Kabob Grill

The Food Baby bottom line:

• I’d like to be a “lady who lunches”
• Kabob Grill has delicious and healthy Mediterranean cuisine
• I love pretty much anything involving meat on a stick

After an epic lunch with my husband at Kabob Grill on East Blvd a few weeks ago (there was lamb involved), I smugly bragged to Lauren about my impressive Mediterranean Food Baby.  I think she was pretty J, but also excited to try it for herself.  We promptly made a lunch date for the following week for a decadent Club-Med style lunch experience. 

Trucktoberfest

The Food Baby Bottom Line:

• OMB is a fun place to party and has delicious beer!
• Living Social puts together a super fun and well organized event.
• The food samples, while delicious, were a bit too miniature for me (aka, I'm fat).

On Saturday, October 29 the hubby and I decided to start our day of Halloween celebrations off with some food trucks and day drinking at Old Mecklenburg Brewery. We purchased a Living Social Adventure package, which included a beer flight plus two pints, samples from three food trucks, and a variety of fun activities like cornhole, pie eating, etc. The Living Social deal was a $49 dollar ticket for $25...which is an amazing deal - not that our slow asses would know. We missed the deadline for the coupon (guh) but decided to go ahead and buy the tix anyways. I'm a fan of OMB beer, and I always want to check out Charlotte food trucks (because sadly there are so few!).

Kalu

The Food Baby bottom line:
 

·         For being one of the top 20 new restaurants in America, Kalu was straight up dead for a Saturday night.

·         They were out of EVERYTHING - including the essentials.

·         Kalu is a weird place that actually has really good food.

 

Saturday night was Kiley’s 30th birthday – a celebration worthy of an exceptional dining experience. Her adorable new husband, Andy, planned a night out for her with all her friends, and Kalu was selected as the restaurant of choice. I was excited to finally check this place out – I’d heard a wide variety of colorful feedback, ranging from “best restaurant in Charlotte” to “absolutely blows”.  Despite the mixed reviews, I couldn’t help but be intrigued after hearing that Esquire Magazine named Kalu one of America’s Best New Restaurants in 2010.

Kalu is located “off the beaten path” Uptown – so in Charlotte terms, three long blocks from the Epicentre. It’s right behind Time Warner Arena in the Courtside building, and the restaurant itself is gorgeous. Everything about the bold, vibrant Asian décor is visually stunning. However, I was equally stunned to see how freakin empty the restaurant was. It’s a huge place, and I only saw our table of friends, a couple people at the bar, and one other couple seated in the dining room. There was a staircase right next to our table which led to an upstairs semi-private area where a book signing was taking place. This book signing involved a lot of indistinguishable yammering into a microphone, over which we spent the evening yelling.

Enso

Sexual Bar

The Food Baby bottom line:

• This place just screams SEXY!
• Seriously perfect sashimi and creative sushi rolls
• Is 30 dollars a lot for lunch?

Brianna and I had a Food Baby Meeting of the Minds at Enso last week. We're thinking about redesigning the site (sweet!) and had a brainstorming sesh. Sushi seemed necessary.

Enso is located at the ground level of the Epicentre, and when we arrived at 11:30 AM the lunch crowd had yet to show up. Enso has the kind of ridiculously sexy interior that I love.

Vivace

• Come for the amazing décor, excellent service and views…
• …stay for the apps and Italian wines/cocktails…
• …but don’t stay for entrees… 

Vivace has been on my list of places to dine for some time now.  I had been for apps and drinks on their gorgeous patio, but never for a full-on dinner situation.  The reason I waited so long to come for dinner is that frahhnkly I’d heard some less than flattering reviews.  The general consensus among my foodie friends is that Vivace is the perfect spot for cocktails and apps, but that the mains are seriously underwhelming.  The online reviews are mixed – Helen Schwab didn’t love the food (see review here), however in response to her write-up some Vivace-loyalists accused her of confusing the place with Olive Garden and were calling for her resignation.  Way harsh guys...  After some first hand investigation, I regret to say that I must side with Helen and with my foodie friends.

Taste of the Nation Recap!

Photo by Tonya Russ Price, POPROCK Photography

The Food Baby would like to give a special thanks to our friends, families and readers that came out on April 13 to support Share our Strength at the Taste of the Nation soiree!  Thanks to the efforts of people like you, over $115,000 was raised to fight childhood hunger!  Most importantly, this money will stay in our community, benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and the Community Culinary School of Charlotte.  As an event sponsor, ticket ambassador and auction committee member, The Food Baby sold over 30 event tickets and rounded up over a dozen silent and live auction items, ultimately raising well over $5,000!!  WE ARE CHARITABLY SMUG!

Farm to Fork Restaurant Month

We are pleased to relay some great information on behalf of our new friend Richard Grucia, who we met as Ticket Ambassadors for Taste of the Nation. 

Richard is the founder and organizer of Good Eats and Meets Charlotte, which is a local foodie-focused meetup group which boasts almost 2500 members! Good Eats and Meets Charlotte has created a fantatic concept that we put our full Food Babies behind:

FARM TO FORK RESTAURANT MONTH: MAY 2011

We hear from Richard that 15+ restaurants are already on board! Be sure to visit carolinasfarmtofork.com to sign up for the mailing list - you'll be the first to know all the latest details!

Great work Richard (aka Foodzilla) and all the Good Eats and Meets Charlotte folks who organized this wonderful concept. The Food Babies always be loving some local and sustainable food!! We're waiting for the restaurant list with bated breath.....

-Lauren and Brianna

Rooster's

The source of my olfactory pleasure!
Photo courtesy of tripadvisor.com

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Please bottle and sell the grill aromas as an aphrodisiac.
• Excellent mains, above average desserts...but weak sides.
• “Our medium is medium rare”
• Congrats to Kiley and Andy!!

Last week my fabulous Mom and Dad came into Charlotte to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and to join us for Taste of the Nation! We had the best week ever, and part of that included checking out Rooster’s Wood Fired Grill in Southpark.

In addition to Mom, Dad, hubby, and me, our wonderful friends Kiley and Andy joined us. Andy lives right around the corner from Rooster’s, and he and Kiley are quite the regulars. Little did we know at dinner that Andy was less than 24 hours away from proposing to Kiley!!! Ever socially gracious, my family and I hurled relationship questions/advice at them the entire night, and Andy deftly fielded them all with a big secret up his sleeve. Congrats to a serious bestie and phenomenal couple!

The Wine Shop at Foxcroft

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Marrownaise.  Enough said. 
• Amazing, wine-friendly food at this South Park gem rivals any fine dining restaurant in town.
• Recipe for a fabulous Saturday:  lunch at The Wine Shop followed by a wine tasting!

At the suggestion of our new homeboys, The Charlotte Burger Bloggers, we recently checked out The Wine Shop at Foxcroft.  After their detailed description of the MARROWNAISE – yes, that is bone marrow mayonnaise – we knew we had to go (click here for their review).  So, I asked Lauren out for a Saturday lunch date in honor of her birthday and we made our dream a reality.

The Wine Shop at Foxcroft is both wine store and wine bar/restaurant.  I was shamefully unaware first that they served food, and second that it was so incredible.  I did know that they carry an impressive selection of artisinal and hard to find/limited release wines at all price points.  My kinda place!  During the day, the space is light and inviting.  There are beautiful natural wood wine racks lining the walls and gorgeous wooden floors.  The bar is off the kitchen and faces the dining area, curving gracefully around to end at the edge of another wine filled room.  I understand that the bar is getting a bit of an upgrade with taps being installed for select craft beers.  They already have an impressive craft bottled selection, and I think the taps will be a great addition.

Taste of the Nation Ticket Giveaway!

Hello dear readers:

As you may recall, The Food Baby ladies have partnered with Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation event, held NEXT WEDNESDAY on April 13th! We've sold tickets and worked on the auction committee...and have been all around rock stars, if I do say so myself!

We want to share the love with you!

We are doing a ticket giveaway for this fabulous event. Wouldn't you love to come enjoy tasty bites from 30 of Charlotte's most upscale restaurants, unlimited beer/wine/cocktails, live music, and partying it up with TFB ladies?

The giveaway is this: Buy one discounted ticket for 70 dollars (promo code: FOODBABY) and get a second ticket FREE! A night out for two for 70 bones is a pretty sexy deal to me.

The tickets are regularly 85 dollars each, so this will be a savings of 100 BUCKS!

We want to hear from you: In order to enter the giveaway, you can e-mail us at info@thefoodbaby.com with one of the following:

1. A new Food Baby Type to add to our library. Hold nothing back - we love hilarious, inappropriate, and random FB descriptions.

OR

2. A paragraph with your feedback on the site and blog. What do you like? What sucks (be honest)? What do you wish there was more of, and what should we keep coming?

That's it! The giveaway will end Tuesday April 12th at 8:00 PM, and we'll select two winners.

Good luck! We'd love to party our asses off with you on April 13th - for an AMAZING cause!

-Brianna and Lauren

300 East

The Food Baby Bottom Line:

• Cozy, welcoming atmosphere in a prime Dilworth location
• The menu is, indeed, eclectic...but everything is tasty
• White mocha bread pudding makes me eye-roll and grunt simultaneously

Last Wednesday, I was feeling like a pretty lucky girl! Two of my most fabulous friends, Kiley and Zuzana, took me to 300 East for a very low-key birthday celebration. I just turned the big 2-8, and on April Fool’s day no less. Yes, I’m an April Fool’s baby….that explains a lot about me, I believe.

300 East is a Dilworth staple. The restaurant is in a renovated old house on East Boulevard, and the atmosphere is what you may expect from that (in a great way) – cozy, intimate, and has a historic feel. We were seated in one of the very front tables, near windows looking out onto East Boulevard, and anxiously ordered a bottle of Cotes Du Rhone to start with. Take note: Wines are half-price on Wednesdays!

The Crepe Cellar

TFB + The Charlotte Burger Bloggers!

The Food Baby Bottom Line:

• The Charlotte Burger Bloggers rock our world.
• Crêpe Cellar has a sexy and cozy atmosphere that never fails to seduce me.
• A little salt helps…and a little to the left?

Oh, Crêpe Cellar…where do I begin?  First, let me say that I am pleased to present you with The Food Baby’s first joint blog/review.  We had been envious admirers of the work of the amazing guys behind the Charlotte Burger Blog, Patrick (aka “Hereford”) and Gio (aka “Angus”), for some time.  So when they suggested we dine together and do a joint review, we were jazzed.  Next, let me say that this has been one of the hardest reviews I have written to date.  Perhaps most daunting is the sheer awesomeness of the Charlotte Burger Bloggers – these guys have such a legit and systematic method – they each order the same dishes at every restaurant (a simple cheeseburger, perhaps with bacon and a house specialty burger), they use the exact same criteria/categories each time to assign ratings on a 5 point scale, and, perhaps most epic, these guys weigh and measure their burgers (see their "Burger Manifesto" for more detail).  AND, as we learned at dinner, they also record their dining experiences on a professional-grade recording device.  I wish to publicly apologize to CBB for having to listen to our crude, inappropriate and overly-blonde ramblings more than once.  And I will take this opportunity to request that you destroy the tapes.  THANKS AND SORRY.  All kidding aside, these guys are genius – go immediately to their site and check it out!

Toscana

Image courtesy of charlottemagazine.com

The Food Baby bottom line:

• I’m outdoorsy in that I like drinking on patios.
• The knowledgeable and attentive service - including frequent visits by the manager to chat - really made the experience great.
• A couple of dishes lacked flavor, but the Mare and the bean dip were to die for! 

On Saturday night, I met my friends Kiley, Andy, Nancy and Kate for dinner at Toscana – which is located in Morrison Center in the Southpark neighborhood. I’d been to Toscana once before, about a year prior, and I recalled it being super delish Italian fare so I was really excited to go back!

I arrived a tad late (okay 30 minutes late) due to losing track of time and drink counts at a St. Patty’s party earlier that afternoon. However, despite my lateness, we were fortunately seated at some very prime real estate: on the lovely outdoor patio to enjoy the amazing weather.  The interior of Toscana is great, with very classic Tuscan décor and dim lighting, but the patio is really where it’s at. The crowd is very “Southpark”, meaning 30-40ish age range and sophistractive (sophisticated + attractive).  I realize now that my unwieldy amount of cleavage that evening may have been a touch out of place. Eep.

Cyros Sushi and Sake Bar

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Cyros is apparently a very hip Southpark spot, with a 45 minute wait on a Thursday.
• Glacial-speed service leaves something to be desired.
• However....the sushi rocked pretty hard (hello Avant Garde Roll) resulting in a Houdini Food Baby.

The Food Baby is BACK! We have been traveling to New Orleans, amongst other taxing adventures, and took a brief hiatus from blogging. We are (just now) fully recovered and ready to get back into it!

The day after returning from our 4-day stint at Mardi Gras (more on that later in Traveling Food Baby) my younger sister came into town. Our first stop was a much-needed sushi binge, and Brianna recommended that I take her to Cyros Sushi and Sake Bar in the South Park area. While I had never been to the restaurant, Brianna commissioned Cyros to set up the most fabulous sushi bar at her wedding reception last October, and it was ridiculously posh, and the biggest hit of her cocktail hour!

Growlers Pourhouse: Craft Beer, Artisan Cheeses and Housemade Sausages…In Other Words, Heaven on Earth

The Food Baby Bottom Line:

• If you haven’t been to BeerEd at Growlers, mark your calendar for the first Tuesday of next month…and every other month from now until the end of time. 
• Come for BeerEd, but make sure to stay late after “class” for the sausages.
• Save room for dessert!

As noted in the pre-blog, Lauren and I were ever so excited to attend our first “BeerEd” session at Growlers on March 1.  While we were BeerEd virgins, many in the room that night clearly were not.  Those in the know arrived early to claim their seats, and by 7pm, Growlers had a full house.  What is BeerEd?  On the first Tuesday of each month, Growlers showcases a different brewer or one of their distributors, so each of the (FREE!) tastings has a unique focus and flavor.  On this particular evening, Brian St.Clair of Tryon Distributing was in the house showcasing four excellent brews from his portfolio.  Brian was joined by John Reid from Earth Fare, who provided masterful artisan cheese pairings for each beer.  We were happily surprised to learn that not only would we be sampling some terrific beers, but that there would be cheese involved.  The evening was suddenly elevated to a whole new level…

Dressler's Metro

Sexy view of Uptown

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Dressler's was Lauren's absolute BEST dining experience since the conception of The Food Baby.
• The warm, friendly, knowledgeable, and prompt service was nothing short of perfect.
• Each and every dish was boldly flavored and highly seasoned, resulting in a totally-worth-it Sodium Baby.

I am so freakin pumped to write this blog post. I can't believe what an ahhhhmazing experience I had at Dressler's Metro last night. My friend Kiley (who you may remember as 1/3 of the blonde mafia) and I went after work on Friday night, and every aspect of the evening exceeded my expectations.

Growlers Pourhouse Tasting (3/1 @ 7pm)

**Now available:  check out the FULL review HERE!**


This is a Food Baby first, but I feel compelled to "pre-blog" about an upcoming adventure...  Lauren and I are most excited to check out an amazing beer tasting at 7PM on Tuesday, March 1st at Growlers Pourhouse in NoDa.  When their fabulous GM, Drew, recently told me that they do tastings on the first Tuesday of each month (more info here), I was relieved that I would only have to wait a few days for the next event!  We hope our Food Baby readers will join us at Growlers to check out the tasting!!

Harvest Moon Grille Restaurant

The Food Baby Bottom Line:   

• We adore Harvest Moon Grille for their true commitment to local food.
• The Banh Moon Sandwich 100% deserves it’s place in the list of Charlotte’s best sandwiches.
• The Grateful Growers Maple Sugar Bacon is ridicu-licious (ridiculously delicious). 

Brianna and I have been in The Food Baby withdrawal. We both traveled for President’s Day weekend (she to Austin TX, I to Gatlinburg, TN) where we naturally acquired lots o’ food babies…but we missed working on our beloved websites, even for a couple of days. So, we had a Food Baby business meeting at Harvest Moon Grille today, which we both have been dying to try. We’ve frequented the HMG lunch truck many a time, but were curious to see what the “brick-and-mortar” experience would be like.

Cowfish Decoded

Bento box!

The Food Baby.com bottom line:

• My feeble attempt to explain/demystify the enigma that is Cowfish. 
• Delicious identity crisis (meat or sushi?) solved! 
• Casual and funky atmosphere with plenty of surprises inside; spacious patio outside. 

I decided to enjoy the nice weather last weekend, and went to Cowfish with the hubs to dine al fresco.  This was our second time at Cowfish, and it was even better than the first time we tried it.  I think its one of those places that you need to patronize a few times to “get the hang of”.  I know that sounds a bit strenuous, but the massive menu and unique concepts (e.g., “Burgushi”) can be a bit daunting at first.  However, once you get over the initial information overload of the 10 page menu, the payoff is absolutely worth it.  

Customshop

Cozy, Inviting Interior
Image courtesy of Customshopfood.com

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Customshop's reputation as an Elizabeth "gem" is absolutely true.
• Cozy atmosphere, sexy crowd, and great service.
• If the Living Social menu is that good, I MUST return to try everything else

I, along with everyone else in Charlotte, purchased the Living Social coupon for Customshop in the fall. I usually have decent self restraint with Groupons, Living Socials, etc - because if I didn't try, I would buy them every single day. This one was too good to pass up: A 3-course meal for two, including a glass of wine, for 50 bucks! So my coupon had been sitting there, flaccid and unused for months, until I finally busted it out for a romantic Valentine's dinner with my hubaroni.

From the outside, Customshop is fairly unassuming - on the end of an adorable strip on Elizabeth Ave. The dining room is very intimate and dimly lit, and was jampacked with attractive couples. We were given a separate Living Social menu, which offered three options each for the appetizer and entree, and Apple Walnut Brioche Bread Pudding to share for dessert.

“Huge California and Washington Red Tasting”, Hosted by Wine Vault + Dinner at Aria

The tasting crowd

 The Food Baby.com bottom line:

• Amazing event hosted by The Wine Vault…and, yes, you can try almost 24 wines in 1 hour if you put your mind to it (in case you were wondering).
• Aria remains a personal favorite, particularly for their small antipasti plates.
• Blonde Mafia makes its blog debut!

On February 10^th, The Food Baby ladies plus their amazing and beautiful friend Kiley (collectively known as the “Blonde Mafia”) attended a most fabulous wine tasting after work.   The “Huge California and Washington Red Tasting” at Founder’s Hall uptown was hosted by The Wine Vault, and drew an impressive crowd.  The bustling crowd ranged from social swillers to the serious wine buying set, and the energy was great.  The Wine Vault organized the event well – splitting the crowd into a 5:30PM wave and a 7:00PM wave, each lasting one hour and limited to 40 people, which ensured that each of the four tasting tables were accessible at most times.  The cost of the event was $25 (waived with the purchase of a case of wine), and there were over two-dozen wines being poured.  While the event was dubbed as a Cali/Washington event, there were a few Spanish and Australian numbers that snuck into the rotation as well (not complaining!).  To put a proverbial cherry on top, The Wine Vault partnered with Aria and Sonoma to offer attendees special deals – each restaurant extended their 3 courses for $30 menu from Charlotte Restaurant Week.  In addition, there was no corkage fee for any wines purchased at the tasting.  Lastly, The Wine Vault was offering amazing discounted prices for bottles, mixed cases and full cases.  What a great set up!

10th Annual Charlotte Bartender’s Ball!!

**UPDATE - FREE TICKETS ARE GONE - CONGRATS TO JESSICA AND RYAN CHALMERS FOR SNAPPING THEM UP AND THANKS AGAIN TO FIJI WATER!!!  GO BUY YOUR TICKETS IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!!**


Hey everyone!  Thanks to the amazing people at FIJI Water, The Food Baby has TWO FREE VIP TICKETS to give away for the 10th Annual Charlotte Bartender's Ball!!  Contact us ASAP (info@thefoodbaby.com) with interest!  If you miss the give away, please see below for info on how to purchase tickets for this dank soiree!!  Thank you FIJI!

Event Description:

10^th Annual Charlotte Bartender’s Ball

Sunday, February 20 at 7:00pm-12:00am

Blake Hotel - 555 South McDowell Street

It's that time again.  The craziest party of the year is back for its 10^th year and better than ever.  30+ area bars and restaurants, 5 DJ’s, 2 ballrooms, and one crazy night.  Admission Includes, Open Bar with Top-Shelf Liquors & Full Line of Beers, Catered Food, and Entertainment ALL Night!!!

Participating Venues: 1900 Mexican, BAR Charlotte, BlackFinn Saloon, Buckhead Saloon, Connolly's, Crave Dessert Bar, Dandelion's Market, Dixie's Tavern, Fox and Hound, Hooter's Center City, Howl at the Moon, Kazba, Kennedy's Premium Pub, Loft 1523, Men's Club, MEZ, Phoenix, Prohibition, RE: Public, Strike City, Suite, Tempo, TILT, Tyber Creek, Town Tavern, VIDA, Vinnie's Raw Bar, Whisky River, Wild Wing Cafe, and Wok Bar.

VIP TICKETS AVAILABLE!!!  VIP includes top shelf liquor, private food section, lounge and cocktail sitting. Private access, right next to DJ’s and dance floor.

To purchase tickets now and more information, go to:
www.charlottebartendersball.com

Share our Strength's Taste of the Nation

Hi to all of our fabulous foodie friends!  We wanted to announce that we have partnered with Share our Strength to support their 16th annual Taste of the Nation event here in Charlotte!!  Share our Strength is an organization fighting to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.    

The event is on Wednesday, April 13th, and The Food Baby ladies will be in attendance!  We hope you will join us for a night of food, drinks and fun!!

***Any general admission tickets purchased by February 18 are TWO for the price of ONE (an $85 savings!!).  To receive the discount, enter promo code "LOVE" and make sure to enter "The Food Baby" in the how your heard about Taste of The Nation box.  Don't miss this opportunity to help a great cause!!***

Please check out the info on our website to learn more about the cause and how The Food Baby is involved in this amazing event:

FOOD BABY PARTNERS WITH TASTE OF THE NATION

Halcyon, Flavors from the Earth

The Food Baby.com bottom line:

• Great spot for an uptown business lunch, absolutely worth coming back for dinner.
• The pork belly was so amazing, I was almost embarrassed to eat it in public.
• Truly a place where the cooking is a craft and an art, and a celebration of local farms and food.

The ladies of Food Baby recently decided to have a “working” lunch at Halcyon at the Mint Museum.  "Working" both in the sense that we knew it would be blogworthy, but I think we might have discussed some business too.  We arrived a touch after noon and the dining room was nearly full.  The hostess offered us a seat at either the community table (a long table in the middle of the dining room – love this concept), the bar or the chef’s station.  We chose the latter.  The dining room is simply breathtaking – flooded with natural light and decorated in an almost ethereal way – very chic and very sophisticated.  The crowd was a largely uptown professional crowd, conducting client meetings or noshing with colleagues. 

Fleming's - Bar Bites

The Food Baby bottom line:

• GO TO Fleming’s for happy hour.
• That’s all.

A few nights ago, a fab friend Kristen and I went to Fleming’s for their “5 for $6 ‘til 7” - which includes five appetizers and five glasses of wine for $6 each…..until 7:00 PM. Clever!

Now, as I’m sure you have heard, Fleming’s is an extraordinary prime steakhouse, and I WILL be back soon enough to give you a review of a sure-to-be incredible filet mignon. I’ve had dinner there once, a long time ago for Restaurant Week, and it was fantastic. That said – this review is not of the beautiful steaks, but rather the beautiful bar food!

Charlotte Regional Farmers Market

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Being at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market makes me feel happy and smiley
• Meat and eggs are expensive, but fruits and veggies are super cheap!
• The grocery store is dead to me

So, I have a burgeoning love for the local food movement. My partner in crime Brianna has been feeling the love for a while now, and some really wonderful people in my life swear by the farmers markets here in Charlotte. There are about 100 good reasons to eat locally sourced food, including: supporting local farmers, eating healthy natural foods, humane treatment of animals, and the fact that fresh food is just dank!! So this farmers market virgin finally (FINALLY!) gave it up and visited the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market on Saturday.

Good Food on Montford

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Once again, GFoM delivers a tasty and comforting experience.
• Interesting people watching - local "celebrity" spotted!
• Discovering avocado ice cream.

I recently hit up GFoM with two of my favorite girlfriends - Kristine and Laurie - for our quasi-monthly ladies night.  We had a choice corner table that was just private enough so that we couldn't offend others with our conversation, but still had a prime view of the entire dining room.  The moment you walk into GFoM, you feel cozy and comfortable.  Its minimalist decor features exposed bricks, beautiful wood ceiling beams and funky fork/spoon/knife light fixtures.  The space is small yet open, and definitely inviting.  

Harvest Moon Grill Food Truck

thefoodbaby.com bottom line:

• Oh how I've missed the Harvest Moon Grill during the long, cold winter
• Pork Carnitas are good, Beef Brisket Ravioli is better
• We heart Ariana - say hi to her for us when you hit up HMG FT

Brianna and I were delighted when we learned that the Harvest Moon Grille Food Truck would be BACK on Thursday!  I adore stopping by on my lunch break to see what delicious pork pleasures they have to offer.

Harvest Moon Grill is a beautiful byproduct of Grateful Growers farm, which is located in Lincoln, NC and cultivates a variety of products, most exciting of which (for this porcine princess) is the pork! In addition to the food truck, there is the new "brick and mortar" Harvest Moon Grill Restaurant in the Dunhill Hotel....which I have yet to experience but plan to very soon.

Pinky's Westside Grill

thefoodbaby bottom line:

• Super fun and funky atmosphere and wait staff
• The White Trash Burger might be the perfect hangover food
• Amazingly affordable!

The food bender continues. I met the seriously fabulous ladies from my book club at Pinky's Westside Grill for brunch today. I was nervous about how this meal might go down, as I was still sporting a Morning After Food Baby from the previous evening. However, I was able to enjoy a delicious and artery-clogging meal without incident!

Fried Baby

Last night, while out partying for a friend's birthday....I discovered a new food baby. The Fried Baby. Allow me to share my high quality meal choices with you from last night.

Exhibit A: Dinner:




Random fried things at the bowling alley.

Chima - Charlotte Restaurant Week

Thefoodbaby.com bottom line:

• You get to summon unlimited amounts of meat to you with a colored chip?! Genius.
• Beware of the salad bar: it’s delicious, and dangerously filling.
• The variety and quantity of meats were impressive, but no one selection resulted in meatgasm.

Let me tell you a little bit about me. There is nothing on this earth I love more than meat. I am a loud and proud hardcore carnivore. I named my dog Bacon. My college friends and I call ourselves The Meat Crew, and we have annual Meatunions. I could go on waxing philosophical about my affinity for all things meaty, but I will spare you…as I assume you get the picture by now.

Indian Food Baby/Foodie Call

thefoodbaby.com Bottom Line:

• Foodie Call = best thing since sliced bread.
• Cave time is the best time.
• Did I really say that vegetarian dishes are delicious?  Seems to be counter to my meat-loving nature...

So tonight me and the hubs decided to cave up (meaning we put on PJs, dimmed the lights and...ordered some food and watched How I Met Your Mother).  Nothing better after a long week, right?  To start, I must tell you about a fairly recent discovery that has truly changed my life - FOODIE CALL.  Foodie Call is a food delivery service that delivers from an impressive array of local restaurants.  In my experience, they are always on time, the food is always hot and the order is always correct.  They will also deliver beer and wine, which I know will come in handy some day!  We LOVE Foodie Call.  Foodie Call has changed my life.  Did I mention how great Foodie Call is?    

Bonterra - Charlotte Restaurant Week

thefoodbaby.com bottom line:

·         Overall decent experience – nothing terrible, nothing amazeballs

·         Fantastic wine list

·         A slightly smudgy (smug + judgy) vibe from our server

The Food Baby ladies grabbed their hottie husbands and hit up Bonterra for Charlotte Restaurant Week. This selection was made after extensive poring over menus on the CRW website, and concluding that this was the superior menu.

The Wine Loft

Thefoodbaby.com bottom line:  

·         Fabulous, make-out worthy atmosphere

·         Flavorgasmic baked brie en croute

·         Lackluster by-the-glass wine list and staff was seemingly light on wine expertise

Last night we braved the frigid and icy weather of Charlotte’s Snowstorm 2011 to check out The Wine Loft. It's located in South End on South Blvd, in the retail space of an apartment building. I was immediately impressed when we walked in – the room was decorated in a sexy, swanky style with low lighting and mellow mood music. The first thing I said after bellying up to the bar was “I need to make out with a hot guy in here.”  As I am married, that hot guy would most likely be my husband…and I decided immediately to bring him here for said make-out sesh.

Why Go To Church When You Can Praise The Lard?

thefoodbaby.com indulged in all things porcine at Mimosa Grill’s recent “Praise the Lard” cooking class on Saturday, January 8, 2011.  Executive Chef Jon Fortes expertly guided a group of pork-worshiping students through the preparation of a four-course sausage and charcuterie porkstravaganza. 

thefoodbaby.com bottom line:

• Porkgasm…need I say more?
• Lardo – my new favorite cured pork product. 
• What the hell is a Rillette?
• Bacon powder – if this were considered an illicit drug we’d all need a trip to the Betty Ford Clinic stat.

The menu:

• Andouille Sausage Panini with Red Dragon Cheddar, Mustard Aioli and Tobacco Onions (paired with Trevisol Prosecco, Italy)
• Lardo and Bacon Wrapped Monkfish with “Franks and Beans” and Tomato Gratinee (paired with Childress Viognier, North Carolina)
• Braised Pork Rillettes with Candied Fruit, Smoky Apple Jam and Pumpkin Bread (paired with Angeline Pinot Noir, Sonoma)
• Country Fair Fried Dough with Bacon Powder and Salted Caramel (paired with Moscato D’Asti, Italy)

First, let me start by saying one thing – there are few organized, premeditated activities that will get this girl out of bed on a Saturday morning.  Would I care to do a 5k race with you?  No, I would not.  Why don’t we meet for yoga class to kick off the weekend?  I think I have a prior engagement (read, I will likely be nursing a bone-crushing hangover).  Let’s do breakfast!  Hmmm…why don’t we do a late brunch instead?  I think you get the point...  However, when my thefoodbaby.com partner in culinary crime said how would you like to Praise the Lard with me this Saturday morning?, I could think of no better reason to get out of bed than to pray at the altar of the god of pork.  Enlightened state of porkgasm, here we come!!

Welcome to The Food Baby!

Greetings and welcome to our blog for thefoodbaby.com! We are two ladies (I use the term loosely) living in Charlotte, NC who dedicate a shocking number of our waking hours to the pursuit of all things food and booze related. We also consider ourselves practiced experts in the phenomenon known as the Food Baby - an oft-occurring and completely natural occupational hazard. Recently we decided to marry these shared passions, and thefoodbaby.com and this blog were joyously conceived. 

Through this blog we hope to deliver witty and entertaining insights related to food, restaurants, wine, local farming, cooking, and more. So if you are not offended by inappropriate comments, share our affinity for all things scrumptious, and embrace the after-effects of glorious overindulgence (ie, the Food Baby)…come along and join us for our adventures which are sure to be fun, fabulous, and always delicious.