recommendations. Our biggest problem with Melting Pot is that we leave stuffed, usually. After the questionable weekend of dining in Asheville, we wanted to go easy, but still have a great meal. He recommended splitting a fondue for two, which we didn't know that we could do. He basically told us that they can customize anything on the menu, based on what the customer is looking for. Based on his recommendations and accommodating attitude, we were able to get out without totally gorging ourselves.

Food: Tonight we had Swiss cheese "traditional" fondue, Caprese salad, "The French Quarter" (Cajun meat selection) entree, and the S'mores chocolate dessert fondue. One of the things that makes it particularly good, is the cheeses, meats, chocolate, and vegetables are all of very high quality. Altogether, we spent ~$80, but the service was so damn good, we gave him a 25% tip, so we rounded out at $100. Since the evening was pretty slow, the waiter came back and gave us some chocolate-covered strawberries for take-out. Evidently, you can call ahead and get chocolate fondue to-go, and if you'd like to get chocolate-covered strawberries, you just need to call a day ahead.

Note: Since our waiter was so spectacular, I will pass on two more sales pitches he commented on (I think I'm getting them right). First, Tuesdays all wines under $75 are half price. Full-bottles and half-bottles. Second, chocolate and cheese fondues are half price before 7 at the bar, Monday-Thursday. So, if you're just looking to TRY the Melting Pot, without the commitment of a full meal, try a cheese fondue one evening, just to see what it's all about. Enjoy!

Melting Pot

901 South Kings Drive

Charlotte, NC 28204

Mellow Mushroom (Asheville Brewery)

2009-04-12T10:12:00.002-04:00

Well, for those of you following up on my post about the Asheville Brewery for our dinner excursion last night, I have some bad news. We went to the Asheville Brewery for dinner, and couldn't get seated. We made eye contact with several bartenders and waitresses, and tried to flag down a couple, but no one would come over and seat us! We waited over 5 minutes and decided that, aside from feeling a little insulted, figured if the service was this crappy to get seated, what chance did we have to get decent service to get food!

I feel like I have been uber-critical of service in the last week, as I have had several crummy experiences, but I don't really think that's the case. Yes, I am critical, just ask my wife. Things can always be better, and if you're not looking to idenfiy ways to improve, then you'll never be able to make smart choices regarding the use of resources TO improve. Being critical isn't necessarily being mean, it's identifying shortfalls between current performance and ideal performance. Point being, this week, the service HAS been bad, far worse than any other time I recall; I'm not just being hyper-critical.

So, we left the Asheville Brewery and went looking for somewhere else to dine. Amanda had seen a jovial place as we had cruised town in the morning, and thought it might be a fun place to try, in light of our recent dissappointment. We found ourselves eating at the Mellow Mushroom.

My recommendation: Try it. Aside from the fun environment, they had a great beer selection, and a "crunchy" menu.

Overall: It was a good experience. I would go back, for sure, but I would order something completely different, both to drink and to eat. The food was good, but just wasn't what I was into. The service was good, but a little out of place for a restaurant decorated with so many neon mushrooms.

Ambiance: Certainly one of the biggest draws of the place. It had a huge outdoor seating area, but temperature was in the low-50s with a quiet breeze, so we sat inside. There was a stuffed-moose mounted on the wall, a wooden grizzly bear, a disco ball with appropriate lighting, all the Christmas lights you could want, even in April, and a 54" x 42" dance floor that my wife and I couldn't figure out. It was a fun looking place, and the servers generally seemed to be in the mood.

Menu: Subs, salads, pizza, and calzones, again. Nothing really all that inspired, for a meat eater like me, but if you were a vegetarian, you were set! I had never seen so many tofu and tempeh dishes in my life. Basically, if they had a meet product, they had its equal in tofu, and again in tempeh. They had a great beer selection, again, with probably 15+ draughts, mostly of local descent.

Something you won't find on most menus: Aside from the huge assortment of tofu and tempeh, they had a mushroom pizza with portabello, shittake, and button mushrooms which looked great.

Service: Our service was professional and attentive, which seemed almost out of place in this very free-spirited restaurant. Our server was not particularly bubbly, which I would have expected, but was fast, effective, and friendly. We were amazed, after our non-run-in with the Asheville Brewery, how quickly people were acknowledged at the door, and if the hostess wasn't RIGHT THERE, a server would immediately seat a waiting party. Once again, the efficiency seemed almost out of place, but was much appreciated.

Food: After the large lunch (I was still tasting my chili a little bit), I decide to go with a simple Chef's salad. It was a little disappointing, really. I think I was analytically in the mood for a simple salad, for all the right reasons; calories, density, etc, but when I got it, it really didn't hit the spot, and I was looking for something else. Fortunately, Amanda had another calzone (she really likes calzones), and she offered me some, and it was excellent. It had tomatoes and spinach inside, in addition to cheeses and garlic, and was encrusted with some parmessan cheese. It scratched my itch. I also had the Pisgah Pale Ale (Pisgah Brewing Company, Black Moutain, NC, certified organic beer). It was good, but honestly, it was served about 2-3 degrees too warm for me to REALLY enjoy it. It's on my list to try again, though. It was my first organic beer, and while it threw me a little bit, it had all the makings of an excellent beer. Amanda had the Pyramid Apricot (Seattle, WA), which I hadn't had in several years, and it was very tasty, too. All this, for another ~$25. Didn't think we could complain about that!

Mellow Mushroom

50 Broadway

Asheville, NC 28801

Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria

2009-04-11T19:54:00.002-04:00

As we drove around Asheville at 2 pm, we realized it had been several hours since we had eaten. We were hungry. With so many options in downtown Asheville, how were we to choose? Amanda found the Asheville Brewery and Pizza place, and as we swung by, it looked awfully closed. Sure enough, they WERE closed, but opened at 4 pm. Wonderful, we had our dinner plans. I do like a good local brewery. But what about lunch? As we got back in the car and bumped back into downtown (the brewery is a small handful of blocks out of downtown), Amanda said it was MY job to select our lunchtime eatery. Well, at the next light, I saw Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria. THAT was our lunching spot.

My recommendation: If you're in Asheville, try it. It was good food, with a wide assortment of tastes, and a great draught beer selection. If you don't set your hopes really high, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Overall: Worth every nickel. I had a hard time selecting a beer, as they had over 25 on tap, mostly domestic, with a very large selection of NC beers, most of which I had never heard. The food was pretty good, too.

Ambiance: The restaurant was an appliance store in the 1920s. It has nice tall ceilings, and a lot of "attractive" wood paneling. It's shooting for a "modern" German restaurant look. Not "modern" like I commented about the Crave Dessert Bar, where you'd expect to pay $12 for a martini, just because the stem of the glass helix-shaped, but "modern" in the sense that the beer wasn't actually sitting in a barrel out back, but rather in some chiller in a keg. Otherwise, it's like any other pub.

Menu: Pizza, Calzones, Sandwiches, and Pitas. The toppings list, available for almost any item on the menu, was the interesting part. It was clearly catering to the "crunchy" crowd that inhabits Asheville, and included pineapple, squash, spinach, and black beans. Not that any of these things are odd, in and of themselves, but black beans on my pizza would be different.

Something you won't find on most menus: Fiddlesticks. The restaurant makes its own sourdough from scratch every day, from unbleached, unbromated flour. Fiddlesticks look, on the surface, like french fries, but are sticks of the sourdough, cut into strips, dipped in spicy/sweet sauce, and lightly fried, then served with blue cheese and peppercorn ranch sauces. They were a served a little cold, but were very good.

Service: Standard, run-of-the-mill service. The waitress was nice, took care of everything, and things came out in a reasonably timely manner. She made no mistakes, but made pleasant smalltalk.

Food: We saw they had calzones, so we decided to split a calzone (mozzarella, ricotta, garlic, butter, sourdough crust), and added mushrooms, black beans, and "beefalo" (a low fat, no hormone beef) to the calzone. I had a "cup" of chili and we shared the previously-mentioned "fiddlesticks." I say "cup," because it came in a bowl. It was a smallish bowl, but a bowl nonetheless. Had I known, I probably would have skipped the calzone, which was also huge, so as not to have to have brought my half of the calzone home (which is now sitting in our hotel's fridge). Everything was above average, noting the cold fiddlesticks, and the meal was very well priced, including the beer, for ~$25.

Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria

42 Biltmore

Asheville, NC 28801

Asheville, NC - Great Place to See.

2009-04-11T19:26:00.003-04:00

My wife and I have TALKED about doing more weekend traveling since we arrived in Charlotte, 18 months ago, but we just haven't gotten around to it. I can't tell you how many times we've had plans to go to Charleston, and never ended up booking the hotel. It's a bummer. Last night, we decided going to going to Asheville this weekend and seeing the Biltmore Estate would be a larf. So, we booked a hotel, and got up this morning to come see what Asheville has to offer.

Rodeway Inn at Biltmore Square

Cost: ~$80 (see below) per night

Room: Big. We got the nicest(most expensive) room in the hotel. If you're not familiar with Rodeway Inn, it's a part of the Choice Hotels group. I'm a Diamond member (2 years running) and I generally stay in Choice Hotels religiously. Mostly because they are consistently good (not great), and include all the amenities I want in a hotel. See my other blog for my law of hotel value, for more on hotel amenities.

Anyway, the Rodeway in is at the bottom of the barrel for the Choice Hotels, with the exception of maybe the Suburban hotel chain, and MAYBE Econo Lodge. Amanda read some great reviews about the hotel though; not that the hotel was "awesome" but how it consistently outperformed the cheap and dirty perception that the Rodeway has. So, we decided to give it a try, but as a bit of insurance, we got a king suite. The room was great; flat screen tv, refrigerator, microwave, king bed, sleeper sofa, desk, free wi-fi. Perhaps more importantly, the room looked as if it's consistently cleaned well. For $80, it's a good deal. They had rooms from $54 (AAA rate), but with 2 queens, no sofa bed. I will definitely consider the Rodeway again, but I will be just as hesitant, as I think this might be a geographic fluke.

Biltmore Estate

Cost: ~$50 per person

Thoughts: We haven't made our way to the Biltmore house, proper, yet. Today we did the winery and farm. It was great. I had heard lacklustre comments about the Biltmore Estate. Nothing particularly specific, but just generally, "It's not all that." Well, I don't know that I'll call what I saw today "all that," but I will definitely return. The winery was nice, but it wasn't guided, and we waited almost 40 minutes to get to take the "self-guided" tour. Having a guided tour would have been nice, as you basically just saw the wine fermenters, the barrel storeroom, and a bunch of ribbons they have acquired (assumably won) over the course of the winery, which is about 25 years. The farmyard was fun, basically a very small petting zoo. Having spent a little time on a farm growing up (my grandfather still lives on his farm, which he worked his whole adult life), and having a couple friends with less than 10 digits, I am always a little hesitant at petting live farm animals, but Amanda seemed to have a good time.

Tomorrow we're going to the house, which we drove by today and were subsequently impressed (175,000 sf). We'll also hit the gardens and conservatory. We're not sure what to expect on Easter Sunday, but we need to get in some good walking and work up an appetite for the Melting Pot tomorrow night.

Downtown Asheville

Cost: Whatever you spend shopping

Thoughts: We were really impressed. I knew there was a little downtown area in Asheville, and as we drove by the two city blocks next to the Biltmore, decorated like a 14th-century village, I thought we'd seen it all; but no! There is a significant downtown area. If you have been to Boulder, CO, or Ann Arbor, MI, you'll see several similarities. Small stores, with almost no chains. Folks in button downs and folks in camouflage, strolling down the street. Clearly the area was very dog friendly. An eclectic mix of shops made lined the streets for several, several blocks, and not just on the "main street," but as you got off main street, for multiple blocks, the fun, downtown environment proceeded. It was wonderful. We drove around for 20 minutes before we found a nice place to eat. See my entry on Barley's Taproom. We also found the Asheville Brewery, which we'll hit for dinner tonight. I try to exploit every opportunity to go to a new brewery.

Overall: So far, and I'll edit this post tomorrow, this has been a wonderful short excursion from Charlotte. The town has a small feel, but clearly has some bustling industry. The people have been friendly, and the price has been right. I hope tonight and tomorrow is just more of the same.

Mac's Speedshop

2009-04-10T19:20:00.005-04:00

I left work early today to go have lunch with my wife. They have opened a new Mac's Speedshop in Steele Creek near our house, and we're big fans of Mac's. We figured we'd take some time off and spend a lunch together, AND try out the new Mac's. We had heard it gets VERY busy at lunch (it's only been open 2 weeks), so we decided to make a late lunch of it in an attempt to miss the crowds, and didn't arrive until 1:45.

My recommendation: Based on this visit, I would say wait until they hammer out some of the finer points of the new shop, but in general, definitely give Mac's a try.

Overall: Not our best visit to Mac's. The service started out pretty crummy, but improved. The food was, indeed, the best I've had there.

Ambiance: It's a biker bar. From the the full complement of parking for motorcycles, to the motorcycle motif, to the motorcycle frame sitting in the waiting area, it's a biker bar. However, you'll find your fair share of yuppie wannabe bikers, and people that are just interested in enjoying Charlotte's "#1 Thing to Do" (self-proclaimed, as far as I can tell).

Menu: BBQ is the main fare, here. They have some great-looking salads, and a significant selection of sandwiches (still largely BBQ-focused). They also have a wonderful assortment of draught and bottle beers, including Magic Hat #9 (Burlington, VT) and Fat Tire (Fort Collins, CO).

Something you won't find on most menus: Hushpuppies. Good, tasty, probably-out-of-a-frozen-bag, hushpuppies. They are great.

Service: Crappy at first, but improved as the visit went on. We walked in, and no one was there to seat us. I think it took over 3 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us. A waitress handed us two menus and told us we could sit anywhere. We sat down, and it was 13 minutes until anyone came by to take an order (or simply acknowledge us). They were almost apologetic about it. We think it might have had to do with the fact that it was 2 pm. Clearly they were trying to catch up after the lunch rush, which may have caused us to slip through the cracks. After that, though, the service was dynamite. Our drinks came in about a minute. Our appetizer (the delectable hushpuppies) came in a little more than 5 minutes, and our sandwiches were out within 5 minutes of the hushpuppies.

Food: I am a big fan of Texas Beef Brisket, which I understand is mostly blasphemy in this state. But Mac's has it on the menu, so I indulge myself, along with the mac n' cheese, which is consistently good, but never great. Today's beef brisket was the best I've ever had from Mac's, and that IS saying something. It has been hit or miss sometimes, but never a real disappointment. No beer for me today, as it was lunch time, and I THOUGHT I was going to go back to work. Instead, I went home to enjoy a lazy rainy afternoon.

Mac's Speedshop

2414 Sandy Porter Road

Charlotte, NC 28273

Brixx at Foxcroft

2009-04-08T21:36:00.003-04:00

I decided to invite my coworkers to a "teambuilding" event, where we could sit around, enjoy a beer, and talk outside of work. 4 coworkers came with me, and we had a great time.

My recommendation: Absolutely. Several of my friends and I love Brixx. Not only is the food tasty, but they have a great draught beer selection, including one of my most favorite beers, Terrapin Rye Pale Ale.

Overall: It's a great laid-back pizza place. The food is very good. The ambiance is friendly and inviting, but quiet enough, that you can enjoy a good convsersation with your friends.

Ambiance: Laid-back and personal.

Menu: The focus is mostly on gourmet pizzas (~$10), but they have a great menu of entrees to complement the pizza, with a limited selection of appetizers. As I said, they have a great draught beer selection, including several smaller breweries like Terrapin (Atlanta, GA), Bell's (Kalamazoo, MI), and Victory (Downington, PA).

Something you won't find on most menus: Spicy Shrimp pizza. It's excellent.

Service: Good. The service is relaxed, like the atmosphere. If you're looking for a fast meal, make sure to tell your server, because otherwise, you'll be offered an observably, but not frustratingly, slow service.

Food: Good. I haven't had a pizza on the menu that I haven't liked. Tonight we had the spicy shrimp, americo, bronx bomber, and mexican pizzas. I have had them all before, and they were all still great.

Brixx Pizza

7814 Fairview Road

Charlotte, NC 28226

(704)295-0707

Crave Dessert Bar

2009-04-05T21:24:00.004-04:00

Some friends invited me to go to a dessert bar in Uptown named Crave. It opened last week (31 March), and we thought we would give it a try.

My recommendation: No. It was their first weekend open, so I may give it another try after awhile to give them some time to mature, but the train wreck of service I received didn't leave me with a positive opinion.

Overall: To say the least, I was underwhelmed. The service was crummy. They were out of LOTS of items on the menu. The dessert I did get was good, but not really worth the $8 it cost. I also didn'treally care for the music, which I endured for two and a half hours while we waited.

Ambiance: It has a modern lounge kind of atmosphere, like a martini bar, but not quite what I would call a meat-market.

Menu: As its name might suggest, mostly desserts. The menu is broken up by the type of dessert, for example, "cheesecake" or "chocolate." Most things appeared to be in the~$8 range. Unfortunately, what is listed on the menu may not actually be available. There is also a complete wine list and drink menu.

Something you won't find on most menus: Cupcakes. Not just standard "Betty Crocker" cupcakes (not that there's anything wrong with a Betty Crocker cupcake), but what looked like high-quality, freshly-made, hand-frosted, gourmet, artistic cupcakes. I only got to see them at other tables, though, as all the ones that we ordered, 3 different kinds in total, I believe, were not available.

Service: Poor. I want to be generous here, but they really didn't give me much to work with. The waitress, while cordial, was horrendous. To be fair, she had two things working against her; she clearly hadn't had enough time with the menu, and the kitchen ran out of several items. As simple statistic, I believe at least 50% of the table ordered something, and then 15-20 minutes later was told it was not available. This REALLY extends the time it takes to get your dessert. It got to the point that one couple completely cancelled their order, and the General Manager came out to acknowledge that the service was, in fact, unnacceptable. As far as I know, however, no reparations were made. I can't be sure though, because on of our friend's mother's picked up the tab (thanks, Karen!). Either way, it was a rough two and a half hours for a scoop of cheesecake!

Food: I eventually did receive the "Oreo Cheesecake," I ordered (third item I picked off the menu). It wasn't served in the typical "slice" form, though, but more like a medium-sized scoop. It was tasty, but not quite as advertised. The description said it would have an Oreo crust, but there was no crust at all; just Oreos (Oreoes?) mixed into the cheesecake! It was good, but I'm not certain it was worth the ~$8 it cost, based on its size OR its flavor.

Of note: As I've mentioned before, Crave is new. It was their first weekend. The bar service was fine, but the table service was ghastly. Perhaps, with time, they'll get the supply-lines hammered out, the service will get some experience and sense of responsibility, and the experience will improve.

Crave Dessert Bar

I would print the address here, but the web page doesn't tell you where it is. Good luck finding it.

Lake Wylie Junction Grill and Pub

2009-04-05T21:23:00.004-04:00

Tonight, my wife and I went to the Lake Wylie Junction in Steele Creek. We received a coupon in the mail, and decided to give it a try.

My recommendation: Give it a try, if it isn't too far out of your way. The food and service was good.

Overall: We enjoyed our meals, the service was good, the price was excellent (with the coupon), and the restaurant was nice.

Ambiance: As we walked in, the restaurant looked far more upscale than we anticipated. With cloth napkins and tablecloths (under glass), I was a little intimidated. However, the clientele did generally appeared casual and good-natured, which put us at ease. The waiter was friendly and made us feel right at home.

Menu: Mostly "American"or "Southern" food. The food was very reasonably priced (~$10/entree, ~$3/side), and with the coupon discount ($10 on a bill of $30 or more), the meal was a good deal. The drink menu was complete with a significant wine list, complete martini list

Something you won't find on most menu: "Pixie Stick Martini" made with grape vodka, blue pucker, and pineapple juice, in a sugar-rimmed glass.

Service: Good. Our waiter, Damon, was friendly and remarkably attentive. He had clearly listened well during the "suggestive selling" portion of his server training, but was not pushy, although he did ask us 3 times if we would like a half-price bottle of wine.

Food: We had the pimento cheese dip as an appetizer, which was ok, but not great. It was very cheesy, but lacked the real creamy texture that I would have expected from a cheese dip. The melted cheese left a significant layer of oil on the surface of the cheese, which was generally unappealing. Amanda had the chicken and dumplings, with a side of baked mac n' cheese, while I had the southern fried chicken salad with a side of baked mac n' cheese and steamed broccoli. We both enjoyed our main courses, but we had conflicting opinions on the mac n' cheese. Amanda felt the cheese was generally too thin, and the taste wasn't particularly cheesy. I thought the cheese was thin, but gave a great overall texture to the dish, and the taste was good (not great).

Of note: The Junction has specials nearly every day, including all-you-can-eat crab legs (Mondays), $0.35 wings (Tuesdays), bottomless pasta bowls (Thursdays), and a varied assortment of daily drink specials.

Lake Wylie Junction Grill and Pub

13105 South Tryon

Charlotte, NC 28278