foodies

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 3 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Havana Café, serving authentic Cuban cuisine in West Jefferson, NC.

Havana Cafe, Fiction Faith & Foodies, Ernie & Dora Hiers, restaurant review

Located directly across from the Farmer’s Market

Located directly across from the Farmers Market, Havana Café serves most of the Cuban favors, including Picadillo, Arroz Con Pollo, and Ropa Vieja. Dora here. Perfect location, wouldn’t you say? After lunch, just walk on over and browse all the goodies. 🙂

Havana Cafe, Fiction Faith & Foodies, Ernie & Dora Hiers, restaurant review

Located directly across from the Farmer’s Market

Dora here. We’ve been meaning to get over to West Jefferson and try this place. (Seems to be a recurring theme, lol) This tiny restaurant was jammed for a Saturday lunch.

Havana Cafe, Fiction Faith & Foodies, Ernie & Dora Hiers, restaurant review

Tiny place was jammed for a Saturday lunch

For my lunch, I chose my favorite Cuban dish, Fried Pork chunks with Mojo sauce (a blend of oil and citrus, usually a bitter orange) and Moros (black beans and white rice cooked together). The pork chunks were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The Moros had just the right consistency, not too dry, not too moist. Brought me back to my days in Tampa. Definitely a repeat dish!

Havana Cafe, Fiction Faith & Foodies, Ernie & Dora Hiers, restaurant review

Pork Chunks with Moros and Plantains. Definitely a repeat!

Dora here. The Piccadillo (or Picadillo, I’ve seen it spelled both ways) was comfort food for this Florida transplant. Piccadillo is generally a tasty stew of ground beef, tomato sauce, a variety of spices and seasonings, olives and whatever else the chef wants to throw in the pot. Sometimes raisins are added for a touch of sweetness. This dish included potatoes and only a few olives, which I appreciated. Not over the top on the heat level by any means, just the right amount. The black beans were the only downfall for this dish. They definitely needed a boost of flavor.  

Havana Cafe, Fiction Faith & Foodies, Ernie & Dora Hiers, restaurant review

This Piccadillo was comfort food for this Florida transplant.

What was your favorite meal this week?

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

Havana Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 11 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Huntersville, NC, to a restaurant recommended by a close friend, House of Taipei.

House of Taipei, Excited about Eating, Ernie & Dora Hiers

Ample parking, no wait on a Sunday night

This restaurant serves authentic style Chinese dishes, some labeled Favorable, Traditional, Unforgettable and Vegetarian. Dora here. We saw several people toting take-out containers on the way in, so it appears they may be just as popular with take-out as eat-in. Although we’ve heard that sometimes there’s a wait, on this particular Sunday evening, we were seated immediately. 🙂

House of Taipei, Excited about Eating, Ernie & Dora Hiers

No wait for our Sunday evening dinner

For my dinner, I chose the Pepper Steak. It’s a challenge for me to order at Asian restaurants fearing I will order something that has more heat than I can take. (Dora here. No worries. They offer a ramp-it-up or dial-it-down option. 🙂 ) The sliced tenderloin is sautéed with green bell peppers and onions in a brown sauce. The steak was tender and the veggies had just the right amount of bite, and the sauce would have been great on any dish. Full of favor, I would definitely order this dish again.

House of Taipei, Excited about Eating, Ernie & Dora Hiers

Pepper Steak, definitely a repeat

Dora here. The Flower Chicken intrigued me. Slices of chicken, water chestnuts (I love that crunch, don’t you?), red peppers, broccoli and mushrooms sauteed in a light, not-sure-if-its-really-there sauce. I’m not into heavy sauces so that was perfect for me. Delicate and light, colorful and pretty, the name of the dish really fits. And the best part? For just over $10, I had enough leftover chicken for another meal. Score!

House of Taipei, Excited about Eating, Ernie & Dora Hiers

Flower Chicken was delicious and I took home enough chicken for another meal

Your turn: What’s your favorite Chinese dish?

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

House of Taipei Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 8 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to a neighborhood sport’s bar in the University area of Charlotte, Picasso’s Sports Café. This wings and pizza sports bar also features sandwiches, salads, and a list of starters.

Picasso's Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

There’s an outdoor eating area behind those columns. lol.

Dora here. Tucked into the bottom floor of a ginormous shopping center, we almost missed this place. So glad we didn’t because it reminded me of a modern “Cheers.”

Picasso's Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Great place to watch the Panthers play

We appreciated that it wasn’t dark and stale like some sports bars and offered plenty of tables near the windows. With televisions of all sizes, this cafe would be a great place to catch a game, especially if you get there early like us. lol.

As our starter, we chose the Breadstix with homemade dough, topped with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, garlic butter and served with a side of marinara. This appetizer was great, kind of like a cheese pizza with outstanding dough.

Picasso's Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Breadstix appetizer. YUM!

Dora here. Yum. Who can complain about a buttery crust and two kinds of cheese? Not me!

For my lunch, I ordered the Wing & Fry Basket, which included 6 garlic parmesan wings and tater tots. The buffalo sauce mixed in with the garlic and parmesan gave the wings quite the kick, really good flavor. The tater tots were crispy, just how I like them.

Picasso's Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Wings & Fry (tater tots, extra crispy just how I like them!) Basket.

Dora here. The pepperoni roll was a good balance if you’re craving something pizza-ish, not overly doughy or cheesy. But, unless you’re really hungry, you might want to share this jumbo roll. Especially if you order the Breadstix appetizer…carb overload. Don’t judge! lol.

Picasso's Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Pepperoni roll was a good balance if you’re craving something pizza-ish. Not overly cheesy or doughy.

Dora here. We surely missed you!

Wow, it’s so hard to believe that Ernie and I started the “foodies” aspect of the blog over three years ago!  He wanted me to try new places and venture outside my “foodie” box. It worked. 🙂

But now we’re spending most of our available weekends in our mountain home and we’re limited by driving distance during the week. That restricts our opportunities to try new places. Plus we never get the opportunity to go back to some of these places we’ve raved about. So, we’ll be scaling back from our weekly posts. Hope you’ll stick with us!

We rate this sports bar 3 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving good food.

Picasso's Sports Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato