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HOLY.HOT.DOG.

July 20, 2011 18 Comments

I’ve been doing A LOT of eating lately. It’s not my fault, really. How can a gal not fall victim to sensory overload in this food-filled city of Charlotte? Every street, every corner, every nook and cranny of this beautiful city is buttered with interesting restaurants to try–from fancy schmancy steak and lobster grilles to down-home-country barbecues to fabulous food trucks and every single flavor combination in between.

Let’s just say I’m in glutton heaven, and I’ve made it my personal goal to try each and every restaurant in the city. I’m dedicated to this cause.

As I try more and more places, I’ve started picking up on some of the soap-operaesque back stories of the local establishments. One that is particularly intriguing is the story behind The Penguin Drive-In in Plaza Midwood.

In the past, the Penguin was just one of those places you had to go. If you were a true Charlottean (yes, that’s what they call us), you’d been to the Penguin a hundred times and you’d eaten your fair share of their famous fried pickles. Newbies in town didn’t know what they were missing as they walked right by the Penguin’s dilapidated building and awfully awkward parking.

But then Guy Fieri stopped in at the Penguin for his show Diners, Drive-in, and Dives, and all hell broke loose. I’ll admit, I love the show, and I love seeing places I’ve visited on TV. It’s almost like for that millisecond when the image flashes across the screen you are actually a part of something famous. As if your emotional investment in the place somehow makes you a part owner, and you burst with pride when you see your baby on the big screen.

What, just me?

DSCF6527

Anyway, due to some disagreements, two of the four guys who ran the Penguin left to open Pinky’s Westside. The remaining two owners couldn’t come to an agreement with their landlord, so they were forced to abandon the Penguin. The landlords of the building then decided to run the Penguin themselves, and the other two guys opened up the Diamond Grill, literally a block away from the Penguin. I think I’ve got that straight…

Interestingly, all three restaurants serve hotdogs and all three have fried pickles on the menu. The newly-owned Penguin has the “famous Penguin fried pickles,” Pinky’s has “Greg’s pickles,” and the Diamond has “classic fried pickles—the neighborhood’s first and best original recipe.” Can you smell the rivalry brewing?

Of the three restaurants, I’ve only been to the Penguin so far, which many other Charlotteeans are boycotting in favor of the Diamond. Let’s hope this post doesn’t get me blacklisted.

The Penguin had a TON on the menu that I wanted strike that NEEDED in my belly.

But as I perused the menu, one item made my heart sing.

The Ma… the Meatloaf Hot Dog.

Chili. Onion. Slaw. Seriously?!?!

Seriously?!

Let’s make brief note of the MONSTROUS side salad that came along side with a balsamic dressing was to die for.

But really, chili, onions, and coleslaw on a hotdog?! My world was officially rocked. Hands down THE BEST hot dog I have ever consumed.

Now that I know the backstory I feel it is my moral foodie obligation to give all three of the brawling restaurants an equal tasting. I MUST go to the Diamond and to Pinky’s to give their Weiner Wonderlands an equal shot. Seriously, it says Weiner Wonderland on the menu… get your head out of the gutter already.

Nutritional stats on the hotdog: 1 clogged artery, 1 full belly

Ramblings, Restaurants

‘Twas my birthday.

July 13, 2011 15 Comments

A few nights ago, the BF and I were discussing my upcoming birthday, and we realized that neither of us were quite sure how old I was going to be. Apparently, he bases his age off of how old I am, which I attribute to his burning desire to draw frequent attention to the fact that I am six months his senior and thus a cradle robbing cougar. Rawwwrrrrrrrrr! Cat face

Anyway… after several rounds of bantering back and forth, we came to an agreement.

I was officially turning 27.

Twenty-seven years ripe.

Twenty-seven years seasoned.

Twenty-seven years matured, if you will.

I’m pretty sure you’re officially “old” when you can’t remember how old you actually are.

So there I was, about to turn 27, in a new city, with no one to keep me company but a crappy (albeit tasty) tuna sandwich and a crap load of work to get done.

As fabulous as this sounded, I decided to be proactive with my Ladies who Lunch goal, and invite a few ladies in the area to lunch. Was it a longshot to invite a bunch of ladies I barely know to have lunch with me on my birthday? Perhaps. Was it awkward to put myself out there? Slightly. Did I send that email anyway? You’re darn tootin I did!

One short email followed by four quick responses and I was headed to Savor Café and Catering to have lunch with four fabulous blogging ladies: Jamie (Bibliophiled Away), Vanessa (Life Undeveloped), Julie (Willow Bird Baking), and Katie (Sweet Tater Blog).

I don’t know what came over me, but I hardly took any pictures during lunch! All I can say is the interior of Savor was eclectic and slightly rustic. The restaurant was small and cozy, with super tall ceilings, and exposed brick walls. Lucky for us we got there before the lunch rush because that line was out the door!

For those who were curious, yesterday’s post about the best birthday present ever came from Jamie. Seriously, how perfect?!

What’s not perfect is how much my hair hates NC weather! Also, thanks Vanessa for the pic!

Savor had quite a few options on the menu that sounded worthy of a birthday lunch, but since I had plans to end my big day with an Italian feast I decided to stick with the Savor Salad. It had mixed greens, tomatoes, carrots, chickpeas, and cucumbers plus some tasty grilled chicken on top:

The balsamic vinaigrette was so thick, I literally had to slather it on my salad. It was fabulous.

The ladies: Julie (Willow Bird Baking), Vanessa (Life Undeveloped), Katie (Sweet Tater Blog), MOI!, and Jamie (Bibliophiled Away).

When I got back to work, I had a little surprise waiting:

A birthday treat from the mama Smile

P.S., chocolate covered apples are AMAZING. Who knew?!

My mailman also brought me a card from my dad Smile

Like father, like daughter? Perhaps.

And my friend Tracy sent me a big ass tub of Frank’s Red Hot:

You may be wondering what the heck I am going to do with 756 servings of Frank’s Red Hot. To that I say don’t you worry Smile

< Insert 6 or so more hours of work here >

And it was time for dinna with the Man Candy Open-mouthed smile

We haven’t had an Italian dinner in quite a while, so my pick of the evening was Villa Antonio in Ballantyne.

I was so surprised by how fancy schmancy the restaurant was.

Even though the restaurant was very formal, it was by no means uninviting. Jarrod and I perused the menu, and were brought *free* bruschetta to munch on while we decided.

At this point I was pretty much in love with the place. Who doesn’t love free?!

Once we ordered, we were brought *ahem* *FREE* house bread and dipping oil:

Did I mention I love this place?

I wish every meal started off with two courses of bread Winking smile

While I sipped on a glass of Banfi Col di Sasso (a Sangiovese/Cabernet blend), we dug into our sausage and pepper appetizer:

Everything about this dish was perfect. The sausage was slightly spicy, the marinara sauce was deep and garlicky, the roasted peppers were sweet, and the cheese was melty heaven. This alone could have been a delicious entre… but ‘twas my birthday, so we certainly did not stop there!

After the appetizer, we were brought *FREE!!!!* lemon sorbetto to cleanse the palate. At this point I audibly exclaimed “I LOVE THIS PLACE!”. I can be slightly embarrassing when it comes to food.

For the entre, we decided to split a chicken and gnocchi dish. Half of the entre was the PERFECT serving size:

The chicken was layered with garlic, pomodoro, goat cheese, spinach, and mozzarella. And as if that weren’t enough cheesy goodness, the gnocchi was covered in a creamy gorgonzola sauce.

Absolutely divine.

Surmounted only by this large slice of chocolate peanut butter cake that followed:

Two happy diners:

Thanks everyone for the b-day wishes!

Restaurants, What I ate

Whew Wednesday.

June 29, 2011 7 Comments

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

AND HAPPY WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY!

ANNNND HAPPY WHAT-I-ATE-WEDNESDAY!

Today was such a particularly packed Wednesday, I think I’ll rename it Whew Wednesday Smile

The day started off with a handful of Barbara’s Peanut Butter Puffins:

I affectionately call this the Cereal of the Gods. It really is THAT good. I also hear Barbara’s now makes chocolate peanut butter puffins. Don’t worry. I’ve added finding the new cereal to the weekend to-do list.

After I popped the puffins, I headed out for my interval run (which consisted of a short 2-interval series of 1 minute walking and 9 minutes running).

Post run, it was time for eggs and bacon … sprouted 7 grain bread. Mmmmmmm Smile

These are the eggs I make pretty much every day. I call them my fake out dippy eggs because it’s actually a 3 egg white scramble topped off with 1 dippy egg.

When you poke the yolk it oozes down over the egg whites and tastes just as darn good as a plate full of dippy eggs. Thumbs up

After the eggs, I headed to work (insert 2 hours of number crunching here) and around 10am it was time for Breakfast #2!

Overnight oats, my friends. Overnight.Oats. Yes, I STILL love and adore them. Yes, I STILL eat them every day.

(insert two additional hours of number crunching here)

2+2 = Lunch time.

Today’s lunch consisted of some leftover ground turkey taco meat that I threw onto a bed of lettuce along with some tomato, onion, black beans and corn:

If you are looking for a tasty side dish for Mexican food, try out this recipe for Corn and Black Bean Salad. I made it over the weekend, and it was super tasty and SUPER simple.

Afternoon snack consisted of an un-pictured apple and some cocoa roast almonds….

After work, I headed to Dandelion Market for happy hour with some coworkers:

The Dandelion Market is a tapas restaurant that serves up a variety of intriguing small plates. The atmosphere in the restaurant was rustic, yet chic. Dimly lit and extremely cozy.

I’d of felt equally comfortable sipping a cup of coffee in a chair in the corner as I did sipping a glass of cabernet at a table near the window.

Tonight I had the pleasure of sampling two of the tapas. First was the pepperoni flatbread. Isn’t it beautiful?

Don’t be fooled. This was not your typical peperoni pizza. This flatbread had cured peperoni, ricotta salada, a rustic tomato sauce, and BASIL. It was light and delicious, and honestly I think I could have ate three of them. The basil was the perfect finishing touch.

I also sampled the grilled steak skewers:

The steak was cooked PERFECTLY medium rare and was incredibly juicy. But what REALLY made the dish was the sweet and spicy honey soy marinade that came along side:

Coming from a lady who puts A-1 Steak Sauce on EVERY steak that goes in her mouth, you KNOW it must have been amazing if I devoured the entire plate without even pausing.

After dinner, I headed to TCBY for some froyo with the Charlotte Food Bloggers! Now, truth be told I am an ice cream snob. I worked at the world’s most fantastic locally owned and operated creamery throughout all of high school and college (biased much?), and during these years I had the opportunity to taste, sample, and create some of the most outrageously delicious ice cream concoctions.

So, frozen yogurt? Meh. Doesn’t really do it for me. Which is odd, given that this town is littered with Fro Yo joints. What DOES do it for me though is the crazy assortment of toppings all these frozen yogurt places have.

Here’s my combo of the evening:

PB and Cake batter froyo…. with a little cookie dough, some heath bar, a little brownie, mochis, Peanut Butter drizzly drizz, and some blueberries for good measure.

Let’s focus on what’s really important here:

Who’s with me?

Restaurants

Smashburger VIP

June 19, 2011 8 Comments

This weekend I got the VIP treatment at Charlotte’s soon-to-be opened SMASHBURGER.

I’d never been to a Smashburger before—and had to do a little googling to learn the story behind the name.

My research tells me the name Smashburger comes from the process used to cook burgers, which entails smashing a ball of 100% Certified Angus ground beef on a grill to sear in the juices (thank you Wikipedia!).

Restaurants

Nix

June 16, 2011 1 Comment

The first time I saw Nix, I got the vibe that it was some crazy heavy metal bar. A biker bar perhaps. Well, at least a place where short skirts and sleazy guys might hang out.

I mean, they DO have FLAMES in their logo:

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