The Truth is Out There: Siggy's Good Food

Background:
When we first heard of Siggy’s, we weren’t sure what to expect. The name and logo came off as a bit kitschy, and the alien theme threw us off a bit. But we had heard good things, especially from New Yorkers who went to the original locations in Brooklyn Heights and the Village. And if a New Yorker says something is good, we always believe them. So we headed on over to Belmont, an up and coming neighborhood in Charlotte in between NoDa and Plaza Midwood, to see if the alien hype was to be believed. Whether you believe in aliens or not, Siggy’s Good Food does indeed have good food, and it’s worth a visit.

Siggy’s is owned by Siggy Solitto, a feisty Israeli who isn’t afraid to tell you how it is, like that Charlotte needs some good bakeries, or that the NYC restaurant scene is becoming too expensive for small restaurants like hers to survive. Her restaurant is 100% organic, and she doesn’t accept crappy produce. Quality shines through in her simple and thoughtfully prepared menu. You think you’ve had a good beet and goat cheese salad? Wait until you’ve tried Siggy’s. The flavors and textures of her dishes are outstanding, craveable, and left us wanting more days later.

Eat This:
Siggy opened up her first restaurant in Brooklyn in 2005, her second in lower Manhattan in 2012, and she decided to move south in 2018 for a better lifestyle. In Belmont, she is recreating the neighborhood feel of her first location in Brooklyn. Her menu has changed somewhat from its NYC iteration, most notably missing is her famous Happy Burger, which she says she might reprise once the restaurant settles in.

The current menu is broken up into three main sections: Salads, Sandwiches, and Bountiful Earth Sides. We haven’t tried everything on the yet, but what we’ve tried has been great.

Artichokes

Siggy serves baby artichokes with the stems intact. These were tender and simply flavored with oil oil and salt.

Red Beets, almonds, & Goat Cheese Salad

tender beets, sliced almonds, baby greens, creamy goat cheese, in lemon vinaigrette

The beets were perfectly al-dente. The combination of the crunchy almonds, creamy goat cheese, and earthy beets made for a healthy and delicious combination.

All Mighty Tuna - Wild caught

in olive oil, lemon & paprika, clover sprouts, tomatoes, baby greens, and vegan mayo.

This is not your average tuna sandwich. We’ve all had crappy canned tuna, and I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy.

Organic steak sandwich grass fed

Marinated in rosemary, sautéed mushrooms, onions, baby greens, and herbs vegan mayo

Try and find a better $12 steak sandwich, I dare you. The magic here? It’s the marinade, which makes the steak so juicy.

Drink:
Siggy’s is known for their organic smoothies and juices, which range from Jason (all fruit) to Yvonne (all vegetables). All are made right in front of you with all natural, organic ingredients.

Raw Almond Protein Shake & Flu Shot

I tried the Raw Almond Smoothie, which had raw almond butter, dates, banana, and almond milk. It was delicious, and a meal in itself. Yvonne tried a Flu Shot juice, which contained greens, lemon, ginger, cayenne pepper, and echinacea. Yvonne had one sip of my Raw Almond Smoothie and claims she has been thinking about it since.

Atmosphere:
Siggy’s designed the restaurant herself, and the vibe is very relaxed and inviting. There are floor to ceiling windows and a very large patio. You order at the counter, and you can sit and relax or take your order to go. Siggy told us she’s happy when people hang out, and she’d love it if people would treat Siggy’s as the neighborhood hangout. Of course, keep an eye out for all the aliens—they’re everywhere.

Alien Hospitality:
Siggy, her niece, and the rest of the alien crew are fantastic. They treat you like family from the moment you walk in and remember you the next time you show up. What more do you want from a neighborhood spot?

Frankie’s Notes:
Belmont is up and coming, but definitely not quite there yet; Make sure you stop and look both ways at the stop sign in front, because it’s not a four-way stop sign, and we almost killed ourselves twice; We are 100% Ancient Astronaut Theorists, I mean, how were the pyramids built?; We didn’t even talk about the parsley hummus, but that stuff is good, too; Never mess with an Israeli, because they can kill you in less than seconds.

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.

 

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.

 

Gene Kato Infuses New Life Into SouthPark's Upstream

Background: 
Upstream in Phillip's Place shopping center has been a SouthPark staple for some time, but the restaurant ushered in a new era this year with the arrival of Gene Kato as Partner and Executive Chef. This is a coming home for Kato, a native Charlottean who began his restaurant career at Upstream 15 years ago. He has spent the bulk of his career prior to this point working in renowned Chicago restaurants like Ohba, Japonais, and Sumi, the final two of which he opened. 

Kato's return to Charlotte as Upstream's Chef has significantly changed the traditional American-style seafood menu the restaurant has maintained for years. The seafood is just as fresh, but now the menu has a Pacific Rim flare, and includes robata dishes, ramen, and a full sushi menu. 

We were invited out for a tasting back in May, and we were absolutely blown away by everything we tasted. 

Eat This: 

Kato's Tofu

Soymilk, pickled shimeji mushrooms, ikura & fried ginger

Tuna Escabeche

Tomato, pickled onion, & smoked soy

Angry Crab

Baked King Crab Gunkan

"The Rock"

Ginger-marinated NY strip

Photo courtesy of Upstream

Seabass

Banana-leaf wrapped, tomato chutney, & mango papaya

Pork Belly Ssam

Roasted pork belly, pickled daikon, kimchi, Thai chili salt

Dessert: 

Strawberry Sorbet

Strawberry jelly, freeze dried strawberry, & strawberry puree

Doughnuts

Chocolate-filled donuts with green tea semi-freddo mousse

Upstream recently rolled out a weekend brunch menu, which we can't wait to check out. 

Drink: 
Check out their wide variety of sake, wine, beers, and cocktails. The world is your oyster when it comes to drinks at Upstream. 

Atmosphere: 
The interior remains unchanged from recent years. Some of the decor is slightly dated, but the dining room is large, and there is a nice patio for cooler days. 

Fusion Hospitality: 
On this visit and on previous visits, we have always received great service at Upstream. Zero complaints. 

Frankie's Notes: 
Pugs love cooking on a hot rock; All tofu should be as delicious at Kato's homemade tofu; We once saw Riverboat Ron dining with Pat McCrory at Upstream during restaurant week, and we may or may not have geeked out a little; The pork belly reminded us of David Chang, and we love to be reminded of Chang at all times; I want to buy 50 of those sorbet cups for my personal use. 

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.

 

Hi Tide Poke & Raw Bar Offers a Fresh Take on Charlotte's Poke Scene

Background: 
Hi Tide opened in Dilworth in late 2017 during a poke explosion in the Charlotte area. However, Hi Tide stands apart, as it is owned by Meat & Fish Co. founder Michel LaVecchia. LaVecchia teamed up with Jeff Van Dyke, Jeffery Schreiber, and Raquel Arreola to bring high end meat and fish to the poke scene. Meat & Fish Co. used to be in the spot where Hi Tide is now, but it has moved upstairs. This proximity ensures that all of the fish used at Hi Tide is ridiculously fresh. We have visited Hi Tide on our own and, more recently, as part of a blogger event in mid-August. Below is a combination of items from both visits. 

Eat This: 

Oysters

Oyster Happy Hour runs every Monday-Friday from 4pm-7pm

Lobster Lollipop

Insert praise emoji here

Lobster Avocado Toast

Millenials everywhere are crying tears of joy

Hi-Tide Lobster Roll

Served with seasoned chips or fries. Lobster rolls are only $15.99 all day on Mondays.

Ahi Tuna Burger

Served with seasoned chips or fries

Rainbow Poke Bowl

Salmon, Hamachi, Ahi Tuna, Scallions, Pickled Red Onion, Red Cabbage, Sweet Corn, Cucumber, Limu/Ogo, Carrots, Mandarin Orange, Jalapeno/Serrano Salad, Shuyu Sesame Oil, Seasoned Milky Queen Rice

Build-Your-Own Poke Bowl

All sorts of goodness in this bowl

Poke Nachos

Crispy wontons, Ahi Tuna, Avocado, Scallions, Crispy garlic, Cucumber, Seaweed Salad, Hawaiian Sea Salt, tomato, pickled red onion, Creamy Togarashi & Unagi Sauce

Dessert:
There is only one dessert option, a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. It is dang good, though. Cookie is not pictured since I ate it faster than the speed of light.  

Drink: 
Hi Tide has tons of canned beer options, plus wine. Our favorite drinks are the non-alcoholic drinks on tap--specifically the coconut milk cold brew. They also offer a POG (pineapple, orange, guava) juice, a peach honey green tea, and a strawberry and candied lime juice. 

HAWAIIAN cold brew with COCONUT milk

Life-giving

Atmosphere: 
At Hi Tide, you order at the counter and they bring your food out to your table when it's ready. There is not a huge amount of seating, but I think you will likely be able to avoid a wait, as a large portion of their business seems to be carry out orders. 

Raw Hospitality: 
The team at Hi Tide obviously takes great pride in each dish they serve, and it's clear they aren't solely trying to get people in and out quickly, but rather their focus in on serving a quality product to each customer. We have received impeccable service on every visit. 

Frankie's Notes: 
They have a POG juice, but why don't they have a PUG juice?; That cold brew coffee has gotten me through a lot of sleepy afternoons; There is nothing more exciting to a millennial gremlin than lobster and avocado toast, and when you put those items together, you create a hole in the universe that is a portal to a world where 90s Nickelodeon shows play all day and the skies rain with Fruit by the Foot & Surge; I brought home this tuna burger to Jason for dinner, and that earned me 33 Wife Points. When you reach 75 Wife Points, you get a dinner out and a pedicure. 

 

Experience Authentic Italian in Ballantyne with Zinicola

Pasta trio

Background: 
Richard Cranmer and his wife Najiya opened Zinicola in Ballantyne in 2017. The name Zinicola is taken from Chef Cranmer's mother's maiden name, and family heritage is central to the restaurant's mission. Growing up, Cranmer would take summer trips to visit his Nonna in Italy, and she continues to inspire his cuisine today. We were invited out in earlier in August to sample their menu and hear more about their commitment to chef-driven and authentic Italian cuisine. 

Eat This: 
All of Zinicola's food is made fresh and in-house, including their pasta and pizzas. We particularly loved the Parmesan basket that the risotto was served in, and the creativity that went into the heirloom tomato salad. 

Beef Carpaccio

tomato jam, parmigiana gel, arugula

Heirloom Tomato Salad

tomato cannellini, black tomato sauce, basil

The cannellini was made with a tomato gel instead of pasta--so cool!

Roasted OCTOPUS

black risotto, saffron emulsion

Perfectly cooked.

FETTUCCINE

swordfish, mint, garlic, tomato, white wine

Risotto

parmigiana basket, Italian sausage, mushrooms

Rice in a Parmesean basket? Sign us up.

Ravioli

beef mushroom ricotta, wrapped in duck prosciutto, sage butter sauce

Hands down, our favorite pasta of the night.

Eggplant Wrapped Grouper

cannellini bean sauce, clams

Lamb Loin

eggplant puree, rosemary potato cake, zucchini, mint gel

The lamb was tender and flavorful, and the potato cake cured any lingering carb needs that remained after all that pasta!

Dessert: 
Do not sleep on Zinicola's dessert. This baby was my favorite dish of the evening. 

Pistachio Nutella Mascarpone

Bonus: this was gluten-free!

Drink: 
The wine menu and creative cocktail selection are finely curated. As your server for pairing suggestions. 

Watermelon Martini

Drink.

Basil Martini

Drank.

Strawberry Martini

Drunk.

Atmosphere: 
Zinicola is upscale, and the white tablecloths and candles will elevate your night out into a special occasion. There were plenty of couples on dates when we dined, but there were also a lot of families. The patio is busy on cooler nights, and this is where to sit for a more casual vibe. The bar is open to both the inside of the restaurant and the outside patio, so you have easy access to the fabulous cocktails pictured above. 

Hospitality: 
The Cranmers are such a fun couple, and they provide fine dining in an atmosphere that makes you feel right at home. We were well-fed and provided with everything we needed on this visit, and we can't wait to go back on our own soon. 

Frankie's Notes: 
Even a pug would drive to Ballantyne for food this good; They served us so many drinks that we needed a DD at the end of the night; All carbs should come in a cheese basket; Jason claims to not like cheesecake or cream cheese, but when it comes to dessert, he abandons all previously professed reservations; Chef Cranmer and his wife are pod listeners who say they bicker as much as we do--should we have a kvetch off?!

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.

 

108: Noma's Little Brother Holds Its Own

Background:
108 opened around the corner from the old Noma on July 27, 2016. Co-owned by Noma's Rene Redzepi and with Redzepi's trained head chef Kristian Baumann at the helm, 108 quickly rose to stardom as a way to get a less expensive piece of the Noma experience. 108 received its first Michelin Star shortly after opening and this summer was named #98 on the World's 100 Best Restaurants. 

We first came to 108 in the summer of 2017 because we wanted the Noma-lite experience. We love everything Noma, to the point where we probably should wear "I <3 Noma" t-shirts on the regular, so we couldn't have been more excited to land a reservation at 108. We had been the previous night to Noma Under the Bridge, which we L-O-V-E-ed, and we sat right next to a couple who flat out said 108 was better, so our expectations were sky high. 

Our experience the first time was a disappointment. The food was a mix of fine and inedible, with one dish being served literally with a cup full of raw flowers which was probably one of the worst things I've ever eaten. There were a few good dishes mixed in, but overall we were disappointed. As our waiter at Amass put it, "The dishes look good for Instagram, but that's about it."

We decided to give 108 another shot on our recent trip to Copenhagen, especially after we visited the new Noma, and we're so glad we did. The menu had been updated and all of the dishes were not only beautiful, but they tasted great as well. 108, you gave us a bad first impression, but here's to second chances. 

Eat This:
108 has an a la carte and a tasting menu, we elected both times to go a la carte, mainly because we had done so many tasting menus on both trips that we were tasted out. We're only going to focus on the items we tried this time, as the old ones were not that good.

Sourdough

Every place in Copenhagen has great sourdough bread. Every.single.one. 108 was no exception, and we could have eaten only this bread and walked out happy.

Greens & Herbs from Krogerup

with roasted seaweed

The summeriest of summer salads. All of the ingredients were picks from 108's farm that day. The middle contained an almond oil sorbet, which was mind-bowing. A huge upgrade from the crap flower bucket we had the previous year.

Raw Lamb

with last year's pickles

One constant at 108 is the stunning presentation. The dishes are gorgeous, every one of them. The flowers around the edge of this dish change not only daily, but minute to minute, with different tables getting different colored flowers. I'm a self-proclaimed lamb-oholic, so I loved this dish. The raw lamb and pickles made for a savory, gamey, and sour flavor that was delicious.

Brown Beech Mushrooms

with a smoked egg yolk sauce

This was a carryover from the previous year that was still on the menu, and the only dish we actually enjoyed the year before. The mushrooms were fried lightly and perfectly. Mixed with the yolk sauce, it felt like you were eating a fried steak.

Grilled Quail

with beetroot and warm spices

This was the one semi-miss of the night. The quail was good, and the sauce was good, but the dish didn't have a lot of flavor, and there wasn't enough meat on the bone to satisfy.  

Desserts:

Hot Dough Not

filled with caramel and seaweed ice cream

These babies were good. I could have eaten 100 of them, but three was probably a good choice so that I didn't gain 100 pounds. The icy seaweed ice cream offset the hot doughnut beautifully.

Sorbet of Wild Black Currants

with hazelnut milk

Another holdover from last year's menu. This was a play on the traditional Danish berries and cream dish, similar to the one we had at Noma. Sweet and refreshing.

Drink:
When we walked in, there was a glass of champagne waiting for us, welcoming us back to the restaurant. That's a nice touch that most restaurants don't do, and we really enjoyed that. 108 has a variety of wines, but we're lame drinkers, so we just got non-alcoholic juices. My favorites were a raspberry soda and a mandarin orange soda.

Last year's menu: don't look too closely--it wasn't good

Rhubarb soda

Atmosphere:
108 is a beautiful space located steps away from the harbor. It's airy and light, and everything is set up to create the perfect Instagram shot. The kitchen is open in the back, and everything screams Millennial Eye Candy. Needless to say, we loved the vibe.

Three Digit Hospitality:
The first time around, we thought the service was just okay, but this time the service was excellent. We asked our server what someone was eating to our left, and she went on a 10 minute excursion to figure out exactly what it was. The chefs came out to explain the dishes, a thread carried over from the Noma mothership.

Frankie's Notes:
Always give something a second try, because everyone is entitled to an off night; What's up with all of these places being named after numbers? I thought restaurants were a safe place where we didn't have to do math; I wish every restaurant was next to a harbor that was clean enough to swim in; Flowers are good to give to ladies, but use modestly in fine-dining dishes; If everyone could eat sourdough every day, I think the world would be free of crime and skinny people.

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Sanchez: Rosario Sanchez Brings Mexican Food to Copenhagen

Background:
Sanchez is the first sit-down restaurant for former Noma pastry chef Rosario Sanchez, who left Noma in 2015 to open up Hija de Sanchez, a taco stand in Copenhagen which now has two locations. Her goal is to introduce Copenhagen, and the rest of Europe, to the flavors of Mexican cooking. She imports corn directly from Mexico and handmakes all of the tortillas daily. If you go to their taco stands on a regular basis, as we did (some might say we went too often), you might see a yellow corn tortilla one day, and a blue corn tortilla the next, all depending upon the supply of the corn they can get on a particular day. Sanchez is also committed to using local Danish ingredients to complement the Mexican flavors, as spiciness is a flavor profile that Danes are often unaccustomed to. 

The restaurant opened in December 2017 to rave reviews and won "The Best New Restaurant" by Berlingske, the largest Danish newspaper. Rene Redzepi, head chef at Noma, recommends it as the best non-Michelin star restaurant in Copenhagen.

Eat This:
Sanchez offers an a la carte menu is addition to a five course tasting menu. We opted for the tasting, as this was our only visit to the restaurant on this trip. Many other tables were ordering a la carte, and all of the dishes looked delicious; however, with the tasting menu, you get a wide variety of items, none of which can be ordered off the a la carte menu.

Chips & Salsa

Every table is brought homemade chips and salsa. The salsas were delicious, spicy but not overly spicy. We ate these in about 10 seconds and then sheepishly looked around for more. Spoiler: there was never any more.

Oysters

A Mexican twist on oysters, which were marinated in habanero peppers and local favorite sea buckthorn. This was a refreshing first bite with a nice, spicy kick at the end.

Agua Chile

This was the outstanding dish of the night. The agua chile contained raw brill, fresh local fruit, and a spicy strawberry sauce that was out of this world. The dish was on the exact edge of being too spicy, something that if it had even a little more spice would have been inedible for most people. I love when a chef takes a risk and pulls it off, and that's exactly what this dish achieved. The spiciness and acidity of the ceviche mixed perfectly with the freshness and sweetness of the fruit. Incredible.

Enfrijolada

This enfrijolada was filled with requeson cheese and topped with watercress, kale, and arbol chile oil. I am not a bean person in any way, in fact, I normally steer clear whenever possible. When in Rome (or Copenhagen), though, you eat beans, and this did not disappoint. There is a freshness and lightness to all of the dishes which you just don't get at a typical Mexican restaurant. If you were to have an enfrijolada in an American "Mexican" restaurant, you'd need a two hour nap immediately following inhalation. Not so with this baby. Another winner.

Tamale

Chef Sanchez said it was important to her to have a lot of vegetarian options on the menu. When she brought this out (!!!), she explained that the inside of a tamale is normally made with pork, but she decided to use mushrooms instead. We were instructed to add the tomato salsa and cheese to the tamale, and we happily obliged. Everything melted into the tamale like a warm, cheesy hug.

Taco

Our last course was a taco of beef on a crisp lettuce shell. The beef was cooked perfectly and provided a nice contrast to the crunch of the lettuce leaf.

Dessert:
Of course, we couldn't pass up dessert, especially since Chef Sanchez was the former head pastry chef at Noma. Sanchez is known her paletas, which are basically Mexican popsicles. The flavors rotate weekly, and spied on her Instagram that she was working on a licorice paleta. We love licorice (we are very Danish like that), so we couldn't have been more excited. Apparently, the chocolate maker where she sourced the chocolate for part of the paleta had gone on vacation, so this particular flavor was not on the menu; however, they had a few test ones in the back, which they were nice enough to give to us! We were seriously #blessed. 

Scarface Paleta

A licorice and cream paleta dipped in cacao cookie coating and cacao nibs. This was everything to us. Denmark is the land of licorice, and this paleta symbolizes the Nordic takeover of the food world--a Mexican treat with local, delicious Danish ingredients. This was, perhaps, the best dessert of our whole trip to Copenhagen.

Stawberries and Cream Paleta

Of course we couldn't just get one paleta. We also got the one listed on the menu, which contained strawberries, elderflower cream, candied elderflower, and habanero syrup. This was good, but not as good as the scarface: SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND. Ahem.

Churro Sandwich

This open-face churro sandwich is made with a mezcal-vanilla frozen parfait, bitter cream, and orange zest. Sometimes you just want a really good, simple dessert, and that's exactly what this was. I could have had ten of these, but, of course, we had paletas to eat.

Drink:
Sanchez has a variety of mezcal, agues frescas, and speciality cocktails. We each had a few cocktails, and Yvonne tried a mezcal flight. 

Mezcal flight

We are big fans of mezcal, and Sanchez has some of the best. It was cool to see the different preparation techniques that give off different flavor profiles. See also: a good way to get drunk quickly.

Pikachu Cocktail - Sea Buckthorn, lemon, vodka, thyme

Hibiscus Tea - from the tap

Atmosphere:
Sanchez has a relaxed, hip vibe. There are little remnants of Mexico everywhere, with skulls strategically placed throughout the restaurant to reminder you what type of food you were eating. The bar dominates the interior, with the mezcal bottles drawing your attention. All the servers are wearing t-shirts and make you feel at home right away. 

Mexi-Danish Hospitality:
The servers were attentive and excellent. We actually recognized one of our servers who used to work at Geranium, which made us feel special really deep inside. Chef Sanchez herself was working almost all positions, from hostess to server. She brought out at least one dish to each table, which we thought was really nice and something you don't see a lot from a celebrity chef. Also, hooking us up with the off-menu scarface paleta really made our night.

Frankie's Notes:
A paleta a day keeps the doctor away; Mexican food is too spicy for pugs, so they'll stick with traditional Danish Smørrebrød thankyouverymuch; when Rene Redzepi tells you to go to a place, you go; Chef Sanchez should come to Charlotte and open up a real Mexican food restaurant here, because we need a good one; Pork butt is my favorite type of butt.

RATING: 5 out of 5

 

Osteria Francescana: A Review of Massimo Bottura's #1 Restaurant in the World

Background:
If you don't know Massimo Bottura, or his restaurant Osteria Francescana (OF to Scallionpancake), then you probably either just woke up from a coma and asked who won the 1986 Super Bowl, or you aren't a foodie. If you aren't a foodie, you aren't going to understand why anyone would pay €270 to eat lunch in Modena, Italy, and we get that. If you get super drunk at an Olive Garden and pretend you were at OF with us, that will cost you a lot less. 

We've had our eye on OF for a few years now. I actually visited Modena last year with my friends Vishnu and Ravi, but in order to save my marriage I decided to steer us to Bottura's sister restaurant, the less fancy Franceschetta 58. We all loved it, and you can read about that experience here. In April, I decided I needed to take Yvonne to Italy, because Italy has a special place in my heart that I felt she needed to understand. While in college I studied abroad in Florence and fell in love with the country, its culture, and, most importantly, its food. If we were going to Italy, then we needed to go to its best restaurant, and that, to most, is Osteria Francescana. 

Like any of the top restaurants in the world, it takes significant planning to score a reservation unless you are crowned prince of of an Arab country or you have a TV show (see our Noma post to see what we what to do to get in there!). OF releases reservations a month at a time, three months in advance of month of service, and they go fast--as in, "don't bother if it's five minutes after they have been released" fast. I had to wake up at 4:00am Eastern time to get in an epic Battle of the Anghiari style fight with Italian computer servers on our couch, which, ultimately, I won. I ran back upstairs and woke up Yvonne to tell her that we were going to Modena. She was happy deep inside, but outwardly she expressed that the news could have waited until dawn.

Since we made the reservation, OF was yet again voted #1 restaurant in the world for 2018, up from #2 in 2017. The restaurant has been ranked in the top 10 since 2010 and was #1 in 2016. It has three Michelin Stars, and pretty much every other award a chef or restaurant could achieve. Bottura was the first chef featured on Netflix's Chef's Table, has been on Ugly Delicious, Master of None, Somebody Feed Phil, and a whole slew of other shows. Bottura is arguably the world's most famous chef at a time when there are a lot of celebrity chefs. 

Eat This:
Unlike most top restaurants in the world, OF gives you a few options in what you eat. You can do a la carte, a 10 course tasting menu (Festina Lente), or a 12 course tasting menu which includes the Bottura's greatest hits and the newest additions from the kitchen (Tutto). We chose the 12 course tasting menu, which i'm sure 98% of all guests choose because OF isn't a type of restaurant you go back to that often. 

Bread

The first thing they brought out was traditional Italian bread, which had no seasoning added at all. A very bland start to the meal that we were disappointed in. We have since learned (thanks to our reader & pod listener Andrea--hey, Andrea!) that Italian bread was once baked without salt due to a 16th century Pope who put an extremely high tax on salt, which meant that hardly anyone was able to use salt in their cooking for a time. Now, baking bread without salt is a tradition and the preferred style for many Italians.

Fish & Chips

A delicious bite and play on fish and chips. A very crispy cracker with a small fish inside made for a great first bite. The dollop on top was carpione (fish) ice cream with fresh herbs.

Small bites

A few small bites that we couldn't understand exactly what we were because the servers talked to us so fast we couldn't figure it out. They were all good, but nothing really to write home about.

bread sticks

They brought these out as if to say, okay we gave you the old traditional shitty bread so now we're going to give you something good. These breadsticks were excellent, made with olive oil and parmesan. Crunchy and flavorful.

insalata di mare

The first real dish was OF play on a traditional seafood salad. This is an evolution of Bottura's famous dish "Caesar in Bloom," and contains 20 different elements of the sea. The lettuce was crispy with many several types of seafood hidden in between, as if they were hiding from us in coral. The crispy chips added a nice texture to this course.

Burnt

This striking dish was a cuttlefish cracker that you dip in a squid ink sauce. This dish was meant to represent sometimes the best parts of food, the burnt edges, ends, and other dodgy parts of food. Was it cheesy to have "burnt" written on the cracker? We think so. Also, not a lot of burnt umami flavor, and rather messy, to boot. This one was a borderline miss for us.

mediterranean sole

The sole is cooked in parchment paper and then finished with a sea water paper to give you the fragrance and taste of the sea as you eat the sole. It also visually represents the parchment that the fish was cooked in. The sole was perfectly cooked and was a winner for me, but Yvonne thought it was a so-so dish.

summer in modena, Autumn in New York

This dish is named after Billie Holiday's classic song. The dish showcases the fresh ingredients from the local Modena market. This summer the focus was tomato, and the team made basically the best tomato soup you've ever tasted.

Five ages of Parmigiano Reggiano

in different textures and temperatures

This is the dish everyone comes for, and it doesn't disappoint. This dish only contains parmesan and time, and truly brings out the best flavors parmesan has to offer. Imagine the best tasting strong cheese, but without that bitter taste you can sometimes get. One of the best dishes we've ever eaten.

In the countryside: snails, hare and aromatic herbs

This was our only "pasta" dish of the night, which included hare ravioli and snails in a forest of greens. We both loved this one for the earthiness and tenderness of the dish, as well as the delicious green sauce.

Fallow deer

The steak of deer is covered in a blueberry sauce added a nice sour/sweetness to the salty deer. The Swiss chard with peach slices inside was made to look like a tree, and added a nice crunch to the dish. There was even a dollop of mango sauce, because who doesn't love mango? This dish was an A+ winner.

Summer tart

The freshest bite of the night. As we're finishing up the deer this tart is brought out with summer fruits from the market. What a refreshing bite to compliment the deer!

wagyu not wagyu

This was the true miss of the night for me. This was pork belly that was made to look like wagyu, which, when I ate it, just made me wish I was eating actual wagyu. This legitimately did not taste good.

Pepper and strawberry

This was a beautiful bridge from the savory to sweet courses. The pepper provided a nice balance with the sweet strawberry.

Opps! i dropped the lemon tart

The other classic of OF. The story goes that this dish was conceived when a chef actually dropped a tart on the floor during service. Yvonne and I have had a large debate on whether this dish is worth staying on the menu, other than for nostalgia. I say yes, because it's the best lemon tart I've eaten, and I don't normally like lemon desserts.

Baba

As we're finishing up the lemon tart, the servers bring us this play on a rum baba, which is a traditional French dessert. Man was this good. The cake is drenched in strawberry juice, making it moist and soft. The ricotta is covered with bell peppers and then shaved with burnt orange on top. This was our favorite dessert.

Croccantino of Foie Gras

covered with Noto almonds and Piedmont hazelnuts with Villa Manodori Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

This is another famous OF dish, with the foie gras lollipop covered in Sicilian almonds and dolloped in 35 year old balsamic vinegar. Foie gras is admittedly not my favorite, but I get why people like it, and the little bite did have an excellent crunch with the foie gras aftertaste.

Camouflague

Bottura seems to be obsessed with camouflage. He loves to have something hiding in plain site. This appeared like a chocolate, but was much more complex. The interior is made with civet, which is reduced hare's bones and blood. We enjoyed this inventive bite.

Drink:
OF has a wine pairing, but we didn't do that because who can afford a wine pairing? I decided to get a variety of homemade soft drinks, which were excellent. Our favorite was an orange & coffee soda made with actual coffee beans. It was so crisp, refreshing, and energizing. One of the best homemade sodas we have ever had.

Atmosphere:
The interior, at least the room we sat in, was modern, yet forgettable. It was lined with drawings of birds and had no windows. Compared to other top restaurants we've been to, where there are open floor plans with views of the kitchen and the other guests, our table at Osteria Francescana felt isolated. We could only see the two other tables in our room and that was it. When you go to places like OF, you are desperate to see how the magic happens, what's going on around you, how the waiters interact with the chefs, etc. We didn't get any of this, and that felt dated. We felt cheated to only get the food versus more of a full experience that we are used to at similar restaurants. This is a recipe for an underwhelming experience. After all, we've all seen the Chef's Table, so we've all seen the fun that's going on back there. It's disappointing when that's hidden from you. 

The room is also extremely quiet, with Frank Sinatra whispering lyrics to you from the ceiling. Bottura is such a fun, brilliant personality, it's strange his restaurant does not exude the same enthusiasm. We hypothesized the restaurant could be set up in small rooms because the building cannot be structurally opened up, or that Bottura wants there to be a striking contrast from his modern, exciting food to the traditional, white tableclothed dining room. No matter what the reason, the atmosphere was disappointing to us. In fact, of all the best restaurants in the world we've been to, this one was probably the least inviting.

Modenese Hospitality:
The service was stuffy yet exceptional. Whenever we needed anything we were always attended to quickly. Our main problem with the service was that the servers explained the dishes so fast that we couldn't pick up on a lot of the details. Thank god for the internet to help us out on that. The highlight of the meal was when Bottura himself came and spoke to each table. He could not have been nicer, and spent at least two minutes at each table asking about where we were from. I feel we had a real bonding moment over how Sean Brock from Husk, smoked up Modena with his BBQ a few months ago. He also took pictures with every table. No other chef has ever been this nice and courteous to the entire restaurant, and that was truly special.

Frankie's Notes:
Where are all the pugs in Europe?; Where is Jason's hand going in this Massimo Bottura picture?; Millennials like open concept spaces, please don't trap us in a small room with actual grown ups; That trash bag under the pigeon sculpture is an art piece, not an actual trash bag. Sorry Yvonne; Non-alcoholic pairings > wine pairings. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 with 2 Michigan Pugs
Maybe it was that we had just been to Noma a week prior, or that we were there on a disappointing menu day, but, to us, OF didn't live up to the hype. This is very nit-picky, because Osteria Francescana is still an amazing restaurant worth making a trip to, but when you are ranked as the best restaurant in the world we expected something incredibly, unbelievably amazing. We did get "great," but compared to our expectations this was a disappointment. 

 

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Featured Bloggers: Yvonne & Jason Ackerman run Scallionpancake, a food blog and podcast. When they are not eating or planning their next travel adventure, they are teaching high school English (Yvonne) and running a CPA firm (Jason). You can follow their shenanigans at scallionpancake.com and subscribe to their podcast on iTunes.

This post is sponsored by Harris Teeter. All opinions, content, and photography are our own. 

Grön: A Review of Finland's Best Restaurant

Background:
Toni Kostian & Lauri Kähkönen opened Grön in 2015 on a small street in the design district of Helsinki, Finland. Kostian won Top Chef Finland in 2016. Among its many other accolades, Grön won the Finnish Gastronomy Society's "Restaurant of the Year" in 2017. The restaurant received its first Michelin Star in 2018 and is one of only five restaurants in Finland to hold a star.

Eat This:
Grön offers a fixed tasting menu for 54 euros. You can choose from their standard or vegan menu. We chose the standard, which was basically a half step up from being vegan. They also have a few add-ons you can get, which of course we got, because that's the way we roll. 

HAPANJUURILEIPÄ -SOURDOUGH BREAD

with butter, pumpkin seeds, seasoning, and cold smoked fish roe with sour cream, onion flowers and chives

Yvonne loves sour cream, so we ordered the 10 euro supplement and she almost got sick eating it all. The butter was delicious, as it was grilled first and then whipped. 

KASVI - PLANT

New potatoes with black currant leaf flavours,
sorrel and grass sauce

This was the winner of the savory dishes for us. The "grass sauce" was a perfect mixture of sweet and sour. The potato was cooked perfectly underneath everything, which added a nice earthy tone to the dish.

LIHA - MEAT

Pea ”Pâte Brisée” topped with raw and fermented peas, lovage and dry-aged beef

This dish highlighted the local lovage, which is similar to parsley. On top of shredded lovage, mixed in was sliced lovage, and poured over was a lovage sauce. The pastry bottom was the highlight for me of this dish, as well the mixture of textures--from the crunchy peas, to the tender beef, and flaky pastry.

KALA - FISH

Grilled carrots with elderflower hollandaise, summer flowers, pollen and reduced shrimp broth

The "fish" dish was really all about the carrot, which was chopped and grilled, and then arranged in a flower shape topped with shaved carrots. The shrimp broth was a 24-hour shrimp sauce poured over. We both agreed this dish was too carrot forward for both of us, and was missing an oompf we expected for the main course.

MAITO - DAIRY

Unripe strawberries with goat cheese and buttermilk whey

This was the supplemental cheese course, which consisted of a green strawberry topped with a goat cheese. This was a cool concept, but nothing to really write home about.

VILLI - WILD

Milk parfait with woodruff crème anglaise,
strawberries and rhubarb

This was our second favorite course after the salad, and wow, was this amazing! A strawberry granite (or granita), topped with a rhubarb flower, and covered in woodruff sauce, meringue, and cream. Despite all of the elements at play, the dish blended together seamlessly to create a great symphony of tastes in each bite. 

Last Bite

Rhubarb marmalade with licorice salt

What a way to go out. This was a delicious bite, with the licorice salt being the beautiful umami to balance this guy out. I could have literally eaten 100 million of these and killed myself #deathbyrhubarbmarmalade

Drink:
Grön has a concentrated wine list focused on organically produced wines. The wine list is hand written in a notebook, which was super adorable. They also serve one gin, which is the traditional liquor of choice in Finland.

Atmosphere:
This was the smallest restaurant we have ever been to, with 12 two-person tables and the kitchen all in the same space. The restaurant couldn't have been more than 400 square feet. This made for a very family-like atmosphere, where we felt as if we were dining in someone's home kitchen. The decorations consisted of a large abstract painting on one wall and containers filled with dried and aging ingredients on the other. Summers in Finland are long, with the sun setting around 11:00pm and it not really ever getting 100% dark, so it was a very surreal experience eating dinner at 10:00pm in almost complete daylight. 

Finnish Hospitality:
What you'll find in Finland is that people are very even-keeled and not particularly prone to small talk, so when you are in a bus or train it can be completely silent; however, Finnish people are exceptionally nice and will go out of their way to help you. The wait staff at Grön fit this description to a tee, with the waitress seeming almost shy, but as soon as you asked her a question she would answer it in a very thoughtful, thorough way that makes you think the Finnish people have figured out the proper way of communication. The chefs hand delivered each dish to us and explained the dishes thoroughly, although sometimes we crude Americans couldn't understand it through their Finnish-accented English. Americans are so behind the rest of the world when it comes to knowing languages! We talked a lot this trip about how we will put our future Scallionpancake children in language immersion schools one day. 

Frankie's Notes:
Frankie isn't allowed to come to Finland in the summer because he would party too hard with all the daylight; Reindeer is an underrated meat and it should be served throughout the world, sorry Rudolph; Saunas are really hot - too hot for two country bumpkins from the states; The Nordic countries are #frenchbulldognation, which we feel like is one of their only fatal flaws--where are all the pugs?

RATING: 5 OUT OF 5

 

Sea Level: Making Lobster Rolls Cool in the Queen City

Background: 
Sea Level was opened by Paul Manley in February 2016, and is the destination for Seafood Uptown ($1 oysters, anyone?). We have been to (and enjoyed) Sea Level several times on our own, and we were invited out a couple of times in the past two months to check everything out again, and we sampled their summer menu on our most recent visit. Check out everything we ordered below!

Eat This: 

Sea Level Oysters

From Sea Level, NC

Did you know there is an actual Sea Level, North Carolina? It's true, and that's where these oysters are from! Manley routinely takes his staff there so they can see the oysters being caught! All of the oysters and seafood served are sourced from North Carolina, and are all sustainable. 

Barrel Ceviche

citrus marinade, fresh strawberry apple salsa, house made chips

Tempura Shrimp

spicy aioli

Fried Springer Mountain Chicken Sandwich

greens, chorizo gravy, ranch

Jason's favorite. This sandwich was a winner: perfectly crispy and well seasoned. Special cameo by Chrissie Beth's hand!

Sea Level Salad

fried oysters, romaine, cabbage, radish, corn, pickled shallots, white balsamic vinaigrette, horseradish aioli

Maine Style Lobster Roll

lobster lightly coated in mayo, greens

 This roll is heavy on the lobster and light on mayo. Perfect. The Parmesan tater tots that came with it were just okay--nothing offensive, but not very flavorful. 

Connecticut Style Lobster Roll

lobster lightly coated in butter, greens  

The Connecticut style roll just debuted on Sea Level's summer menu, and this was the hand's down crowd favorite at the media event. I prefer this one to the Maine style, but it's a close race. Definitely go for the fries over the tater tots. 

Fried Chicken Bao Bun

with honey BBQ & slaw

Dessert: 
Sea Level regularly rotates their dessert menu, and they are currently working on adding some fun and creative options to their sweet menu items. On our last visit, we tried the chocolate spoon cake, which was simply divine. 

Chocolate fudge Spoon Cake

with whipped icing

Drink: 
Sea Level has a full bar and some fun cocktail offerings, and they recently started venturing into the world of mocktails. The Nada Colada mocktail below is a revelation. Here a fun story on this episode of the pod regarding this particularly drink. 

Summer G & T

Sutler's gin, house-made tonic, apricot, basil, lime

Nada Colada

pineapple, coconut, almond, lime

Atmosphere: 
Sea Level has a fantastic dining room and outdoor patio. It is formal enough for business folks to take clients ("professionals," as we termed them on the pod), but you don't feel as though you need to get dressed up, which we love. Everyone in the restaurant seemed to be having a great time, and there were good vibes all around. 

Also! Charlotte needs to prepare for more fresh seafood, because Manley's next venture, The Waterman, is opening in South End in early fall. Diners should anticipate a slightly more casual vibe and a rooftop patio. Heck yeah. 

Under the Sea Hospitality: 
We have always received top notch service, even when we dined incognito.  

Frankie's Notes: 
Here we go, here we go, now let me see your lobster roll; Chrissie Beth & I scared everyone when we walked outside with all of our food when we visited on our friend date; It's all about the lighting, people; Ollie is originally from Sea Level, NC, where we plucked him out of the sea like a beautiful mermaid; Jason wishes that The Waterman were called The Merman; When I posted the Nada Colada on Instagram, I got asked if I was pregnant; I am not pregnant.  

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.

 

Noma: A Review of the Vegetable Season Menu

Update: We went back to Noma for the Seafood season. You can read about that here.

Background:
Back in 2015, when Scallionpancake was in its infancy, before we really knew anything about fine dining or the world food scene, we took a trip to Copenhagen because we knew the number one restaurant in the world was there. About a month before that trip, being the idiot that I am, I tried to make a reservation at Noma. Of course, it had been fully booked probably five times over, months before we had even contemplated a trip to Denmark. We had some good meals on that trip, but the whole time it felt like we had the weight of Noma's ghost overshadowing our stay. 

Last year, we returned to Copenhagen, this time smarter in our knowledge that you can't just stroll into Noma on a whim, but unfortunate in our timing, as Noma was closed for a complete overhaul of the entire restaurant; however, luckily for us, the Noma team was doing a pop-up under a bridge in Copenhagen that I had smartly booked the moment it became available. You can read about that experience here. It was an amazing meal, our favorite of the whole year, yet it still felt that even though we had a taste of the magic, we hadn't experienced the real thing.

When we decided to spend a month in Europe this summer, I started to devise a plan of how I was going to get a reservation at Noma. I did some background research which basically said: you have less than two minutes to make your reservation, or it's going to be gobbled up faster than a piece of meat being dropped to a pack of hungry wolves. So there I was, on March 5th, a full four months before our trip, frantically refreshing my screen at 9am EST (3pm Danish time), waiting for the Tock reservation system to turn on. Yvonne was on her computer doing the same, and we were on the phone coordinating like Navy Seals praying we could get something, anything, in July. I had a strategy, which was go for a mid-week reservation as those would be less desirable than a weekend reservation. As soon as the website switched to "go," I clicked on Tuesday, July 10th, and magically, a two-person dinner reservation for 5:00 pm was still available. I swooped in on that faster than you can say Smørrebrød, and two minutes and $700 later we had our golden ticket. Scallionpancake was going to Noma! (In case you were wondering, Yvonne was too slow and couldn't get any reservations, even clicking on a week day, so it just shows you how lucky we were to get one).

When you arrive in Copenhagen, it's impossible to miss Noma's influence on the city. There's a long list of former Noma chefs who have opened restaurants, including Relae, Amass, Studio, Geranium, Radio, Sanchez, and many more. The alumni page of Noma reads like a who's who of Copenhagen food royalty, not to mention some of the rest of the world. There is a palpable sense that no matter what restaurant or bar you go to around town, somehow its origin or influence leads back to Noma. In Italy all roads lead to Rome, but in Copenhagen all roads lead you to Noma.

Noma's influence goes even further than the Danish capital. Noma started the local food revolution and foraging food revolution, and its culinary impact is felt globally. René Redzepi, Noma's founder and head chef, is considered the most influential chef in the world. Redzepi is also revolutionary in how he uses social media, often posting behind the scenes videos and pictures that really connect with his followers. The restaurant has received numerous awards, most notably being ranked #1 in the world four times: in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. If I had to put my money on it, I'd bet that in 2019 it regains the number one status yet again.

In late 2016, Redzepi decided to shut down and move the restaurant to a new location in Copenhagen. He felt like the restaurant had become a bit stagnant, and the team needed to innovate even further (read this Bloomberg article for a great chronicling of why Redzepi did what he did). This is a big risk for a chef with an expensive payroll and perennial top five status. The construction and building lasted the entire year of 2017, with Noma doing a pop up in Tulum, Mexico and Under the Bridge in Copenhagen during this time. The new Noma (or Noma 2.0) opened in February and has received nothing but rave reviews from almost every critic around the world including The LA Times, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, GQ, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal.

Cue the music: looks like we made itttttt

Eat This:
Noma has one menu that changes seasonally. There are three seasons at the new Noma: Seafood (Feb - May), Vegetables (June - Sep), and Game & Forest (Oct - Dec). We dined in July, which meant we were there for the Vegetable Season. What was unique was that there was no meat served during the menu at all (except for a grasshopper mole), which seemed to inspire the chefs to come up with an exceptionally creative menu, even beyond their usual standards. 

As soon as you sit down, the dishes begin to come out at a frenetic pace. In all, we had 21 dishes in little over two hours, which is the fastest pace we've ever experienced at a restaurant of this caliber. It made for an exciting, adrenaline-filled meal that kept us engaged and interested for the entire time. 

Potato magma

Boom. As soon as you sit down, a potted plant with a straw is put on your plate. We were instructed to drink the new potato soup and smell the herbs simultaneously. This dish was a full sensory experience, and such an exciting start.

Nasturtium Tart &

sea Buckthorn & blackcurrent Butterfly

Does it get any prettier than this? On the left was a one-bite tart encased in a thin potato shell. On the right, a beautiful dried fruit creation that was like a gourmet Fruit by the Foot--really!

seasonal pickles

At Noma, they forage pretty much every ingredient, so everything on this plate is foraged, with the exception of the white asparagus which is from a special farm they partner with. Our favorite part of this dish was the pickled pine cone. It was essentially candied, which made it so soft, sweet, and tangy.

fresh seaweed

You know when you have fish that tastes fishy? Normally with seaweed you have the same, but this seaweed was so fresh it had none of the bad sea taste. This one-bite seaweed tart was meant to be eaten after taking one bite of the asparagus.

Barbequed Onion

This was our little special dish that only a few tables got, I think because we were going a little faster than the other tables. A barbecued onion which was opened up and cooked with elderflower. You only ate the inside, and it was so good I picked it up with my hands and ate it like a cave man.

Cucumber skin & Parsley

This was Noma's play on a grape leaf. The leaf was made entirely of cucumber skin which had been formed into the texture of a greek grape leaf and filled with parsley and flowers. What creative genius, and this wasn't even in the top five most creative dishes of the night.

quail eggs & Hip Berry chorizo

The berry chorizo tasted like meat chorizo, with a slight hint of sweetness. This was a life-changing little bite.

preserved morels from spring

They told us they got 70K morels in the spring that have been fermenting in the lab. I only got two of them, but would have happily eaten the other 69.99K

marigold flowers with a whisky egg-nog

After the meal, while lounging in the hygge room, we made friends with an amazing couple from Australia--Alisha & Matt. Even more amazing? Matt is a chef at Attica in Australia (#20 restaurant in the world for 2018! Don't worry, we're already looking into reservations). Matt explained to us how incredible it is to get these marigolds to fry in one piece, since the flowers are so fragile. Not pictured here is the whiskey egg-nog sauce that you dipped this in. This was like eating a donut with a rich egg custard. It tasted so decadent and rich, and it was perhaps my favorite dish of the night.

just cooked peas with whipped cream

If all peas were served with whipped cream, I think I'd eat peas for every meal of every day. Half of the peas were raw and half were lightly scorched. Only small peas were used. The big peas are currently being fermented in the lab for experimentation with a pea miso!

berries and fava beans

This was described as a ripe fruit ceviche which contained raspberries, red and green strawberries, flowers, fava beans, and radishes. It was bathing in a white currant broth. Light, refreshing, and slightly spicy.

Umami Flatbread

This dish was special because it looked so simple, yet had maybe the most complex flavor of the night. The mustard greens and a chili spice that the team had brought back from their trip to Tulum both added a nice kick to the cracker, radishes, and fruit. Umami to the max.

carmalized milk & Cheese

The chef described this dish as a ravioli, except the "pasta" was made with caramelized milk skin. The inside was filled with brie cheese and the whole ravioli was topped with black truffle. When describing the food at Noma it's hard to not sound repetitive, but damn, this was amazing.

wax broth with pollen

We were speaking to one of the apprentices post-meal, and she was saying they were contemplating taking this dish off the menu, because some on the team thought it was more pretty than tasty. Both of us disagreed, and thought that the bee pollen flavor and texture was excellent, so much so that Yvonne picked up the bowl and drank it like she was drinking a Yoohoo. The bowl was even made out of beeswax. This one is a keeper, Noma! Love, Scallionpancake.

pumpkin seed curd and grilled roses

Like the Umami Flatbread, this dish was influenced by Noma's pop-up in Tulum, Mexico. The mole underneath was made of grasshoppers and walnuts, and the pumpkin seed curd was flan-like, made from tofu, and plated table side. The rose petals were salty and crunchy--all of the textures in this one! I literally told the waiter I was going to lick the plate, and he said I could, but I contained myself.

Shawarma of celeriac and truffle

The main dish was a play on a traditional steak, except the "meat" was made from celery and truffle. What a freaking mindf*@k. A few courses before this, a chef brought out the shawarma on a stick (see below) like you would see at any stand in Europe. This course had everything, yet looked so simple. I think that's the magic of Noma--most of the dishes are so thought out that they appear easy and simple, the way Lebon James makes basketball look, or Jay Z makes music sound. This is the height of culinary mastery and excellence.

Sour Dough

Just when we were almost done with the shawarma, a chef runs out and puts more of the truffle sauce on your plate and hands you this lovely sourdough and says it would be rude to not share the leftover sauce with you to soak your bread in. That would be rude, indeed! The sourdough is made by Richard Hart, former head baker of Tartine who is opening up his own bakery in Copenhagen in October.

berries & Cream

Our first dessert course. The fruit by the foot is back, this time plated with berries in a cool cream sauce. One of the Danish waiters told us this was a play on a very traditional Danish dish. The color, the textures, the taste were all excellent, but you knew that already, right?

mold pancake

This dish was special, even for Noma standards. The pancake was a tortilla that had mold growing on it, much like a brie cheese, and it was filled with ice cream and a balsamic fig sauce. The mold pancake protected your mouth from the cold of the ice cream, and the fig balsamic added a nice acidity to the dish.

Rose scented terracotta

We started where we ended, with a potted plant, except this time you ate the whole thing. The pot was a chocolate coated elderflower cake scented with roses. We were instructed to slice open the pot to reveal the cake. Maybe the coolest and most beautiful dessert we've ever had.

R0se Scented Terracotta

Open sesame!

After the meal you are brought to a "Hygge" room, where you can sit and drink snaps or whiskey for as long as you want. Sometimes, they allow diners to enjoy their cake in this room as well. Noma sat us next to the aforementioned lovely Australian couple, Matt Boyle (@boylemd) and Alisha Henderson (@sweetbakes_), who we immediately took up conservation with. We spent nearly two hours lounging and talking about food, traveling, and, of course, our mutual love of Somebody Feed Phil. Matt is a chef at Attica (see above) and Alisha has her own cake baking company! They were such lovely and warm people. When we went to Noma Under the Bridge last year, we had a similar experience with another couple (Hi, Marie-Eve & Frederick!), and all I can say is, Noma goes out of their way to make its guests feel connected and have a special meal. 

Yvonne in her hygge blanket feeling all the feels

Drink:
Noma offers a wine pairing ($210), a juice pairing ($155), or wines by the glass. I opted for the juice pairing, which was simply magnificent. I've had juice pairings in the past, most notably at Central in Lima, Peru. What I didn't like about Central's pairing was that some of the juices, although all unique, were just not that good. Here at Noma, all of the juices were amazing. The juices ranged from a bright red saffron and chili to a chilled mushroom tea. My favorite was the rose and berry kombucha, which tasted like a thick berry smoothie. Yvonne opted for for wines by the glass. Her favorite that she tried was an orange-colored wine from the country of Georgia, which the waiter described as being made in a very traditional way, like they made wines thousands of years ago. The bright orange color was something we had never seen from a wine before, and the taste was rich with minerality.

Atmosphere:
Noma is a magical fairytale food paradise from start to finish. When you arrive at the gate, you are greeted by staff, who stagger each party's entrance down a long, flower-filled path, so that when you open the main wooden door to the restaurant, you are greeted by the entire staff--including Mr. Redzepi himself. You are then quickly whisked to your seat. This touch was truly special and unlike any other restaurant we have tried. 

OMG hi

The vibe is very electric. The Vanity Fair article put it best when it said "You want order, you work Eleven Madison." It feels like you're in the middle of a bee hive, where each worker knows exactly what they are doing, but from afar looks like a chaotic symphony. You see chefs running down the hallways. You hear "Yes, Chef" yelled loudly from the open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant. Five waiters walk by your table every ten seconds. When you need to use the restroom, a server swoops you away seamlessly into the flow, like it was part of the plan all along. 

The main entrance to the dining complex

Mr. Redzepi speaking to our new Australian friends!

A view of the main dining room and kitchen from our table.

Their property is home to a greenhouse, fishtanks, an ant farm, a fermentation lab, and, of course, their famous test kitchen. Yvonne claims she saw "reindeer penis" written on the ingredient list for the team to try out for the game season, but this rumor cannot be confirmed or denied. Long bookshelves run almost the entire length of the compound, where anyone on the team can add anything to the collection. There are also random awards, creatures, bottles, and minatures ecletically sprinkled throughout. 

Large bookshelves run almost the length of the whole restaurant

Outside view of the hygge room

The famous test kitchen.

The entire compound from the gates to the main dining hall in the background.

Noma-foraged Hospitality:
From the moment you open the door and are greeted by the entire staff, to the last moment when you are escorted to the gate,  you are treated like the most important people on the planet. This is pretty typical for a restaurant of this quality, but what was different was the amount of team interaction with the guests. Every time you walked by a chef they would say hi and smile. Everyone seemed approachable and friendly, which is not always the case at a place of this caliber. The laid back attire of the staff, open layout of the restaurant, and general feeling of sheer joy among everyone who comes to Noma, made for a very relaxed and welcoming dining experience.

A chef shows us a presentation of the celeriac shawarma.

Frankie's Notes:
Noma might have over 20 nationalities on their staff, but no pugs??!! #notcool; The only other things that have lived up to Noma's hype were Machu Picchu and Oktoberfest; Mr. Redzepi is a god among men, and we want to live in the hygge room forever as his loyal subjects; Yvonne wants to know where she can purchase that hygge room blanket so she can relive her pear snaps joy every evening in Charlotte; We hope there really is a reindeer penis in Noma's future, but shhh, don't tell that we peeked at the list!

Rating: 5 out of 5 with 3 Michigan Pugs
Noma comes with a lot of hype: the prestige of a long-ranked number one restaurant in the world, an almost impossible reservation to score, and rave reviews from the top critics in the world--we were terrified it would not live up to our expectations. From the moment we walked on the grounds we knew it was going to not only meet our expectations, but overwhelmingly exceed them. Not one bite of the meal was off. There were no misses on the menu. It was, dare I say, a perfect meal. We contemplated adding another Michigan Pug just for Noma, because it is clearly in a class of its own among even the best restaurants in the world. We planned our entire trip to Europe around Noma, and we would do it again in a heartbeat. 

 

Ollie's Bites: Charlotte's Donut Fix

This article first appeared on Localeur's website--check them out for travel recommendations! Localeur features in-the-know locals giving food, drink, and recreation recommendations from all over the world! 

Reigning Donuts

"Crispy & poppable"

NoDa’s Reigning Donuts is the hot new player on the Charlotte donut scene, and we could not be more obsessed with them. They describe themselves as a “food truck that’s not going anywhere,” and we love this description of their walk-up window set-up. What sets Reigning Donuts apart is that each donut is fried and topped to order, and you just can’t get any fresher than that. The mainstay toppings include powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, honey, and vanilla or chocolate frosting. However, we are partial to the rotating daily specials--you can usually find us there on matcha coconut Tuesdays and S’mores Thursdays.

Your Mom’s Donuts

"The square one"

Image courtesy of Your Mom's Donuts Instagram page

If you want your donut large, square-shaped, and made with all local ingredients, Your Mom’s Donuts is where it’s at. These donuts are at once hefty and fluffy, and the flavor profile is so pure--you can taste the tanginess of the fresh eggs and milk, and the toppings only elevate the experience. Their salted caramel and dark chocolate ganache donuts are heaven, and look for seasonally rotating favorites like maple bacon and strawberry preserves. My only caveat is that I preferred these donuts when they were fried in lard, and they are now fried in coconut oil. Still delicious, though.  

Duck Donuts

"Customizable, fresh" 

Image courtesy of Duck Donuts Instagram page

Duck Donuts is a quickly growing chain that started in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Charlotte is lucky to have their own location in Dilworth. The best thing about Duck Donuts is the level of customization--donuts are fried to order, and you can design them with any combination of coatings and toppings. These donuts are light and airy old fashioned style, and the coatings span a wide range: blueberry, strawberry, lemon, maple, and peanut butter in addition to classic glaze and cinnamon or powdered sugar. Toppings include sprinkles, coconut, peanuts, oreos, graham crackers, and...wait for it: bacon. My favorite is a piping hot chocolate frosting with coconut!

Foxcroft Wine Co.

"Pairs with girls' night & a glass of wine"

Foxcroft Wine Co. is the best place to go for a wine night with your friends, and a sleeper hit for some of the best donuts in town. Their crispy fried donut holes are a must order when you are dining at this popular Dilworth spot. You can get them with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, (or both!), and they come with the most life-altering chocolate and caramel dipping sauces. Wash these babies down with a glass of prosecco, and you will be winning at life.

Stoke

"The mother of all donuts"

Want a nighttime donut that will impress your friends and family and blow up your Instagram feed? Sounds like a job for a giant donut. Stoke’s one pound donut is filled with diplomat cream and a crumbled up Heath bar. I know--catch your breath. It’s that life altering. I have finished this bad boy with three other dining companions, so I know it can be done (don’t be a quitter!), but they are more than happy to box up what you can’t finish, so you can have epic leftovers for breakfast the next day.

Sugarrmann’s Kronuts

"50% donut, 100% delcious"

Okay, okay, so a cronut is not 100% donut, but this local croissant-donut hybrid deserves a mention. Sugarrmann Kronut’s does not have a brick and mortar, but they have a food truck and host pop-up events around town. For more of a sure thing, they also sell their cronuts in Coco & the Director, a hip coffee shop located inside the Uptown Marriott. Their cronuts come in ridiculously good flavors like coffee, matcha, and nutella, and each one has about one thousand buttery layers of goodness. Get you one.

Mister Jiu's

All at once imperial, classic, and modern

Background:
Mister Jiu's opened in April 2016 after a three year renovation of the iconic Four Seas building in Chinatown. The space, built in 1880, has had only three occupants since its original construction, with Mister Jiu's being the current standard bearer. The owner, head chef, and mastermind is Brandon Jew, who worked all over San Francisco and the world, before opening up his dream restaurant in the same space he grew up going as a child (the Four Seas building used to be a banquet hall). Mister Jiu's has received numerous awards and recognition since it opened, including the number three spot on Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurant list for 2017. The restaurant earned one Michelin Star within its first year, and has maintained the star ever since. 

Eat This:
Mister Jiu's menu is traditional Cantonese mixed with San Francisco's obsession with local and fresh ingredients. The menu looks familiar and exotic all at the same time and includes dishes you've heard of, like hot & sour soup, wontons, and fried rice, paired with ingredients you've never thought to combine them with, like Dungeness crab, Monterrey squid, and Wagyu beef. Our suggestion: go with as many people as possible so you can try as much as you can. 

Sea Urchin

Cheong Fun

You've probably had Cheong Fun before, but you probably have never had it with sea urchin on top. The noodles here were P.E.R.F.E.C.T. So soft, but not too chewy. The mixture of the sea urchin with the delicious sauce and the noodles made this one of the best dishes of the night.

Tendrils, Greens and Stems

meyer lemon, roasted garlic, sea urchin

We ordered all of our dishes and then our waiter, (who Yvonne said looks like Clark Gable), told us we should order a vegetable, because you can't just order meat for everything #whoknew. He led us to the tendrils with a Meyer lemon sauce. The tendrils were sautéed and crispy. The acidity of the meyer lemon sauced mixed nicely with the salty, crunchy tendrils.

Wontons

pork, sichuan peppercorn, Monterey squid

The standout dish of the night. The squid, spicy sichuan peppercorn sauce, and the pork wontons were so good. This is a must get on any visit.

Steak Fried Rice

wagyu skirt, crispy garlic, cured tuna heart

We saw this dish on the Fried Rice episode of Ugly Delicious, and we knew we had to try it. The Wagyu beef was amazing, but the rest of the dish we thought could have had a little more flavor.

Liberty Farm Roast Duck

pancakes, peanut butter hoisin, cucumbers

We were told to get the duck by the Internet, and everyone knows that the Internet is never wrong. The duck was served two ways: a traditional Peking style and confit. We ordered a half, which could have fed approximately 1 million people. Of course, we finished about 2/3 of it. because we are champions The winner for me on this dish was the peanut butter Hoisin sauce.

Dessert:
All of Mister Jiu's desserts sounded and looked incredible, and normally we would have ordered three desserts, but we had already had roughly 18 meals this day, so we only ordered their most famous dessert, the Black Sesame Cake. Clark Gable did recommend we get the Frozen Whipped Honey, but sorry, Mr. Gable,  we just couldn't do it.  

Black Sesame Cake

black sesame crémeux, ginger mousse, peanut, tamarind caramel

The key to this dessert was the peanut, which provided a crunch to go with the soft cake and all the other magical ingredients of this dish.

 Drink:
Mister Jiu's has a great cocktail menu, with most of their cocktails containing some form of tea and all of them having fortune cookie-esk names, like Clarity, Tranquility, and Luck. They also have a house made Root Beer, Oolong Kombucha, which we tried but was way too vinegary for our tastes.

Prosperity

vodka, lotus, lemongrass, passion fruit, egg white

Mister Jiu's signature cocktail. How cool is that ying yang design? This baby was smooth and refreshing.

Atmosphere:
As soon as you walk into Mister Jiu's you know you're in a cool place. It reminded me a lot of the rooftop restaurant of the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, with a traditional imperial, yet modern vibe. The restaurant is situated two stories up from Grant Street, the main street of San Francisco's Chinatown. You enter from an almost secret street a block up, so you feel as if you are floating over Chinatown and overlooking the Transamerica building. But the real show is the open kitchen, where you can watch Jew and the rest of the chefs work their magic. 

The bar up front

The open kitchen

San Franciscan Cantonese Hospitality
Clark Gable was the best waiter we had all trip. He was nice, informative, and answered all the questions we had. The maître d was wearing a blue suit with a Kevin Durant Warriors jersey underneath, which was pretty sweet. It seemed like everyone really enjoyed working there, and it showed through with the great service.

Frankie's Notes:
Whenever there is a fish tank in a restaurant, I want to jump in and save all the fish; I definitely don't have enough tattoos to work or live in San Francisco; For our millennial followers, Clark Gable is a reference to an actor who died in 1960; Yvonne wanted the potstickers so bad since they were on the cover of Bon Appetit, but we went with the wontons and I think we made the right choice. Sorry Bae.

Rating:

5 out of 5 + One Michigan Pug

 

Global Restaurant

Have you ever had lamb belly? 

Background: 
Global Restaurant has been a part of the Charlotte dining scene for over ten years--first in Ballantyne, and now in their Pineville location. Owners and husband and wife team Bernard & Shannon Brunet came from opposite corners of the world (Bernard is from Nice, France and Shannon is from Boone, NC), and met on a cruise ship where he was the Executive Chef and she was a performer. I don't know about you, but I would certainly love to see the movie version of that--très romantique! It sounds like Dirty Dancing at sea, but with more calories. I can dig it. 

Chef Bernard & Shannon are passionate about bringing high quality, international cuisine to Charlotte, and after a recent visit, we can certainly confirm that they are delivering on that goal. Global is essentially two restaurants in one, in that there is an upscale, white tablecloth dining area upstairs, and a more casual "Bar Bites" menu downstairs. On our visit, we tasted items from their fine dining menu, but we are looking forward to going back soon to try their grass-fed burgers and chicken wings. 

Eat This: 

Ahi Tuna Crudo

yucca crisp, cucumber, compressed cantelope

Pickled Farm Deviled Eggs

beet pickled eggs, Benton's candied bacon

Tega Hills Farm Squash Blossom

Peruvian cherry pepper filling, Chipotle buttermilk

Flash fried, finished in the oven

Rosen Lamb Belly

24 hours braised, ramp pesto risotto, aubergine two ways

Chef Bernard creates this glorious dish by stacking up three pieces of lamb belly to recreate the thickness of pork belly

SC Mahi

summer squash salad with strawberry pesto

Angus Strip Block

corn creamed succotash, Guajilo ketchup

Dessert: 

Milk Chocolate "Pot De Cremachino"

with NC strawberry

Drink: 
Not only is Shannon the front of the house expert, she is also in charge of creating Global's cocktail menu and curating their listed-by-country wine list, which she calls her "first baby" (their second baby is their sweet son Xavier, whom we briefly met at dinner!). Shannon changes the cocktail menu seasonally, and we got to try a flight of three cocktails on our visit. Our trio included: Pineville Punch with rum, rock candy syrup, jalapeno, and Amarena cherries; Lombardi's Limoncello with limoncello, gin, fresh lemon juice, and club soda; and a Drunken Strawberry Margarita with tequila, drunken strawberries, rock candy syrup, and a salted rim. My favorite was the Pineville Punch, because I am a sucker for anything with cherries. These went down way too easily! 

Cocktail Flight

from left to right: Pineville Punch, Lombardi's Limoncello & Drunken Strawberry Margarita

Atmosphere: 
We ate our meal in the downstairs area (even though it was from the upstairs menu), so we can't speak to the ambiance of the upstairs area, but the downstairs was warm and inviting. There is also a lovely (and dog friendly!) patio that would be perfect in the cooler months. Jason and I will not be dining outside until around December, as it is currently the temperature of the surface of the sun in Charlotte. To quote Fitzgerald in the form of Daisy Buchanan: "It's too hot to fuss." Indeed, Daisy.  

Chef Bernard spitting truth about farm to table cuisine while Heidi takes notes

Pineville Hospitality: 
Chef Bernard and Shannon were our main servers for this meal, so to say we had impeccable treatment is an understatement. Service was smooth and the pacing and the tempertaure of all dishes was on point. 

Bonus: Chef Bernard even gave Chrissie Beth and the bloggers photography tips

Frankie's Notes: 
Lamb bellies are similar to pork bellies in that if you rub them three times, you will be granted a magic wish; Frankie had dreams of starring in the stage version of Dirty Dancing at Sea until he broke his paw and couldn't perform; Jason loved that squash blossom until we told him it had cream cheese; The moral of the story is that Jason really does like cream cheese, deep down; It's too hot to fuss until it's time for the Ren Fest, which everyone knows is the unofficial official start of fall; Chef Bernard's photography classes are only offered by appointment only, so don't try to order them from the Bar Bites menu. 

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.

 

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse

Are you drooling yet?

Background: 
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar was opened in 1998 by Paul Fleming and Bill Allen in Newport Beach, California. Now, Fleming's boasts 69 locations and is owned by the restaurant group that owns Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's Italian Grill. Last Friday night, Fleming's invited us out to try their delicious offerings for the first time, and we were more than impressed with every moment of our experience, from the hostess stand to dessert! Everyone was so welcoming, and the food was fabulous. 

Eat This: 
Although Fleming's makes a mean steak, their menu offerings are broad. What sets Fleming's apart from other chain restaurants is their inclusion of a Chef's Table menu. Each location's head chef gets to curate a menu that changes monthly and is unique to the chef and location. Charlotte is lucky enough to have Chef Rigoberto Castillo creating some standout menu options in addition to the items available at all locations. 

Also, if you have never tried Fleming's, this weekend is the time! Fleming's is only open for brunch/lunch four days a year: Thanksgiving, Easter, Mother's Day, and Father's Day. And Father's Day has to be the best option of all--who has a father who doesn't appreciate a good steak? If you are saying no, we need names, people. Beginning on Friday the 15th and throughout Father's Day weekend, Fleming's is offering a three-course menu featuring a 35 ounce Prime Tomahawk steak and a very special bourbon tasting including Basil Hayden’s, Buffalo Trace and Knob Creek. If you are looking for brunch, Fleming's will open at 10am and offer Eggs Benedict and other morning favorites!

Oysters on the Half Shell

red wine mignonette, cocktail sauce

The oysters were part of Chef Rigo's menu, and this is the first time Fleming's has offered oysters! 

SWEET CHILE CALAMARI 

Jason's perennial favorite--we ate all of this!

MAPLE GLAZED SLAB-CUT BACON

I mean...can you go wrong with a bacon slab? 

PRIME DRY-AGED RIBEYE

Our waiter, Gene, said this was his absolute favorite steak on the menu, and he didn't leave us astray. The meat melted in our mouths!

Stuffed Pork Chop

This was an item from Chef Rigo's upcoming menu (yet to be published!), and we got a sneak peek! This was so tender and flavorful.

Fleming's POtatoes

The best scalloped potatoes of life.

SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS

These were so buttery and perfect. 

CRISPY BRUSSELS SPROUTS & BACON

I love having crispy brussels with a steak, and these hit the spot!

Dessert: 
How could we fit in more food after all of that for two people? I dunno, man. But somehow, some way, we made it work. 

Walnut Turtle Pie

a la mode

So good. 

Drink: 
Fleming's is known for having an epic wine menu, and while they have recently paired down their options (from 100!) to provide a more streamlined list, they still offer the best of the best when it comes to wine and cocktails. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of the Mas Fi Cava Brut sparkling wine--one of my favorites! 

Atmosphere: 
The vibe at Fleming's is classic American steakhouse. The hardwood details and carpet merge upscale and comfortable perfectly. There were many people here for special occasions, but no one felt the need to whisper--everyone was enjoying themselves.

Carnivorous Hospitality: 
Our server Gene has worked at Fleming's for over ten years! He was a consummate professional, and we felt so well taken care of all night. The Operating Partner, Clinton Geiger, was very hospitable and came around and checked on all of the tables and ensured every aspect of the dining experience was up to snuff. We felt very fancy dining at Fleming's, and it's a place I would love to take our parents or Jason's grandma for a special occasion. There is something for everyone to enjoy on the menu, and the food and service combine to provide an experience that is delightfully out of the ordinary. 

Frankie's Notes: 
Jason had a total Chima experience at Fleming's (ie, he ate way too much meat and needed to lie down immediately); Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs at this meal, and we are pretty much still full five days later; Aging meat is the new black; When I have two glasses of alcohol, I like to talk a lot; Sorry, Jason; How did we fit in that turtle pie after everything else? Magic, I tell you. And a second stomach for dessert, of course. 

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.

 

Fin & Fino

Background:  
Fin & Fino opened in April 2018 in Uptown Charlotte in the same building as the Mint Museum, in the space formerly occupied by E2. We checked it out in early May with Rachel, an old Page friend of Jason's and her husband David (yes, Jason was a page, and he did meet Mark Foley, but he was never the recipient of, uh, inappropriate text messages). Rachel and David even brought their sweet baby,  Aaron. He was a darling angel, and he enjoyed some fruit and vegetable purrees. I found out that I am not ready to be a mom, though, as I do not own a label maker. Babies require lots of labels, it turns out. 

Crisp interior 

Baby Aaron + co. and Scallionpancake were thoroughly impressed with the food, service, and atmosphere at Fin & Fino. Read on to see what we ordered!

Eat This: 

Sherry & Olives

an amuse-bouche for every table

Scallops & Latke

orange conserva, creme fraiche, caviar, radish, onion

Arctic Char Ceviche

cukes, radish, cilantro, popped sorghum

Lobster & Truffles

celery root brandade, basil shells, shaved truffle

Blistered Tomatoes

mint gnocchi, spinach, mozzarella, lemon

Grilled Tuna

ramp chimichurri, radish, jalapeno-strawberry relish

Cauliflower

gratin with gruyere

Fried Oysters

giardiniera, house tartar

 Dessert: 

Olive Oil cake

Chocolate Tart

 Drink: 

The drink selection is on point. The bar is covered by a beautiful oyster shell chandelier, and the bartenders have their own Instagram account, BK & The Clams. You definitely want to follow them. One of the beverage selections is a mystery drink where they don't tell you the ingredients, and I (clam) dig that. 

Cheers!

Mocktail

in a fun tiki guy

Adventures in Paradise

plantation rum, amaro, coconut

 Atmosphere: 

Loved it all. Fin & Fino is clean, white, spacious, and upscale enough to feel appropriate for a special occasion. However, I wouldn’t feel underdressed coming for drinks after work or a casual family dinner. It checks all the boxes. 

Check out that oyster chandelier!

Where the magic happens

BK & The Clams Hospitality: 
Our server was the cutest human of all time. She was very attentive, explained everything on the menu well, and she was a new mom, so she loved bonding with baby Aaron. 

Frankie's Notes: 
Baby Aaron gave his purees a 5/5; Real men drink out of pineapples; Jason and I are also not ready to be parents because we are selfish people who like sleeping until 9am on the weekends; Okay, fine, we sleep until 10am; Frankie built that oyster chandelier with his bare pug hands, I'll have you know; We are starting a mixology Instagram account called "Frankie & The Jellyfish;" Ollie is not allowed behind a bar, as he is not yet 21. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

The Daily

Background: 
The Daily, located in Uptown's Fourth Ward, is owned by the same local restaurant group that owns Prohibition, Connolly's, Dandelion Market, Tyber Creek Pub, and The Workman's Friend. Dandelion and The Workman's Friend both have fantastic food, and The Daily is no exception. This casual American taproom has a wide selection of menu items, many of which are made in-house. Check out what we have tried below! 

Eat This: 

Beef Jerky

spicy, sweet, salty

White Cheddar Biscuits

honey butter, pepper jelly

Chop CHop Salad

Chopped lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, blue cheese, bacon, pickled peppers, pepitas, buttermilk herb dressing

Avocado Toast

Avocado, pepper flakes, bacon, egg, toast

Fried egg ready for its close up

Dessert: 
We have yet to try dessert, but the item that catches our eye every time is the Carolina Beach Pie, made with a lemon custard and a saltine cracker crust. They also offer a chocolate mousse. 

Drink: 
The Daily has a huge selection of beers on tap, as well as lots of canned beers and wine. Their cocktail list is highly creative, and the one that remains on my must-try list is the Mexican Mocha, made with mezcal, homemade cayenne cocoa syrup, local iced coffee and topped with fresh cream and star anise. Yum!

Atmosphere: 
The inside of The Daily is a cozy and dimly lit pub, and the covered patio is a light and breezy option when the weather is nice. We always feel very comfortable here--it's not too "bar like" to come and enjoy a nice meal, but it is not stuffy, either. 

Uptown Funk You Up Hospitality: 
We have received incredible and friendly service on all of our visits. A lovely bonus is that all of the food comes out super quickly!

Frankie's Notes:
The white cheddar biscuits are a cure for loneliness, heartbreak, and the common cold; Jason used to spend many wild nights at Prohibition in his drunken youth; Desserts made with saltine crackers make my heart skip a beat; Frankie used to make homemade beef jerky, but now he mostly focuses on bath bombs. 

Rating: 

3 out of 5

 

Brunch at Haberdish

Background: 
We reviewed Haberdish ages ago ( back when we were apparently taking photos with a disposable underwater camera...sorry about that), but it has remained a major part of our lives. In fact, we currently agree that it ranks as our number one favorite restaurant in Charlotte. Haberdish is owned by Jeff & Jamie Tonidandel (more on their background here), and they recently introduced weekday brunch. We were invited out to check out the menu, and we were just as impressed with brunch as we are with their dinner, which is to say: we freaking loved it. Keep reading to check out what we ordered! 

Mecca

Eat This: 

Smoked Trout DEVILED Eggs

smoked whites, smoked trout, chives, paprika

Biscuit with Gravy

house-made sausage milk gravy

Close up on the "best biscuits & gravy" my 74 year-old father had ever tasted 

Waffles with Fruit

two waffles, fruit compote, whip

 brûléed Grapefruit 

with pink Himalayan salt

Dessert: 
Ain't nothin' like that brunch dessert, and you had better not skip this option at Haberdish! 

Cinnmon Roll

fresh baked, cinnamon, sugar, served with milk caramel (image courtesy of Haberdish) 

Waffle

pearl sugar waffle, house buttermilk ice cream, pecan caramel

Drink: 
Mimosas, various cocktails, or coffee in an adorable thermos! It's like camping, except way better, because: you're not camping! And who doesn't like not camping? Just us? Ah, gotcha. #notoutdoorsy

Classic Bloody Mary

Atmosphere: 
Haberdish is versatile, as there are many different vibes depending on the area of the restaurant. The bar is hip and lively, a back corner is intimate and cozy, and the front or side porch is bright and airy. You can have whatever you like (cue the T.I. music). 

Image courtesy of Haberdish website

Brunching Hospitality: 
The service is generally great at Haberdish. We have not had any bad experiences thus far. 

Frankie's Notes: 
Weekday brunch is for lovers and stay-at-home moms; We promise to stop using cameras enrobed in cardboard; The only thing better than brunch dessert is dessert dessert: think about that; Coffee in a thermos is as outdoorsy as we get; I've never seen T.I. while brunching at Haberdish, but I certainly would like to. 

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.

 

Seafood Connection

Background: 
Seafood connection, owned by Chef Jamie Walker, started as a pop-up in Dublin, Georgia. When Walker moved, he moved his pop-up with him to Charlotte, and he operated mainly out of Indian restaurant King of Spicy. Last year, the owners of King of Spicy decided to close up shop, and Walker purchased their space, and he is now operating full time in the Albemarle road location.

Walker and his team of chefs pride themselves on only cooking fresh food (never frozen), and making all of their sauces from scratch. 

We were invited out a few weeks ago to check out Seafood Connection, but it seems as though much of Charlotte already knows about this spot--the restaurant has 45k+ Instagram followers, and Walker and his girlfriend, Yashica Russell, said that they regularly see wait times over one hour. They are open Thursday-Sunday only, and they serve a brunch menu from 11-3 on Sundays. 

Eat This: 

Shrimp & Grits

a classic

Everyone at the table loved this dish. A winner. 

Chicken & Waffles

fried chicken tenders & red velvet waffle

Another solid option. The chicken was spicy and a certain someone at my table said the waffles tasted like "cupcakes." 

Shrimp Tacos

solid

Simple, but flavorful. I liked these tacos quite a bit. They could have used some hot sauce, however. 

Seafood Mac & Cheese

the winner of the night

My hands-down favorite thing we tried. It was rich and cheesy, and it had lobster, shrimp, and crab mixed in. 

C-Port Platter

lobster, crab, shrimp, potatoes, corn, & sausage

Honestly,  although Chef Walker is known for his sauce, I am not quite sure why anyone would put this much butter all over seafood. And I love butter. This actually tasted like margarine to me, and it completely overpowered the taste of the seafood. I don't mind it, but next time I would ask for it on the side. 

Dessert: 
No dessert, but if you go for Sunday brunch, that red velvet waffle could certainly function as a dessert. 

Drink: 
Seafood Connection has a full bar and a wide selection of soft drinks. 

My girls: Katy, Chrissie Beth, & Alex

Atmosphere: 
There is not much going on here in the way of atmosphere. It is a very large space with lots of windows, which was perfect for bloggers trying to get that Insta-worthy shot. My one complaint was an overwhelming smell of cleaning solution throughout the entire restaurant, which decreased my appetite somewhat. I am glad it was clean, but a harsh bleach smell certainly adversely impacts the dining experience. 

Crustacean Hospitality: 
The service, while friendly, is slow. This is more of a function of the food coming out slowly, rather than the servers themselves. Do not come here if you are in a hurry. Diners order at the counter and then receive full service at their table. Russell said to expect an hour to wait and an hour to receive food, at the bare minimum. 

Frankie's Notes: 
I was at this event for four hours without cell reception, and Jason thought I was dead; The fun doesn't start until you put on a crab bib; Chrissie Beth can crack crab legs with her bare hands, and she taught us how to be cool like her; Bloggers flock to a window seat like moths to a flame; Jason and I take a long restaurant wait time about as well as Frankie takes bath time, which is to say: not well. 
 

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.