Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us on a road trip to Vidalia Restaurant and Wine Bar in Boone, NC. 

We visit the Boone/Bowling Rock area of North Carolina regularly and thought we'd hit just about every local restaurant, but to our surprise, we missed this one. This family friendly eating establishment is located at the end of the historical downtown Boone, just blocks from our favorite pizza spot, Capone's. If you're not looking for it, you might miss it.

Dora here. I always panic a bit when hubby suggests trying a new restaurant in our beloved vacation spot. We have so many favorites, it's challenging to squeeze them all in during a long weekend. How can we possibly add another without dropping one off the list?  I came up with a solution. Just come back more often. What do you think? ;) 

Awesome upscale, casual interior

We ordered their namesake, Vidalia Onion Rings. Thick onions, ale-battered and cajun seasoned. These onion rings were great! With a robust batter that did not fall off like other onion rings and a creole dipping sauce with a little kick, they would have been worth the trip by themselves.

Vidalia Onion Rings. Worth the trip just for these!

Dora here. Thick doesn't begin to describe these monster onions! I don't particularly care to order onion rings because I almost always regret eating them later. Not so with these. Light and delicious! :)

For my meal, I chose the Fish Tacos. Crispy chunks of tender cod blanketed by remoulade slaw served on flour tortillas. Outstanding, and the tangy slaw was a prefect condiment for the dish.

Fish Tacos

I also ordered a cup of Bison Stew, that day's special. Thick, meaty, and full of corn, carrots, and potatoes. Perfect for a cold day. 

Daily special: Bison Stew, perfect choice for a winter day!

Dora here. Yep, he did. Ernie's going to make a believer out of all you Fish Taco haters. :)

I was a bit bummed that they didn't carry Sweet n Low for my iced tea, but it was all uphill after that. Oh my goodness, so many goodies on their menu that I wanted to try! Mac and cheese with pork cracklings, awesome-sounding salads, and a couple different hamburgers all called my name. As if that wasn't enough, then our server rattled off a list of 4-5 intriguing specials! 

I finally settled on the Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwich. Well, I didn't really settle because it was fabulous! People tend to be picky about chicken salad. Or is it just me? lol. No worries, though. The bread was fresh, and the chicken salad popped with cranberries and apples and texture. Thankfully, it wasn't heavy on the ever-present raisins and celery (why does everyone insist on adding these useless ingredients??), and the mayo was subtle. The only other element I would've added myself was grapes. YUM!

Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwich

Here's a better look...

A glimpse inside the Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwich

Even the housemade pickles were delicious, as pruny as they looked. Don't neglect them. :)

What about you? How do you take your chicken salad?

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