Charlotte Restaurant Week!!

There are many things I miss about living in Tennessee, but when Charlotte Restaurant Week comes around, I forget all about them! Charlotte restaurant week is actually more than a week but who's counting? Many area restaurants make up a fixed menu with at least 3 courses for only $30. Some restaurants offer more than 3 courses or even offer glasses of wine, etc. for the dinner. Some restaurants offer their specialties for an upcharge so you're still eating some REALLY nice food but for a lower price. I feel like the key to restaurant week (even though this was my first) is eating some place you normally wouldn't eat because it's too expensive, has really fancy food, etc. because it's only $30! Now obviously this could get pricey, so I also learned that I need to put some money away and NOT go to a national vet convention during the "Queen's Feast" so I can go to multiple restaurants!

My first restaurant was Omaha Steakhouse. This falls in the category of a place I wouldn't normally eat b/c it's expensive. I had the field green salad to start (balsamic = good, over-abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers = bad), and then the salmon as my entree. When I read the menu, I read "salmon with white wine lobster sauce". This was a bit of a typo because it should have said salmon with lobster in a white wine sauce...hey, they didn't even spell prosciutto right on their menu (I moonlight as a spelling correcter). Why the concern? Well, if it had been written correctly, I would have realized I was actually eating salmon AND lobster! Obviously, when my dish came out, I was pleasantly surprised and my $30 seemed to stretch out way more than I thought it would! The salmon was grilled and topped with a ton of sweet lobster. This was resting on some really creamy mashed potatoes! There was a white wine sauce that paired very nicely with the dish. All in all, VERY good. The best part? I had enough for leftovers!


The picture doesn't do me justice


For dessert, I was intrigued by the "mango pie." I was imagining an actual pie with slices of mango. When the waitress told me it was actually like a key lime pie but with mango, I was sold. This pie was so incredible. I LOVE key lime pie, but the mango pie is giving it a run for its money!













Last night, I went with Anna, Anna's mom, and Shelly to Fran's Filling Station. Now Fran's, if you remember, is the home of the bacon-wrapped tater tots. Fran's doesn't really fall into either of my categories for the Queen's Feast, but hey, it's Fran's and it's delicious!

For my first course, I had the "Best in Charlotte Fries," which are served with herbs and blue cheese crumbles.

I'm good for you! Ok, maybe not, but I'm delicious!

I was slightly confused because I have been reading the Top 100 Dishes list like it's my job and these are not mentioned in the list. They are, however, very good (not, unfortunately, better than the pesto and brie fries from the Crepe Cellar). Anna had the marinated goat cheese, slow-roasted tomatoes, and sweet garlic with grilled country bread. Shelly picked the tater tot combo, and Anna's mom had the fries like me. For our second course, Anna, myself, and Anna's mom all picked the Latin Wedge Salad, served with roasted peppers, corn, cheddar cheese, avocado, and creamy sherry vinaigrette. This was my least exciting course because the choices weren't so great. I don't feel like I'm TOO picky of an eater, but I don't like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, or mussels and all of those were included in the 3 choices. I'm sorry Fran!!

For my entree, I had the Maryland-style crab cake trio with spicy remoulade. I have been wanting to eat this since my first visit to Fran's and it did not disappoint. The crab was plentiful and the breading was so light and crispy - yum! There was only a bit of remoulade and it was perfect! Shelly had the Lamb Ragu (lamb killer!), Anna or her mom had the Eggplant Parmesan and the other had something else (aaah! I forgot! I was so entranced by my crab cakes!).

Trio of delicious-ness

And now, onto dessert. I have to warn you - this is not for the faint of heart. If you are hungry, get something to fill up on before reading this and looking at the picture. Shelly, Anna, and I all picked the bread pudding. Anna's mom chose the coconut cake, which she was very happy with. However, NOTHING in the world could be better than the bread pudding. I don't want to sound sacrilegious at all but I believe now that Heaven is an endless buffet of Fran's bread pudding. Look at this:



This picture REALLY doesn't do me justice

 Ok, now as I look up the description, I am seeing it says "Metropolitan Bakery's Bread Pudding." Fran, what does this mean? Where is this bakery? Even if you didn't make it, I still love you. Ok, I just realized that Fran actually opened the bakery as well, so as you were.

The bread pudding was so soft but crispy where the edges were. It was served with whipped cream, buttermilk ice cream, caramel, and strawberries. I just had shivers down my spine thinking about it.

I had such delicious food and good times during  Charlotte Restaurant Week. One of the things that makes me the happiest is that Fran's isn't SO fancy and expensive and I can eat there anytime!! Now, please excuse me while I start saving up for the next Queen's Feast in January!

That's amore (parte due)

Vivace, you were too good to resist! My friend Nicole was in town for the weekend a couple of weeks ago and she INSISTED we eat at Vivace. Obviously, this suggestion was not met with much resistance. Shelly, Anna, Nicole, and I traveled to Metropolitan Avenue for another scrumptious meal.

For an appetizer, we had the calamari served with a spicy tomato aioli. The calamari wasn't the best I've ever had but it was very good. I had a hard time eating the little octopus (octopi??) that were in their full form. I am not a vegetarian by any means, but directly seeing the animals I'm eating makes it a little hard to continue. We also had some more of their delicious bread with white bean spread.

For the entrees, I had the chili capellini with lump crab, Nicole had the veal saltimbocca, Anna had the scallop risotto, and Shelly had one of the night's specials, the halibut.

My capellini was SO GOOD! I was a little hesitant because the description included "melted tomatoes" but when the waitress described the dish, I knew I could handle it. The pasta was made with actual chili in it so the pasta itself was spicy. The sauce was just a mild broth and the crab was added to the top. This dish is not for the faint of heart. I love some spicy food, but this was pushing my spice meter pretty far up there!

This dish is hot, hot, hot!

Nicole's veal came with fresh mozzarella ravioli and a porcini butter sauce. Anna's scallop risotto was a risotto that Tom Collichio would be proud of, and Shelly's dish was wonderful as well.

Halibut special - so pretty!

Scallop risotto

Veal Saltimbocca

For dessert, Anna and I both got the bittersweet chocolate molten cake although she got the vanilla gelato with hers and I had coffee gelato with mine. Shelly and Nicole got the peach crostata and the tiramisu and both ate half of each (a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself). The tiramisu was tasty but, as always, not as wondeful as Mike's Pastry Shop (why oh why can't you come to Charlotte??). All in all, another fabulous dinner at a wonderful restaurant with great friends. However, considering I have stuffed myself twice to the point of almost bursting at this place, I won't be going back for awhile. When I do, moderation is the theme (if that's even possible)!

That's amore!

Ahh, Italia...how I miss you. Since flying back out to Rome would be WAY too expensive, I will enjoy the cuisine here in Charlotte for a lot less money! Anna, Audrey, and I traveled to Vivace on Metropolitan Ave. last night and had a delicious meal.  I really loved the decor in this restaurant. It was fancy without being snobby or stuffy, and I felt comfortable wearing my scrubs since I went there after work. I LOVED the lights in the dining room but was apparently not smart enough to take a picture of them since I don't have one....

The Top 100 dish was the Pappardelle alla Bolognese, which I had WAY too hard of a time pronouncing. But, before we get to that, we split (well, Anna and I split and Audrey ate a little bit of) a seasonal salad. The salad had mixed greens, fresh peaches, goat cheese, crispy prosciutto, hazelnuts, and a lemon honey vinaigrette. It was wonderful - so light and fresh. I don't think I've ever had peaches OR hazelnuts in a salad and, let me tell you, they were delicioso!

Look at how pretty I am!

For our meal, I had the Pappardelle and Audrey and Anna had the Roasted Vegetable Tortellini.

Roasted Vegetable Tortellini

Pappardelle alla Bolognese

Everything was SO wonderful! The pappardelle came in either an "appetizer" portion or a dinner portion. I got the smaller size since there was no way I was skipping out on dessert! The pasta was homemade and I could've eaten a whole bowl of just that. The sauce had a "goat cheese crema" and a piave vecchio, which is apparently a type of cheese. The portion size was perfect and the bread they gave us (with a white bean spread) was perfect for sopping up the extra sauce.

The tortellini dish was very tasty. The tortellini were huge and filled with ricotta and veggies. The sauce was a piave brodo, or cheese broth. We all thought it would be heavy but it wasn't. The vegetables had a little crisp to them so everything tasted so fresh.

Of course, then we got the dessert menu. Let me tell you, we asked the waiter about the desserts when we were telling him our main dish orders...or maybe even the salad order...we were that excited. I chose the Peach Crostata, served with a warm blueberry sauce and a sweet corn gelato. Anna chose chocolate and vanilla gelato, and Audrey got the Warm Bittersweet Chocolate Cake. The cake was served with cherry vanilla gelato and a cherry reduction.  Mmmmm...I sigh just thinking about them.

Homemade gelato

Peach Crostata



Bittersweet Chocolate Cake



 I asked the waiter if I should get the tiramisu or the peach crostata. He suggested the crostata, which I was a little hesitant about given the sweet corn gelato. He assured me that the gelato wasn't overpowering if you eat everything together. He was right (and of course no tiramisu could live up to Mike's Pastry Shop), although I did even like the gelato by itself. The pastry was so perfect, crispy and soft at the same time, sweet but not too sweet. The blueberries added a little something to the dish, and the corn gelato helped even out the sweetness of the peaches and the blueberries.

Anna had rave reviews about her gelato and even proclaimed the vanilla better than the chocolate, which she assures us she never does (I tend to agree with her on that). Audrey loved the cake (it had a warm molten center) but wasn't too much of a fan of the gelato.

All in all, I ate way too much, but it was such a delicious meal. The ONLY complaint I would have was that the menu was hard to read since it was in Italian. However, our waiter was so nice and really explained everything well (his name was Joe so if you go, ask for him). AND, to make the night even better, Anna and Audrey assured me that I would be back in time to catch some of Charlotte Restaurant Week. Color me relieved!

Grazie for reading!