North Carolina

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 6 Comments
This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Port City Club in Cornelius, North Carolina. 

This lakefront restaurant is located on Lake Norman, where you can drive, walk or boat to your meal. 

Inside

Dora here. How have we not discovered this gem sooner? What a glorious day for sitting outside! Everybody else agreed with us. Port City Club offers generous seating inside and three different levels outside, including one covered. What a gorgeous, relaxing setting for any meal.

Covered patio

For my meal, I chose the Lobster and Shrimp Roll. Maine lobster, poached shrimp, scallion, basil, and mayo served on a New England style split roll. Huge and meaty with just the right amount of mayo, this sandwich was outstanding and matched any meal that I enjoyed during our visit to Maine. 


Dora here. I opted for the Port City Club, grilled chicken, bacon and smoked Gouda on a brioche roll. Delish! Tender, moist, and jazzed with a garlic aioli, I’d definitely go back for a repeat. 

Can’t see the chicken? Here’s a better view:

The service was attentive, friendly and flawless. Not once did our tea or water glass drain, and every time a server walked by, used items were scooped from the table with a smile. It’s the perfect location for brokering business deals, families with active children, and couples looking for a romantic setting. 

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

Port City Club Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us not far from home to On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina in Concord.

According to the restaurant, “Border-style means mesquite-grilled meat, fresh ingredients, hand-pressed tortillas, and sauces made in small batches.” 
Dora here. Definitely a kid friendly establishment. Visitors to their tortilla prep station at the back of the restaurant receive a ball of dough to take back to their table. Great strategy to entertain the kiddos.
Kiddo friendly
I was looking forward to tasting the Grilled Mahi Tacos. A few minutes after ordering, though, the manager approached the table and informed us that they were out of Mahi. She apologized and offered the fried fish or salmon as a substitution. Salmon tacos? Hmmm. No thanks. I opted for the fried fish. 
Fish Tacos
The fish was good, crispy on the outside. The cabbage and red chile sauce complemented without taking away from the flavor. I liked the crunch of cabbage over ordinary lettuce. I’m on a healthy kick, though, and would’ve preferred the grilled Mahi over the fried alternative, but appreciated their coupon for a bowl of queso for the inconvenience.

Dora here. Good thing they had my Brisket Tacos. I didn’t have a Plan B. 🙂

Brisket Tacos
Pretty, right? Just invites you to dig in. I don’t know what’s going on with hubby’s plate, but they lost points for presentation.

My brisket was tender. The onion strings added a great textural element and the jalapeno in the BBQ sauce a little kick. The vegies were firm and colorful. Overall, I enjoyed the fresh, vibrant vibe, and I didn’t leave stuffed like some Mexican restaurants. Maybe that’s because hubby sampled one of my tacos? 🙂

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


What’s your favorite Mexican dish?

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Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 7 Comments
This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the Boone/Blowing Rock area in the mountains of North Carolina.

Our first stop is Our Daily Bread, a casual upbeat delicatessen. 

From the menu, you can tell this deli focuses on blending unique ingredients together to make unusual sandwiches.


I chose the Smoke Stack, a combo of smoked components (smoked turkey, smoked applewood bacon, melted smoked Gouda), along with chipotle aioli, tomatoes, and spring greens on sourdough bread with a side of Sweet Basil Corn Chowder. Loaded with corn in a creamy broth and a sweet basil undertone, the soup was great. But the sandwich was outstanding. All of the different smoked flavors worked well with the chipotle aioli, and the toasted sourdough bread held it all together.

Smoke Stack

Dora here. Since we visited on the Fourth of July, I opted for the daily special, the Red White & Blue Chutney Sandwich. Smoked ham, melted brie, balsamic blueberry chutney, tomatoes, roasted red pepper aioli and basil leaves pressed in cranberry French bread. Hello! Blueberry chutney? Doesn’t that sound fabulous? Well, it was. A melt-in-your-mouth mixture of everything I like about breakfast and lunch. Yum! Definitely adding this place to our “must visit” list.

Red White & Blue Chutney Sandwich

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.
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Our second stop is Town Tavern in downtown Blowing Rock.

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to sit outside.

Dora here. Great choice! Restaurants with an outdoor patio score bonus points. 🙂

For lunch I chose the Tavern Philly Cheesesteak served on a Milano roll with a huge amount of thinly sliced rib eye steak, American white cheese, peppers and onions and a side of Tater Tots.

Tavern Philly Cheesesteak

This sandwich was unique in that the components were all cooked together giving it great flavor, as opposed to cooking individual ingredients and layering. Not only was the sandwich great, the tater tots were just the way I like them. Crispy.

Dora here. Burgers are my go to meal when we’re away from home, and I hadn’t had one all week. The Bacon & Cheddar burger satisfied my burger craving. Meaty and juicy, and the slightly toasted bun makes this meal a winner! Oh, and the creamy ranch dip for tater tots now replaces boring ketchup!

Bacon & Cheddar Burger

We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant that serves outstanding food.
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Your turn. What’s your favorite go-to meal when you’re away from home?