After reading Tricia Childress' review of Aloha Hawaiian BBQ & Grill, it's been on my list of places to check out.
Located in the Shops at Whitehall Commons on South Tryon Street (in the plaza with Walmart and Lowe's), it doesn't really make for a quick and easy lunch for Uptowners, but if you work in the business centers nearby, it'd be a good option. It's a good deal, and it's pretty fast. When I went for lunch today, there was no wait and plenty of seating.
For $7.25, you can get a giant tray of food. These "plate lunches" come with macaroni salad, steamed rice, and veggies. See photos of their Shrimp and BBQ Chicken Combo, as well as the Mahi & BBQ Beef Combo, below.
The shrimp, which were battered and fried, were big and crispy they kind of looked like onion rings. As part of the combo plate, I also got three large pieces of Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. The thin pieces of meat were juicy and flavorful, but reminiscent of hibachi Japanese food from a mall's food court. Teriyaki and katsu sauces are available in self-serve pumps.
Here's a tip if you plan to go: You can print buy-one-get-one-free and $1.50-off coupons for Aloha here.
Aloha Hawaiian BBQ & Grill
8170G S. Tryon
704-583-2122
The Penguin Drive-In is now reopen in the same location but under new management. In the six-week turnaround, the restaurant went through a mini makeover with a new menu, some new furniture, and new windows sporting Penguin's logo.
Though you won't find the Small Block or Big Block Burgers on the menu, you'll find plenty of tasty burger combos, as well as hot dogs, salads, fried pickles, and tasty additions like special Penguin Sauce (a tangy bbq type sauce) and their pimento cheese.
Try the Freak Flag Fly burger. The single-patty version I tried was huge and ooey-gooey, stuffed full of queso, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and slaw. I was able to sub the beef burger for a turkey burger (not that it did much for the calorie content, huh?). If you want to go bigger, they have a double patty version.
Bust out that slow cooker and fire it up for this warm and cozy Chicken Taco Soup.
The only tools you'll need today, along with your slow cooker, are a can opener and a knife.
This Chicken Taco Soup has some heat, lots of veggies, and tons of flavor. It's pretty much like chicken tortilla soup, except it doesn't have avocado or tortilla strips.
One batch makes enough for dinner ... and tomorrow's lunch and dinner, too. For little effort, you'll get lots of reward. To make it, just crank open a few cans of veggies, add a diced onion, and drop in a few chicken breasts. It's that simple.
Serve it with dollop of sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese on top.
The flavors deepen over time, so get excited about leftovers.
Chicken Taco Soup
From AllRecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer (*I used a can of chicken broth instead)
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)
Directions:
Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours.
Southern cooking queen Paula Deen is set to host a charity cooking demonstration and Q&A session next Saturday, Jan. 22, in conjunction with the grand opening of her restaurant Paula Deen's Kitchen at Harrah's Cherokee.
The restaurant features an á la carte breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is reminiscent of the décor and ambiance of Paula Deen's home and kitchen in Savannah.
In the restaurant's retail shop, you'll find all Paula's popular cookbooks, spices and food items, cookware, logo wear and gifts.
Ticket prices range from $15 to $40. You can buy tickets here.
Harrah's Cherokee is about a 3-hour drive from Charlotte.
Raleigh-based Big Boss Brewing Company hosted a beer dinner at Whiskey Warehouse last night. The sold-out event featured four courses of food paired with Big Boss beers for a set price of $25 per person.
The hosts introduced each course and beer as they were brought out. The menu was as follows:
Warm Up - Angry Angel- German Style Kolsch Ale
1st Course - Hells Belles-Belgian Style Blonde Ale
Pan seared salmon cake over a citrus remoulade
2nd Course - Blanco Diablo- Belgian Style Wit
Butternut squash bisque served with herbed crustini
3rd Course - Bad Penny- Brown Ale
Slow cooked beef brisket topped with bad penny gravy served with roasted root vegetables
Dessert - Aces and Eights- Coffee Stout
Mocha stout cake topped with whipped cream
Click the jump to see pictures from the event...
The Penguin Drive-In will reopen this weekend with a celebration party this Saturday, Jan. 15. The event starts at 11 am and will include live music, giveaways, and "fried stuff."
Penguin Drive-In
1921 Commonwealth Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28205
Want to go to the Oyster Roast for free? We're giving away tickets here: http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/jan_30_oyster_roast/Content?oid=1156619
There's no need to put on the ritz to visit The Ritz-Carlton hotel for their new casual dining option in the Lobby Lounge.
Enjoy the Burgers & Brews combo meal every Wednesday for $15 per person. Choose from a variety of specialty burgers, along with fries, and your pick of beer. Burgers include the Bacon, Blue & Barbecue Burger, Southern-Fried Chicken Burger, Falafel Burger, Mediterranean Lamb Burger, and the Chicken Tikka Masala Burger.
The Ritz Lobby Lounge is open daily. Burgers & Brews begins at 11:30 am each Wednesday.
The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte
201 East Trade Street
704.547.2244
Here's a little something for all you people who made New Year's resolutions to lose weight and to be healthier this year a recipe for granola.
Yep, I'm jumping on that healthy band wagon ... for now. (Next week, we'll be back to cupcakes and meat.)
Seeing as I can't get within a 1-mile radius of a gym without getting stampeded by newbie gym-goers eager to start their New Year's resolutions to lose weight, I'm going to aim to eat healthier instead of working out. Good reasoning not to go to the gym, right?
This granola is as healthy as they come it's full of oats, fruit and nuts. The recipe hails from the cookbook Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, written by the owners of Baked, a big-time bakery in NYC and Charleston, SC.
This was my first time making granola, and it probably won't be my last. This is good stuff ... bordering on addictive. Tart cherries, golden raisins, almonds, oats, and a touch of cinnamon and honey. The original recipe calls for hazelnuts too, but I didn't have any on hand. It still tasted delicious though. The granola can be purchased on their website for $6.50, but why buy when you can make it yourself?
Eat it by itself or on top of thick Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey ... or on top of ice cream.
Following the roll out of their Spicy Chicken Sandwich last year, Chick-fil-A now presents us with the Spicy Chicken Biscuit. The new menu item features a buttermilk biscuit with a spicy boneless breast of chicken sandwiched inside. It officially hits menus Monday, Jan. 10.
The Chick-fil-A team stopped by Creative Loafing this morning and dropped off some biscuits for us to sample.
I thought the biscuit was pretty good. I appreciate the hearty amount of spice they added. Sure, some claimed their mouths were on fire, and some bites were spicier than others, but I loved every flaming bite. The biscuit was tad mushy, but I'm sure it was due to the fact that we had 20 biscuits piled in a bag and hand-delivered to us.
I've never tried the Bojangle's spicy chicken biscuit (gasp!), so I can't compare.
Here's what others thought:
"I never thought I'd never love a spicy chicken biscuit more than the one at Bojangles. It wasn't so spicy at first but now i'm like 'yowch'ah' yahooooo. I ? chickfila." - Heather Desmond, operations manager
"I like spicy food, so I like it better than the regular chicken biscuit." - Carlton Hargro, editor-in-chief
"The chicken was good spicy and tender. But the biscuit was too soft ... smushed up." - Kim Lawson, operations editor
Want to try a Spicy Chicken Biscuit for yourself? Charlotte-area restaurants will give away a free Spicy Chicken Biscuit to any customer during breakfast hours on Friday, Jan. 14, 21 and 28.
I'm also giving away a few coupons for free SCBs too. Just email me at priscilla.tsai@cln.com with the following info:
1. Name
2. Mailing address (so I can mail you the coupon)
3. Your New Year's resolution
Winners will be picked randomly on Jan. 10, and will be notified by email.