Custom Shop - Elizabeth

Handcrafted food (i.e. random but good)

My offiice celebrated our holiday dinner here and were not disappointed. It's a small upscale restaurant across from Carpe Diem. The atmosphere was lively, even for a Tuesday. Yummy apps included flat bread and an Italian cured meat plate. Entrees included a bunch of seafood options and pasta dishes and range from $18 - 25. I had the seared tuna with butternut squash which was great. Dessert included chocolate and hazelnut gelato - incredible even though I was stuffed. If you've got the dough or someone else is paying, definitely check it out!

www.customshopfood.com

Fran's Filling Station - Dilworth

comfort food
rosemary chicken, mashed potatoes & beer - $25ish I think

"Drink til he's cute" - that's what the sign says in the ladies restroom and the highlight of my evening. Don't go to Fran's if you're on a diet as not many light choices. I started to order the Rosemary Chicken and asked to trade out the onion rings with a veggie. Turns out the onion rings were an accoutrement and not a side. The rosemary chx was just that: three breasts of grilled chx w rosemary and a few onion rings scattered on top. The waitress suggested the mashed potatoes which were awesome and rich. My friend got the meatballs which were definitely the better choice (and a favorite according to the menu). They came as two giant meatballs in sauce with lots of cheese. I thought there might be some pasta too but no, just the meatballs. I hear this is normal. Thanksgiving dinner plate was another option, fancy and messy burgers, ribs, etc. The food was good and the atmosphere is nice. I was a little annoyed that the entrees didn't come with a side. How many people eat just three chicken breasts with nothing else in a sitting? Just know that while the entrees aren't too expensive, you'll have to get a side or two too.

Sunday lunch spots in "Midtown"

So there's no actual midtown in Charlotte but it's what I would call anywhere in between Southpark and Uptown (not on the East side). My friends and I agonize every Sunday where to go for lunch. While there are likely a ton of options, we frequently end up at Park Towne (Qdoba, Jason's, Cheesesteak & Asian place) because we can't think of anywhere else. I've been wracking my brain for spots so thought I would share my list. Please add to it if you can think of anywhere else. The criteria is pretty simple: relatively cheap but good and open for Sunday lunch. ? means I don't know if it's open on Sunday. The rest I'm pretty sure about.
Going north on...
Park Road: McAllisters, Roasting Co, Park Towne, Sushi 101?, Fuel, Brixx, Big Daddy's, East Blvd Bar & Grill, Fran's Filling Station?
South Blvd: Mac's BBQ, Five Guys, Noodle place, Chipotle, Owen's, Pewter Rose (not cheap but so worth it), Einstein's
Southpark-ish: Panera on Fairview, Earth Fare cafe, CPK, another Brixx
Out of the way: Zada Jane's, Zoe's Kitchen by Midtown Trader Joe's, Panera on Prov Rd
Other ideas?

Zio - Myers Park

Italian
$80 - 5 entrees and 3 salads

This cozy spot is at the old 5 steps down location just below its better known neighbor, Primo (behind the Boston Market on Providence). I picked up dinner for some friends and me and it's actually really reasonable. I tried the Rigatoni Abruzzi which had a nice flavor (spicy sausage, red peppers and mozzarella with an oily red sauce). The seasonal salad (w cranberries, pecans, goat cheese, and grilled asparagus) was awesome! I heard the wedge salad, and maria linguine was great too. The pasta is made fresh on-site and adds to the authentic feel. The prices were definitely reasonable, no entree we ordered was over $11 and the salads ranges from $4 - $6 although they were definitely of the side salad size. It's a great alternative to Mama Ricottas if you're looking for a change.

Where to go?

Last week was a festival of eating out on my part. I didn't intend for it to go that way but I had lunch and dinner at a different place every day last week. I only share this to say these are few places to remember when looking for ideas. They aren't worth a whole new post but wanted to put them out there for you to think about:

Mama Ricotta's - love the Tuscan salad - best on the menu! Their special, chicken sausage and asparagus lasagna, was incredible. The new wine list is a little confusing (it's listed by region rather than type) but the basic chianti was AWESOME!! Go for the Quartino if you are debating a second glass. It's definitely the best value.

Cantina - The guac! Is there any other reason to go?! They've updated their menu to appeal to the unsophisticated mexican food eaters (i.e. me) so you can go authentic mexican or tex-mex. The chicken quesadilla was really good and definitely better than the ones I make at home. The sangria was a little overrated. Sorry frank.

Crepe Cellar - I only went for dessert but I always like what I get here. Their burger (w gruyer cheese and onion straws) was listed as one of the best burgers in Charlotte not from a burger place. It is pretty incredible! The best dinner crepe is the one with the chicken and ranch sauce but for dessert, the marscapone and berries was pretty yummy. Some people liked it better than the nutella and banana crepe. I can't decide between them as they are both pretty darn good!

Nolen Kitchen - they too have updated their menu but it's still a great place for a group as the price points are pretty wide ranged. The casa salad with goat cheese and candied pecans was really good but the whole wheat penne was incredible! Never heard of their chardonnay options but the waitress pointed me in a good direction and really enjoyed what I had. the ice cream medley was great with the exception of lemon basil sorbet. Yep, you read that correctly. Weird!

Amelie's - every time I go here I'm reminded why I love it! It's just a very cool place and the food's great too. I finally went for lunch (I normally just go for breakfast) and had their asparagus leek and something soup. Amazing! Some french lady started belting out tunes which I think was a pre-show warm up for later. While always a little crazy, this place will definitely remain a favorite.

Brazwell's - I finally went to this place that everyone's talking about and I have to say, I don't get it. What's the appeal? It's a nicer sports bar with girls in low cut tops. Ok, so I get why guys go there but I'm not sure why it's one of the new "it" places. The nachos were fine, not great. Maybe their wings are why people go, just like hooters, right? No thanks.

Village Tavern - teriyaki chicken salad. love it! next.

Thirsty Beaver - Midwood

Biker Bar
beer = cheap

Though not technically a restaurant, this place is random enough to warrant special mention in the blog. This bright orange painted random cement block building is off of Central Ave and has an ugly giant beaver painted on the side. No food here (thank goodness), just beer and mixed drinks. Most beers come in a can (PBR anyone?) with 4 or 5 bottle options (Blue Moon, Heini, Heini Light and something else, Mic Ultra maybe). The mixed drinks included specialities like a shot of whisky chased by a shot of pickle juice and a beer mixed with Clamato Juice. The ladies room is three feet from the bar, literally and there's a couple of pool tables in the back. My one concern about the place is if there were a fire, everyone is screwed! However the best part about this place is the clientele. I was there on Saturday for the Habitat Young Prof Cornhole tourney and saw a new accessory that will be hot stuff this fall. I don't know it's technical name but I call it the Harley Davidson pony tail jacket. Not to be confused with a leather scrunchy, this hot new item actually covers the entire length of the pony tail much the way leather pants cover the legs. Not only does it come in black leather but you can actually get it with studs along the entire length of the pony tail jacket. Ladies, keep an eye out because I'm sure these will sell out quickly from the finer boutiques here in town. Now to be fair to the Habitat people, it wasn't someone from their crowd with this must-have item but one of the biker babes that likely frequents this joint. This place is a gem in the randomness that is Midwood. I'll be back soon with my pony tail jacket. Until then...
For your very own, check this out! Black Leather Pony Tail Wrap

Avanti - Arboretum

Italian
$50 - calamari app & pasta dishes for 4 ppl

This place is at the Arboretum and felt very...diner-ish. We were clearly the only ppl not in family units or high school students. It almost felt like an Italian version of McAllisters. So two of us ordered the Pasta Fiorentine and the other two ordered Chicken Romano, both touted as Avanti favorites. The Pasta Fiorentine was...not so great. The pasta itself was fine and the chicken was actually pretty good. It's just that the sauce was way too sweet and a little watery. As my friend commented, "every bite gets a little sweeter each time so that it's hard to actually eat it." "The sausage is just regular sausage, it's not Italian. It's bland." This was being almost complimentary. If I weren't running 9 miles tomorrow, I probably wouldn't have eaten it. My other friends LOVED their Chicken Romano. One was saying it was as good as Magianno's. There was some debate about this but one friend held firm. The calamari was...definitely out of a frozen food bag. It wasn't bad per se, it just wasn't that great. The one bright spot was our waiter who actually wasn't very good but had a great attitude. My friend found a coupon on Restaurants.com which helped enjoy the experience a bit more. My friends said they would go back, I won't be with them. Sorry!

Dean & Deluca Wine Bar

Wine bar
$99 - lots of wine and two apps for two people

The best thing about D&D wine bar is lots of amazing wines to try. It's not cheap but it's really good. We both tried wine flights (i.e. three small pours of three different wines) and our favorites were of course the most expensive ones we tried. The flight was around $14 and the glass of my favorite was $16. Ouch! The apps included Hummus and Pita and Brushetta with sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese. The hummus and pita were nice but just tasted like hummus and pita, an app I really like but a little overpriced at $9. The brushetta was good but the waiter made it sound better than it was. It was really good but based on his description, I thought it was going to be best brushetta I'd ever had. It does come in three huge slices of bread with lots of sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese but I like lots of garlic in my brushetta and this didn't have that. I'm sure my friend appreciated it but it didn't make for my favorite app. Just a heads up. It's definitely a great place to go, especially in the summer when you can sit outside. My only warning is it ain't cheap! But it's D&D and they can get away with it. :)

Room 112 - Uptown

Asian/Sushi
$7 - broccoli & chicken @ lunch

So this place is owned by the same fam that owns Fujo, Ginbu, plus a bunch of other asian themed restaurants around town so the food may seem familiar but the atmosphere is pretty "uptown." It's a small place but we're usually ordering take out for lunch from here so that doesn't matter. The sushi is really good and the chinese is yummy too. It's pretty much the same as Fujo with a more trendy feel. My only beef - pepsi! Yuck! Who drinks that stuff?? They are trying to be a fun place to go uptown before heading out on the town. Try it out and let me know...

Pizza & by the way...

Sorry for being MIA for so long. I need to start eating out more and posting again. I'll do better. Hope you check back and let me know if you have any suggestions for where I should go. Also, anyone have an opinion on best pizza in town? Here's what I know:

Libretto's is way better than Fuel for pizza by the slice but more expensive and only in the epicenter
Luisa's is supposed to be awesome but never been there
My all time favorite pizza is New Mexico at Wolfman
Revolution in noda has some weird pizzas (I had one with fig something and arugula) but it was actually really good.
Intermezzo and Hawthorne both have yummy pizzas but maybe not the best in town
Mezzanotte - blah
Papa John's is so much better than Dominos
Pizzaria Uno - one should never eat there
Brixx - I actually like their pizza but kind of burned out on it over the years. It's really good if you're new to town or haven't been there much. They also have a great Brixx salad. But after 10 years, I am ready for something new.
Pizza Peel - I've never been but hear it's a big hit with the District Attorneys in town. It's where the old Mellow was by Cotswold.

Hawthorne's - Elizabeth

http://www.hawthornespizza.com/
Italian/NY style pizza
$14 - salad and 2 beers

I've done a post on Hawthorne's before but they've updated their menu so I wanted to give them another shout out! I think Hawthorne's is a great restaurant. They have a separate take out shop next door which I frequent for salads. The chop, tuscan and hawthorne salads are my favorite and the Elizabeth special is my fave pizza. Their garlic knots are incredible but you need to order them "less burned/baked" in order to get the perfect consistency. Their baked ziti is really good too. They've recently changed up their beer offerings to more fall stuff (oktoberfest beer from Virginia and pumpkin something). No matter, it's a great neighborhood place and perfect for sitting outside weather. Maybe not the best pizza in town but very worth it!

Basil - Uptown

Thai
Pad Ewe - can't remember the price but this post is way overdue!
http://www.eatatbasil.com/

Heard great things about this place and went during Clt Restaurant week a while back with some friends. Most people got the Pad Thai but I went with a combination of things (basil roll, pad ewe, and glass of wine) and the food was awesome! The basil role was really good and fresh tasting. The Pad Ewe (I know I'm not spelling that right but you'll probably find what I'm talking about) was yummy; it's a noodle dish with veggies and your choice of meat. It's probably more chinese than most of the other dishes but I thought it was great. I'm not a huge pad thai person, but my friends were raving about it. The owner was there and making sure things ran smoothly which they did. The atmosphere is very trendy, uptown, where people go when they want to act like they've eaten Thai food since before it was cool. I give this place 5 stars. My only warning is if you go for lunch past noon, you won't get seated until 12:45 as this place fills up quickly. However, it is well worth the wait. The owners have a few restaurants in Charleston and they seem to know what they are doing as I think this place will be successful. It's right next to Latorre's on 5th and Church. Definitely check it out. Much nicer than Thai Taste but worth it for the food and the atmosphere.

Mezzanotte - Cotswold

Italian/Brick oven pizza
$25 - glass of chianti & mezzanotte pizza (italian sausage, mozzarella, four basil leaves)

Honestly, it was just okay. The location is pretty great if you live in that area because there aren't a ton of choices nearby but I thought the pizza was just plain. The waiter (who was a little weird) was talking up the incredible muscles and some yada yada entree but I went with the namesake pizza and was a little disappointed. The atmosphere too is a little odd in this place. It's like there are two restaurants in one. One room is more casual and families with young kids sit in there with the TVs while the back of the restaurant feels a little nicer/quaint but I don't know how they decide where to seat you. My friend wasn't eating so I don't have anything else to share but I doubt I'll go back unless someone else chooses it. It's also related to the main Italian restaurants in town (Luce, Toscana, Coco Osteria) but this one is definitely the weakest. Could be a good place for a mid-week reasonably priced group place to eat if you need it. Plenty of seats and choices on what to get. Personally, I'd rather go to Chipotle next door.

Mai - South Charlotte (corner of Rea & Colony)

Sushi
$27 per person for sushi assortment, house salads and edamame and a drink

Dinner at Mai was a bittersweet experience. The sushi was awesome!! We tried a few different rolls including the New Orleans (shrimp tempura with avocado and tuna), Arizona (spicy tuna and avo), Philly (salmon, cream cheese and something else) and a plain tuna roll. The Arizona was the best, surprisingly so, then NO, then Philly, then tuna. The house salads were awesome (love ginger dressing) and edamame was great. The problem was our service was TERRIBLE!!! and I mean to the point where we debated even leaving a tip (we did). We arrive and order drinks. The water shows up but the other drinks are a little slow to arrive (there are only 4 or 5 occupied tables in the place so not sure what the hold up was). Then we order our sushi (by writing it down ourselves), edamame and our salads. It takes a while but then our edamame and sushi show up at the same time. Hello! Edamame is an app therefore it comes out first. Notice that I did not say our salads came out too. We had to ask about those after about 5 minutes. Of course since we're eating sushi which has tons of sodium, we drink all our water. Our waitress never refills our glasses, another waitress does...once. The food is outstanding but we are getting a little peeved at our waitress. She doesn't clear anything from the table after it's done (i.e. salad bowls, edamame, shells, empty glasses, etc.) so everything just keeps piling on up. Oh, we never are offered silverware either, so we are forced to use chopsticks for everything. A great challenge on a fun night, but it would have been nice to have the option. Then she brings our bill and we split it. Only when the receipts come back, she's charged one card the full amount and the other card half of the amount. When we point this out to her, she just looks at us with an annoyed look and says, "I've already swiped the card. There's nothing I can do." ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Fortunately another waitress heard this, came over and said she could submit a refund to settle things up. Now I loved the old Mai on South Blvd and could love this new one. However, someone needs to retrain our waitress as she needs some serious help before she drives away any customers. I hate it when people complain about the service at the restaurant and berate waiters, but I had a small glimpse of understanding as to why this happens. What could have been a few mistakes and easily overlooked with an apology turned into a bad service experience because of her bad attitude. I hope you go and try this place out but definitely be warned about the waitstaff and if things look to be starting off on the wrong foot, beware the rest of your night.

Good Food on Montford - Selwyn/Park Rd

New American

While the place was packed and looked like it had a lot of potential, I might say it was trying too hard. They change their menu frequently as evidenced by the paper menu stapled together. They have small plates (hot, cold, light and noodles), then a substantial (i.e. meat) and sides. A friend and I split a bibb salad w avocado, goat cheese and grapefruit (yes, it tasted random on the salad too) and calamari. I thought the calamari was awesome even with the lemony sweet sauce and sausage it was served with. I ordered a noodle as my main course since none of the meats appealed to me. There were 3 fish options, rib eye, quail and pork ribs. None of those sounded good to me so I went with a garnecelli noodle tossed with garlic and tomato. It was a bit bland but I guess was what it was billed to be. I just hoped it would have a little zest. We ordered the fried yuca as a side and it was okay. My friend had the rib eye and said that it tasted good but was a little fatty. However, neither of us knew if that was normal for rib eye so take that with a grain of salt. However based on the number of people and noise level, people definitely like this place. The acoustics aren't very good so don't take someone with a hearing problem. All in all, I will probably go back at some point but it's not my new favorite. I would take Roosters over this place any day.  http://www.goodfoodonmontford.com/

Midwood restaurants

So, I've been eating out a lot recently but haven't kept up with the blog so I'll give an update on a bunch at once. I recently toured some of the new Midwood hot spots and here are my thoughts:

Common House - casual restaurant, nicer than the Dish and not as southern. Prices were great ($6 for Fried Green Tomato BLT + side salad and $5 or $6 for grilled (or maybe fried) Pimento Cheese Sandwich + fries. It's a neat spot with outdoor seating (points for that), modern feeling and someplace that's easy to go on a week night. The food was good if not a little random. I can't remember everything but mussels for an app and weird special. I guess you could say the menu wasn't super memorable. I really liked it while I had one friend say so-so on their dining experience. I'd recommend it for a different place to go.

Soul - metro lounge that serves sushi, random small plates and plays lots of techno. The vibe is very cool, the hostess was a little snotty and I've heard it's THE new spot for late night. The sushi menu looked pretty good, slightly overpriced but may be worth it. I didn't eat there. I can imagine it's more of a spot for drinks and will likely compete with Loft 1523 except it doesn't feel as big. The outdoor patio is slender and I can imagine gets packed pretty quickly. I would definitely meet someone there for drinks though and it's across the street from DQ if you get that blizzard craving too.

Central Coffee Co. - this cool coffee shop just opened about a week or two ago across from Intermezzo and the old Swing 1000 place. It's definitely a better coffee shop than Nova's (i.e. it's a real coffee shop and not a bakery with an espresso machine), the treats all looked homemade, and I'm pretty sure it's owned by a greek family as there were some definite greek themed food items. The pound cake looked amazing as did the blueberry scones. The biscotti was really good and homemade as well. They have free wireless and a neat atmosphere. There's a fireplace in the back with two comfy leather chairs and a skylight. There's a little chalkboard for kids and random magazines lying around if you get bored with your coffee friend. :) The only downside is no outdoor seating. However, they are supposedly working on this so maybe there will be next time. I would definitely recommend this place if you're looking for a cool local coffee shop that isn't the 'bucks.

Bucks County Tavern - random bar on the corner of Club & Central. I've always wanted to stop by there for a drink and I was finally able to. It's been 3 or 4 different bars since I've lived nearby and they finally have one that might work. They scraped the paint off the windows so it doesn't look so shady from the outside and put a tiki hut in the back. The crowd was super random ppl in their 40s and 50s, one guy peed in the parking lot and then came back in and sat down at the bar, two Harley guys came in as we were leaving and the whole night felt like that. Supposedly they serve good sandwiches but I was just there to soak in the randomness, not eat. If you're looking for a strange night, this would be a good place to end up.

Amelie's - NoDa

French bakery
$5 - breakfast sandwich and large coffee

If you love cool places with yummy breakfast food or desserts, this is the place to go. They are a bakery with a cafe and food is fresh and good. I got an egg, Gruyere and ham on fresh baguette and it was awesome!! They have tons of little french desserts that people love (but I'm not a huge french dessert person). Because they are bakery, they are open 24 hours but I normally go on Saturday mornings if I remember. The coffee is good (not out of this world) but the sandwich makes that irrelevant. I've been for lunch and their soups are amazing (you can taste test if you want) but I would rather just go for breakfast. It's in a cool neighborhood and has a cool vibe. They support Habitat which I think is pretty cool. Definitely recommend this place!  http://www.ameliesfrenchbakery.com/

Crepe Cellar - NoDa

French American
awesome food, esp crepes

$24 - 2 beers, margarita french bread pizza, nutella & banana crepe

This place is awesome!! It just opened tonight and I have a feeling it won't be the last time I go. The atmosphere is really cool. Only around 10 tables and a neat bar area. It's comfortable and trendy. The food prices were around $6 - $9 per entree and I loved the french bread pizza. My friend had the Gruyere cheese burger with string onion rings on top. That was incredible! Other entrees include ham and Gruyere cheese crepe, pizzas, salads, shepherds pie and other stuff. The desserts were mostly crepes around $5 - $7. A small wine list but 6 beers on tap reasonably priced including Amstel Light. Since tonight was opening night there were 2 tables for every one server but things went very smoothly. I highly recommend it for a great meal in a low key environment.