Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to The Liberty, advertised as “Charlotte’s First Gastropub” in the South End of Charlotte. The Liberty's interior is well lit and modern, and their food elevates pub fare to another level.

This is only half the restaurant space.

Dora here. The interior was nice and roomy, but check out their patio. Beautiful! Too bad it was a bit chilly to sit outside.

As a starter, we ordered the house-made pretzels with beer cheese and mustard. These pretzels were great, served warm and buttery with just the right amount of salt. They were soft on the inside and paired well with the beer cheese dipping sauce. Our only regret was we didn’t order the larger size.

Dora here. Yeah! We brought Little Man. Why didn't we order the tower? Good thing you can't see the mangled pretzel on the bottom. We dug right in, so excited we forgot to snap a picture! lol. These pretzels were perfect, so soft and fresh. Forget the mustard. Dive right into that cheese. Yummo!

I ordered the Painted Hill’s Natural Crunch Burger. Pimento cheese, smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and house-made chips stacked high. This burger was huge and so juicy I had to wipe my face after every bite. The combination of the pimento cheese and bacon worked great together and the added crunch from the chips added a unique feature to this burger.

Painted Hill’s Natural Crunch Burger

Dora here. The Irish Hills Black Angus Pub Burger was heaped with three or four thick slices of meaty bacon, cheese, caramelized onions, herb aioli, lettuce and tomato. Humongous! The aioli and the soft bun makes this burger sing, one of the best burgers I've ever tasted! And the chips? Ohhhhh! Consistently firm, not greasy at all, and seasoned just right. 

Irish Hills Black Angus Pub Burger

The Liberty is kid-friendly, if a tad pricey. The cheese spilled over on the grilled ciabatta, a huge portion (sorry I didn't get a pic!), and hubby stole gobs of fries off Little Man's plate. You definitely get your money's worth on a child's plate, and probably some food to take home...er, share.

Parking may be an issue since The Liberty shares a lot with Tupelo Honey Cafe, also a hopping place. (See our review of Tupelo here) But on street parking behind the CATS station (just beyond the parking lot) is FREE on Saturday and Sunday. Trust me on this. After you eat, you'll be glad for the walk. :)

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 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 week's Excited about Eating is headed to Uptown Charlotte to visit Ri Ra Irish Pub. When we walked into this restaurant, it felt like we were walking into a pub in Ireland. Our server told us that the interior was transported from Ireland and restored into its existing condition.

Ri Ra Irish Pub

Interior

We started with the Potato Cake appetizer, pan seared potato and cheddar cakes served with savory sour cream and a balsamic reduction. The Potato Cake was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. On the downside, it was loaded with onions and only served lukewarm. Dora here, in blue. Good thing we didn't stop there. :)

Potato Cake

I ordered the Shepherd’s Pie, made with minced lamb, gravy, peas, carrots, and leeks served with a mashed potato crust and a slice of brown bread. The term “shepherd’s pie” is used when the meat is lamb; the theory being that shepherd is connected to sheep and not cattle. This was an outstanding dish. The lamb and vegetables were perfectly cooked and full of favor with just the right amount of liquid, and the mashed potatoes were creamy with a nice crust. I'm always game for Shepherd's Pie, and this was the first I've tasted with lamb. Thankfully, hubby shared with me or I might've resorted to stealing his fork. Soooo good! 

Shepherd's Pie

My wife chose the Ri Ra Burger, topped with Ashe County cheddar, country ham, brown sugar onions and a Brioche bun. This burger was tall, juicy, and almost too big for the mouth. The caramelized brown sugar onions were sweet, and the garlic mayo added a unique taste. The “Chipper “ chips are actually thick cut fries. I snagged a few and enjoyed dipping them in the garlic mayo. This was a messy burger, but oh so yummalicious! And I probably drank a gallon of their iced tea.

Ri Ra Burger

I would rate this establishment 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. If I included the less-than-thrilling appetizer, I'd lower my rating to 4 forks.

~Ernie Hiers, Food blogger at Fiction Faith & Foodies