Bardo Ushers in New Era of Fine Dining in Charlotte

Background:
We often ask ourselves why Charlotte isn’t a culinary destination like Charleston or Asheville. There are a lot of theories: as Mrs. Purvis posits, we are a business town that caters to national chain steakhouses, people are too conservative to try fancy new things, etc. This is all part of the story, but the Scallionpancake theory goes something like this: each city needs one great chef who leads the way, and then that greatness has a trickle down effect on others, who are then moved to create their own food legacy. Slowly and steadily, the right chef can lead a food renaissance in a city and put a location on the culinary map.

Take Copenhagen for example. Copenhagen was not a food town 20 years ago. In fact, most of the good seafood and ingredients were being exported to Southern Europe for Italian and Spanish consumption. It took a great chef, Rene Redzepi, to show Copenhagen and the world what great Danish food can be. Now, everywhere you go in Copenhagen, there is a restaurant opened by a former Noma employee who has helped turn the Danish capital into the best food city in the world. Why can’t Charlotte turn into the next Copenhagen?

I’m not saying chef/co-owner of Bardo Mike Noll is going to create the number one restaurant in the world like Rene Redzepi, but he’s creating flavors, textures, and “aha” moments like we’ve never had in Charlotte. He is gambling that Charlotte is ready for a 44 seat restaurant with $20 small plates. Really, really great plates, that is. Is Charlotte ready? I sure hope so. It’s not every day a chef like Noll comes on the Charlotte scene.

Eat This:
Bardo has 13 savory and 3 sweet dishes on its menu, ranging in price from $9 charred shishito peppers to $23 dry aged ribeye. The dishes are small and meant to be shared between a few people. Jayson Whiteside, co-owner and proprietor of the front of the house, tells us that there will soon be larger family style dishes as well.

Oysters

yuzu, grains of paradise, oyster leaf

Small oysters pack a lot of flavor, especially when you add yuzu and sprinkle on some grains for texture.

Tempura Maitake

fermented black bean, brown butter, mushroom sponge

This reminded us of a dish in Copenhagen at 108. The mushroom here is so meaty, and the acidic fermented mushrooms and black bean sauce are a nice contrast.

Dry Aged Ribeye

kimchi butter, carolina gold rice, wakame

The kimchi Carolina gold rice with wakame cracker makes this dish special and adds a local touch to the ribeye, which was perfectly seasoned and cooked.

egg and grains

poached egg, kale, escabeche

Per Whiteside, this is the most underrated dish on the menu, and I’m sure most people don’t order it because it doesn’t contain a meat and doesn’t sound sexy. Well let me tell you people, this dish is as sexy as it gets. Mix the grains in with the poached egg and take a wild euphoric ride on a rainbow of flavor.

Lamb Belly

carrot, mustard, cocoa nib, rhubarb

We’ve only seen lamb belly at one other place around town, and that was at Global Restaurant in Pineville. In Scallionpancake’s opinion, lamb belly puts pork belly to shame. The combination of flavors and textures here is next level. The grainy mustard seed with the crunchy and bittersweet cocoa creates such a perfect earthiness with the carrot and gamey flavor of the lamb. If you have the willpower to not order a second serving, god bless you

Beef Tartare

egg yolk jam, radish, togarashi

This was a texture dish through and through. The beef is seasoned with a nice togarashi spice that adds a kick. The crispy dehydrated mushrooms on top added to the complex texture, as well as the egg yolk jam.

Diver Scallops

Japanese cucumber, chicken skin, fermented hot sauce

I watched Chef plate this dish, and it had so many levels of complexity that the picture doesn’t do it justice.

The first level is the fermented hot sauce, then the chicken skins, then the Japanese cucumber and scallops. The scallops are sliced thin so you get the seared taste on most of the bites.

This was so spectacular, that it wouldn’t have been out of place on the seafood menu at Noma.

Cobia

dashi, mustard greens, smoked trout roe

This was my favorite dish. I loved the flavor of mustard leaves combined with the most well-cooked, meaty Cobia I’ve ever had.

Ricotta Tortellini

green curry, coconut, cauliflower, peanut

Italian pasta meets Thai flavors in this dish. It’s not often you get to experience stuffed pasta with crunchy coconut flakes and and curry sauce. The flavor here was amazing.

Desserts:

Chocolate

banana, horchata, lime

Crunchy banana flakes with bendy chocolate and horchata ice cream? That’s right: bendy.chocolate. This was one you didn’t want to share with others, but had to, for fear of retaliation and/or divorce.

Charred Peach

miso, elderflower, white chocolate

Visually one of the coolest dishes. The peaches were stacked on top of miso shortbread cookie crumbles with white chocolate pearls. Do you a see a theme with graininess? Chef seems to love the texture of crunchy bites played against softer main ingredients.

Drink:
Amanda Britton leads the cocktail program at Bardo. Britton was at 204 North before moving to Bardo, and was a part of designing Zeppelin’s beverage program, headed by Larry Suggs. Her cocktails are inventive, tasty, and dare we say, magical. Her use of house-made salts, dehydrated fruits, and creative spirit combinations really wowed us. Also, Kathleen Purvis specifically shouted out her talents on the Scallionpancake podcast, and a vote of confidence from Mrs. Purvis is worth 2,345 Scallionpancake reviews.

Cruel Summer

Sailor Jerry, banana, Cynar, Licor 43, cinnamon, lime

Cool Beans

Fernet Branca, Flor de Caña Grand Reserve Rum, Pure Intentions cold brew, housemade horchata, vanilla, Mexican cinnamon

Atmosphere:
Bardo is small, with only 44 seats, including bar seating. The decor is sophisticated and understated, and the moss boxes by the entrance are were a DIY project that Whiteside & Noll created using wooden boxes, chicken wire, and moss purchased from Amazon! Can you believe these two are crafty, too?! Such gifts!

The focal point of the restaurant is the kitchen, which is in the back, where guests can watch the chefs plating the dishes. You can sit at the bar and have a drink and some bites with friends, or you can have a more traditional dining experience at the tables.

Chef Noll plating the Diver Scallop dish

Gold District Hospitality:
The restaurant is run like a high end restaurant in New York or San Francisco. Everyone who works at the restaurant is familiar with all of the dishes and can answer any questions you might have on any part of the menu. Whiteside is constantly walking around and checking with guests to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves. When something does go wrong (one of our dishes was brought to the wrong table and we had to wait longer in result), it is swiftly corrected (we were comped drinks in return). More importantly, all of the employees seem happy to be there, which is often not the case.

Frankie’s Notes:
The Yume/Bardo building might be the most exciting block in Charlotte right now; Amanda showed us spicy salt she uses on the rim of a glass, and we just decided to eat it with our hands, because if Amanda made it, it must be good; We want Whiteside & Noll to come over a Martha Stewart the heck out of our foyer; The math equation that relates Scallionpancake reviews to Purvis compliments is complex and can only be solved by the gnomes that live in the Bardo moss.

Rating: 5 out of 5 with 1 Michigan Pug
We’ve been waiting a long time to give a Michigan Pug to a Charlotte restaurant, and we’re delighted that we finally found one we deem worthy. Bardo is a special place for Charlotte, and we hope that it is the beginning of many more high end, chef-driven restaurants to open in our area.

Disclaimer: We went to Bardo twice. Once, the meal was provided free of charge, and the second time we went on our own to try additional dishes for a better review. We normally don’t give out ratings for free meals, but we feel it is appropriate to give a rating since we went back and paid for our meal ourselves the second time.  All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.

 

Zeppelin

Background: 
Zeppelin opened in South End, Charlotte, in late 2017, and shares a building space with the soon-to-open new South End Common Market and the recently opened Bang Bang Bites. Head Chef Vince Giancarlo worked previously at Baku, Aquavina, and Cantina 1511. We found the overall Zeppelin experience similar to Soul Gastro--small plates in a hip and cozy atmosphere with a banging cocktail list. Zeppelin is tiny and super hot right now, so prepare yourself for a wait (and make use of the Nowait app--hear about the trials and tribulations we endured just to get a table on the podcast). 

Eat This: 
The menu is divided into "Smalls" and "Biggies," and below are our orders from two visits. 

Maine Lobster Avocado Toast

Butter poached, homemade brioche, herb aioli, bacon, preserved lemon

The thick and sweet brioche toast with that generous lobster claw? Avocado toast perfection, we say! 

Scratch Buns

Sweet miso Heritage pork belly, shaved cabbage, pickled chilis

Love, love, love. 

American Wagyu Tartare

Taro & sweet potato chips, black truffle yolk, egg custard, roasted tomato relish

The tartare was just okay--we felt this dish was concerned with presentation over flavor. 

Point Judith Calamari

Korean chile, yuzu, pickled bacon dashi gel, serranos, HRF shishitos

Our new favorite calamari in town--sorry to Luca. The dashi gel took it to another level. Slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and just lightly fried. 

Bacon Dashi

served with the calamari

Pacific Yellowtail Crudo

Coal-kissed, pickled & smoked red onion, sriracha tartare crispy rice, serranos, ponzu, truffles

Delicious--get everything below in one bite, and it's a thing of beauty. 

Maine Lobster Mac & Cheese

House-made fettuccine, uni bechamel, truffle froth, brioche crumbs, bacon-poached lobster tail

One of our favorites--we were licking the bowl. Can you blame us? 

Notorious P.I.G Puppies

Braised HRF pork cheek puppies, Eastern Carolina BBQ, whipped honey butter, house BBQ sauce

These cute little puppers were a table favorite! The savory barbecue flavor paired with the crispy fritter perfectly. 

Dry Aged Crispy Duck

Local wildflower honey, sansyo pepper, coriander, fleur de sel, arnaud olive oil, fresh herbs, compressed persimmon

Only I really liked this duck--other dining companions complained that the flavor was off.

Dessert: 
There are currently three options--a chocolate cake with Biscoff ice cream, a Krispy Kreme bread pudding with dulce de leche, vanilla-yuzu ice cream and candied rose petals, and a trio of ice creams (the biscoff, vanilla-yuzu, and a chocolate variety). We loved both of the options below, but if you have to pick just one, we recommend the chocolate cake. 

Chocolate Cake 

with Biscoff Ice cream

Krispy Kreme bread pudding

with dulce de leche, vanilla-yuzu ice cream and candied rose petals

Drink: 
Bartender Ryan Hart crafted a gorgeous and novel-esque cocktail menu with a mix of innovative cocktails ("Remixes") and old school 1900s "Classics" like gin fizzes and sazeracs. 

Gin Fizz
Gin, lemon, egg white, sparkling mineral water

This cocktail was rather poorly mixed--some pockets of egg white and lemon were suspended in a viscous trap of blech, but subsequent cocktails were all fabulous (no pictures due to: too lit. Whoops). 

Gin Fizz

Behind the magical bar

Atmosphere: 
Zeppelin calls to mind early 1900s vibes, and stays on theme with zeppelin drawings and a giant metal zeppelin hanging above the dining area. Random liquor bottles, knick knacks, and the odd bird cage (or three) complete the look, but we felt that the decor went a bit overboard in this respect and was somewhat cluttered (particularly on the empty bottle front). We did, however, love The Savage Way's giant preserved moss "Z," which is certainly the visual focal point of the restaurant. 

Wide shot of Zeppelin interior/image courtesy of Charlotte Business Journal

A divider down the center of the restaurant keeps the side farthest from the bar from being to noisy, and creates a private atmosphere for each table. 

World War I Hospitality: 
Shout out to server Tony, who we have had the pleasure of having on both of our visits. He provided attentive service, always checked in and thoroughly explained each dish to us. We love you, Tony!

Insert big-eye emoji here

Frankie's Notes: 
Has avocado toast jumped the shark?; Biggie Smalls is so hot on Charlotte restaurant menus right now; Apparently the Hindenburg was a rigid airship and a zeppelin is a semi-rigid airship; Scallionpancake drops facts like candied rose petals; The romanticization of the turn of the twentieth century needs to be replaced with a renaissance of the Mesozoic Era and dinosaur themed restaurants; Forget about activated charcoal--what about asteroid debris lattes?; No dinosaurs were harmed in the making of this post. 

Rating: 

5 out of 5

 

Dilworth Tasting Room

Background: 
Dilworth Tasting Room opened in 2016 in the former Dilworth Billiards spot on Tremont Avenue. Specializing in low production, high quality wines, DTR serves a much-needed role in Charlotte as a low-key spot to have a glass of wine and a cheese plate on a weeknight (try Thursdays when they have half off Cabernet Sauvignons!). In addition to wine and cheese, DTR has an amazing cocktail menu and heartier entree options. We have been to DTR several times, and, on one visit with the Charlotte Food Bloggers, we got to try the wide array of menu items below. Check them out!

Eat This: 

Cheese & Charcuterie Board

Snack Caddy

Mixed nuts, mixed olives, selecton of seasonal pickled vegetable (pickled in house), orange mustard marmalade. With an assortment of house made fatbread breads & crackers

Bruschetta

Classic, & sauteed mushroom

Bruschetta

Roasted grape & ricotta

Bruschetta

Roasted artichoke with garlic cream cheese

DTR Market Salad

Spring mix lettuce, warm root vegetables, goat cheese bark, nuts with a raspberry sherry vinaigrette

Asparagus Soup

Chicken & Dumplings

Parisian gnocci in chicken jus finished with herbs and spices

Pan-Seared Scallops

Roasted broccoli, black risotto, with corn veloutee

Pan-Seared Pork

With a sweet potato dauphine and a roasted apple gastrique

Horseradish-Encrusted Beef Tenderloin

Braised fingerling potatoes, asparagus, carrots, with a mushroom glaze

Dessert: 

Special Seasonal Dessert

Dark chocolate glazed coffee frozen custard with butter toffee layer and pumpkin spice creme anglaise

Drink:
You really can't go wrong with any of the wines at DTR, and they sell all of them by the bottle as well, so you can take one home to enjoy for later. In addition to the Thursday Cab special, they also offer half off Japanese Toki Highballs on Wednesday nights. Also, when I recently took my book club to DTR, I found out they are very accommodating about helping parties split bottles of wine on their bill--the staff made it so easy, and no one had to do any math, woohoo!

Atmosphere: 
Well, the most stunning part of DTR is their secret garden-esuqe courtyard. Seriously, when everything is green and the weather is warm, this patio is so lush and inviting. It's the perfect place to sip a prosecco on a May evening! Gah, is it spring yet?!

Dilworth Billiards Hospitality: 
Everyone at DTR is so nice, and they do a lovely job accommodating larger parties, and they also take reservations on their website. On each visit, I have left pleased with the service.  

Frankie's Notes: 
Frankie tried to play billiards once, but he's much more of a ping pong pug; An epic charcuterie plate can improve your week 150%; Putting grapes on bruschetta is the best thing that came out of 2017; Math is terrible and you should avoid it whenever possible; Yvonne once tried to create a secret garden inside her house; She used a blue blanket to replicate a stream; Is that weird? 

Disclaimer: This meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.

 

Lincoln's Haberdashery

Background: 
Lincoln's Haberdashery opened just this month in South End, right down the road from Chef Michael Shortino's first restaurant, Futo Buta. Futo Buta has long held as my number one favorite restaurant in Charlotte--in fact, it was the very first post here on our little corner of the internet--check it out here (and also see our our style has changed since August 2015!). We also talk more in depth about Lincoln's on this week's episode of the podcast!

Decisions, decisions 

Lincoln's Haberdashey feels like it belongs in a much larger city than Charlotte, and that's one of the many things I love about it. It is part restaurant, coffee shop, retail space, ice creamery, wine bar, well--you get the idea. It reminds me a lot of Bi-Rite, one of my favorite San Francisco spots. The vibe is hip, yet cozy, and I can't wait to spend an afternoon there reading or doing blog work. The other night, Scallionpancake was absolutely honored to be invited to their media preview, and although we had already visited once the previous week, the media night gave us even more to love about Lincoln's Haberdashery. Read on to see what this new space has to offer Charlotte. 

Peep that beer ice cream float!

Eat This: 
Lincoln's Haberdashery makes all of their bread in house, as well as their ice cream. Whatever they don't make from scratch, they source from the best of the best. For example, the olive oil they use on "The 13th" sandwich is from award-winning Queen Creek Olive Mill in Arizona, and the mozzarella on that same sandwich is made in-house. It's all just a wonderful amalgamation of the best things--both made and curated. By the way, that olive oil is the absolute best I have ever tasted--it's so spicy and fresh! We were given a bottle to take home, and I finished a quarter of mine in approximately four days. A bottle of that, some flaky salt, and a fresh loaf of bread makes for a great breakfast the morning after your visit. Here is a snapshot of everything we sampled, from both our solo visit and the media night:

Mornin':

Mary's Muffin

Scrambled egg, tomato, Duke's mayo, with a choice of "protein" (Hickory Nut Gap ham, bacon, or avocado)

Sticky Biscuit

Hickory Nut Gap ham, rosemary cheddar biscuit, and wildflower honey butter

Stuffed Flapjack

Lemon ricotta, pure maple syrup, and berries

Let's get a close up on that, shall we? 

Avocado Toast

Lemon EVOO, baby arugula, shaved onion

Take it to the Bridge
 

ACME smoked salmon, house toast, dill, red onion, capers, and Ikura (salmon caviar) 

Sandwich & Soup: 

Grilled Cheese

Gruyere, shallots, and thyme

The 13th

House-made mozzarella, La Quercia prosciutto, fresh basil, Queen Creek EVOO

Dessert: 
Oh my god, the DESSERTS. Ugh, all of the pastries are made in-house, and they are beyond delicious. 

Carrot cake pie

With pistachios

Pistachio strawberry choux

Are you drooling yet?

I want to live in this pastry case, thanks 

Assorted ice creams

Ice cream flavors rotate, and the flavors range from the classic (vanilla peach) to the adventurous (mushroom! bacon!). 

Case of dreams 

Drink: 
Lincoln's Haberdashery offers a small selection of wines by the glass, and some beers and local favorite Updog Kombucha on tap. They also have an enormous selection of bottled and canned beer and bottles of wine for purchase. And don't forget the beer float--you can get a chocolate porter with vanilla fig soft serve and have the best float of your adult life.

Stovepipe Latte

Pure Intentions espresso, steamed milk, honey, & cinnamon

And don't forget the coffee! They have two signature espresso drinks, the Stovepipe (espresso, steamed milk, honey, & cinnamon) and the Mary Todd (espresso, steamed milk, lavender, & house-made lemon sugar). And they sprinkle cinnamon on top in the shape of Lincoln's head. Well then. 

Buy all the booze!

Apple spice kombucha!

Atmosphere: 
The marketplace portion of Lincoln's Haberdashery offers so many fun things--pet treats and accessories, candles, magnets, keychains, mimosa kits (!!!) and more. Also, there are tons of cool details, like a refurbished bureau with tiny "thumbs up" knobs. 

For da pugs 

Two thumbs up for Lincoln's Haberdashery 

Mr. Ed

#justiceforbarb

Shortino Hospitality: 
Just like at Futo Buta, Shortino's staff is gracious and quick to offer suggestions and recommendations. You can tell that everyone enjoys working here, and the vibe is chill and relaxed. 

Frankie's Notes: 
2015 blog was so yesterday, so yesterday--just like Hillary Duff says; Is it wrong to drink olive oil straight from the bottle?; I still haven't finished Stranger Things Season Two--does Barb come back from the Inside Out, or what?!; If Abraham Lincoln and Barb had a baby, would it be a ginger?; We think they should sprinkle a cinnamon pug's head on at least one beverage. 

Disclaimer: This meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.

 

Your Pie

Background: 
Your Pie was opened in 2008 by Drew French, after he visited his wife's family in a small town outside of Naples, where he fell in love with the simple and delicious art of wood-fired pizza. Today, Your Pie is a franchise with tons of locations across the Southeast and Midwest. Charlotte's very own Your Pie opened in July 2017 in Southend, and we were honored to be included on the invite for their media preview day. There are so many create-your-own pizza places in Charlotte now, but we really felt that Your Pie distinguished itself with its food and service. 

Eat This: 
Obviously, the name of the game is the create-your-own pizza, but if you aren't feeling particularly inspired, Your Pie has created some topping combinations for you. Ankor Patel, the owner of the Southend franchise, recommends the Southern Heat--a blend of buffalo sauce, chicken, red onions, mozzarella, and jalapenos. The pizzas can be made on white or wheat crust, or even a 50/50 blend of white and wheat if you want to go healthy, but you don't want your pizza to taste 100% like cardboard. All of the veggie toppings used at each franchise are locally sourced, and the freshness really comes through in each pie. 

I got the white crust okay JUDGE AWAY

Not feeling pizza? How about a panini, or a salad in bread bowl? Salad in a bread bowl is a game changer for me--like, I want to be healthy and have vegetables and fiber and things, but you know: CARBS. Talk about the best of both worlds. 

The bowl is BREAD/image courtesy of the YourPieClt Instagram page

The best thing we tried, though? Their cheesy bread sticks. These reminded me of eating Papa John's at middle school sleepovers, and I freaking loved it. 

Dessert: 
Part of what makes Your Pie stand out from the other pizza places like it, is their gelato and sorbet offerings. It seems as though most pizza places offer a shrink-wrapped cookie or brownie, and that's it. While Your Pie offers those trusty staples as well, their gelato steals the show. We tried the blood orange sorbet, which was perfect for a sweltering July day. I can't wait to get back and try some of their other flavors soon. 

Drink: 
In addition to soft drinks, Your Pie offers a large selection of wine and beer, and they always offer beers that are local to the franchise area. 

Atmosphere: 
There is ample seating, if you are not taking your pizza to go. A fun local touch? This beautiful green wall created by Torri from The Savage Way

Pizza, love, and hoppiness//image courtesy of the YourPieClt Instagram page

"Make Your Own" Hospitality: 
Sometimes, the service at create-your-own places is lacking, and of course, there is always the completely legitimate concern that the employees are skimping on the topping options. This is not the case at Your Pie--you can rest assured they will load up your pizza with a smile. 

Frankie's Notes: 
Salad in a bread bowl solves the timeless conundrum of: I don't want to die of malnutrition, but I'm freaking starving; Southern Heat is also the name of Frankie's basketball team; Cheesy bread sticks plus John Hughes movies equals pure nostalgic joy; Shrink-wrapped desserts by the register are kind of sad, but it doesn't mean I won't eat them; There is nothing like the stress of watching an employee neglect to put enough cheese on your order. 

 

Disclaimer: This meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.

Wu's Cajun Seafood

Background: 
Wu's opened in Charlotte's South End neighborhood in June 2017, and is owned by the same restaurant group that owns Ink N Ivy, Oak Room, Hot Taco, Whiskey Warehouse, Brazwells, Slate, and All American Pub (where Scallionpancake met!), so they definitely know their way around the restaurant scene.

...or they should. We had a not-so-great meal at Wu's. It was our first (and likely last) visit. Maybe our experience was a fluke, but it was so off-putting to our dining companions and to us that we cannot see returning any time soon. 

Honestly, this is a bit difficult to write, as we rarely write negative reviews. However, after long and involved discussions at Scallionpancake headquarters, we decided that we want our readers to trust us, and it is difficult to trust a review blog that only publishes the glowingly positive. And, if Tom Cruise taught us anything in Vanilla Sky (and I believe he taught us so many things), it's that the sweet is never as sweet without the sour. Read on to see what went wrong at this Asian/Cajun fusion restaurant on one sultry August night, not too many moons ago. 

It was as disastrous as Blanche and Stanley, minus the sexual tension

Eat This: 
The menu is a mix of Asian and Cajun, with a healthy dose of seafood, a staple of both cuisines. We had heard good things about the seafood (specifically the boils), the gumbo ramen, and the Kung Pao cauliflower. So, we ordered these items, plus a few others. 

Fried Gator Roll

Tasso ham, cilantro, fresno chili, money sauce, green onion

Kung Pao Cauliflower

Fried, tossed, scallions, sesame, fresno chili

These two appetizers were the highlight of our experience. They came out in a reasonable amount of time, though I think it can be argued that thirty minutes on a Tuesday night in a not-at-all crowded and overstaffed restaurant is not reasonable, we were honestly not fazed at this point. We were catching up with our good friends Daniela and Jonathan, and we were having a relaxed evening. The apps were solid--we really liked the gator roll, and it was our favorite dish of the entire night. The cauliflower had a bit too much breading and not enough spice for my taste, but everyone else at the table enjoyed it. 

Raw Oysters

Kimchi cocktail sauce, white wine gochujang mignonette, lemon wedge

So, a word on what happened before these oysters coming out. Our poor waitress, who truly should shoulder very little blame in all of this, dropped her entire tray filled with our food as she tried to juggle setting up the tray stand and a ridiculously heavy tray of food. Previously, our hostess and the same waitress had dropped a fork and a menu, respectively, in this same spot. This area of the floor was clearly slippery and/or haunted. No one came by to dry it or wave some sage over it, which could have likely prevented Tray Drop 2017. 

I just want to be clear. We were not at all upset with our waitress for dropping the tray. In fact, the three of us traded stories about dropping items in our food service days (the winner was Daniela, who honest to god spilled food on an infant, making him cry). I say three of us, as Jason has led a very cushioned life where he has not had to serve food to the citizens, and for this he is very blessed. We tried to make our waitress feel better about what happened, and told her it had happened to (most of) us before. We assured her it was no big deal and told her we were not in a hurry when she said the kitchen would re-fire our food. 

What was weird, however, was that there were six tables sat in the dining room, and four tables sat outside, and our waitress was in charge of at least five of them. There were about six waitresses and a bartender on duty, and it was hard to understand why our waitress was the sole one harried and stressed out. It even took several minutes for someone to come over and help her with the tray of food on the floor. There were two waitresses standing around talking for most of the night, as we watched our waitress rushing around like mad. Team work makes the dream work, amiright?

Wish Winona was here tho

After Tray Gate, our waitress brought out the raw oysters, as those were always due to come out on a separate tray. Then, a waitress came out (she did not identify herself as a manager, so I will assume she was a waitress and likely a shift supervisor or closer) and apologized for what had happened. We assured her we were not concerned with the tray drop and that these things happen. She said she would offer us all a round of drinks on the house to make up for our delayed food. We told her that as none of us had a drink, we didn't want one, but we would love some water refills. She said she would get us that, and that she would comp our meals.

Our regular waitress came back around with water, as the other waitress straight up disappeared, and after she left we realized that the oysters had not come with plates, oyster forks, or lemons. We didn't want to further stress our clearly very overwhelmed waitress, so I asked another server for these items. She blew me off and no one brought them. Eventually, I asked our waitress for them, and she brought them, though at this point the oysters were basically gone, as we were starving (we had been at the restaurant for an hour at this point). 

Anyway, the oysters. There was no mignonette that I noticed--there was no flavor at all, not in the oysters or the "kimchi" cocktail sauce. That was 100% regular cocktail sauce. This was fine, as we like straight-up oysters and regular cocktail sauce, but it was not the dish the menu promised. We ate them all, because oysters are freaking expensive and again, starving. 

Gumbo Ramen
Gumbo base, andouille, ramen noodles, crawfish, charred cabbage, kimchi marinated soft egg

No picture due to hunger-induced delirium.

Daniela: "I thought the gumbo was more of a noodle dish since there was little to no broth. The flavors were muddied to me, and it was almost gritty in texture." 

The "Wu" Boil with Crab Legs

Seasoned with our signature Wu's seasoning and served with corn, potatoes, and sausage

Daniela: "The boil wasn't bad, although it's hard to mess up crab legs. The shrimp that was added as a peace offering was overcooked and chewy. There were two potatoes and no corn. The spiced butter on the side was pretty tasty." 

Jonathan: "The boil and the gumbo made one hell of a mess." 

Daniela & Jonathan: smiling through the pain

Chopped Kale
Peanut crusted fried goat cheese, carrot, fresno chili, red onion, crispy quinoa, miso-ginger vinaigrette

No picture because, well, at this point there was a mass of confusion and hunger. It was missing the quinoa. Decent salad, if a little overdressed/soggy. I ate it all, however. 

Buttermilk Fried Calamari

Kimchi, lemon butter, cilantro, jalapeno

Came out ten minutes after everything above, even though it's technically an app and we are not sure what took so long in a basically empty restaurant. Didn't taste bad, according to Jason. 

Cajun Fried Crab Roll

Cajun seasoning, money sauce, spicy mayo, green onion, goat cheese, cilantro, fresno chili

Anddd this came out ten more minutes after the calamari. Jason said this roll was good, but that he preferred the gator roll. 

After our meal, our waitress came and took our plates. No one came by to say anything. We waited another forty minutes. We figured this was because they had told us they would comp our meals, but it's super awkward to just leave a restaurant without having a waitress, manager, or really anyone come over and say thank you, have a good night, would you like dessert, please come see us again, etc. We didn't know what to do. Eventually, our exhaustion won out, and we got up from the table and found the waitress who told us she would comp our meals and told her we were leaving. She said, "Did your waitress bring your a check?" (cue all of us thinking: but you said you were comping us?!), and we said no, we had not been brought anything or been addressed at all in the forty minutes since we had finished our food. She said, "Well, I said I would just comp your boils, but I guess you guys can just go." Sidebar, we only got one boil, not multiples. And um, okay. Don't have to tell us twice to leave at this point. We had arrived at 8:00pm and it was 10:00pm. 

Our meal was comped, yes. However, we did not come to Wu's looking for a free meal. We came looking for good food and good service, which is what we always anticipate on a night out. We would have gladly taken the latter over the former. In the words of Jonathan: "It's annoying, because there are so many good places to eat in Charlotte, and we just wasted a night here." 

No manager in sight. No business card offered to contact anyone. We did ask for one, but we didn't use it. We decided the blog could be our comment card. Daniela & Jonathan, however, did email the manager and never heard back. Update: Wu's marketing director did reach out in September, and offered us another dinner on them. We have not taken them up on that offer, however. Daniela & Jonathan never received a response to their email. 

Dessert: 
Yeah, no. Please take me home. I want to get off this ride.

But, because you know how much we love dessert, we tried to stop at Golden Cow on the way home, but they were closed because it was freaking 10 o'clock at night. Wahhh. 

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there's gum in my hair

Drink: 
As I said above, we all had waters. Daniela and Jonathan were doing a cleanse month, and Jason and I just like to stay hydrated. The water was very good, and we enjoyed drinking it whenever our cups were not empty (which did not happen often, unfortunately). 

Oh sh*% that is fresh

Atmosphere: 
Uh, I am not going to lie. A horror show of over-the-top decor. The slow burn of a Tennessee Williams play dubbed into a Jackie Chan movie. Seppuku on the bayou. Am I beating a dead Asian-Cajun horse? 

We were served Cajun justice, and it didn't have the campy joy of an 80's movie

Confused Fusion Hospitality: 
Uh. See above. 

You know Steph, it was a little rude

Frankie's Notes: 
FYI to Wu's: Seafood is one word, not two; Frankie considers himself very patient as he worked many hard years in the service industry, but unacceptable is unacceptable, and that's right from the pug's mouth; I am not going to lie, Daniela's story of dropping food on a baby made me feel a lot better about the time I dropped lemonade on a pregnant lady at her baby shower; That's a textbook example of schadenfreude; Shoutout to Cincinnati's Bonbonnerie Tea Room and the honest-to-god favorite job I've ever held, minus the lemonade incident of Aught Four; We want to take our waitress out for a drink, because she deserves it after the night she had--girl, it's not your fault! 
 

Rating: 1 out of 5

Yamazaru

Background: 
Yamazaru opened in March of 2017 in the ever-booming South End neighborhood of Charlotte. The location could not be more perfect, as it's right next to Sycamore and within walking distance of tons of breweries that have limited menu options, or even just the occasional food truck. Yamazaru is owned by the sushi gods behind Ru Sans [read our review on what we consider the best sushi in Charlotte], so naturally we went in with high expectations. 

However, we tend to make the mistake of going to a new spot too soon, and making rash judgments when they are still figuring out their service groove, and this visit was no exception. We visited Yamazaru on a Friday night in late April with Jason's brother, Adam, and his awesome girlfriend Emily. Despite some service snafus, we had a great time due to the awesome company and banging sushi. Check it out...

Stop looking at me, swan

Eat This: 
Here we have your basic Japanese restaurant Americanized house salad with ginger dressing. It was alright. I actually prefer the crappy iceberg lettuce to this fancier stuff. #whitetrashtendencies

Nutrients & such

Yamazaru Roll
Crab salad, avocado, tuna, baked eel, and scallops

Green Dragon, Tamago Nigiri, Angry Spider, and Salmon Avocado Rolls

Dessert: 
We did not eat any desserts at Yamazaru, but we for sure went to Golden Cow Creamery after, which is conveniently just down the road!

Clearly not the ice cream from our visit that evening (hence the sunlight), but what can we say? We go here a lot. 

Drink: 
We shared some cold, unfiltered, sparkling sake! It was good, but I think it had the alcohol content of fruit juice. Yawn. On a Friday night I just don't want to feel feelings anymore, okay alcohol? 

Atmosphere: 
Yamazaru is super compact, as obviously real estate is at a premium in South End. Much like Ru Sans, it's a little difficult to navigate where to stand while you are waiting for your table. This is no big deal in nice weather, but of course when it's cold and/or rainy it means everyone is huddled awkwardly by the host stand. It was nice weather when we went, but we still huddled awkwardly by the host stand because we were hungry, and you know, out of sight out of mind, etc. 

Oh! Yamazaru means "monkey" in Japanese, and we enjoyed the hidden monkeys splashed around the decor!

Ohx2--look for the booth that is one-sided and faces a wall. Look for it, but try not to be sat in it. Especially if you're with a co-worker or something. Awk sauce nation. 

I don't know where to stand/Hi, Adam and Emily! 

South End Hospitality: 
Ughhh, we had terrible service on our first visit, unfortunately. Everyone was polite, but the servers seemed like they were still dealing with the madness of how busy they were. Our host sat three parties ahead of us who came in after us, and, once we were sat, we waited at our table for about 20 minutes without being greeted. I would definitely chalk this up to them working out the kinks of opening up a new restaurant. I am sure it will get better!

Frankie's Notes: 
Jason and Emily are super chill in the face of slow service--Adam and I? Not so much; I have lots of white trash tendencies, like enjoying Dave & Buster's on occasion; If the host can feel you breathing on them, you'll be eating faster--that's just simple restaurant math; South End is so hip with its painted magic carpets and brewery yoga classes; No seriously, take how often you think Jason and I go out to eat for dessert in the average week and multiply it by four to get an accurate count. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

 

Babalu

Background: Babalu is opening in Dilworth TODAY in the old Cantina 1511 spot. This tacos and tapas joint is a chain located in several southeastern cities, and now Charlotte is getting in on the party. Owners Bill Latham and Al Roberts named their restaurant after Ricky Ricardo's number one jam, so we were predisposed to like this place. 

Eat This: Scallionpancake (plus Adam, aka A-Dizzle) was able to get the inside scoop this Saturday (#fancy #bigstars #thepress). We were ordering from a limited menu, but everything we tried was pretty darn good!

Adam "don't put me on the internet" Ackerman

The table side guacamole is the jam. Do you want them to add jalapeños and bacon? You bet your sweet behind you do. Bacon is an excellent addition to guacamole and we are gutted to have not heard of this one day sooner. 

Ooh yeah girl run that game 

To round out our starters, we also ordered the Yellowfin Tuna Ceviche. This was fresh and citrusy--ceviche high fives all around.

How I love le poisson

For entrees, you can choose from tapas, tortas, or tacos (alliteration station). We tried two of the tacos and two of the tapas options--but the Torta Cubana kept going by our table and we had some major ordering regret--next time, for sure. 

For the tacos, we tried the Carne de Cerdo (pork belly) and the Ostra (fried gulf oysters). They serve these babies on your choice of blue corn or flour tortillas. The blue corn was a nice touch, but the Brothers Ackerman both proclaimed their tacos a bit on the dry side. 

PSA: Things that are from the gulf are [probably] cool to eat now! 

Blue Velvet Corn Tortillas 

Under the tapas section, we sampled the Costillas--smoked baby back ribs with a sweet pepper glaze served atop a cilantro vinegar slaw. This dish was the winner of the afternoon. The ribs were seasoned and cooked perfectly, and the slaw lightened up the flavor profile. 

"I want my..."

Right before we left, the servers offered an orphaned Seared Sesame Crusted Tuna served on a jicama round, which we were more than happy to take off their hands. This was a lovely little dish--the tuna had great flavor and the jicama kept it light and healthy. 

Artsy low-carb tuna

Babalu is not really Mexican--it has shades of Mexican, along with Cuban, Spanish, and Southern elements. The menu has a lot to offer--but not so much that you are overwhelmed. 

Desserts: All of the dessert options looked baller, but we could only choose one. I made the executive decision (bossy) and chose the Spicy Mexican Fudge. These are served in three, perfectly bite-sized pieces and are dusted with cayenne, crushed pepitas, tajin (chili powder, lime and salt seasoning), and powdered sugar. Yum. 

Chocolate fudge alert

Drink: Adam and I each tried a cocktail--he got their signature Baba-rita (a margarita made with POM juice) and I tried the Mojarita (a margarita with mint). There was nothing about these that was offensive, but we didn't love either of them. Too sweet, not strong enough. Ricky Ricardo would have made his displeasure with such a drink known, for sure (AY YI YI). 

"Why you always singing that baby-lu?"

Atmosphere: For anyone who had been in the old Cantina 1511 space, you will be blown away by the changes they have made to the interior. They took a poorly lit and awkwardly laid out space and made it light, bright, and fun. They have a mix of bar seating, high tops, and booths, and they project a film on one of their walls (on Saturday it was a black and white Western--a super fun touch). They also have colorful concert posters lining the walls along the ceiling. 

One of the best parts about Cantina 1511 was their patio, and Babalu has only made it better--the patio will be open year-round, rain or shine, thanks to a retractable roof and sides. 

Mexi-Cuban Southern Hospitality: The service we received was top notch! I hope it stays that way past the soft opening. Everyone was exceedingly friendly and the food came out quickly. 

Frankie's Notes: Jason feels really cool and a little embarrassed going places with our big, fancy camera; Yay for Kid Cashew not being the only thing people are talking about on East Boulevard; Do you think that Johnny from Lebowski's trivia will go to Babalu with us one day? Asking for Jason & Daniela; Ricky Ricardo's best song was far and away "Cuban Pete"--no disagreements allowed; Ricky would have thrown a weak, sugary drink right in Lucy's face, both because they had a violent relationship and because the 50s were a bad time for women in America; But seriously: why couldn't Lucy be in the show?

Chick-chicky-boom

Rating:  3 out of 5

Et Cetera: 

1511 East Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28203

http://eatbabalu.com/menu/