food

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 3 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to a great little breakfast place in Boone, NC, Sunrise Grill, a family owned restaurant that boasts about serving creative food in a relaxed environment.

Sunrise Grill

Waiting zone to the left, restaurant on right

Dora here. Sounds about right. 🙂

Don’t be in hurry when you visit because tons of people have already found this gem, so there may be a wait.

Excited about Eating

Tight inside and always jammed!

Dora here. We’ve visited twice so far and the wait has ranged between 20-30 minutes. They could definitely use a couple more tables out on the front deck. Too bad it was misty. 🙂

Excited about Eating

They could definitely use more seating out here

 I ordered the Breakfast Chimichanga Grande special. Mexican rice and beans, onions, chorizo, hash browns, and scrambled eggs in a shell combined together to create a unique tasting breakfast. I’m glad I opted for chili on top rather than queso. The queso was super spicy, but the chili provided just enough heat. Overall, this dish was great.

Fiction Faith & Foodies

Breakfast Chimichanga Grande topped with chili rather than queso

Dora here. And gigantic! Good thing our son was with us to help you eat it. 🙂 I opted for something a bit…smaller. lol. Homemade Corned Beef Hash. Two light and fluffy scrambled eggs, chunks of corned beef and hash and homemade wheat toast…delicious!

Fiction Faith & Foodies

Chunks of corned beef in the Homemade Corned Beef Hash. Delicious!

What’s the most unusual dish you’ve tried for breakfast?

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.
Sunrise Grill Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 14 Comments

This edition of Exited about Eating is back in the US at Amelie’s French Bakery in the NoDa (North Davidson) Arts District of Charlotte. This bakery, that also serves a variety of sandwiches, salads and other specialties, is a go-to place to quench not only your sweet tooth, but also your savory cravings.

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Amelie’s French Bakery in NoDa

Dora here. You can say that again. Wait until you catch a glimpse of their dessert counter. Yowza!

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Fun, eclectic interior. Order at the counter

I ordered the Provence B.L.T with Red Potato Salad and because I had no idea what a Tartine was, a Ham & Gruyere Tartine. The B.L.T. was served on a crispy baguette with loads of bacon, lettuce, and mayo that combined for the perfect bite, crispy on the outside and loads of flavor on the inside.

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BLT with Potato Salad

The Tartine is actually an open-faced sandwich. The baguette was blanketed with ham and melted Gruyere cheese.

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Dora here. Talk about gooey and cheesy delicious!! We could’ve made a meal on the tartine alone! But we didn’t. 😀

The Strawberry Candied Almond Salad called to me. Because you know I’m all for salads with fruit, right? Yum! I added chicken for protein and my mouth exploded with flavor with the almost-sweet balsamic vinaigrette and the crunchy candy almonds. Yum! My only negative about this dish would be that it was entirely spring mix (Ernie calls them “weeds”). I would’ve preferred romaine and should’ve asked for the switch. 

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Strawberry Candied Almond Salad with Chicken – YUM!

Still Dora, the interior is eclectic and homey, like a family dinner, with all sorts of conversations flowing and swirling around you. Can you spot my sweetheart in this pic? xo

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Homey and eclectic

Still Dora. What’s up with the big guy? He petered out at the best part. lol. Of course, we couldn’t pass by that bakery case without ordering dessert–awesome marketing ploy on their part, don’t you think? The Monkey Bread (Ernie’s choice) looks sickeningly sweet, doesn’t it? But so not! So delicate, it reminded me of an apple fritter without the chunky apples. And that’s a coconut macaroon next to it. I admit to being disappointed that it wasn’t dipped in chocolate at first, but one bite of that chewy ball of coconut made up for it. Mmmmm.

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Monkey Bread, Coconut Macaroon, Chai Tea Lattes (iced and hot)

Amelie’s definitely made it on our “must go back” list.

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Everybody lines up in front of this extensive dessert case to order. Like you could resist, right?

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

Amélie's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 5 Comments

During our recent trip to Germany we stopped over in Cologne. We stepped out of the central railway station (Koln Hauptbahnhof), and bam! The Cathedral was right there, in all its glory.

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Cologne Cathedral

 

And just a block or two away, we found Funkhaus Café. This recently renovated stylish café offers a variety of salads, sandwiches, and classic dishes along with cakes and pastries.

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Not many people inside because the weather’s so beautiful!

Dora here. Don’t forget breakfast and coffee! Just look at this place. Not many people sitting inside because the weather’s so beautiful! Try to spot my guy in the next picture. See him? ♥ 

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loads of outdoor seating

Back to Ernie…Since I had a large lunch, for dinner I ordered Lentil Soup with smoked duck breast. Outstanding, with the lentil being cooked just enough to have a little bite but not mushy, and the thinly sliced duck breast was tender, tasty, and the perfect accompaniment to the soup. This was just the right dish to end a very busy day.

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Lentil Bean Soup with Duck Breast, outstanding!

Dora here. The Goulash Spätzle was calling my name. Rather loudly. 🙂

goulash spatzle

Goulash Spatzle – yes, get it! You won’t be sorry.

 

Doesn’t that look oh-so-yummy? Well, my friends, it was! My first time ever eating Spätzle, and those noodles were so buttery and soft, the meat so tender…I want to go back to Cologne just for the goulash! And to gasp at that stunning cathedral. Oh, let’s not forget about the ice cream! Check this out.

We capped off an awesome day with ice cream from Eiscafe Brede. A walk-up with loads of outside seating and they offer almost any variety of ice cream that you can imagine. (Dora here. Not sure we ever could have imagined this! And if you’re walking from the train station, just a warning, it’s a bit of a trek. Phew!) We both chose the Spaghetti Ice Cream, mine with strawberries and Dora’s with chocolate, of course. Now this was definitely a different bowl of ice cream.  Just looking at it from a distance, it almost looks like real spaghetti. But as soon as you dig into this dessert, you soon realize that it is creamy delicious ice cream.

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Spaghetti Ice Cream…oh yeah! Good to the last noodle.

Dora here. It only took one bite for you to realize, Ernie? Took me the whole bowl. lol. Soooo good! People might’ve stared at me for licking the bowl. \o/

Definitely five forks out of five for both the restaurant and the ice cream!