Where have I been? After Durham, Charlotte.

I drove down to Mike's on Thursday afternoon. My college roommate Kat is in Charlotte right now, helping her sis out, who just had her third child. Brave girl! Kat, Mike, and I met up on Thursday night, and went to a place called Arpa for dinner.

Mike said it all pretty succinctly in his Yelp post, but in my own words, it was good food, and the prices were reasonable. What went wrong was the portion size. Like, I thought the tuna I ordered was good. And I didn't even mind that it was $14. But for $14, I expect to have at least three pieces of it! Two little tuna nuggets for that price point didn't match up. I guess the way I feel about it is, I think I should have been a hell of a lot fuller having paid the bill that I did. But the food itself was decent enough. The drinks were very good. Maybe this should be a drinking place from now on.

After dinner, we stepped over to an Irish bar called Ri Ra. This place was fun! It definitely looked the part of the pub. The live music was awesome! As in, would come back just to hear them. They were able to get the entire bar revved up, with promises of various music, from 80s to bluegrass...to "80s bluegrass"!

I was pleasantly tipsy -- see incriminating photo -- as was Kat. Or I guessed she was, since she was compelled to get up and grace the bar with a slightly modified River Dance knockoff. Priceless.

Sunday grub

On my last day in Charlotte, Mike and I finally went over to Mac's Speed Shop to try out their BBQ. It was good! I'd definitely go back there. We each got a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, which comes with slaw and a side. Then we decided to split a veggie plate so we could try out additional sides. So, the sides we had were:

• Mac and cheese: Good, but nothing exceptional.
• Onion rings: Greasy goodness.
• Hush puppies: Heavenly, but they only gave us three! WTF! Don't be stingy!
• Collard greens: That was all Mike. But he seemed to enjoy them.
• Green bean casserole: I wanted to like it more than I did. It was good with the cheese that was baked on the top of it, but not really without it.
• Slaw: OK. Your basic slaw.
• BBQ: Yum!
  

They also have a HUGE beer selection. I was a tad hungover, so no beer for me. Could be a good place to grab a beer or two on the weekend, even if it is a restaurant first and foremost.

I'd definitely go back here.

For dinner, we were not very hungry since we snacked at the mall, so we just got the Insalata Carrabba from Carabba's, as well as a bowl of a lentil soup that we split. It was yummy! We also got a strawberry cheesecake, because we are gluttonous. Note to self: be sure to check the bag before leaving the restaurant. We ended up with a small bowl of minestrone instead of our strawberry topping. Mike also asked for them to add chicken to the salad, but they didn't. Booooo.

They did include some crusty bread, which was nice. Even though we didn't eat it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mike and I finally got to celebrate V-day by going to Lulu's, a small restaurant over in Elizabeth. Mike had gotten the idea to come here based on the recommendation of a foodie he knows. Specifically, she noted that the cheese that they serve on the antipasti plate was yummy, so we ordered that to start. It was very tasty! The star of the plate was these little pepperocini peppers that were stuffed with a meat and cheese. Mike loved those. Quite tasty.

Dinner was good, although nothing fantastic. Mike ordered a steak and fries dish. The steak was fine, but nothing special. The sauce he had was good. The fries were overcooked. I ordered a veal special that was served with a shrimp risotto and asparagus. It was good to me, but the sauce they had was a bit bland. Mike hated it.

The dining experience was nice, but not really romantic. We had a somewhat snooty French waiter who was damn near impossible to understand. But I did like the space. It would make for a good first date spot, I think.

After dinner, Mike and I headed to a wine bar called Dolce Vita Wine Bar. This was a neat space. It was a young crowd, probably college students, and wasn't too crowded, so we were able to get a table to watch the live music. It was a mix of good talent, and others with not as much talent but plenty of charisma. It must have been an open-mic night. We were certainly entertained. The wine was nice too. Check out Mike's review of this place on Yelp.

We then went to another bar after that. Too drunk to recall the place, sadly. It is probably a good place for a casual night of beers.

Back in Charlotte

I'm in Charlotte again this weekend. I was supposed to go last weekend, but came down with a nasty flu, so Mike and I had to postpone our Valentine's plans until now. I left the office at 5:15PM, and arrived at Mike's at exactly 9:15PM. With it being a rainy Friday afternoon, I think that four hours is pretty good timing!

Mike and I went over to Nikko's for dinner, and boy, was it a party over there or what! I expected this place to close at 10 or so, but it was open until midnight. We attempted to order something that we saw someone else order last time we were there. We chose poorly. What we ended up getting was some sort of salmon roll that was deep fried. It wasn't very good at all. The rest of our meal was the basic stuff we've gotten before. Nothing much worth mentioning again. Except that I thought our first time there was better than this time. This time wasn't bad. Just not as good.

This morning, after being abruptly awoken by a construction worker continually making a banging noise, we decided to grab bagel sammies at Owen's Bagel & Deli. The guy making our sandwiches was really nice and helpful. There are about 10 types of bagels -- and they call "everything" bagels "combo". Whatev.

Mike got a bacon, egg, and American on an onion bagel. I got a sausage, egg, and Meunster on a combo bagel. Verdict? The sausage wasn't very good at all, and I found myself enjoying my bagel more when there wasn't a bite of meat in it. Mike's was great. The bacon is definitely the way to go.

Oh, and the bagels are steamed! It's good. They're not mushy like I was expecting them to be. They're good! Just don't get the sausage.

Welcome to Charlotte! (Sunday & Monday)

Update (03/05/2008):
The deli, I figured out, is called Just Fresh. I gave it a pretty poor review on Yelp.
***

On Sunday, we tried out a deli that was in the Harris Teeter parking lot --can't recall the name: will have to ask Mike. It was just so-so. It felt like a chain, and the food was sort of cafeteria style. I got a dill chicken sandwich, which was okay considering dill isn't really my favorite. I got a cup of chicken chili on the side -- again, just so so.

I can't recall what Mike got -- Oven Roasted Sandwich? He wasn't impressed.

We won't be returning.

There's a coffeehouse in this shopping center called Dilworth Coffee House. Mike seems to really like it. I will have to try their chai tea when I visit again.

We went out for sushi on Sunday night. We ate at Nikko's Sushi, which is walking distance from the apartment. It was so good. As in, one of the best sushi meals I've had in a long time. We will definitely be back. The vibe inside is very trendy. We sat, of course, at the bar, and our waitress was very helpful. She suggested several things, and the item we got was good! We also had the tempura --not a usual for us-- and that was good too.

Monday morning, I drove back to Atlanta. There's really nothing to report, other than I stopped by Martin's Restaurant, based on some friends' recommendations. It totally hit the spot. I had a sausage biscuit that was so yummy. They recommended the pork tenderloin biscuit, so I will get that next time.

Welcome to Charlotte! (Friday & Saturday)

I made my first pilgrimage to Charlotte this weekend to visit Mike and help him move in. And from what I have seen so far, I really like it! The area he lives in reminds me of the vibe in Athens, GA. Small town feel, but plenty of things to do and places to eat. I will break our adventures into a few smaller posts, so it's not so lengthy.

I arrived late on Friday, and we went to a nearby bar called Tyber Creek Pub. It was kind of divey, but we had fun. The downstairs has an older crowd, and the upstairs looked reminiscent of fraternity parties I attended in college. Much younger up there. There was also live music that was really good, but so loud! Ears ringing the next day loud. Note to self: take ear plugs.

On Saturday, we had lunch at Bojangles. Mike had never been there for breakfast.

Saturday night, we at 300 East. Apparently, this is an institution in Charlotte, and it lives up to that reputation. The food was really good! This is a take-your-parents-here kind of place, and the price point is super reasonable. Mike and I have eaten at many a place that cost more and wasn't as good.

I got the Grilled Gorgonzola-Stuffed Filet Mignon, which is wrapped in apple-smoked bacon and is served with buttermilk mashed potatoes and whatever veggie they have on hand (I got green beans). My steak wasn't cooked evenly all the way through, but it was still good. The bacon wasn't cooked enough to my liking, so I'd probably save myself the calories and not eat it. The green beans were good, but I personally prefer canned green beans, so Mike and I switched sides.

Mike got the Moroccan Spiced Pork Tenderloin, which was glazed in a pomegranate molasses and a charmoula sauce, and was served with a potato cake and sautéed spinach. The spinach was hella good. The potato cake needed a little something extra, so we took the chunk of herbed butter that was served with my steak and added it to the cake, which corrected its shortcomings.

Mike also got a cannolini soup that had pancetta in it. It was really good. A soup du jour, I think, so it's not always on the menu. I had a basic vinaigrette salad, which had a tasty dressing. It had beet shavings on it, and they weren't too bad. :|

Afterward, we met up with Mike's coworker and wife at a bar called Ed's Tavern. It is a sports bar, and was very crowded, but we eventually found a table. It was a fun, run-of-the-mill type of place. A tad loud, but it doesn't have anything on Tyber.

Check out my restaurant review