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Monday, September 8, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Down and Dirty The farmers of today meet the chefs of tomorrow
Posted By Alison Leininger on Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 9:56 AM
The refrigerator life of squash blossoms. Chef Dan Barber's book The Third Plate. Fresh ingredients in school lunches. Pasture-raised chickens.
These topics of conversation all came up recently in a modest dining room tucked into a business park in southwest Charlotte. Chef Terra Ciotta, instructor at the Art Institute of Charlotte, had invited several local growers to share lunch with the students who cook and serve their products.
- Alison Leininger
- Students Jasmine Scott, Wayne McDoward; Carl Wagner from Carlea Farms; chef José Espinosa of Chef Charles Catering
Friday, August 29, 2014
Down and Dirty North Carolina apple days are upon us already
Posted By Alison Leininger on Fri, Aug 29, 2014 at 3:30 PM
Editor's Note: This post has been updated for clarification.
When you think "apples," you probably picture cool October days and candied Halloween treats. But North Carolina apples are already beginning to come down from the mountains, and Slow Food Charlotte is collaborating with the Piedmont Culinary Guild (PCG) to share the wealth. After a day picking heirloom apples in an historic orchard near Pilot Mountain, PCG member chefs will bring the fruits of their labors back to their kitchens, to the benefit of Charlotte-area diners.
It all started with a Slow Foods event last year featuring Lee Calhoun, whom member Steven Case describes as "the godfather of apples." A former professor of agronomy at N.C. State and author of 1995's Old Southern Apples, today Calhoun is responsible for a treasure trove of heirloom trees at Horne Creek Farm, a North Carolina Historic Site in Surry County. When the historic living farm established its orchard in 1997, the owners turned to Calhoun and his wife Edith, who grafted and planted 800 regionally distinct apple trees. Today the orchard serves as a sanctuary for 400 varieties that might otherwise be lost.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Beer Beer tap handles are not items to decorate with
Posted By Jonathan Wells on Thu, Aug 28, 2014 at 10:46 AM
Ever been in a bar and noticed a brewery’s tap handles? I don’t mean in their usual place behind the bar; I mean decorating the walls or ceiling, or even used as door handles.
Tap handles aren’t cheap; they average $30 a pop. Breweries lend them out to establishments so patrons know what’s pouring. Tap handles by design should be aesthetically appealing in order to entice a sale. Since they’re provided to bars gratis, owners may see them as free décor. In a way, they’re right: it’s something that cost them nothing, and it’s quite decorative.
Whether bar owners want to admit this or not, this is oftentimes theft, and we as beer drinkers shouldn’t swallow the practice.
Kegs cost breweries a lot of money, so they warrant a deposit to make sure the empties make it back to their owners instead of into a scrap yard. Handles cost a fraction of kegs, so breweries or distributors don’t charge a deposit. Because of this, they don’t always make it home, and the breweries end up footing the bill. Craft breweries don’t have huge wallets or vast marketing budgets, and losing control of enough of these really hurts the bottom line.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Liquid Diet Drink This: Tess’s Summer Sip
Posted By Lauren Blake on Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 9:59 AM
Found: IOS Greek Kitchen (210 E. Trade St. Suite B-1312)
Ingredients: OMB Southside Weiss, fresh lemonade, Saranac ginger beer
More often than not, it only takes a few simple, quality ingredients to concoct a superb beverage. And so is the case with this seasonal refreshment. In the midst of a steaming hot summer, beer and lemonade are two quintessential sips that just never seem to lose their charm. Together, they’re practically unstoppable.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Food News Nan and Byron’s welcomes new executive chef
Posted By Tori Wright on Tue, Aug 26, 2014 at 9:50 AM
You’d think Nan and Byron’s owners would be leery of change. The rustic eatery's aesthetic is clearly derived from the iconic Grant Wood painting of a pitchfork-wielding farmer and his spinster daughter. Edison light fixtures adorn the interior, as do vintage furnishings and reclaimed barn wood. The food is classic comfort (though hardly dull).
But Nan’s isn’t stuck in the past. The newly minted SouthEnd staple has announced it is making a change in the central part of its kitchen: Kyle Rhodes, formerly the chef de cuisine at 5Church, is its new executive chef.
- George Lainis
- Rhodes is a fan of breakfast, though he doesn't think it has to be eaten first thing.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Down and Dirty It's already time to talk turkey
Posted By Alison Leininger on Fri, Aug 22, 2014 at 11:23 AM
Turkeys are dumb.
I too was taken in by Benjamin Franklin's assertion that these wild fowl deserve recognition for their wiliness, but Carl Wagner of Carlea Farms has since disabused me of that notion. He's raised our Thanksgiving turkeys for the past five years, and has regaled us with stories of bird-brained escapades and frustrations.
- Carlea Farms
It took us a few years to get the timing right to be added to Wagner's turkey list, because who's thinking about Thanksgiving in the middle of summer? Yet that is when the young poults arrive on local farms and settle in for a few months of pastured plumping. Sammy Koenigsberg is also raising turkeys at New Town Farms in Waxhaw, where he recently welcomed 200 of the little bird brains.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Food News Draught Charlotte is the newest addition to Third Ward
Posted By Tori Wright on Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 11:19 AM
Say hello to the newest gastropub in town, Draught. It's pronounced “draft” — draught just happens to be its British spelling. More importantly, it’s not pronounced “drought,” which bartender Ryan says would defeat the purpose of the bar and its 34 taps.
The Social Eater #hashtaghungry: Fire in the City, Craft Chicks Hustle Harder, more
Posted By Dani Brockington on Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 10:59 AM
Each week, The Social Eater picks a handful of filter-friendly, tweetable, social media-shareable foodie events in and around the city. Albeit a little late, here's this week's. No #struggleplates allowed.
• When food competition shows started to get popular, I thought they were dumb because you couldn’t taste the food at home to judge along. Several years of Chop’d bingeing later, you can finally get your Chris Santos on at Fire in the City, a multi-round North Carolina chef competition series. Blind-taste a six-course menu, each featuring a mystery ingredient, from the finest chefs in Charlotte as they compete in a bracket competition through the end of September. The first few rounds are sold out but the competitions last through the end of next month. You have time! #firefire
$74.78
Aug. 18 - Sept. 29 6 p.m.-10 p.m.
Bonterra Dining & Wine Room, 1829 Cleveland Ave.
Advance tickets required. For lineup and purchase visit http://www.competitiondining.com/events/fire-in-the-city
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Food News Creative Loafing gets its own sushi roll
Posted By Kimberly Lawson on Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 11:47 AM
First, we had our own beer at Birdsong. Then JJ's Red Hots gave us a hot dog. Now, Creative Loafing is making its mark on the sushi world. We're taking over, guys.
Join us at AZN Azian Cuisine in Piedmont Town Center tonight as we celebrate the launch of our very own roll. If you haven't eaten lunch yet, you may want to stop reading. This roll features spicy tuna, cream cheese, cucumber & tempura shrimp rolled inside, topped with salmon, kabayaki sauce and rice crispy pearls.
If you haven't been to AZN yet — which was awarded Best New Restaurant last year by our critics — tonight's as good a night as any. There will be $5 drink specials.
Thursday, Aug. 14
5-7 p.m.
AZN Cuizine Charlotte
4620 Piedmont Row Drive
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Dish on this: Charlotte-based chefs join ACF Culinary Team USA 2016
As fall approaches, local chefs prepare for a culinary battle in Germany.
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The Pioneer Woman's apple dumplings 8
These were embarrassingly easy to make for being so good.
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Checking in at Heist Brewery 1
NoDa brewpub offers good variety in its libations
