Mouthful
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Mouthful Photos: Smalls Food & Spirits
Posted by Kimberly Lawson on Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 9:19 AM
Last night, a friend and I attended the Family & Friends Preview Night at Smalls Food & Spirits. We had a little trouble finding the restaurant, as it's nestled snugly, almost discretely, between Nofo on Liz and Visulite Theatre at 1609 Elizabeth Ave.
The decor inside is classy and has a comfortable, lounge-y kind of feel — in my opinion, a nightspot can never go wrong with large reflective mirrors and red paint.
Smalls tags itself as "a chef-inspired 'joint' serving hand-crafted food, fine spirits & North Carolina craft beers." And I gotta tell you — I felt the love in the small plates we ordered. My mouth waters when I think about the food I ate last night. But I'll let the photos do the talking.
Incidentally, the wings were made with a "Spicy Korean BBQ Sauce." That was my first pick because, of course, I'm a spicy Korean.
Smalls Food & Spirits opens to the public today for lunch, dinner and late-night. Check out WCNC's recent story on the eatery here.
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Mouthful Get that Wowee for Halloween from The Wow Factor Cakes
Posted by Kadee Blakely on Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 1:19 PM
Who doesn’t love a good food coma? Even more, who doesn’t love a good sugar coma around Halloween when we can blame our pitiful behavior on all of the candy floating around? I mean, really. It practically begs us to eat it!
Well, this Halloween, reward the people in your life (whether or not they’ve been naughty or nice this year) with a yummy Halloween-themed treat. The bakers behind The Wow Factor Cakes are whipping up a batch of Wowee Pops with your name on it — well, not exactly. If you’ve ever seen a cake-pop before, then you’ve got the right idea.
Give a bloodshot eyeball to the girl at the office you’ve been trying to woo or a red-eyed mummy to your mom who used to sew you the exact same costume when you were a kid. Either way, Halloween-themed Wowee Pops are a scary-good treat for anyone of any age.
Other designs are plentiful, so there’s no shortage of fun surprises. If you’d like your treats to be in by Halloween, be sure to place your order by Oct. 20 and pick them up from The Wow Factor Cakes’ new location at 2400 Park Road, Suite 1. Wowee Pops are $30 for a dozen.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Mouthful Coming soon: Savory Spice Shop
Posted by Kimberly Lawson on Thu, Sep 22, 2011 at 10:58 AM
In November, Atherton Mill and Market will welcome Savory Spice Shop to the family of businesses.
From a press release:
Founded in Colorado in 2004, Savory Spice Shop has a loyal customer base in the Denver Metro area. They began franchising the concept in 2009 and since have shared this cook's paradise with ten locations across the United States including a shop in Raleigh. The new Charlotte location will be owned and operation by local residents Amy and Scott MacCabe.Savory Spice Shop offers more than 400 fresh ground herbs and spices, 140 hand-blended seasonings, organic selections and gift sets. The product is ground and hand-blended weekly to ensure superior freshness. Savory Spice Shop also offers extracts, sauces and more.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Mouthful Photos: The Capital Grille's Generous Pour Wine Event
Posted by Priscilla Tsai on Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 5:23 PM
The Capital Grille has officially launched their Generous Pour Wine Event, which is running July 12 though September 4, 2011. The new event invites guests to pair their dinner with however many of the nine wines picked for Generous Pour wine menu for a price of $25. It is pretty generous, huh? (Read more about the event here.)
I attended a preview event Monday night during which I, along with other food writers around the nation, attended a webcast with their Master Sommelier George Milotes. George introduced the nine wines he carefully selected for the Generous Pour Wine Event, which includes both new and vintage wines from around the globe. It took him one year to develop this specific wine menu (!). George also surprised us by saying it is now hip among sommeliers to serve red wine with seafood. For The Capital Grille's Cedar Planked Salmon, he recommends both the Byron Pinot Noir and the Chateau St. Jean, Belle Terre.
During the preview event, I was also lucky enough to sample the wines paired with a multitude of hors d'oeuvres, appetizers, entrees, sides, and desserts. Our server was extremely knowledgeable about all the wines and was able to suggest excellent pairings for us.
I've broken it all down though photos...
HORS D'OEUVRES:
Mouthful Photos from Table 274
Posted by Priscilla Tsai on Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 11:03 AM
Located in the old Charley's location in Cotswold Village Shops is the new restaurant Table 274. (Read Tricia Childress' review here.)
The restaurant features items from local farms and amongst its offerings are an assortment of starter salads, soups, cheese plates, small plates (seared pork belly, beet pasta ravioli, scallops, mussels, etc), burgers, flat breads, pastas, and larger protein-heavy entrees. As you can see, there is a bit of everything on the menu.
When I stopped by for dinner, the meal started with an overly buttery bun that bordered on being a biscuit. The service was spotty, but I could tell the server was earnestly trying.
For my meal, I went with a salad and mussels. The bib wedge salad was pretty standard - lettuce, bacon crumble, a few spiced pecans, red onion, and buttermilk blue cheese dressing ($7). Dressing was pretty tasty – my dining companions ended up dipping random pieces of toast into it throughout the meal.
The mussels come in three varieties – saffron, basil tomato, and white wine. I went with the mussels in white wine sauce ($10). Served with two large pieces of toasted bread, the sauce was flavorful and the dish was decent. My only wish was that the mussels be a bit meatier.
Dessert was the best part of the meal. The peach crisp was served warm with a heaping scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top.
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Table 274
274 S. Sharon Amity Road
Charlotte, NC 28211
704-817-9721
Friday, June 24, 2011
Food News / Mouthful New Spa-Tinis at Morton's The Steakhouse are all under 200 calories
Posted by Priscilla Tsai on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 11:43 AM
Now it's possible to have your martinis and still look good in your bikini. Drink guilt-free with Morton's The Steakhouse's new drink menu of "Spa-Tinis," drinks that contain less than 200 calories, yet still taste sweet and fruity.
The "Spa-Tinis" menu includes cocktails like the Skynny Blood Orange Cosmo, Red Velvet, Skinny Rita, Anioxidant Me, and Lean and Green.
Invited over to try all five cocktails last night, my favorite was the Lean and Green, which contains Soju, agave nectar, lime juice, soda water, and mint. The refreshing faint green drink came served in a lean champagne flute and was garnished with a cucumber. So good. The other drinks were fine, but a tad too sweet for me. Next time I'd ask that they be cut with a little soda water.
Stop here with the cocktails if you plan on squeezing into a swimsuit this weekend, but if not, keep reading ... and ordering.
It's wonderful that the Spa-Tinis are on the lighter side, because that just means more calories to burn on Morton's delicious Bar Bites!
A steal at $5 and $6 price points, their items are irresistible. The cheeseburger sliders are not to be missed. At $6 for a plate of 4, it's pretty ridiculous.
Check out it out for yourself:
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Morton's The Steakhouse
227 West Trade St # 150
Charlotte, NC 28202
(704) 333-2602
Open Mon-Sat 5:30pm-11pm
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Food News / Mouthful PHOTOS: Reid's Fine Foods
Posted by Priscilla Tsai on Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 8:00 AM
Reid's Fine Foods is now completely open in their new location on Selwyn Ave.
I stopped in for a quick bite this past weekend and took a look around.
The "hand-built" Rotisserie Turkey Breast sandwich ($7.99) was decent, though the meat was a bit dry. Don't skip the tarragon mayo – it's key to the sandwich's flavor. For a side, I tried the pre-packaged Black Bean Salad made by Beverly's Gourmet Foods. It fresh and simple. The highlight though was the chips. The Tyrrell's brand chips in the Mature Cheddar and Chives flavor was awesome. Apparently they are from the UK somewhere. Good thing they were tasty because I had to pay a pretty penny for those babies. It was $5.69 for the smallish bag of chips (!).
Though the sandwich was just OK, I'll definitely give the food another shot. Look how cute the store is:
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Reid's Fine Foods
2823 Selwyn Avenue
704-377-1312
Monday - Thursday: 8 am - 8 pm
Friday - Saturday: 8 am - 10 pm
Sunday: 11 am - 7 pm
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Mouthful PHOTOS: Summer Plates menu at The Capital Grille
Posted by Priscilla Tsai on Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 11:10 AM
The Capital Grille keeps things fresh by introducing new events and menus frequently. It seems they always have a special wine flight dinner, featured wine promotion, or special seasonal menu going on at all times.
Currently they are featuring a Summer Plates lunch menu, which will run until the end of the summer. Diners are able to create their own combo meal by picking one item from three categories (soup or salad, sandwich, and side), all for $18.
Capital Grille invited me to lunch to sample a few things from the Summer Plates menu and a few other new menu items. Check out my photos and notes:
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Mouthful Photos from Menchie's
Posted by Priscilla Tsai on Thu, May 19, 2011 at 10:40 AM
Fellow fro-yo lovers will be excited that Menchie's is now open in Kenilworth Commons on East Boulevard.
When I stopped by the other night around 7:30 pm, the new store was already quite busy with other curious customers eager to sample their frozen yogurts.
Going to Menchie's was like a taking a trip to Asia. The bubbly font of the logo, the pop of magenta and lime colors throughout the store, the cute frozen-yogurt-headed mascot dude, and bright overhead lights were so ... Asian. The store is reminiscent of all the cutesy dessert/cafe/food shops in Taiwan. (The frozen yogurt chain was actually started by a Caucasian couple.)
With seven frozen yogurt machines mounted into the wall, and each machine serving two flavors (with the ability to swirl flavors, too), a total of 14 flavors are available at any time. The flavors rotate daily, and there is a slew of flavors on their roster. They offer regular, no sugar added, low carb, and dairy-free frozen yogurts. They have tart and non-tart flavors, too.
Check out all the fun flavors here. It's a good thing customers are encouraged to sample any and all flavors before they fill up their cups or waffle cups.
The yogurts and toppings are DIY, and you pay by weight. At $0.42 per ounce, it's just a tad more expensive than Yoforia and Red Mango which are $0.39 per ounce.
The Red Velvet and Cookies and Cream flavors were my favorites of the ones I tried.
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Kenilworth Commons
1247 East Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28203
(704) 348-1256
Sun - Thurs: 11am - 10pm
Fri - Sat: 11am - 11pm
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Mouthful Red Velvet Pancakes from Bluprint
Posted by Priscilla Tsai on Wed, May 18, 2011 at 11:15 AM
If you're looking for a breakfast that can pass as dessert, look no further. Try the Red Velvet Pancakes at Bluprint, which recently just opened Uptown. Topped with a piping of cream cheese frosting, the stack of pinkish red pancakes (or is it just cake in pancake disguise?) is a fun, yet sinful, breakfast (or dessert).
They have a big menu with other yummy stuff, too. Take a gander at their other items here:
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For more info about the restaurant, read this post.
