food

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 5 Comments

Welcome to our second edition of Excited about Eating located on our new site! Thanks for sticking with us during our “moving” phase.

This week we’re featuring Flatiron Kitchen and Taphouse in Davidson, NC.

20160325_130119

20160325_115244 (1)

This neighborhood eatery, located at the fork on Main, offers a variety of salads, sandwiches, and entrees, and a daily special.

20160325_115325

For our starter, we chose the Taphouse Pretzel, served with white cheddar fondue and house mustard. The pretzel was outstanding,  and when dipped in the white cheddar fondue, I just don’t see how it could be any better.

20160325_120959

Taphouse Pretzel – Oh. My. YUM!

Dora here. I agree.  I love pretzels with the traditional mustard accompaniment, but I could’ve chowed down on five of these smothered in the white cheddar BY MYSELF. Yum!

I chose the Fish & Chips, beer-battered haddock, remoulade and malt vinegar served with fries. Unlike other fish with heavy batter, this fish was lightly battered so the taste of the fish shined through. The fish was tender and flaky, and the fries were fresh, crispy, and shoestring, my favorite. Great!

20160325_122238

Fish & Chips, light batter, tender & flaky. Great!

Dora here. The BBQ Blue Cheese Burger looked so pretty, I almost hesitated to dig in. But I was anxious to try the Wagyu beef, supposedly “the finest quality of beef available in the United States” and “highly prized for their rich flavor,” according to the American Wagyu Association. The burger sported a nice char, but it wasn’t packed with flavor like I expected. Overall, nothing extraordinary. A bit of a letdown considering the pretzel. 🙂

Great vibe in the restaurant, though, and such a friendly waitstaff. We’ll definitely be back to try out some of the other items calling our names from the menu. 

20160325_122231

BBQ Blue Cheese Burger, nothing extraordinary.

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

Are you a pretzel fan? What’s your favorite dipping sauce?

Flatiron Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Around the World in Food

/ Dora Hiers
Pizza in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Greek Salad in Santorini, Greece
Fish Soup in Bergen, Norway

Which of these dishes would you try? I used to be somewhat finicky in my eating choices, but since hubby and I have started traveling abroad every year, now I’m fairly open to trying most dishes. What about you? Are you adventurous or stick to the tried-and-true?

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 6 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Hickory Tavern in the Northlake Mall area of Charlotte. This sports bar chain restaurant offers a wide variety of menu items from chicken wings to crab legs and steak, although they streamlined their menu since our last visit.

Outside
Dora here. Hickory Tavern is one of those go-to comfort restaurants for me. You know what I’m talking about, right? When you’re tired, don’t really know what you want to eat or you just don’t want to cook, Hickory Tavern offers an eclectic variety of choices for the whole family. And with all the big screens located on every wall, you can almost kick your shoes off and just relax. Almost. lol.

As you can see, we’re early eaters. Anybody else staring at the clock, ready to eat by eleven thirtyish? No? Okay, that’s why we beat the rush. 🙂

Inside-ample seating around 11:30 on a Saturday, but it gets crowded

The Shrimp Po’ Boy features breaded fried shrimp, lettuce, tomato, pickle, cajun remoulade served on a toasted hoagie roll with a side of my favorite tater tots. I don’t often order a Po’ Boy sandwich but after enjoying this one, it might just be back on my items to order more frequently. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, but the Cajun remoulade is what pulled this entire sandwich together.

Shrimp Po’ Boy

Dora here. Not sure why hubby’s short on words today. Hmmm. Anyway, the Chicken California Sandwich minus the mushrooms and avocado was moist and juicy and tender, and the bun soft and fresh. Delicious!

Chicken California Sandwich

Reminded me why I like this place so much, and I admonished hubby that we need to come back more often. It’s just a bit of a drive to make it a regular place. The food seemed to take awhile, but so long as the iced tea kept flowing, not a problem. 🙂

We would rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

What’s your go-to comfort restaurant? What makes it that way?

Dora here. We’ll be taking a short review break. Be back on Saturday, Nov 7th. Enjoy the next couple of weeks!

Hickory Tavern Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato