This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the Elizabeth neighborhood in Charlotte and to Sabor Latin Street Grill. Sabor in Spanish means flavorful, an apt description for this contemporary Latin restaurant.

Dora here. While we were eating, the line to order extended out the door. If you’d like a parking spot, get your act in gear and get there early. Their lot’s small, but private off-street parking is always a bonus. Oh, and if you need to charge your device, the booths have USB chargers. Really? Wowza! Definitely not fancy or intimate, but awesome food. 

If you use the Yelp app, be sure to check in and get your free chips, which we totally forgot, but chips would’ve been overkill since Ernie ordered nachos. Oh, and try out the five or six salsas on their Salsa Bar, especially the Pineapple. You’d think sweet, right? Not sure I tasted anything sweet, nothing but pure fire. That stuff straightened my hair! lol.

For my lunch, I ordered the Supreme Nachos, a giant pile of tortilla chips, hamburger, refried beans, queso, lettuce, sour cream and pico do gallo. Now these were monster nachos and not a dish that could be finished by one person. The chips were crispy, it was loaded with hamburger, and all of the other ingredients worked perfectly together to make one great tasting dish.

The Elote Loco is corn on the cob lightly coated with mayo and covered with cotija cheese then dusted with chili powder. This corn was outstanding, a little sweet, with a creamy flavor from the mayo and a little spice from the chili powder. Dora here. Best corn on the cob ever! Sweet, spicy, and every bite a different flavor. My favorite dish of the day.

Still Dora. So many items on the menu, only so much time to eat! lol. Seriously, folks, we could’ve just shared that huge pile of nachos. But I’d been drooling over the pictures on Yelp, and with our limited weekend dining options, I knew that I wanted more than nachos. When I got to the front of the counter, I ordered the first two dishes that caught my attention, a Beef Empanada and a Chicken Arepa. With a crispy shell and a gooey, cheesy filling, the Beef Empanada was my second favorite dish on the table.

The chicken arepa came overflowing with cheese and bundled in a soft, cakey shell. I wasn’t quite sure how to eat it, but since it was wrapped in foil, I suspect you’re supposed to pick it up. Hmmm. That didn’t work for me as well as knife and fork. The rosada sauce (a blend of ketchup and mayo and other condiments) was cool and soothing after that crazy-hot pineapple salsa. When we make it back, I’m going for the Carne Asada Fries or the Build-Your-Own-Bowl. And maybe I’ll remember to check in on Yelp to get the free chips for my pineapple salsa. 😀

We debated the rating for Sabor Latin Street Grill. Immediately after every meal, we both offer up our ratings. Hubby planned to give them four forks, his argument being that ordering from the counter detracts from the experience. I agree that I prefer to order from the table, but was that one tiny aspect enough to drop them from a five fork rating to four? Since we started this food blogging venture, we have always based our reviews on the whole experience: quality of food, value, ambiance, service, etc. So, in line with that, we rate them four fork for a family friendly restaurant serving great food. (But it was really awesome! 🙂 )

How do you feel about restaurants where you order at the counter?