Bad Daddy’s Burgers

April 2, 2012April 4, 2012 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

What: Bad Daddy’s Burgers

Who Said So: Charlotte Magazine’s Best of the Best 2011 for Best Burger and Voter’s choice for best Milkshake and Charlotte Magazine’s Summer Fun for Chocolate Shake

Are you looking for the *best* hamburgers in Charlotte? Look no further than Bad Daddy’s. It used to be called Big Daddy’s Burgers, but for some legal reason they had to change it. Whatever. The delicious food is still the same.

Bad Daddy’s has 2 locations. The one I visited was in Dillworth and is a hopping place. And parking sucks. But you have to go. The only time I’ve ever been dissatisfied with my food was when we sat outside in November (covered area with big heaters) and my food got cold before we could eat it. Next time in winter we will be patient and wait for an indoor table.

This is my standard order. I never deviate from it, I feel you shouldn’t mess with perfection. It is a build your own burger, well-done (but you can get them cooked any way you like!) with cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickle, crispy onions, mayo, ketchup and mustard.

I opt for the tater tots as my side and they come with this amazing Bad Daddy’s dipping sauce that tastes like a smoky/spicy BBQ sauce mixed with mayo. My husband brilliantly asks for them to be fried extra crispy (I know what you’re thinking, but look, this isn’t health food anyway.). I did not do that this trip, but they were plenty crispy for me. Who needs mushy tater tots? Napoleon Dynamite?

I’m setting you up for my next admission by this picture and showing you how Bad Daddy’s “well-done” looks. My husband decries my choice saying that my burger is dry, but it just isn’t so. Plus, I have a terror of e-coli. Now, the real reason I show you this is to prove I cut my burger in half and ate only half because I ordered THIS MILKSHAKE for dessert:

When it arrived, I was reminded of the scene in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta was complaining about the $5 milkshakes. Which this was. And worth it! Thick and creamy, and you can even get adult versions with some liquor if you desire! Our waitress was kind enough to separate ours into 3 small cups for sharing.

We love this restaurant. It is a cheaper choice in Charlotte, but don’t expect it to be 5 Guys cheap. But do expect it to be delicious.

Charlotte

Bonterra Dining and Wine Room in Charlotte

March 24, 2012March 24, 2012 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Bonterra first came onto my radar when Groupon offered a deal for $50 worth of food for $25. I looked at the website and was less than impressed. It wasn’t bad, just…amateurish. Plus, once I arrived, I found the menu they have posted online was actually much more abbreviated than what they actually offer. In fact, if not for that Groupon, I don’t know that I’d have even given Bonterra a chance. And what a mistake that would have been.

Let me apologize immediately for the quality of the photos. I brought my decent little digital camera, but decided against the flash in this fancy little place. What looked good on my display translated to dark blurry images once downloaded. How disappointing!

I’m sorry the photos don’t show it, but the food was amazing. Simply delicious. The service was just as good, possibly. Our waiter was not as knowledgeable as he could have been, but he made up for it in kindness and attentiveness. In fact, I asked a few questions (in preparation for writing this blog post) and he had to run off and go ask the chef (presumably) about every one of them.

To start off we enjoyed the Chef’s Choice of Charcuterie and Fromage (meat and cheese) with these yummy little accompaniments : honeyed pecans, thinly sliced pears, baby vegetables and one grainy mustard and one smooth mustard. It also came with house made crackers and bread. It was amazing.

Like idiots, we both ordered seafood for our entrees. We just couldn’t help it. In fact, we both wanted the scallops, but there was NO WAY I was going to get the same exact entree, so I quickly swapped my choice to the Grouper. And I am so glad I did. It was so juicy and tender. It was so full of flavor and cooked perfectly. It sat on a bed of kale and bulghar, which I never knew I loved. Huh.

My hubs got the seared scallops. Lord have mercy, they were good, but not quite as good as mine. The scallops were properly seared and you’ll notice the same sauce (not honey mustard) is under both seafood dishes. The only difference is that this dish had a parsley spaetzle. Those were doughy and not that great to me, but my hubs liked them, so there ya go.

Yep, even after all of that food, we had to get dessert. Once again, I was foiled when my hubs chose the creme brulee’, but I kindly deferred to my second choice, which was simply heavenly. The creme brulee’ though….yummmm. Just like that other thing men love so dearly, creme brulee’ is good, even when it’s bad. Creamy custard topped by scorched sugar. What’s not to like? It was perfect.

So, I got the chocolate hot lava cake. I wanted a souffle but didn’t want to wait, so lava cake it was. Again, always good. This one was yummy and melty in the middle, like you’d expect. Notice the sauces swirled alongside: creme anglaise, raspberry coulis and some chocolate shmear. The real star accompaniment was the pistachio ice cream. Fresh and tons of flavor…not like the nuclear green ice cream Breyers puts out.

So, the food was brilliant. The most awesome thing was that this restaurant is in an old church and is absolutely stunning inside. And it was packed. You don’t hear a lot about Bonterra when combing the “Best Of” lists, but if you don’t go, you are sincerely missing out.

Charlotte · Restaurants

Polka Dot Bake Shop

November 6, 2011December 20, 2011 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Who: Polka Dot Bake Shop

Who Recommended: DishTip and Charlotte Magazine’s Battle of the Cupcakes

For: Chocolate Cupcakes

Ratings:

Chocolate Cupcakes: 7/10
Red Velvet Cupcakes 8/10
Salted Caramel Cupcakes 9/10

I prefer my bakeries to be in a quaint little house with the smell of vanilla wafting out of the door when each customer leaves with their bags of delicacies. Polka Dot Bake Shop isn’t like that. It’s in a strip mall, but I can forgive that because the cupcakes were so yummy!

Inside is a smallish space with the baked goods case front and center, as it should be. They had a modest offering the day we were there, but that’s just fine. You don’t want a lot of mess just sitting around getting stale. We went on a Friday about 1:30 and we had a line behind us out the darn door. People love this place!

We sampled 3 varieties on our visit. The first was a salted caramel cupcake. The cake was moist and delicious, the buttery frosting just sweet enough to balance the little bite of salt from the caramel. Topped with a dollop of caramel and a salty cashew makes it the perfect dessert. This one has very little that isn’t perfect. We gave it 9/10 stars!

Next up is the chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting. This one was good, but my least favorite of the three. The cake itself was a little on the dry side and the buttercream, while rich, was pretty overpowering. A nice contrasting vanilla buttercream might have been a better choice. And I could have done without the sugar crystal sprinkles altogether. Don’t mess up my creamy dream. 7/10 stars

Back to the good stuff…Red Velvet cupcake was moist and delicious and we loved the bite from the cream cheese icing. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too sweet. Red Velvet cake can be either Ronald McDonald red or cloyingly sweet and be messed right up, but not so with this cake. It was perfect. nearly. I gave it 8/10 because it just wasn’t as luscious as the salted caramel. I’m the customer, I can do that.

If you love cupcakes, and nice people, stop by Polka Dot today.

Charlotte · Restaurants

Fran’s Filling Station

October 13, 2011December 20, 2011 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Where: Fran’s Filling Station

Who Recommended: Charlotte Magazine’s Take a Bite

For What: Thanksgiving Every Day (Rated 10/10)

Other Items:

Cold Meatloaf Sandwich: 7/10

Croque Monsieur: 5/10

Warm Potato Salad: 9/10

Fran’s Filling Station is another restaurant resting in a strip mall, but what a little gem it is! They have a handful of tables outside, but the view is of the parking lot, so I elected to sit inside with my party. The eclectic art hanging on the walls and the funky furniture made me glad I did. I will note that the handicapped access is pretty poor here. It is to the right of the front door, and people park right up on the ramp. Also, as you can see, the tables are crammed onto the narrow sidewalk, so good luck getting a wheelchair through there without asking diners to move.

We visited for lunch and was it ever crowded! Of course, we were there on a Friday at noon, so that can’t be that unusual or unexpected. Our waiter was a bit overwhelmed and not as attentive as I’d have liked, but the other staff members were pleasant and perky.

Behold the reason for our visit! The Thanksgiving Everyday is possibly the best turkey sandwich I’ve ever come across. This overstuffed sammie is full of goodness: house roasted turkey (not from the deli!), cranberry, stuffing, and sage mayonnaise on house-made bread. Just look at this house-made bread; nutty and substantial. Nothing is escaping, not one scrap of turkey. That darn thing was so big it was held together not by toothpicks, but by dowels. It was heaven. I have to rate it 10/10. No way to make it better. Yep, it’s that good. If you’ll have a look at the tiny cup of potato salad, you will see hunks of potatoes mixed with creamy, perfectly seasoned mayo. It was wonderful, and I’m not even a potato salad fan. I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

I got the worst of our sandwiches, the real Croque Monsieur. I make my own, so maybe I’m a snob, but the bechamel sauce tasted like wallpaper paste. It was terrible, and fraught with nutmeg. The ham and Gruyere were perfectly fine, and I should have just asked them to leave the bechamel off, which I would surely do next time. I got mine with chips. Out of 10 stars, I’m going to give it a 5. And that is being nice.

My sister got the Cold Meatloaf sandwich. It comes with marinated onions, russian dressing, lettuce & tomato. Now, if you like cold meatloaf, this is the best cold meatloaf sandwich I’ve had. The dressing and onions make it sloppy and delicious, and give it an unexpected tang. This was served with homemade potato chips that were crispy and salty.

Charlotte · Restaurants

The Great Sandwich Bite: Zada Jane’s “Druther’s Clucker”

September 26, 2011December 20, 2011 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Who recommended?: Charlotte Magazine

For What?: One of Charlotte’s best sandwiches

Where?: Zada Jane’s

This article focused on finding sandwiches in the city that broke out of the traditional mold. And you know girls, we love a frou-frou sandwich. Zada Jane’s is near my sister’s house, and after getting my new cast the other day we picked her up for a lunch at this hipster hangout. I quickly realized that 1. Charlotte magazine isn’t always right and 2. I am way too uncool for this place.

I’m told that Zada Jane’s is a popular brunch and breakfast spot, and on the weekends the outside eating area fills up in nice weather. The inside is funky and everyone who works here is, too. As we sat down in our casual clothing, I began to look around and realized that while I wasn’t cool, neither was everyone else in there. We sat amongst hipsters, artists (I assume) and even a few suits. It was cozy!

The waitress we had was a little on the surly side, but I noticed she was a bit friendlier to the artsy types in there. Were we too vanilla or am I overly sensitive? No matter, she was very efficient and met all of our needs. I opted for the Druther’s Clucker as recommended by Charlotte Magazine.

The Druther’s Clucker is a grilled chicken sandwich deluxe. It comes with grilled chicken, fresh basil, caramelized onions, mozzarella, and sun-dried tomato mayonnaise on rosemary foccacia. It is also served with a side of your choice: chips, black eyed pea salad or a green salad (for $2 more). I opted for the green salad, hubby opted for the black eyed pea salad.

The sandwich, much heralded by Charlotte Mag, was just ok. I mean, I ate all of it, but it was really no better than any grilled chicken sandwich I’d had anywhere else. It wasn’t packed with flavor like all of those bold ingredients would lead you to believe. I think if they would take better care in seasoning the chicken breast itself, and not just piling on ingredients to the sandwich, the outcome would have been better. Both my husband and I agreed we’d get something different next time.

The green salad was delicious. It was full of delicious fresh veggies like peeled cucumbers, tiny diced tomatoes, sprouts and sweet shredded carrots. The greens were a mesclun mix and it was topped by homemade croutons. Served with a homemade dressing of your choice: I chose Ranch. I tasted my hub’s black eyed pea salad, and found the black eyed peas to be a little underdone for my taste. Also, it was in a sweetish vinegar dressing that desperately needed some acid. I smirked because mine was clearly better.

Now, the “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” was my sister’s order. She got the grilled chicken nachos and if she weren’t carrying my niece, I might have smacked her and stolen in, like in our childhood days. These nachos were served in a bowl, so you could have eaten it like a salad, but the crispy chips lined the bottom of the bowl instead of lettuce. The chicken had a yummy chargrilled taste and it was loaded with cooked veggies. Homemade salsa, guacamole and sour cream topped all. Perfection.

If I’m perfectly honest, I was a tad disappointed by Zada Jane’s. Maybe I had too high hopes for a humble chicken sandwich? Next time, if there is one, I’ll get the nachos.

Charlotte · Restaurants

Original Pancake House

September 17, 2011December 20, 2011 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Recommended to me by: Charlotte Magazine, Voters Choice

Original Pancake House: Best Breakfast (Voters Choice)

I have been meaning to go to the OPH for YEARS, but good lord, who gets up early enough to drive an hour to go have breakfast in Charlotte? It just so happened that I had an early appointment with my surgeon, and my mom and I decided we needed breakfast after that painful experience. OrthoCarolina Foot and Ankle Institute happens to be right around the corner from this joint, so it was a no brainer.

When we walked in, I noticed immediately the high ceilings. It makes me feel like I have plenty of space around me, even in a crowded restaurant. We were seated immediately at a booth and a waitress came by quickly to take our drink order and drop off the menus. They also sat down crayons for my little one, for which I was grateful.

The menu had so many things I wanted to try, namely that Dutch Baby everyone talks about, but I just broke right down and got the mushroom omelet with a side of pancakes. I must tell you that they were both just pretty average. Breakfast is not that big of a deal to fix, but the sherry/mushroom sauce that accompanied my omelet was just wrong on top of that omelet. The omelet itself was enormous and very fluffy and actually cooked well. So there’s that.

The pancakes were just alright. Nothing special, and I had the buttermilk pancakes with the plain old maple syrup, nothing fancy. Sometimes going with the basic dish is a beautiful thing, an unspoiled classic; this was not so with my pancakes. They lacked flavor and the syrup was just..there. I would go for that Dutch baby next time, or maybe even a blintz if I was feeling really crazy.

OK, so I’m being a little snobby. The fact is my mother and little girl loved their food. Mom got a sausage omelet with the pancakes and loved them. My little one got a grilled chicken sandwich and hashbrowns, and gobbled it all up! I stabbed one of the potatoes, which turned out to be more like homefries than the shredded hashbrowns she is used to, and sprinkled with Cajun seasoning. They were tender and delicious!

I will return. We had fantastic service and weirdly enough, the Coke was fab..really strong. Burn your nose kind of strong. I adored it. Next time, however, you know..the Dutch Baby. I’m beating a Dutch Horse, aren’t I?

Charlotte · Restaurants

Luce

February 25, 2008March 13, 2012 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

luce

The hubby and I went to dinner at Luce for Valentine’s, and we were a bit disappointed. I can see where this restaurant might be a great place to go back on a night that isn’t so hectic for them, though timing wasn’t the problem. We were just so underwhelmed with the food!

The best part of the meal was the free bread they brought us to begin! It was crusty on the outside, soft in the middle and served with a white bean soaked in olive oil and vinegar topping that was out of this world! I could have eaten that with a spoon! For starters, Dustin had a salad of tomato slices and buffalo mozzarella stacked up and drizzled with a balsamic olive oil reduction. It was merely ok. The tomatoes were not in season, or flavorful, so I’m surprised that item made it on their very limited Valentine’s Day menu.

I had a bowl of lobster bisque for my starter and it was delicious, if a bit watery. The flavor was nice, but not special. Our main meal is where the disaster occurred. Dustin got seared scallops over mushroom risotto, and while it was fine, he got 3 scallops on a bed of creamy rice. And these weren’t big scallops! That was roughly $10 a scallop. They were cooked perfectly, but not worth $10 a scallop.

I had 2 entrees (and didn’t eat either one). My first was a pan seared Chilean Sea Bass on a bed of lentils. The fish was gelatinous, and the lentils looked unappetizing, but were actually quite flavorful. The waitress noticed I wasn’t eating my entree and insisted on bringing me salmon. The salmon itself was nicely cooked, but just plain and underwhelming. It sat atop a mixture of what I can only describe as warmed up and thickened Pace Picante Sauce. I couldn’t eat it either, as I was waiting on the second entree for a while and I simply lost my appetite.

The service was spotty, as well. They serve drinks in small glasses and were not on hand for refills of water or drinks, so we sat dry for a bit. The dining room was a bit bland and our table was in a corner next to a drink station (water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink). I just did not have a good experience at Luce. If you decide to give them a try and have a different experience I’d love an email!