review

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to a neat little eatery serving fresh sandwiches, soups, and salads along with cookies, cakes, and coffees. Pickled Peach Handcrafted Foods is a simple neighborly establishment in the college town of Davidson, NC.

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Tucked into the back of a building

Dora here. I love this little community where colorful main street shop windows invite you to wander in and browse, where people stop to chat as if they’ve been friends forever, and where sitting outside and lingering over coffee or lunch seems the most natural thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. The Pickled Peach is tucked into the back of a building, one of those places that draws you in with their covered (and heated, if necessary) patio. Or, if you prefer, you can sit outside and soak in the sun and fresh air. Their small inside boasts a few bar stools as well, but we noticed that most everybody ordered at the counter and then meandered out to the deck. Such a relaxing, comfortable vibe!

For my lunch, I chose the Cornmeal Fried Shrimp sandwich with butter lettuce on a long roll. The large, perfectly-executed shrimp combined flawlessly with the spicy mayo, greens and the crispy roll.

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Cornmeal Fried Shrimp Sandwich

The Sweet Potato salad, roasted sweet potatoes, peashoots, walnuts, lemon zest, and a mustard vinaigrette, zinged with an interesting blend of flavors.

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Sweet Potato Salad

Dora here. I agree. First time ever eating that combo, but it worked. The citrus taste gave it a light, fresh flavor and the greens added texture to the soft sweet taters. Different, in a good way.  

The Slow Braised and Pulled Chicken sandwich. What can I say? This sandwich had my name written all over it! lol. Pulled chicken with just enough ginger and apple cider in the slaw to whisper that it was there. OH MY YUM! Delicious!!  

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Slow Braised and Pulled Chicken Sandwich had my name written all over it!

And we couldn’t resist sharing the Coconut Chewie Cookie. Check out the size of this monster cookie! Tell me you could pass by that huge chunk of sweetness? 🙂 BTW, this restaurant (actually, most restaurants in this community) isn’t into artificial annnnyyyyything, so if you prefer a particular brand of sweetener, bring your own.

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Try to pass by this huge chunk of sweetness, I dare you! (Coconut Chewie Cookie)

What features draw you in to a restaurant?

No debate here. Five forks out of five for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.
The Pickled Peach Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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

Excited about Reading: SHE’S MINE by Tammy Doherty

/ Dora Hiers
Amazon Buy Link

The cover story~
Caitlin Harrington has a new job and a new life away from her menacing ex-boyfriend, Adam. Issues with her parents, losing her previous job and the death of her beloved grandmother leave her wondering if God has abandoned her. Two things she is sure of: she’s a lousy judge of character and men just can’t be trusted. Now a volunteer firefighter who has come to her rescue more than once is dangerously close to breaking through her defenses.

And not everyone in sleepy Naultag, Massachusetts is welcoming. Someone is leaving ominous notes on her door.

Sean Taggart likes being a rescuer. But a failed engagement has taught him to be cautious with his heart and Caitlin is a threat. Women just can’t be trusted. Still, he’d like to save Caitlin from whatever demons have her so spooked. If only she’d let him.

Threatening notes. Scratching at the windows during the night. A shadowy figure lurking in her yard. Caitlin must tell the police about Adam, but everything he told her was a lie. Who is Adam? And if Caitlin trusts Sean to protect her, will his life be in danger?

Can Sean rescue Caitlin before the stalker becomes a killer?

Sharing my takeaway~
After reading Celtic Cross (FREE as of the date of this post) by Tammy Doherty, I couldn’t wait to dive into She’s Mine. Settling back with a book by Tammy Doherty is a lot like chatting with a dear friend over coffee. 🙂

Such three dimensional characters with emotional and physical scars! Caitlin Harrington. Math lover, teacher, taking up residence in her beloved Grandmother’s house back in Naultag. She learned from her mother’s promiscuous relationships and avoids egotistical, controlling men. Most men, actually, except a couple friends from her past.

Mom driving away, leaving me behind as if I was nothing more than a piece of furniture. Except Mom came back for the furniture. 


Hero Sean Taggart, firefighter and campground owner. Recovering from physical injuries sustained during the story, he battles depression, insecurity and even jealousy. 

Caitlin was like a late-night fire–you saw the flames but the full extent was hard to judge and there was a high risk of getting burned.


I really appreciated the genuineness of the characters. Both struggled with failures and asked some tough questions, which made the faith thread flow naturally. The pages were filled with flirty, witty dialog, with a bit of sarcasm thrown in occasionally. Awesome descriptions transported me into the New England area of Naultag. More than one person wasn’t happy that Caitlin returned to Naultag. I had an inkling about creepy Adam but never would’ve guessed the actual scenario that played out, a palm-slicker for sure. Be sure to grab your copy of She’s Mine, a perfect book to laze away a rainy weekend afternoon!

Romance, love and marriage–and divorce–had no clean, easily solved equations.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book while it was listed free on Amazon. I was in no way compensated for my fair and unbiased review.