Eat Here Now

A few weeks ago, my parents flew down to Charlotte to attend my graduation.  They were scheduled to arrive around lunch time on Friday so I planned that once they were settled, we would head out to a casual local lunch while the Husband was at work.  I thought through places they’d been before and thought they might enjoy the quaintness of Eat Here Now.

When Eat Here Now first arrived in the Ayrsley neighborhood of Charlotte, it was almost exactly like Five Guys.  They both had the same look and feel and nearly identical menu.  It was as tasty as Five Guys as well.  At that time, we thought they were the Charlotte equivalent – until we saw a Five Guys a few miles down the road.  A few weeks later, the restaurant closed for renovations.  When it reopened the menu had completely changed and it was now a sit down restaurant with southern menu items.  During that visit, the Husband and I thought it was a quick, casual place we could go to when we didn’t feel like going far or if we wanted a quick bit before a movie at Ayrsley Grand Cinema.

During my last visit, I had a Po’Boy for the first time and looked forward to having another and blogging about it! Unfortunately, when I opened the menu, I found that it had changed and the only po’boy on the menu was a Green Tomato Po’Boy.  Having tried friend green tomatoes during the last visit and not being impressed, I figured I should try something else

A quick view of the inside… It’s small but never crowded.  It has a fun feel to it

I was hungry so I decided to order an appetizer for the three of us.  I chose the Pimento Cheese Dip, an item I generally love after being exposed to Pimento Cheese less than a year ago by the fabulous Kelsey! Unfortunately, this dip did not live up to my hopes It was too runny for my taste.

My dad decided to go with Chili and Salad for his lunch.  What he received was this enormous bowl of chili which he LOVED!  All weekend, he commented about going back to get another

His Caesar Salad was a hit as well (but not as good as the chili).

My mom had wanted a pulled pork sandwich, but unfortunately something happened to their shipment the day before and they were all out.  Instead she went with a chicken wrap with a side of fried okra.  Both were fine.

I wasn’t sure what to have and went back and forth a bit with the menu.  I ended up going for a Buffalo Chicken Wrap and a side of Mac N Cheese.  The wrap was mediocre but I did enjoy the mac n cheese.  It was a bit greasy, but being in a bowl, I was able to avoid the parts I was less fond of.

All in all, my parents enjoyed their first meal of the weekend.  I was disappointed that it didn’t live up to my hopes (still wish I could have had a po’boy!).  However, my dad found a winner with the chili so that made me happy If you’re looking for a quick, relatively inexpensive bite before a movie in Ayrsley or you’re up for a cheap beer, check out Eat Here Now (and as my dad would say – try their chili!).

Love & War in Texas

On our way out of Dallas, we had enough time before our flight to try to get in one more Texan meal.  Since the airport was close to the Grapevine Mills shopping center, I searched the mall directory website for websites of their restaurants.  I came across Love & War in Texas and knew we had to go there! (And wished I had found it the night before instead of going to Uncle Buck’s)

Love and War in Texas is a Texas Heritage restaurant who looks to share their pride in Texas, Texans, and its food and culture.  All vegetables are grown in Texas and the meat and seafood is raised and caught in Texas.  When we arrived, the restaurant had just opened so it was quite empty and quite large!

Once I saw the stage, I immediately regretted not finding this place the night before.  They have Texas bands play in the evening on the stage and I can only imagine how much fun it is!

As I said, lots and lots of Texas in this place!

To drink, the Husband saw that they have Original Dr. Pepper! Meaning they use real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.  It comes in this cute bottle (which I now have on my shelf at home).  Quite tasty!

The Husband and I both went with brisket for lunch! I had the brisket sandwich with cole slaw and beans (which I gave to the Husband due to the cilantro).

And he had the Brisket Tacos.

Both were as good as we expected

Our waiter was quite personable and fun and while the place was very empty during our lunch (we didn’t stay long in order to catch our flight back to Charlotte), we enjoyed the overall atmosphere.  If/when we ever find ourselves back in Texas, I think heading back to Love and War in Texas for dinner is definitely up there on our list!

Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse

Where did December go? And for that matter, where did 2009 go? Now that I’m back to blogging (thank you to the Husband for keeping this going these last few weeks all by himself!) you’ll get all sorts of fun posts – from Dallas, Las Vegas, Orlando/Disney, and even all the way back to finishing my posts about our Christmas vacation to Europe in December 2008!

So back to Dallas, which the Husband briefly covered a few weeks ago with the awesome architecture (which I actually didn’t see in person) and El Chico, the delicious Tex Mex we had the first night we arrived (oh, and our hotel!).

Saturday morning the Husband and I visited with our dear friends we met just a year earlier on our river cruise down the Danube.  We had a wonderful time catching up on the past year and enjoying a delicious home cooked brunch.  The Husband then dropped me off for my meetings while he headed into the city to see what Dallas had to offer.  Once my meetings were done for the day, the Husband, some of my colleagues and I headed over to the Grapevine Mills shopping center, just north of the airport, in search of dinner.  Using my handy iPhone, I came across Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse and knew that was the one.

The restaurant was quite large with incredibly high ceilings (as seen above).  We were seated in a nice large booth for our good size group.  On the way in, we noted the brewery equipment and looked forward to checking out the beer menu.

The Husband and I both decided to get the samplers!

That’s a lot of beer! We ended up being there a couple of hours chatting and eating so it worked out well If I recall correctly, I really liked both the Brown and Blonde Ales.

While enjoying our beers, the table decided to order calamari to share amongst the group.  It had parmesan on it which was a bit odd, but overall it tasted fresh and there were no fillers.

Being a brewery and steakhouse, there were a number of steaks to choose from on the menu.

Most, if not all, of the group decided to go with Buffalo per the menu’s recommendation (in red).  I went with the Buffalo Filet (I love filets – they’re my favorite cut).  It was 8oz of steak with a red wine sauce on the side.  I ordered mushrooms to top it with and a side of asparagus.  The cup of mushrooms was insanely large! This meal was quite enjoyable.

The Husband went with the Sirloin (I think!).  He added grilled shrimp and had a loaded baked potato on the side.

One of my colleagues noticed that another table had Dirt Cake/Pie (pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms) on their table so he and I were excited to order that for dessert.  Unfortunately, that was not an option for adults Although dessert was not big on our list, some how there were a handful ordered!  The one that showed up in front of the Husband and me was some sort of oreo cream pie.  It wasn’t particularly good and I wouldn’t order it again.  I wish we could have had the Dirt Pie!

All in all, the steaks and beers were good and the open air made for a casual experience.  We were looking for a Dallas experience (which the Husband and I experienced more the next day) but the group was happy with the choice for dinner after a number of hours of meetings.

Brunch at Pewter Rose

The weekend of my graduation, I made it a point to make it to Pewter Rose for brunch! I’ve decided that brunch is possibly my favorite meal (having the option of both breakfast and lunch foods at the same time?!?! sign me up!).  Plus the Husband had been a few weeks earlier with friends and came home with good reviews.  I thought my parents and I would like to try it out.

Luckily, I made reservations on OpenTable.com as it was quite busy! There were a number of large parties (which ultimately caused us to wait a long time for our food) but the service was fun and the atmosphere was great!

Being brunch the day after graduation, I wanted a Mimosa Unfortunately it was before noon in the bible belt so no alcohol to start

The Husband went with coffee (I like how coffee looks in glass mugs!)

And I stuck with water.  I’m not sure if you can see the detail of the pitchers, but they all have oranges and limes in them.

One of the items that many customers come back for are their complimentary Butterscotch Scones.  These were great! Later in the morning, while waiting for our meals that took a while due to the large parties, our waiter brought us a second round.  Yay!

Before we arrived, I knew that if they had Eggs Benedict, that would be my choice.  Not only did they have the traditional kind, they had three options!

I generally prefer a Florentine Benedict (spinach instead of ham) but with that not on the menu, the Oscar Benedict (crab cake, asparagus, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce) looked good.  I chose grits on the side topped with cheese.  The Oscar Benedict turned out to be a perfect choice!  The grits bowl was larger than expected so I ate only a bit of it.

There were so many good options on the menu!  If I hadn’t been set on Eggs Benedict, I’m not sure what I would have chosen.

At the recommendation of the waiter, my dad ordered the Mashed Potato Omelette.  It included mashed potatoes, cheddar cheese, strips of bacon, and scallions in the middle of a large omelette.  We knew it would be big but had no idea it would be this big!

At my urging, my mom ordered the Bananas Foster French Toast.  I got to have her leftovers for breakfast the next day and they were still good in a box

The Husband went with the Huevos Rancheros and was pleased with his selection.

Pewter Rose lived up to my expectations for a tasty brunch in a fun location! It reminded the Husband and I of our brunch at High Cotton in Charleston – just a bit less dressy!  The food was tasty, but it was a bit frustrating at how long it took to receive our food (45 minutes or so).  It was all worth it, though, and the company made the time fly!

Graduation Dinner at Mama Ricotta’s

The Saturday before Christmas, I graduated with a masters degree which I’ve worked toward for the past 2 1/2 years! My parents came to town and after a relatively quick ceremony, the Husband, my parents, and I headed to one of our favorite Charlotte Italian restaurants: Mama Ricotta’s. We hadn’t been since we celebrated with our friend Diana for her birthday and were looking forward to heading back and sharing the delicious food with my parents!

Using Open Table (opentable.com), I made reservations online (and actually rescheduled a number of times due to graduation times changing with the weather). We were running late, ultimately, gave the restaurant a call and gave them a heads up. They appreciated the call and let us know that being a bit late wasn’t going to be a problem. (Having a reservation on a Saturday night is not required but highly recommended as it gets crowded!)

Once we arrived, there was still a bit of a wait so we hung out in the smallish waiting area while I took pictures of the restaurant

We were seated in the enclosed patio. While it was quite chilly outside, they had plenty of space heaters hanging from the ceiling, warming up the space nicely.

We started with my favorite appetizer at Mama Ricotta’s – the Warm Goat Cheese and Mascarpone Dip. So good! (and everyone agreed)

To drink, I had a glass of White Sangria to celebrate

Around the table, we each had something different off of the menu and I sampled a little of each! Mama Ricotta’s menu is one that offers family style. It lists items as single items (for one person) or family (two to three persons). I would tend to say it feeds a bit more than that though! A single item can easily be shared between two while family could serve more (especially if you order multiple dishes to be shared).

My mom ordered the Rigatoni with Meat Sauce. On my recommendation, she also added fresh ricotta. (Yum!) I enjoyed this as a leftovers for lunch one day

My dad went with the Lobster Ravioli (if I remember correctly – it was a special). Very fresh tasting!

The Husband recommended I get the Pollo Bianco. Apparently, every time we go to Mama Ricotta’s, he orders it and I end up eating more of it than my own dish. I took his advice and did so It included scallopini-style chicken layered with prosciutto and mozzarella in a Chianti wild mushroom sauce with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.

Last but not least, the Husband branched out (since I ordered the Pollo Bianco) and got the Pollo Romano. This included a sautéed, boneless breast of chicken with a Romano cheese and bread crumb crust, and thin spaghetti and tomato-basil sauce.

This was a great graduation celebration meal! If you haven’t been yet, this is a great location to go with friends and family, for both casual and celebratory events.