Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

July 1, 2017June 20, 2017 / Dora Hiers / 13 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to a large mixed community in the South Park area of Charlotte, to Dogwood Southern Table & Bar. This contemporary eating establishment offers “elevated southern cuisine” using in-house creations from local and sustainable sources.

Dogwood Southern Table Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Ample free parking garages

Dora here. Because it was Father’s Day and we didn’t make reservations, our only seating options were the patio or the bar. Glorious day, beautiful patio, no brainer. 🙂

Too pretty a day to sit inside. Especially with a gorgeous patio like this

For an appetizer, we chose the Maw Maw’s Biscuits served with butter and jam. The biscuits were great, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Adding the butter and jam made for an outstanding bite. Dora here. When I lifted the linen and saw the charred tops on these biscuits, I considered asking for another basket, but hubby usually orders everything extra crispy, so he was thrilled. No worries! Even with the toasted tops, these biscuits were great. Buttery flavor, crumbly, and had to eat with a fork. Good to the last fork!

Maw Maw’s Biscuits. Buttery flavor, crumbly and good to the last fork!

For my meal, I chose the Steak and Eggs. Normally, it’s sirloin, but this day it was prime rib, green beans, potatoes, and spinach served with an easy-over egg on top. The prime rib was cooked a perfect medium rare, tender and juicy. The crispy potatoes and veggies paired well with the dish. I am not one who usually orders steak out, but I would definitely order this dish again.

Brunch Prime Rib, tender and juicy! I’d definitely order this dish again.

Dora here. Whenever a place serves only brunch on the weekend, I’m usually ready for a dilemma. Give me my cereal or an English Muffin with peanut butter and jelly for breakfast and I’m good. When I go out for lunch, I want lunch, so I opted for the Breakfast Burger today. I appreciated all the individual components: scrambled egg, cheddar, bacon jam, incredibly soft bun. But together? Not so much. And it turns out I’m not a fan of grass-fed beef. Something about the flavor just messed with my taste buds. Who’d have guessed? Hubby liked it.

Breakfast Burger

What’s your favorite brunch dish/place?

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

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

June 24, 2017June 12, 2017 / Dora Hiers / 9 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to a century old building that was once the maintenance station of Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC, and now houses Café Portofino. This casual restaurant offers a wide variety of sandwiches, pastas, and steaks.

Cafe Portofino Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

Parking in front, but also a bigger lot on the side with FREE parking!

Dora here. I must confess I was a bit apprehensive about trying this place since it’s practically right across the street from Appalachian State. I expected it to be a student bar/hangout. And, since we entered the establishment from the parking lot on the side, that was precisely my first impression of the narrow, dimly-lit room. But that’s the wrong door. The front door’s on the other side. lol. The restaurant portion is actually quite spacious.

It’s actually quite spacious on the inside if you enter from the correct door. lol (Sorry for the fuzzy picture!)

But who wants to sit inside with such glorious weather? And–bonus!–the outdoor patio is dog friendly! There’s an adorable Corgi puppy hanging out under the table next to us.

Cafe Portofino Fiction Faith & Foodie Ernie & Dora Hiers

Bonus, the outdoor patio is DOG friendly!

For my lunch, I chose the Portofino Spaghetti, a meat sauce made with ground beef, Italian sausage and garlic served over spaghetti, served with a side salad and a roll sprinkled with parmesan. Their Greek feta salad dressing was outstanding, and the spaghetti cooked flawlessly. The yeast roll was hardy, perfect for dipping up the meaty, thick, garlicky sauce, and I appreciated the spoon they brought for the pasta without me asking.

Portofino Spaghetti, meaty and thick

Dora here. The server was friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable and helpful with suggestions. The Grown Up Mac & Cheese was a notch above typical pub food. Penne pasta, grilled chicken and broccoli blanketed with a cream sauce, and then sprinkled with another layer of cheese. Although I enjoyed this dish and all the components, I would’ve preferred less sauce. Overall, though, a pleasant surprise and one I would order again with a special request of less sauce.

Grown Up Mac & Cheese, a pleasant surprise. Next time, though, I will order it with less sauce.

What about you? What was the last meal/restaurant that exceeded your expectations?

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

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

June 17, 2017June 5, 2017 / Dora Hiers / 11 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to a “Southern-inspired” comfort food restaurant, The Flying Biscuit Cafe. Located in the Park Road area of Charlotte, this popular meeting spot features breakfast all day plus salads, sandwiches, and plate meals.

the Flying Biscuit Cafe Fiction Faith & Foodies Ernie & Dora Hiers

After the crowd outside a couple weeks ago, we strategically timed our visit.

Dora here. Unlike last week’s choice, I knew The Flying Biscuit Cafe would be a great experience. A couple weeks ago, we stopped here, but the crowd outside and the corresponding long wait deterred us. This week we strategically timed our visit, hoping to fall sometime after the breakfast crowd and before lunch. And, also unlike last week, our server seemed to really love her job. She was knowledgeable, helpful with suggestions, and stopped by our table several times to check on us and refill our drinks, always with a smile even though they were obviously super busy. Don’t let the skinny exterior deceive you. This cafe goes a long ways back with another outdoor patio in the rear.

Bustling on a Saturday around 11 AM. This cafe is bigger than it looks from the outside.

For a starter, we ordered a side of Grilled Macaroni and Cheese that Yelpers rave about. This mac and cheese is nothing like I have ever tasted. Rectangle blocks of mac and cheese grilled to perfection, somewhat crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Dora here. This alone was worth the drive. Fluffy, light, you don’t really even taste the pasta. The texture comes off more like a souffle. HEAVENLY!

This alone was worth the drive. A side of Grilled Mac & Cheese. Heavenly!

For my lunch (breakfast), I chose the Egg-Stravaganza. Two poached eggs, chicken sausage, turkey bacon, grits and whole wheat French toast topped with raspberry sauce and a honey cream. This dish was outstanding, eggs cooked to the exact time and consistency, grits were creamy and cheesy.

Egg-Stravaganza, outstanding!

The French toast wasn’t overly egg-y or thick, almost tasted like pumpernickel bread, so I was surprised to find out it was actually wheat bread. Whatever the type, the sauce and cream were a great accompaniment.

French Toast, not overly egg-y or thick. And the sauce and cream a great accompaniment.

Dora here. Y’all, check out the Very Berry Chicken Wrap. Doesn’t it look refreshing? It was!! Great texture from the candied walnuts, fresh flavors, light on the raspberry vinaigrette, loaded with chunky chicken, delish! The perfect choice for a hot summer afternoon, I would definitely order this again. Maybe not the Garlic and Basil Mashed Potatoes because I prefer my taters a bit creamier.

Very Berry Chicken Wrap…light, fresh, delish! Side of Garlic Basil Mashed Potatoes.

What about you? How do you prefer your French Toast? Or not a fan at all?

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

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Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to a century old building that was once the maintenance station of Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC, and now houses Café Portofino. This casual restaurant offers a wide variety of sandwiches, pastas, and steaks.

Excited about Eating by Ernie & Dora Hiers