North Carolina

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us north of Charlotte to Huntersville and to the first gastro pub in Mecklenburg County, Killington’s Restaurant & Pub. This pub located in Rosedale Shopping Center has a great atmosphere with outstanding food and covered outdoor seating. They claim to serve “high quality food in a casual atmosphere.” After our experience, we’d agree.

Exterior

As an appetizer, we ordered a cup of chili sprinkled with cheese, a smattering of onions and a few tortilla chips. This chili had robust flavor and included at least three different types of beans, chick, black and pinto, and the spice level was perfect. Dora here….coughing. Yeah, perfect for one of us. Maybe that’s why I chugged two full glasses of iced tea before the main course arrived. Yowza! 🙂 

Cup of Chili

On weekends Killington’s offers some additional brunch items to cover those appetites craving a breakfast alternative. I chose a brunch special: steak kabobs and poached eggs served over home fries with sourdough toast. The kabobs consisted of colorful red and green peppers and onions and were blanketed with salsa verde. The steak was cooked perfectly, the veggies still had a crunch, and the salsa verde was the perfect complement for the dish. Outstanding, and I’d definitely order this again!

brunch special: steak kabobs

Dora here. So many items on the menu were calling out my name, but I finally decided on the Monte Cristo, ham, turkey and Swiss cheese piled on sourdough French toast sprinkled with powdered sugar and raspberry preserve for dipping. Oh my!! It’s been ages since I enjoyed a Monte Cristo. The batter on the bread was light and subtle, not eggy, and the raspberry jam took this sandwich from ordinary to lick-my-fingers delicious! 

Monte Cristo

Oh, and the outdoor covered patio was so relaxing, not too loud or hot, the best spot to enjoy this summer lunch. 

Covered Patio

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

What about you? Have you eaten at a gastro pub yet? What did you think?

Click to add a blog post for Killingtons Restaurant & Pub on Zomato

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments

So today we kicked off our sampling of restaurants in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. Today’s choice was Big Ben British Restaurant and Pub. Located in Atherton Mill on the south side of Charlotte, this pub had great food in a sports bar environment. 


When we arrived only a few tables were taken, but unknown to us, a Chelsea vs. Manchester City soccer match was about to start and the place was buzzing with people within 15 minutes. We started with the Bubble & Squeak appetizer. This traditional English dish consists of mashed potatoes and sautéed brussel sprouts, but here they substituted cabbage. The dish had a great consistency and was very tasty. For our meal, my wife went with the Famous Southend Haddock N’ Chips and I took our waiter’s suggestion, the Chicken Pot Pie.


The Chicken Pot Pie was definitely a unique dish. Rather than the traditional pot pie served in some universal type of container, this pot pie was formed inside of an exceptional puff pastry type shell which held in all of the goodness of the dish. It was served with fluffy mashed potatoes, fresh steamed vegetables, and topped with chicken gravy. 


The Haddock N’ Chips was far larger than most persons could eat at one sitting. Luckily, my wife was willing to share. It consisted of flaky haddock, cooked to perfection, crispy pub fries, cole slaw, and a pickle that they call a Wally which in England means a “dill pickled baby cucumber”. The fish was great, not greasy nor overly fishy. The pub fries were cooked flawlessly, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and the average cole slaw complemented the dish.

So, our takeaway…if you’re not a soccer fan, ask to be seated outside the viewing area of the huge screen or you’ll feel like you’re at the game. And go early. We snagged a parking spot right in front, but when we left, vehicles were lined up, circling. Oh, and if you like a coffee after your meals, be sure to stop in Not Just Coffee, located on the back side of Icehouse right next door and wander around the indoor farmer’s market.

I would rate this establishment 5 spoons out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.

Dora here, adding my two cents about this first experience. 

1. Check the times/days that the restaurant is open. Yes, we neglected to do that and our first choice wasn’t open. Which brings me to my next point…

2. Bring the list. Since we didn’t bring our list, we had to switch gears. With a little help from Yelp, Big Ben Pub ended up being a fabulous alternative. 

3. Don’t wait until hunger pangs strike. Charlotte is a thirty minute drive from our house and after factoring in the time it took to navigate one-way streets and to snag a parking spot, let’s just say I could’ve faced down a bear and won. Those of you who deal with sugar challenges might want to bring a snack. 🙂

4. Leave the dog at home. In the cooler months, Bruiser enjoys tagging along with us. So long as we have a container of water and leave the windows cracked, he’s happy. We didn’t think it would be a problem to find a parking spot in downtown Charlotte on a Saturday, but we were wrong. Rather than park in a garage a few blocks away, we chose to drive a bit farther out of downtown where parking was more accessible and Bruiser was close. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed our first Excited about Eating venture. 


Big Ben British Pub & Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Do you enjoy experimenting with new restaurants? 
Or do you prefer to frequent the same ones?

Hog Happnin BBQ and Craft Festival ~TODAY!

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments

Picture compliments of Bing, not the actual event

I’ll be participating in my first ever CRAFT show! If you live near Shelby, NC, stop by the Hog Happnin festival today, (Saturday, 11/2) from 9-4. There’s a lot going on, including a Car & Cycle Show, Arts & Crafts and what else? BBQ! 

Hubby will be judging for the KCBS Sanctioned BBQ Competition, and you can find me under the Heart Racing, God-Gracing Romance Author banner! Come on out for fun, BBQ, and maybe find some awesome Christmas gifts! > Shelby City Park, 850 W Sumter St, Shelby, NC.

Hope to see you there! 

What are your plans for the weekend?


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