CABO FISH TACO - NoDA (Charlotte)

 I'm in Charlotte every week, sometimes for a day or several days. I need to do a better job in promoting Charlotte. I promise to do a better job  in 2012 exploring and promoting Charlotte. One area within Charlotte that's getting much attention is called, NoDa (North Davidson). This is Charlotte's Historic Arts District. According to the official NoDa website:

"NoDa is now the home to the City's best collection of galleries and performance venues; some of the funkiest full service restaurants including authentic Cajun cooking, Southwest cuisine, a Creative pizza eatery and more."

 Recently , I ended up here to meet a friend at Cabo Fish Taco, his suggestion. I'm a  fan of fish tacos,  therefore  I was looking forward to trying Cabo Fish Taco. For a Wednesday night, this place was packed with hipsters, bohemians and business people a like, all enjoying fish tacos, burritos and a good selection of beers. Thats usually a good sign.




Inside Cabo Fish Taco in NoDa

Of course I ordered the fish tacos. An order of Fish Tacos, comes with two, which you can mix and match different types of tacos.  I got the obligatory Beer Battered White Fish Taco and had our server choose the other one. She chose the ever popular Blackened Mahi Mahi taco as my other choice. Each taco comes with a flour tortilla stuffed with cabbage, tomato, avocado, mixed cheeses, & finished with a white cilantro sauce. Pretty good.

Beer Battered White Fish Tace and Blackened Mahi Mahi Fish Taco

When it comes to fish tacos, California is where they originated. I must admit that it is hard to find a good fish taco in the Southeast. Cabo Fish Taco does a good job, but it's no Rubio's of San Diego, where I consider my favorite fish taco. Since I can't have Rubio's, at leasat I have good east coast choice!

Since I got into NoDa about an hour before dinner, I did explore the area and saw some other places that have caught my attention. I look forward to checking them out and giving a report in the future.

I'm always looking for any suggestions for the Charlotte area that I need to try. Feel free to send them my way.

The BAR at HUSK - BOURBON LIST

I've previously talked about the 50 plus Bourbons listed at HUSK Restaurant in Charleston, SC. Well, here is the list!  I must admit, I am keeping tabs on the ones that I've tried. I do have a goal to try each one of these.

Bartenders, Bourbon and Billy Reid, But No Bud Lite, The Bar at HUSK

It’s no secret that I love HUSK and everything it represents. I consider myself fortunate to frequent there when I am  in Charleston.  I still owe a post on my dining adventures there, but I must admit, my creative writing abilities won’t do it justice.

The Great Wall of Bourbon

Late Monday evening, I walked into HUSK for dinner.  I was told that since I was alone, I could get a seat in 30 minutes.  With 30 minutes to spare, I went over to the bar for bourbon on a cube of ice.  HUSK’s bourbon list is vast and unique. Over 50 plus bourbons are listed, and broken down by the city of the distillery. Most restaurants have 3-5 bourbons listed, never mind broken down by city.  A good number of the bourbons are small batch and ones I’ve never heard of.  On this evening, I enjoyed a Ridgemont Reserve 1792, a very smooth, slightly smokey bourbon and one I’d never enjoyed before.  



Not only is the food and drink at HUSK local, but so are the glasses for which they serve their bourbon in. The glasses are based out of Atlanta’s Uncorked Glass, which according to their website:

“The Uncorked Glass Company handcrafts, unique, eco-friendly glassware from recycled wine bottles, donated from local restaurants and bars in Atlanta, GA. Our tumblers are handcrafted from 100% post-consumer materials in our effort to honor our “green” commitment.”

In addition to bourbon, the Bar at Husk offers a selection of beers from around the Southeast, which brings me to the story from the night. As I was sitting there enjoying my Ridgemont Reserve,  I overheard the bartender state, “Bud Lite, you can go over to the bar next door at 82 Queen, they've got Bud Lite there."  Apparently, a couple who doesn’t appreciate a place that takes pride in using regional ingredients, drinks included, stopped into the wrong bar. After being told "no Bud Lite", they immediately left. We all got a chuckle at that.

Even if you can't snag a reservation at HUSK, I highly recommend stopping in at the bar next door. The bar staff,  stylishly decked out in South's own Billy Reid, is very knowledgeable and have  created some amazing locally inspired cocktails.  



Bartenders in Billy Reid attire, pouring Bourbon, but no Bud Lite!



European Beer Night Fellowship - aka Guys night out!

Every few months, several of us guys get together for beers, games and of course food. We tend to choose 3 or 4 different beers to enjoy. The gathering is always a time we look forward to, since most of us are married with kids and getting out can be tough.

Last night, the theme was European beers, many of which we'd never had. To keep the beer from going to our heads, we enjoyed some spicy chorizo, asiago fresco and crackers.



Spicy Chorizo, Asiago Fresco and Crackers

 The first beer, Estrella Damm,  from Barcelona, Spain, was excellent. This was my first time tasting a beer from Spain. When it comes to Spain, it's all about their Rojo Wines. This beer went well with the chorizo.

The Bavarian beer, Konig Ludwid Weissbier, was our second beer of the evening. It is a typical Bavarian wheat beer, for which I'm a fan of.  Having been to Bavaria, Germany, I've enjoyed some excellent German wheat beers.This doesn't rank as the best, it was nonetheless good.

The final beer of the evening, one that I've enjoyed several times and brought to introduce to the guys, Italy's Birra Moretti's La Rosa, an amber beer. For me, this beer is standard at fine Italian Restaurants around the country.  Most Italian restaurants offer the other Italian beer, Peroni, which I am not a fan of. What I've noticed,  the highest of quality Italian restaurants offer this beer.



The evening was excellent, and I made it passed Midnight! The common joke has always been  that I can't stay up past 10:00 PM, because I start knodding off. My excuse is, I get up many mornings at 5AM and don't stop until about 9:00 PM, so for me to stay up late can be tough.

I want to thank Artist and Entrepreneur, Bruce Plourde of City Story Greenville for hosting last night's group and providing the excellent French Press Coffee with real whipped cream, to ensure that I stayed awake well into the evening!

French Press Coffee, Real Whipped Cream and Sugar Cubes

Support Your Local Brewery and/or Distillery!

I like to support local and regional businesses. I applaud anyone that goes out on their own to create a business, especially in the ultra-competitive food and beverage industry. It takes guts to risk it all on an idea that you think is worth sharing.  In the Carolinas, we are fortunate enough to have some quality breweries / distilleries.  When traveling in foreign countries, I always drink the beer/wine/whiskey of that respective country. That also goes for the state or city that I'm in as well.

Lately, I've been trying more of the Carolina's best beers and now moonshine and I must say, we are very fortunate to have some guys that put their heart and passion in providing some quality beverages. I want to highlight some of the notable ones that I've tried recently.

The latest creation is, Dark Corner Distillery, here in Greenville, SC. Joe Fenten and Richard Wenger pursued a dream and created South Carolina's first legal Moonshine, thanks to some new laws here in South Carolina. They have put a lot of heart and history in Dark Corner. Though it's only a few months old, they are starting to have some distribution within the Upstate of South Carolina. I look forward to seeing what all they create in the coming months/years. I certainly hope to see it in the bar at HUSK in Charleston very soon.

If you are ever in Greenville, stop in and visit the Distillery and Gift Shop in the heart of downtown Greenville. 241-B North Main Street, Greenville, SC. Hours of operation: Tuesday - Saturay, 10am-6pm.

Another Greenville business worth mentioning is Thomas Creek Brewery. They've come a long way, since their beginnings in 1998. I'll admit,  I didn't become a true beer drinker until about 4 years ago. Before that, I was a Bud Lite kind of person. Sad I know.  I've become a fan of Thomas Creek, especially their River Falls Red Ale. If you're a fan of IPA beers, I recommend the "Up the Creek" Extreme IPA (pictured above), which I had last night for the first time.

Other South Carolina breweries worth noting include: R. J. Rockers out of Spartanburg and  the new Westbrook Brewing out of Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Some fellow foodies were married back in October and had beers from North Carolina and Georgia during their reception. One of the beers was, The Duck-Rabbit, Milk Stout. I'd never had it before, but of course had to try it. I'm not a fan of dark stout beers, but this one is excellent with beef. The Duck-Rabbit is based out of Farmville, NC, call themselves the Dark Beer Specialist. They sold their first beer back in 2004 and have  since established a strong following within the Carolinas. If you are a fan of Guiness, branch out and try and support an even better Regional Brew.

As I continue to try other brews from the Carolina's I will definitely continue to post them in the coming months.

MED BISTRO (new) vs MED DELI (old) - Charleston

It's been over a week since SNarolina Foodie has posted. Fortunately I haven't been without some good food. Growing up, my family would vacation in Charleston. One of my memories while in Charleston is having lunch at Med Deli over on Folly Road. In the years since we started eating there, the name and other things have changed, but much of it is still the same. A cool bistro setting with an excellent choice of wines and beers.

I was working in Charleston this week and decided to skip my usual lunch at Fast and French and go to Med Bistro (formerly known as Med Deli). I hadn't eaten there in years and wanted to see if it was good as I remembered. My memories from the past was the awesome macaroni salad and the Med Pocket, which consist of turkey, swiss cheese, alfalfa sprouts and garlic aoili. This week, I ordered the Black Bean Burger which consisted of roasted red peppers, avacado slices and goat cheese and of course I got the macaroni salad.

Unfortunately my hopes were rather dashed. The macaroni salad that I so craved had a different flavor from what I remembered. I guess with the change in name, came a change in recipe. The blackbean burger, something I wouldn't normally order, became a mess. I needed a fork and knife to enjoy. I should've stuck with the Med Pocket, but that could've been a disappointment as well.

Yes, today's post isn't positive news for Med Bistro. I may not venture back for lunch, but it's been a West Ashley mainstay for over 50 years, so apparently they are doing something right with such a loyal following.

THE TRAPPE DOOR - BELGIUM HAS ARRIVED IN GREENVILLE AND I LIKE IT!

A few years ago, my wife and I took a trip to Europe and made a stop in Belgium to visit a friend. That visit alone sealed my love for that country, it's food and beer. So when I heard over a year ago that a Belgium inspired restaurant was coming to Greenville, I got excited. The Trappe Door opened about two months ago to much fanfare and I wanted to wait for the right time to visit.

This evening, I took my brother to dinner there for us to enjoy Moules Frites, a favorite of ours and definitely one of the most popular dishes in Belgium and the surrounding countries (Neatherlands, France). For those of you that don't know, Moules Frites are mussels and fries.

This evening, I started with a bottle of Moinette Brune, dark Belgium beer that I've enjoyed before. The Trappe Door has by far the largest Belgium beer selection that I've ever seen. I've already tried many of them, but now I have plenty more to try on future visits. Food wise, we started with an appetizer of blackened crab and bleu cheese fondue. Very good and was highly recommended by our server. Of course we both ordered Moules Frites and made sure that we both didn't get the same selection. There are currently, six different styles of Moules Frites which you can choose from. I got the Thai red curry, which were steamed in a rich, delicious coconut curry broth with diced apples. Michael (my brother) ordered the Mariniere, mussels in a traditional sauce of white wine, garlic and shallots.

I am definitely returning to try the other moules styles in future visits. The other moules styles include: Spanish (supposedly spicy), White and Bleau (belgian white ale, bleu cheese, bacon and dijon mustard), Provencale (tomato-based sauce with peppers, fresh herbs, garlic and black olives) and Fennel and Pesto (fennel and white wine broth with a sweet basil pesto).

With your order of frites, you get to choose from 3 mayonaise dipping sauces. There are about 7-8 different sauces that you can choose from. I chose, Belgium style mayo, truffle mayo and curry mayo. All three were excellent. Michael chose Belgium style, in addition to chipotle and a mayo/ketchup combo.

Having been to Belgium and enjoyed moules frites there, Trappe Door did a phenomenal job in creating an atmosphere that's exactly what you will find in Belgium. The night ended with an order of Belgium waffles, which were topped with vanilla ice cream, powdered sugar, and fresh fruit. An excellent dessert to end the night. Next time though, I am ordering the Trio of Mousses, which I noticed being served at another table.

I can honestly say that The Trappe Door has jumped to near the top of my favorite restaurants to enjoy. I now don't have to wait a few more years to enjoy Belgium again. I can now get my fix often, and judging by the crowd tonight, many of us will continue to do the same.

AT COMMUNITY TAP, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BEER (AND WINE)

Five years ago, I wasn't a beer person. In fact, my beer of choice was, heaven forbid, Bud Lite. I finally came to my senses and started exploring the world of beers. There is certainly a world of beers to be learned. Fast forward to today and I can tell you, though I am no connosseur, that my favorite style of beers are Trappist Beer from Belgium and beers of Bavaria, Germany. Lately, there has been a proliferation of shops that focus on Microbrews from the US and around the world. In addition to selling bottles of our favorite small batch hops, they're also selling beer on tap with growlers to get your fill. Greenville, SC, is fortunate to have the Community Tap, which opened in July 2010.

If you are new to drinking beer or are wanting to branch out, visit these guys. Their knowledge will aid in your exploration of beer. With a couple of choices locally, why do I like the Community Tap? I like about the Community Tap because beer (and wine) is the focus. On a recent visit with my growler to Community Tap, Ed one of the co-owners was very helpful in my selection as always. What I noticed is this, Community Tap will allow for you to bring in an outside growler to use. Yes, I own two Community Tap growlers (32oz and 64oz), however a customer that was in front of me, brought her own growler. What's the big deal? I've heard that some places won't accept growlers unless it's their own. Pretty rediculous, if you tell me. It should be about the beer, not the jug you fill and with that, the Community Tap will have my loyal support.

I mention wine with the Community Tap, because recently, they started pouring wine for growlers. I can't addequately talk about the wine, since I haven't tried it yet. However, I can let the NY Times Diner's Journal tell you about it (see link below). Pretty impressive that our local tap has already been written about from one of the NY Times' writers. Just being mentioned is nice, but having an article, now that should speak for itself! Chefs across the country spend careers trying to get mentioned in the Times. Their doing something right.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/growlers-for-grapes/


The Community Tap
205 Wade Hampton Boulevard
Greenville, SC 29609

Phone:864.631.2525