Author: Dora Hiers

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 12 Comments
Terrace Cafe
This edition of “Excited about Eating” takes us to the Terrace Café located in the Piedmont Town Center in the heart of SouthPark. This multi-use Town Center features shops, restaurants, offices, and residential properties arranged in a walkable community.
We arrived at 12:10 on a Saturday to a 75 minute wait. Honestly, we debated leaving but decided to wait and that was a great decision because it turned into a manageable 40 minutes. We had a great view of the industrial style loft area and the charm that comes with this type of structure. 

Terrace Café offers a wide variety of options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While waiting, we noticed that most of the dishes coming out of the kitchen were breakfast. Although they looked appetizing, we opted for lunch.

We started with an appetizer of Fried Green Tomatoes served with a warm pimento cheese dip. 
Fried Green Tomatoes

The Fried Green Tomatoes arrived quickly and were crispy outside and tender inside with a slight vinegary taste. They were great. Even my wife, who really doesn’t like tomatoes, enjoyed them. I think they could serve the cheese dip on anything and it would be great.

I ordered the Nashville Fried Chicken tossed in hot sauce and served over braised collard greens and mashed potatoes.
Nashville Fried Chicken
The chicken was outstanding, crispy and tender, but the mashed potatoes took the prize as the best component of this dish. They were light and creamy with just enough lumps to let you know they were freshly made. The collard greens were a combination of sweet and vinegary, and tasted great. The portions were huge, and definitely not for someone who doesn’t like heat as the Nashville hot sauce lived up to its name. Dora here. Definitely a “forehead slicker.” lol.

My wife ordered the Chicken Salad Croissant, a Hawaiian version of chicken salad on a fresh croissant served with lettuce and tomato and sweet potato waffle fries. 
Chicken Salad Croissant
The chicken salad, made with cream cheese instead of the normal mayo, included grapes, pineapple, pecans, and mandarin oranges. The sweet potatoes waffle fries were a first for us, but something we’d definitely order again.

I finished off my meal with a Peanut Butter Cup Latte and my wife chose the Tiramisu Latte. Both were excellent and a great way to cap off our meal. Dora here. Lip-smacking yummy!
Tiramisu Latte
Overall I would highly recommend this restaurant for someone looking for a unique restaurant offering exceptional food. I would rate this establishment 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.

Terrace Cafe on Urbanspoon

What’s in your Bible?

/ Dora Hiers / 6 Comments

My name is Dora Hiers, and I’m a hoarder. A bible hoarder, that is. I’m loathe to part with a bible. My last one is at least fifteen years old. The carry case is perfect to stuff journals, pens and highlighters. Inside, all my notes and highlights provide an easy way for me to look up a favorite passage quickly. Of course, the better way would just be to memorize it. 🙂


But that also means potentially I skim over passages that might otherwise jump out at me, right? Also, it’s NIV, and for quite a while now, I’ve been considering making the switch to a chronological bible. This year I finally did it!


Since I’m a bible hoarder, that took a lot, trust me. lol. Every time I stand in front of my bookshelf, I steal a glance at my comfortable and worn bible, but I force myself to stay the course and reach for the new one. Before long, this pretty baby will be full of notes and highlights, too. If you hate marking up your bibles, you’re probably cringing about now, but I just love reading my notes from past years and pondering my spiritual journey. One person I know reads a bible each year, and then when she finishes, gifts it to a grandchild as a spiritual legacy. That’s a cool idea, don’t you think? Maybe one day, but for now, I’m happy with my baby steps.

What about you? Do you hang onto bibles forever? What prompts you to switch?

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 14 Comments
This edition of “Excited about Eating” has me stepping out of my comfort zone as we visited Hazelnuts Crêperie.  
Now, I wouldn’t consider myself a crepe-type guy. I tend to steer toward BBQ and chicken wings, but I am willing to try anything once. If you have never had a crêpe, it is a very thin pancake, usually made from wheat or buckwheat flour and is cooked on a crepe griddle. Their consumption is widespread in France. 

Hazelnuts Crêperie is tucked inside the lobby of a skyscraper in downtown Charlotte. 
Their menu offers a variety of sweet, savory, and vegetarian options. I chose a breakfast crepe, “The Mariachi”, which incorporates scrambled eggs, black beans, bacon, tomatoes, mozzarella, red onions, avocados, and Jalapeno cream inside of a perfectly cooked crepe. 
My wife also chose a breakfast crepe, the “Chevre & Mozz”, which integrates scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, olives, red onions, and goat and mozzarella cheese. 

As for my first crepe ever, “The Mariachi” was surprisingly good. I can truly tell you that I was not expecting the depth of flavor that melded together. If fact, I have never really liked avocados, but mixed with the Jalapeno cream, the taste was exceptional with just the right amount of kick.
The Mariachi
My wife’s “Chevre & Mozz” also had very deep flavors. For the most part, I do not like mushrooms or olives, but this combination was outstanding, and the goat cheese definitely was the star of the show.
Chevre & Mozz

For dessert we shared “The Chunkster” which consists of peanut butter, bananas, chocolate chips, trail mix and maple syrup. As a peanut butter lover, this crepe was a little on the sweet side. 

One dessert crepe cut in half
My wife, not being a peanut butter lover, felt that the peanut butter overwhelmed the crepe and for the most part, it tasted like a warm pb&j minus the jelly. Not one she would try again.

Overall I would highly recommend this restaurant for the crepe connoisseur or for anyone that has never tried a crepe. I would rate this establishment 4 spoons out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

Dora here, adding my two cents. Although I was excited to try a crepe, I really thought I’d be raiding the pantry by mid-afternoon, but that wasn’t the case. The Chevre & Mozz and half the dessert crepe were hearty enough to last me until dinner. The fridge and pantry were safe. 🙂

Unlike last week, we left Bruiser at home, but still, parking was an issue. We ended up parking in a nearby garage and forking over $5. So, if you’re heading here, make sure you factor in the cost to park.

Have you tried crepes? What fillers do you enjoy in your crepes? Do you prefer sweet or savory?

Hazelnuts Crêperie on Urbanspoon