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!