Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to McKoy's Smokehouse & Saloon located right off of I-77 and Old Pineville Rd in south Charlotte. 

This smokehouse, with both indoor and outdoor seating, reminds me of what a local BBQ joint should look like with wood interior, BBQ paraphernalia on the wall, and loads of TV’s.

We chose to share the Living the Dream (LTD) platter, a combination of ribs, pork, pot roast, and smoked BBQ chicken with sides of mac n’ cheese and fried okra. The St. Louis style ribs were great, not fall off the bone as most BBQ restaurants serve, but with a little pull after the bite like KCBS competition ribs. The smoked pot roast was different, something I've never eaten. 

Living the Dream platter

Dora here. While we were contemplating the menu, I remember commenting that I wished they offered a combo minus the pot roast. But, no matter. I gobbled the pot roast down first! :) And look at that crusty bark on the mac & cheese! Yummy! I'm really not a fan of okra, but their crispy vegies won me over. (Sorry, no pic.) Even with two of us eating off this plate, we still brought home a leftover container with enough meat to make a pot of chili. Sa-weet!

Have you tried smoked pot roast? 

What did you think?

What's the most unusual smoked meat you've eaten?

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This week's edition of Excited about Eating visits Restaurant X in the college town of Davidson, North Carolina. This bistro-type restaurant offers an international menu featuring pub fare, seafood, and upscale beef dishes.

Dora here. It's easy to see why they've been nominated six times for the Open Table Diners Choice Award (click link for reservations). Food choices were great, but they also offer several seating alternatives. We chose the covered patio. The plastic screen makes it nice and toasty for winter diners. 

We visited on Saturday during Brunch, so I chose Shepherd’s Pie, meat, vegetables, and gravy blanketed with mashed potatoes. We visit a lot of pubs and I have ordered Shepherd’s Pie many times, but I have to say, this was the best ever! The meat and gravy, with deep flavors and just the right amount of juice, blended very well with the mashed potatoes. It was the type of dish that you just couldn’t stop eating until it was all gone, and that happened quicker than usual because my wife enjoyed it also.

Shepherd's Pie

Dora here. Guilty! I confess my fork kept digging in to that wonderful goodness! I was powerless to control it. The flavors popped and it wasn't overloaded with unnecessary vegies like some. Warm and perfect for a cold day!

Fish & Chips

Good thing you also enjoy Fish and Chips, Ernie. Phew! And the fries were just the way hubby likes them, thin and crispy, the kind you can gobble down a ton and not feel heavy or bloated afterward. The fish batter was nice and light, not greasy, with generous portions.

Restaurant X is located on Main Street, along with many other quaint local restaurants. It's a beautiful area, one I imagine we will explore more fully soon. 

Not sure how they chose Restaurant X for their name. What's the most unique named restaurant you frequent?

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

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This week's Excited about Eating visits Fenwick's in the Myers Park neighborhood of Charlotte. 

Comfortable and homey with meals prepared similar to what your mom might cook, this local place offers a variety of food, all homemade. 

I ordered one of the breakfast specials and my favorite, corned beef and poached (my preference. Dora here. Poached? Ick! Only scrambled for me, please. :) ) eggs, potatoes, toast and fruit. The corned beef and eggs were cooked perfectly, and the portions hearty.

Brunch Special: Corned Beef and Poached Eggs

Dora here. The Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich was chunky and meaty, not overloaded with mayo, but not zinging with flavor, either. I'm not a fan of honeydew, so I was thrilled to find a place that makes a fruit salad minus the dreaded melon. :) 

Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich

Service was friendly and quick. If it's sunny and warm, plan to linger on the outdoor patio. If not, get there early. Not much indoor seating.

How do you take your eggs?

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This week’s Exciting about Eating journeys to the Peculiar Rabbit, a farm-to-fork gastropub in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood of Charlotte.

This neighborhood pub attempts to make everyone feel at home with their comfortable interior and friendly service.

Dora here. Oops. Forgot to snap a picture of that comfortable, inviting interior. I was so impressed with all the beautiful exterior seating.

While we waited for our appetizer, the server dropped off complimentary scones. Fresh out of the oven hot, the coconut pineapple pecan scones melted in my mouth although I couldn’t really taste the pineapple.

Complimentary scones

Dora here. I’d go back just for the scones! Soft, light and delicious!

The Mexican Street Corn Fritters may be some of the best I’ve ever eaten! Roasted corn on the inside, good texture and golden brown on the outside. The honey-lime cilantro aioli paired perfectly with the fritters.

Mexican Street Corn Fritters

Dora here. Such a wonderful blend of textures with the crisp outside and soft inside, and loaded with corn. Loved, loved, loved the lime aioli. 

Mexican Street Corn Fritters, loaded with corn

The Chicken and Waffles dish was huge! Chicken battered in 12 Herbs and Spices, malted milk waffles, Vermont maple syrup and two soft scrambled eggs. The eggs and waffle took a back seat to the fried chicken. Crispy, tender and moist. Outstanding!

Chicken & Waffles

Dora here. I visited Peculiar Rabbit with a dear friend a few weeks ago, and I enjoyed it so much, I was anxious to bring Ernie back. The last time, I sampled the PR Burger. Awesome, btw, but this time I ordered the Chicken Biscuit. A giant cheddar biscuit with fried chicken breast, American cheese, hot sauce and mayo served with crispy breakfast potatoes. Yum! A tad spicy, which I like, but I preferred to eat the chicken and biscuit separately. The breakfast potatoes were tasty with the perfect amount of seasoning. I wanted to cry that I had to leave some on my plate. Maybe the next time we'll check out that rooftop deck. :) 

Chicken Biscuit

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

What about you? Given a choice, do you prefer to sit inside or out?

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Hickory Tavern in the Northlake Mall area of Charlotte. This sports bar chain restaurant offers a wide variety of menu items from chicken wings to crab legs and steak, although they streamlined their menu since our last visit.

Outside

Dora here. Hickory Tavern is one of those go-to comfort restaurants for me. You know what I'm talking about, right? When you're tired, don't really know what you want to eat or you just don't want to cook, Hickory Tavern offers an eclectic variety of choices for the whole family. And with all the big screens located on every wall, you can almost kick your shoes off and just relax. Almost. lol.

As you can see, we're early eaters. Anybody else staring at the clock, ready to eat by eleven thirtyish? No? Okay, that's why we beat the rush. :)

Inside-ample seating around 11:30 on a Saturday, but it gets crowded

The Shrimp Po’ Boy features breaded fried shrimp, lettuce, tomato, pickle, cajun remoulade served on a toasted hoagie roll with a side of my favorite tater tots. I don't often order a Po’ Boy sandwich but after enjoying this one, it might just be back on my items to order more frequently. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, but the Cajun remoulade is what pulled this entire sandwich together.

Shrimp Po' Boy

Dora here. Not sure why hubby's short on words today. Hmmm. Anyway, the Chicken California Sandwich minus the mushrooms and avocado was moist and juicy and tender, and the bun soft and fresh. Delicious!

Chicken California Sandwich

Reminded me why I like this place so much, and I admonished hubby that we need to come back more often. It's just a bit of a drive to make it a regular place. The food seemed to take awhile, but so long as the iced tea kept flowing, not a problem. :)

We would rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

What's your go-to comfort restaurant? What makes it that way?

Dora here. We'll be taking a short review break. Be back on Saturday, Nov 7th. Enjoy the next couple of weeks!

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating covers McKethan Brothers BBQ Restaurant in Boone, North Carolina.

McKethan Brothers BBQ serves smoked meats, homemade sauces, and southern sides. This family owned BBQ joint offers all the classics including baby back and St. Louis style ribs, chicken, chopped pork, and turkey.

Dora here. We'd been itching to try this place since discovering it over July 4th, but they were closed. It's a bit off the beaten track and shares the same driveway with another business. Don't be alarmed by the empty seats. As usual, we opened the restaurant. By the time we left, they were filling up fast.

We shared the Brothers Sampler Platter, a huge tray of pulled pork, chicken, turkey, St. Louis ribs, and baby back ribs with mac and cheese, Brunswick stew and a corn muffin. Huge, full of flavor, and a great example of southern BBQ! The star of this plate was the baby back ribs, juicy, tender, and fall off the bone. The St. Louis ribs were a close second, full of that smoky flavor that you look for in BBQ. The chicken and pork were great with the turkey being a little on the dry side. The Brunswick stew was outstanding with all of the normal ingredients found in the stew plus a little heat.

Brothers Sampler Platter

Sides - Mac & cheese and Brunswick Stew

Dora here. Delish!! We could've eaten for two days on this meal! The baby backs were killer, but I'm not a fan of St. Louis style ribs, so Ernie got lucky. I ate most of the turkey myself, so I was glad hubby thought it dry. lol. Love the zing that hit going down with the pork. If we lived here, we'd be a weekly visitor. Probably more than that in the winter because I'd order a whole bowl of the Brunswick stew on the off days. 

5 forks all the way!

What's your favorite BBQ restaurant?

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the Plaza-Midwood area of Charlotte and to The Workman’s Friend, an Irish pub offering a variety of pub fare with a Southern influence. 

Dora here. Plaza Midwood came through for us again! Originally, we'd picked out a restaurant in downtown Charlotte, but Panther fans snagged all the on-street parking. Plaza Midwood is a fabulous alternative to eating in downtown proper, and I appreciated the ample parking in the back of The Workman's Friend. :)

For an appetizer, we chose the Bag of Chips, hand cut fries with salt and malt vinegar aioli. Not chips in the American sense, nor the typical thick and potato-y pub chips. They were almost a blend of the two, crispy on the outside and firm on the inside. I ate mine with extra malt vinegar. Perfect!

Bag of Chips

Dora here. You should have seen Ernie's face when the server set the chips down on the table. I knew he expected homemade American chips. lol.

The Irish Breakfast was the brunch special of the day. Eggs, a Banger (sausage), Black and White Pudding (also sausage), Irish Bacon, Baked Beans, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, and sourdough toast. Black pudding is sausage made from blood, meat, fat, oatmeal, and bread or potato fillers. White pudding (the same minus the blood), and Irish bacon is from the back of the pig instead of the belly and is like ham. The highlights of this great dish were the three different types of sausage and the sourdough bread. 

Irish Breakfast - a Brunch Special

Dora here. I'm a big fan of Irish pubs. Well, pubs of all kinds, actually. I'd heard about Black and White pudding but never tried it until now. (See those two round patties next to the baked beans. And how did they ever come up with that name??). Considering the ingredients and the name, I was surprised at how tasty they were.

The Sausage Roll, a blend of ground sausage and mustard and sour cream inside a puff pastry, fit my mood. Something light, not too heavy, and I enjoyed the mild sausage flavor. 

Sausage Roll ~ An appetizer

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

What about you? Do you enjoy pubs? What's your favorite pub food?

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Port City Club in Cornelius, North Carolina. 

This lakefront restaurant is located on Lake Norman, where you can drive, walk or boat to your meal. 

Inside

Dora here. How have we not discovered this gem sooner? What a glorious day for sitting outside! Everybody else agreed with us. Port City Club offers generous seating inside and three different levels outside, including one covered. What a gorgeous, relaxing setting for any meal.

Covered patio

For my meal, I chose the Lobster and Shrimp Roll. Maine lobster, poached shrimp, scallion, basil, and mayo served on a New England style split roll. Huge and meaty with just the right amount of mayo, this sandwich was outstanding and matched any meal that I enjoyed during our visit to Maine. 

Dora here. I opted for the Port City Club, grilled chicken, bacon and smoked Gouda on a brioche roll. Delish! Tender, moist, and jazzed with a garlic aioli, I'd definitely go back for a repeat. 

Can't see the chicken? Here's a better view:

The service was attentive, friendly and flawless. Not once did our tea or water glass drain, and every time a server walked by, used items were scooped from the table with a smile. It's the perfect location for brokering business deals, families with active children, and couples looking for a romantic setting. 

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