Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments

So today we kicked off our sampling of restaurants in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. Today’s choice was Big Ben British Restaurant and Pub. Located in Atherton Mill on the south side of Charlotte, this pub had great food in a sports bar environment. 


When we arrived only a few tables were taken, but unknown to us, a Chelsea vs. Manchester City soccer match was about to start and the place was buzzing with people within 15 minutes. We started with the Bubble & Squeak appetizer. This traditional English dish consists of mashed potatoes and sautéed brussel sprouts, but here they substituted cabbage. The dish had a great consistency and was very tasty. For our meal, my wife went with the Famous Southend Haddock N’ Chips and I took our waiter’s suggestion, the Chicken Pot Pie.


The Chicken Pot Pie was definitely a unique dish. Rather than the traditional pot pie served in some universal type of container, this pot pie was formed inside of an exceptional puff pastry type shell which held in all of the goodness of the dish. It was served with fluffy mashed potatoes, fresh steamed vegetables, and topped with chicken gravy. 


The Haddock N’ Chips was far larger than most persons could eat at one sitting. Luckily, my wife was willing to share. It consisted of flaky haddock, cooked to perfection, crispy pub fries, cole slaw, and a pickle that they call a Wally which in England means a “dill pickled baby cucumber”. The fish was great, not greasy nor overly fishy. The pub fries were cooked flawlessly, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and the average cole slaw complemented the dish.

So, our takeaway…if you’re not a soccer fan, ask to be seated outside the viewing area of the huge screen or you’ll feel like you’re at the game. And go early. We snagged a parking spot right in front, but when we left, vehicles were lined up, circling. Oh, and if you like a coffee after your meals, be sure to stop in Not Just Coffee, located on the back side of Icehouse right next door and wander around the indoor farmer’s market.

I would rate this establishment 5 spoons out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.

Dora here, adding my two cents about this first experience. 

1. Check the times/days that the restaurant is open. Yes, we neglected to do that and our first choice wasn’t open. Which brings me to my next point…

2. Bring the list. Since we didn’t bring our list, we had to switch gears. With a little help from Yelp, Big Ben Pub ended up being a fabulous alternative. 

3. Don’t wait until hunger pangs strike. Charlotte is a thirty minute drive from our house and after factoring in the time it took to navigate one-way streets and to snag a parking spot, let’s just say I could’ve faced down a bear and won. Those of you who deal with sugar challenges might want to bring a snack. 🙂

4. Leave the dog at home. In the cooler months, Bruiser enjoys tagging along with us. So long as we have a container of water and leave the windows cracked, he’s happy. We didn’t think it would be a problem to find a parking spot in downtown Charlotte on a Saturday, but we were wrong. Rather than park in a garage a few blocks away, we chose to drive a bit farther out of downtown where parking was more accessible and Bruiser was close. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed our first Excited about Eating venture. 


Big Ben British Pub & Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Do you enjoy experimenting with new restaurants? 
Or do you prefer to frequent the same ones?

Adding a VIP to my blog!

/ Dora Hiers / 23 Comments

Yesterday, I blogged about how my husband encourages me to step out of my comfort zone to prepare you for some exciting news.

I am THRILLED to announce that my husband, Ernie Hiers, will be contributing to this blog on a regular basis. He’ll be sharing foodie events and adventures along with reviews of eateries in a new series, Excited about Eating, on Saturdays. Journey along with us as we visit eateries around Charlotte and all over the world.

With over thirty five years in the fire service, Fire Chief Ernie Hiers looks forward to the next phase of his life, cruising and cooking. Besides being a huge NASCAR fan, Ernie also enjoys judging Kansas City Barbeque Society competitions, smoking barbeque on the back deck, hanging out in a mountain cabin, and his latest hobby…eating through Charlotte.

You’ll still find devotionals and book reviews here, but as my writing evolves, so must my blog. In the past I’ve limited my reviews to primarily inspirational romance, but soon I’ll be featuring reviews of other genres as well.

My life is so much more than books and writing, and I want this blog to reflect that. And a major shift like this deserves a new name ~ Fiction, Faith and Foodies.

Are you excited about this change? Weigh in and let us know! I hope you’ll stick with us and make yourself right at home here.

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
It may come as a surprise to you, but I’m a routine kinda gal. I eat the same cereal for breakfast and wake up and go to bed every day about the same time. Wait staff from our favorite restaurants don’t bother asking for my order; they just confirm it. I write only from my quiet office, and I take breaks in regular intervals. Interruptions throw me off kilter, and it takes a while to regain my balance.
But being a writer is slowly eroding my routine. That, or my husband is. 🙂
He’s always encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone. He prodded me to write my first book, even when I doubted, and encouraged me to join a writers group. When our local librarian invited me to address their readers, hubby rattled off a list of possible topics and practically shoved me into the public speaking arena when I would have been perfectly content to hide out in the obscurity of my office, pecking away at my laptop. Eventually, readers would find my stories, right?
Now, he’s at it again. Prodding me to expand my horizons. Travel. Food. Where does it stop?
Three years ago, he convinced me that a European cruise was cheaper than some of our US vacations, and we’ve cruised there every year since. We’ve craned our necks to stare up at the Eiffel Tower, climbed the Colosseum in Rome, and explored ancient walled cities in Tuscany and volcanoes in Iceland. We devoured pizza in Belfast, gobbled down granitas and cannoli’s in Sicily, guzzled espresso in Barcelona, and tasted authentic fish and chips in London.
And you know what? I actually enjoyed it. Not necessarily every new meal or city, but the experience. He doesn’t have to sell me on it anymore. When he mentions a European cruise, I’m totally on board.
We all need someone like that, don’t we? A friend or spouse to push us to achieve more, to reach for our dreams, to fill a hole with something that we’re passionate about, or to force us to face our fears. For me, it was fear of the unknown.     
What are you afraid of?

Embrace life. Surround yourself with people who love you enough to shove you out of your comfort zone. Give your dreams wings to become reality and discover yourself.
Just wait until he starts messing with my bedtime. Or leaving brochures for Antarctica on the kitchen counter…

“Risk, then, is not just part of life. It is life. The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes place. It’s the high-anxiety zone, but it’s also where you discover who you are.” ~Nick Vujicic