Out and About: Charging Up

Gone are the days of traveling with nothing but a paperback book.

When I started packing for my month away from home, I packed heavy. With substantial time in Minnesota, which would be warm(er) and then a week in Alaska, which will be pretty cool and damp, I wanted to prepare for every contingency. I packed ALL my summer clothes and shoes and then a bunch of warmer layers for the 50-60 degree dampness in Juneau.

But really the one thing I was most concerned about forgetting was some charger. Sure, you can find places to charge devices, but if you don't have the right cable with you at the right time, you are in for some frustrating moments. I needed cables for my phone, Kindle, laptop and tablet. I also packed my small portable charger. I can use it during the long trip on the plane and in airports tomorrow, when I go from Minneapolis to Juneau.

But. The charger has to be charged too. And for a while this morning I thought I was missing a way to make that happen...the charging cable! So I sat down and started working on other projects, sipping my coffee, and figured I'd have to go get another one somewhere today. I'll be traveling around 13 hours tomorrow, when you count the several-hour layover in Seattle. As I sorted through all the wires and plugs, I discovered that the plug for the tablet would fit! That little cheap, free Verizon tablet has come in handy more than I like to admit. 

First (Well...Second) Visit: Gusto!

The school year was winding down and one day we just needed to go out for a tapas and wine wind-down after work. Since I get off at 3:30, and my friend, a teacher, gets off at 4, it's a good time of day to hit a restaurant that will most likely be crowded a little later. We chose Gusto! in Ballantyne.

Bruschetta Barcelona-kale pesto, goat cheese, garbanzos, and tomatoes

My friend is not a fan of goat cheese, but she's willing to give things a try. I didn't push her. She kind of pushed it herself. I love all things goat cheese and she was willing to try it again, thinking she may not have had good applications. This was an excellent appetizer, and she definitely came over to the goat side. 

Let me say here that the most memorable part of this experience at Gusto! was NOT the food. It was the service. Actually no...not the service...which was excellent. It was the server himself. He brought the food, suggested the wine, gave us good ideas on the apps. All that was good. BUT HE WAS ANNOYING. He was a pure salesman. And it was not about what we were ordering. It was about what we were NOT ordering. Namely, the pasta. 

Gusto! prides itself on their house-made pasta. Every noodle, every sheet, rolled out by hand. The dough made from the finest semolina flour. "Have you tried it?" he asked. "Yes, I have," I said. "But today we are here for light appetizers and drinks. Thank you." 

He was relentless. 

Seared tuna crusted with sesame seeds. I am just now realizing the menu says there is avocado. Maybe they were out that day? No matter, because this was absolutely ravishing. It was all I could do stop myself from pulling the entire plate of tuna to my side of the table!

This was my second visit. I visited Gusto! one Saturday morning with another friend and we had an early lunch. My companion that day had a pasta dish. I don't remember what I had. We tasted each other's. Yes, the house made pasta is good. So is Oggi's. And so, for that matter, is mine. 

Stuffed zucchini with roasted veggies and orange almond sauce

We ordered our apps all at the same time, but they came in a succession. Which was fine. He paced them rather well. We were not quite done with the first when the tuna arrived, and then the third arrived as we were savoring the tuna. I thought it was cool, how he did that. I thought, "This is nice. Sort of a progression." But the problem is that, each time he came back to the table he would try again to get us to order a pasta entree. More rhapsodizing about their pasta. 

I was getting more and more dismissive. My friend was backing me up, but not quite as vocal. When he said, "Have you had homemade pasta before?" I said, "Yes." She said, "She makes it." He said, "Oh, but the semolina flour..." I cut him off and told him "I KNOW". 

As we wound down our visit, my friend looked at me and said, "Would you come back here again?" And I honestly can say I don't know. The food was delicious. Fresh and light. The wine was good, the time of day was wonderful for a sit-down after work. 

Maybe I should drink a glass before I go. Then maybe the hard-sales waiter might not bother me so much. 

First Visit: Sabor Latin Street Grill

We need to go back to Sabor. This food was good, but I think I made a mistake with my choice. I should have just had tacos. Instead I ordered Dominican Nachos and, while it tasted good, it really turned out to not be what I wanted. 

Sabor Latin Street Grill in the Elizabeth neighborhood, is very close to the Grady Cole Center, where we see the Charlotte Roller Girls. We love to eat in Elizabeth or Plaza Midwood after the bout. It also turns out that Saturday night around 7 or so, parking around Sabor kind of opens up a bit, and there are no long lines at the counter. There was a steady stream of customers, but they were not slammed.

We liked how approachable the staff are. They were patient with the people in front of us, who asked several questions about the menu. Even the bus people were friendly and eager and to help us be comfortable. 

Bob had an empanada and a ground beef taco. The empanada was huge, so he felt like he had plenty to eat. 

I had the Dominican Nachos. The nachos were well seasoned and there was a LOT. It didn't help that the nachos were made on yucca fries, rather than chips. The fries were large wedges. There was a ton of wonderfully seasoned chicken layered next, and then all the toppings...cabbage, onions, salsa, cotija cheese and rosada sauce. It was all very flavorful. Just too much food. And I think the yucca wedges added a sorty of mealy texture that I didn't really love. I think if I made something like myself, I'd make yucca chips, crisply fried, and serve them on the side. 

I think we'll try it again.

First Visit: Brazwell's Pub-Ballantyne (Veggie Burger Quest)

This is a clear winner in my quest for the ultimate veggie burger. Not THE winner...there will be many winners...such as Emma's of Salisbury, Bang Bang Burger, and The Cafe @ Williams Hardware. Today I was pleased to find a fantastic, house made black bean burger just a short distance (albeit long drive, with Ballantyne traffic) from my house.

I heard about Brazwell's Pub last week, when a former student stopped in at school to pick up a transcript. He said he's one of the chef's at this pub in Ballantyne. His story is like many great chefs: he started as a dishwasher and his boss found he had talent in the kitchen. This was not news to his Foods teacher at school. 

This loosely formed(which, to me, proves it's house made, and not full of fillers and commercial additives, like this place), well-seasoned black bean mixture overflows a wonderful bun that has been lightly toasted to a pleasing crunch. It's topped with melted pepperjack cheese, sour cream, slices of avocado, a pretty decent tomato slice, lettuce and red onion. Even the red onion won me over. Often people serve too much red onion on their salads and sandwiches, causing them to overwhelm (and maybe mask?) flavor, dry your mouth out, and cause you to burp onion for the rest of the day. This one had two slices of onion. I still took off one, but I wasn't shoveling ring after ring to the side of my plate. 

And the FRIES! They were well-salted and had a couple other seasonings on them. They were slightly wilted, but forgivable. These are the fries that come with the sandwich and I can't imagine wanting to pay more to take them off and sub for something else. 

As a side note: that beer is Old Mecklenburg Brewery's Hornet's Nest. It's the brew in season right now, and it's very delicious.

Back to the food: both my lunch companions had the black and blue burger and loved it. The Friday special was fish & Chips and I'll probably have to go back for that. They are often my bar food of choice.

First Visit: Famous Toastery-Indian Land

"How is everything?"

"Everyone is your server. We don't assign a server to your table."

And this is kind of what lessened our enjoyment of the experience. They interrupted our conversation 6 or 7 times. We were in the restaurant only about 45 minutes and it was so hard to keep our conversation going because of all the interruptions. In fact, when the manager came by and started asking our opinion, I even mentioned it (after Bob explained that the potatoes, while good, are NOT hash browns). He STILL STAYED and talked to us longer! He explained to us that everyone is our server and also that they weren't busy, so...

So here is the New Yorker (what's left of it):

I love smoked salmon in scrambled eggs. Like most breakfast places, the omelette is a 3-egg one, which is way too much food. The potatoes are ok. They have a good taste, but they are more boiled and sauteed than anything. There is nothing crisp about about them, They are not hashbrowns, as the menu implies and the manager even said there has been conversation about changing the name. These are more like home fries, but I don't think I'd even call them that, since there is nothing fried about them. Oh, and the toast? Not really toasted. It's funny they didn't ask how I'd like that. We had sourdough toast, which is a great option, but I think it has barely passed under the broiler. It was mostly just hardened up a bit, with a tiny bit of browning on one end.

The restaurant itself is very cool and spacious. We ate in the sunroom next to the see-through fireplace and it was very comfortable. They weren't busy because it was early. We were there before 9, but I know the place is jumping later in the morning, after the Baptists and Methodists get out of church. 

The prices are pretty similar to Another Broken Egg's prices. The best deal is an omelette plate, which comes with toast or fruit, and potatoes or grits. But if you add a side with bacon (which Bob said was wonderfully delicious...and they ask how you like it cooked), or orange juice (which is freshly squeezed to order), it can get spendy for a breakfast.

Famous Toastery would not be a common spot for us. We are more into places like The Yolk in Rock Hill. 

First Visit: Luigi & Sons Italian Restaurant

We visited Luigi's on Cherry Rd in Rock Hill Friday night to celebrate Nate's birthday. 

The star of the table was definitely their pizza. Taylor said it was the most delicious pizza he's had in a while. "I can't wait to wake up in the middle of the night and eat the leftover slice!" He said. 

Bob had the meatball roll, which was beautiful to look at it. He liked it, but said it really had too much cheese in it. It's probably right for most people, but he and I don't, as a rule, eat just a ton of cheese. 

I had the eggplant rolatini. I'd rate it just "passable." It was seriously lacking in flavor, namely salt. But the eggplant was cooked appropriately...not too oily, and the pasta was al dente. I'm not really impressed with their sauce. It just seems sort of bland. That said, I will eat the leftovers. Not all the pasta, but I'll definitely finish the eggplant. Oh, and the salad. Ask for the dressing to be on the side. I was served a wonderful side salad with nice, fresh-looking ingredients, but they drowned it in dressing. You know what they say about "assume...."

About the restaurant itself: it's very much a family style restaurant and shows its age...mismatched tables and chairs, and aging decor. 

Service was terribly, terribly slow. But the staff were all gracious and friendly, even if not real attentive. It was not full in the dining room, so I figure their takeout and delivery must be pretty heavy. 

Would we go back? Probably not. But if I lived in Rock Hill, I'd probably make homemade pizza a lot less often. 

First Visit: Spice Wagon Kebab Food Truck

We were bumming around SouthEnd. We hadn't really been thinking about lunch, but we were open. We stopped in at the Atherton Farm Market and there in the parking lot was this kebab food truck. Taylor perked up immediately. "It's been a long time since I've had a kebab," he said. And so we queued up.

Let me first say the food was good and plentiful. But the process was an exercise in patience and nerve-calming. 

First, it took an incredibly long time to get our food. Bob and I had jerk chicken kebabs and Taylor had beef. I don't know if we got there just as they were about to make another batch of meat or what, but the wait turned into about 20 minutes. And it was a little chilly outside. There were tables behind the food truck that are part of the Atherton area,, but the generator they had on the back the truck was SO LOUD and SMELLY that we really weren't up to sitting back there.

I suspect they might be better on a food truck night, when things are fast and heavy. They probably have more food ready then. Like I said, the food was good. I wouldn't say it was excellent. The corn was fairly old but not totally gummy and the Parmesan they sprinkled on it was really good. The fries were a tad soggy for me, but not terrible. They had a spice dust on them that could have used some salt. The meat on the kebabs, though, was cooked perfectly (they were thighs, which hold well) and seasoned nicely. There was a small pita underneath the kebabs, and you got a little container of tzatziki on the side. The tzatziki was good.

It would not be a "destination" for me. I'm sure I won't wake up one day next week wishing I had another of their kebabs. But it wasn't a disappointment or waste of money.

First Visit: Tamaleria Laurita, on Arrowood

We ate in the car. And loved it. 

This little tamaleria was written about in Charlotte Five last week, which is what brought my attention to it. It's a tiny place with 6 tables in a strip mall on Arrowood. It ended up being an hour-and-a-half experience for us, which we will make again. And probably again. And there may be nights when I'll text Mensa Boy and beg him to stop by and pick up supper there before coming home.

The menu is simple. Tamales. And some American options for people who probably have no business going to a tamale restaurant, but have been dragged there by someone they love. We ordered a plate of 3 tamales. No sides. We could have gotten a combination platter that had rice and beans but we wanted to just try the tamales. There was a fantastic pork one, a chicken one, and a third one we didn't even unwrap because we were full. So next time we'll try that one first, I guess. We each took our third tamale home and Taylor had them the next day for lunch. There were two sauces, a red sauce, which CharlotteFive characterized as "mild," but made our eyes water and noses run (and we eat spicy food), and a very mild green tomatillo sauce. 

Go there. Really.

First Visit: Yama Izakaya, a Ramen Restaurant on Central Ave

This is not my photo. I lifted this from Yama Izakaya's Facebook page. The restaurant was just too dark for me to take my own photo.

I visited this place with my friend and acupuncturist, Adrienne Wei, owner of Inner Peace Acupuncture and Wellness. Adrienne and I have been close friends since I started as her patient five years ago. We go out to lunch or dinner whenever we can, and it's usually Asian. This last Friday I texted her and asked, "Are there any ramen places?" And so we found Izakaya.

We absolutely gorged ourselves! We started with a seaweed salad that about blew our minds. It had a sesame dressing on it and the flavor of the sesame was just delicious. As usual, I forgot my reading glasses and the darkness in the dining room made it absolutely impossible for me to read the menu. So she ordered for me. We each got these giant bowls of ramen that were full of pork belly, fish cake, poached egg, sesame and other things. My broth was salted chicken and hers was tonkostu, which is made from pork bones. 

We toasted our friendship with warm sake, which really didn't trip my triggers. It seemed almost oily to me. Oily and thick. I'm more of a wine chick. Adrienne commented that the cups were unusual. I'm not sure what she was thinking of there. She felt like the cups may have made me feel the way I did about it. I dunno. It just seemed like a liqueur that didn't have much alcohol or flavor. It was a house sake, so maybe next time we'll do something a little more specific. 

I have to say the only thing I'd change if I ran this place, is that I'd serve the ramen noodles separately, like they do in many Japanese noodle places in Japan. Then you add the noodles a bit at time add them to the broth as you eat along. 

We'll definitely go back there again.

First Visit: Way Back Burgers

I have never heard of this place, so when I saw it as we pulled into a shopping area, I assumed it was an independent burger joint. But I googled it and noticed it was part of a chain. Ok. I'm always skeptical of chains, especially burger or chicken places. But they had a veggie burger on the menu so I figured we should give it a try. 

I wish we hadn't. Foodwise, anyway. 

The staff was wonderful, the food was not. 

We were greeted by Sarah, who immediately figured out we'd never been to one of their restaurants before. She explained the menu options and set us up. Later she came back to our table and said she'd charged us for an item we didn't order and gave us a refund for it. 

Now. To the food:

My chips were the best part of the entire meal. They were beautifully crisp and nicely salted and they offered various dipping sauces for them. Bob's fries were just ok. They were skin-on potatoes and had a nice flavor but they were fried in oil that was not hot enough, so they were slightly greasy. 

The burgers were not great. Bob's patty melt seemed ok but it was served in a smashed, but toasted bun and just looked unappetizing. The veggie burger was also served on smashed bun, not toasted, just doughy. I'm not at all sure what ingredients went into the veggie burger. It looked like a hash brown potato cake with some flecks of carrot and maybe a few other diced veggies in there, a couple black beans and maybe some grain like oatmeal? It was greasy and seved with a slice of pretty white iceberg lettuce and and a terrible slice of tomato. 

A gentleman came by and asked how we like our food and Bob told him very kindly that the buns could use some work. He was polite and friendly and didn't seem to mind the criticism, but he offered that we might could ask for the bun for the veggie burger to be toasted so it wouldn't seem so doughy. He didn't apologize for the meal at all. 

So there you have it. We definitely won't try them again. 

First Visit: Brown Dog Deli, Charleston

This is a fun little deli in Charleston. They have a great variety of stuff on their menu: a hot dog line-up, burger line-up and vegan/vegetarian one, too. I had a Caribbean Black Bean burger that was pretty good (after I lifted the burned crust off one side):

That's pimento cheese sauce and mango salsa on top. They do not have fries, so I opted for a broccoli salad, which was pretty good. 

The decor is a ton of fun. It's all really bright colors and there are paintings (one is just a childlike painting of a dachshund on a solid background) and posters from old rock bands. There are stacks of record albums and 45s around, but I'm not sure the jukebox actually works. 

The bathroom has great stuff on the walls too, like this giant painting of Godzilla:

Next it was that picture of beetles. Here is shot of the entire thing:

I like how it explains itself: "A Bunch of Beetles on a Chart."

I'd go back there. I know Bob would. He said his Turkey wrap was one of the best sandwiches he's eaten. It did have bacon on it...