review

Excited about Reading: Love on a Deadline by Kathryn Springer

/ Dora Hiers
Amazon Purchase Link

The Cover Story~
MacKenzie “Mac” Davis left her hometown of Red Leaf, Wisconsin, to pursue a degree in journalism. But when her dad, the town’s beloved Coach Davis, suffers a mild heart attack, Mac returns home to help out. She takes a job at the weekly newspaper but instead of covering serious topics, her editor wants her to write about social events—like the garden club’s flower show and the historical society’s afternoon tea. Mac knows it’s no way to earn her father’s respect—or the attention of one of the newspapers she hopes will hire her when she leaves Red Leaf.

When Hollis Channing, Mac’s high school nemesis, returns to Red Leaf to marry her celebrity fiancé, the editor asks Mac to cover the big event—and all the festivities leading up to—for the newspaper.

The last thing Mac wants to do is reconnect with the person who made her life miserable when she was a teenager . . . unless it’s spending time with Ethan Channing, the bride’s older brother—and Mac’s first crush.

Mac is no longer the awkward girl who wore the school mascot costume to the Homecoming dance but she realizes something hasn’t changed. Her feelings for Ethan.

Sharing my takeaway~
Reporter “Mac” Davis chomps at the bit for a meaty story, anything that’ll take her back to the big city, away from Red Leaf where everybody still thinks of her as Coach’s daughter. Physician Ethan Channing returns to his hometown, intent on sinking roots in the small community, surprised at Mac’s transformation from sideline “water girl” to beautiful woman.

I have read a few books by Kathryn Springer and enjoyed them, so I scooped up Love on a Deadline when it listed on NetGalley. I’m glad I did. The romance between Mac and Ethan moved along at a fairly smooth pace, and the cast of secondary characters really enhanced the story. The faith thread was subtle, and the story kept me flipping pages for a couple hours.

No heavy drama to sift through in this novella, just a really sweet story that makes for light, relaxing reading. A great book to pack in your beach bag or to squeeze in on a lazy weekend afternoon.:)

Disclaimer: Sending my thanks to NetGalley and Zondervan for the privilege of reading and reviewing Love on a Deadline. I was provided a free copy of the book in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. I was in no way compensated for my review.

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers
This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the historic south end of Charlotte near the Dilworth neighborhood to Crispy Crepe. 

Exterior


Dora here. Hey, I recognize that cute guy in the red shirt! 🙂
I would’ve preferred to sit outside, but the Saturday afternoon of our visit was a scorching 95 degrees. The interior was cozy and air conditioned. Check out that giant bottle of chocolate syrup along the wall. How cool is that? 

Interior

This unique eatery not only serves crepes, but also waffles, salads, flatbreads and sandwiches. 

Making Crepes


I chose the Egg n Turkey Bacon Waffle which is served with two eggs, turkey bacon and fresh fruit. Now this waffle is not an ordinary waffle. It is a Liege waffle, named after a city in Belgium, and is made using brioche style dough and caramelized Belgian sugar, and pressed in a cast iron press. 

This waffle was outstanding, definitely the highlight of the dish, and reminds me of waffles from our trips to Europe. The soft scrambled, not runny eggs and bacon were perfectly cooked. 

Egg n Turkey Bacon Waffle 

Dora here. Isn’t that plate huge? I couldn’t let Ernie eat that whole meal by himself!  He definitely needed help with the waffle. Wow! Yeasty and yummy and my fork kept sneaking over to his plate. 🙂

I strategized my order. I knew we were going for a sweet crepe, so I ordered the Smoked Turkey with White Stilten Cranberry Cheese sandwich. Doesn’t that sound intriguing? I know, right? And look at it. Sweet caramelized onions, cranberry cheese…need I say more? Yummo! And to be fair, I did share. 🙂

Smoked Turkey with White Stilten Cranberry Cheese sandwich

The Chocolate Peanut Butter crepe was filled with mini chocolate peanut butter cups, vanilla cream & drizzled with caramel. The chocolate and cream, almost like a donut cream, all mingled together for a sweet ending to a great meal. Check this out!

Chocolate Peanut Butter crepe 

Dora here. The crepes don’t normally come split like this. Somebody was a bit too quick with the knife. Lucky I snapped a picture because this crepe vanished within seconds.

The coffee was a different story. Too weak for me. Bummer. 

Three hours of free parking is available in a garage around the corner. Service was a bit slow because of the packed restaurant, but you won’t need that long to eat. 🙂

Parking

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

Have you tried a Liege waffle? What about crepes?
Do you have a favorite? Sweet or savory?

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Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 9 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte and to Hawthorne’s New York Pizza and Bar. 

Nice covered patio!

Elizabeth is named after Anne Elizabeth Watts, the only Charlotte neighborhood named for a woman. You can read more about the history here. 

Interior

Dora here. Don’t let this picture deceive you. We arrived right at eleven, and by the time we left, both inside and out was jammed. Hawthorne’s appears to be a popular place for locals as many people walked here.

The garlic cheese bread appetizer was cheesy with just the right amount of garlic. It came out fast, the cheese bubbling and gooey, and browned to perfection. 

Garlic Cheese Bread


Dora here. This cheesy bread reminded me of our favorite pizza place in Florida. We always divided it up into equal portions because our son ravaged it. Same thing happened this time, but with our grandson. A sure sign that it was a winner. 🙂

We wanted to pace ourselves, so we ordered the 9” Meat Eaters pizza, and we were glad we did.

9″ Meat Eaters Pizza

This pizza was loaded with meat (pepperoni, Italian sausage, beef, ham, bacon) and mozzarella. In each bite, I tasted all of the different meat flavors, and they all worked together. One thing we noticed, unlike other meat pies which tend to be greasy and heavy, this pizza was light with no greasy aftereffects. 

Slice of Meat Eaters


Dora here. I really wanted to order the Sicilian, but that only comes in GIANT size, so since we were ordering cheesy bread and dessert, I compromised on this. Not my favorite pizza, but it was good. I appreciated that it wasn’t heavy on the sauce or spice. 

Check out the Cannoli Plate, three mini cannolis. 

Cannolis

Dora here. We first sampled cannolis in Sicily, and loved them! Since then, we’ve tried the US versions, and none of them have come close to what we experienced overseas. Not that we’re food snobs, but buttercream filling..really? Yuck! Hawthorne’s cannolis tasted like the real deal, ricotta and cream cheese goodness in a fried pastry! Three minis were just the right size to cap off our meal. Well, Little Man didn’t think so. 🙂 

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

What’s your favorite pizza hangout?


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