Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of “Excited about Eating” takes us back to the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood of Charlotte, to a restaurant recently featured on Food Network's “Diners, Drive ins and Dives,” Intermezzo Pizzeria and Café. This European style restaurant serves hand-tossed pizza and traditional Serbian dishes. It reminded me of some of the cafes we visited on our past trips to Europe. 

Dora here. Yeah, especially the cozy interior with brick exposed walls and only a smattering of tables and booths surrounding a hearth-like bar. But they don't need many interior tables with this generous outdoor patio!

Exterior

After DDD's feature, I was all set to order the cabbage rolls (Sarma), but they were out. So, at the waiter’s helpful recommendation, I ordered Karadjordjeva, a ham and cheese schnitzel breaded and pan fried, served with skillet potatoes and tartar sauce, although not the typical American tartar sauce, with a definite hint of dill. Similar to Cordon Bleu, but elevated a few notches, especially with the drizzle of lemon on the top. 

Karadjordjeva

Dora here. I ordered the Burek, ground beef and onions baked in Fillo dough. An unusual combination, right? But isn't it beautiful? Nothing spicy or too complex. After a few bites what came to mind was comfort food, much like Mac 'n Cheese is to Americans. Between Ernie and I, we finished off the whole thing. Didn't touch the salad, but that cucumber mixture made for a nice dipping sauce.

Burek

I'd definitely order the Karadjordjeva again, but I'd also like to try the Sarma or the Piroska. And the pizza... 

Dora here. Guess that means we'll be going back. lol

We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the South End neighborhood of Charlotte to Tupelo Honey Café which is located on the second floor in a renovated historic building near Charlotte’s light rail. The interior is a mix of industrial and rustic with lots of wood, exposed brick walls, and high ceilings.

Exterior

Interior

Dora here. Don't you just love the interior? This is my kinda place. Parking around noon on Saturday was non-existent in the lot behind the restaurant, but no worries. There's free on-street parking on the other side of the light rail. Also, the 35-minute wait only ended up being 15 minutes. Another score!

Rather than table bread, Tupelo serves scratch-made biscuits with blueberry jam. These biscuits were great, crispy and buttery and warm, and the blueberry jam was the perfect pairing. We would have preferred to eat ours prior to the meal, but with a packed dining room, they came out with our meal. Dora here. I don't care what time they got to the table. I could've stuffed myself with these biscuits! The food did seem to take awhile, but service was very attentive and gracious.

I chose the Tupelo Farm Fresh Burger with cheddar cheese, lettuce, house-made pickles and a secret sauce along with fried okra and tomatoes. The burger was outstanding, grilled perfectly, tasty, and the secret sauce brought it all together. The okra and tomatoes were fresh, lightly battered with just the right amount of crunch.

Tupelo Farm Fresh Burger

Dora here. So many choices! But I finally decided on the Charleston Chicken Sandwich, a marinated grilled chicken breast with lettuce, Havarti cheese on sourdough wheat bread with a side of mac-n-cheese. Doesn't that sound great? The chicken was oh-so-tender and juicy, and I really liked the cranberry flavored mayo. First time eating sourdough wheat bread, and I liked it. The mac-n-cheese was creamy with just the right amount of firmness and kick. 

Charleston Chicken Sandwich

I would rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. Definitely worth a return visit!