My husband and I have found a couple that love to explore the area’s restaurants, just like we do!  We try to go out on Friday nights to enjoy each other’s company and try a new restaurant.  It is so much more fun with the four of us foodies together!  One of our most recent visits was to the Epic Chophouse in Mooresville, NC.  Amazing.

See, that’s them!  Hi Jeri and Robert!

Appetizer #1 selected was the Epic Chophouse Cheese Toast.  This is a special 4-cheese spread that they spread onto house made slices of toasted french bread and broil until golden brown.  It was tangy and addictive.  My other diners weren’t as thrilled with it as I was, but I appreciated its creamy tang with each bite.  A great appetizer to share!

This was our friend’s appetizer: Shanghai Shrimp.  It was a special that night, and not available on the regular menu.  Which is a huge bummer, because this was beyond amazing.  This was the hit of the night.  At the STEAKhouse.  This portion had 9 jumbo shrimp, lightly fried and doused with this sweet and hot creamy sauce with Asian spices.  It reminded me very much of Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp.

For the next course, one of my dinner mate’s got the Lobster Bisque.  It was velvety smooth, creamy, not too thick and had excellent flavor.  Barely adorned with fresh herbs, it needed no gilding because it was perfect in its simplicity.

This wedge salad was my second course.  It proved to be way more than I could eat, but what I did finish was pretty darn tasty.  It is simply a quarter head of an iceberg lettuce, topped with crumbled bacon and bleu cheese, chopped tomatoes and then drizzled with their very tangy bleu cheese dressing.  My only critique would be that the dressing was a touch too tangy for me, but then I like the traditional bleu cheese dressing that is white and mimics Ranch dressing.  This, however, was fresh, delicious and plentiful.

This is a photo of my friend’s Prime Rib.  She let me have a bite, and it was perfectly cooked for her and well seasoned with pepper.  The Au Jus was flavorful and bold as well.

If I was choosing, I’d say my hubs got the best meal of the night.  His dinner is called “Smoking Hot Couple” and it is 3 aged beef filet medallions topped with 8 (seriously) Jumbo shrimp seasoned with a smoky Cajun spice.  All of this blackened and served with a light herbed butter sauce and topped with a Cajun Remoulade.  The steak was like butter.  Absolutely cooked to perfection!  The shrimp were plump and cooked well and spiced goodness.  I will be getting this the next time we go, which I hope to be very soon.

My entrée was Skillet Blackened Tilapia with Jumbo Lump Crab.  The Tilapia was a mild fish that had a spicy seasoning and blackened to perfection.  But…my favorite part was the butter poached crab on top.  It was velvety smooth and melted in my mouth.  Seriously.  The sauce that you see pooled around the bottom of my fish was a Cajun Cream Sauce, and it was rich and packed with flavor.  It was amazing.  I got mine with a side of garlic mashed potatoes.  They were creamy and hearty.

Another entrée sampled by my fellow diner was a special that night.  It was a chicken alfredo dish which Robert reported was creamy and rich and the chicken well-seasoned and tender.  He got it with a side of fresh green beans.  Those were a little underwhelming.

Yes, in spite of the enormous amounts of food we ordered, we still needed dessert.  Don’t judge.  Robert got the orange scented Creme’ Brulee.  As always, it was the best of the night as no dessert on Earth will ever compare to its luscious richness.  So, why isn’t it my dessert?  Because I am adventurous.  And stupid.

I ordered what was supposed to be the signature dessert here: the Six-Layer Chocolate Cake.  Looks good, right?  It was ok.  I found the cake to be a little dry for my taste, and certainly cumbersome because of its towering size.  I brought home about 2/3 of it, and found it to be a much better snack over the next day or so.

I’m not sure if you can get this little gem every night, but you should.  It is amazing.  This delicious Coconut cake is moist and  packed with creamy coconut flavor.  Simple and perfect.

Now, you’ve seen all of the pictures, and listened to me wax poetic about the food, but here’s maybe the most important thing:  The owner cares.  Yep, that’s it.  He gives a darn what kind of experience you have.  I’ve researched this restaurant, and he responds to any review that lists a less than stellar experience with a sincere desire to learn and do better next time.  If you have that kind of passion, and show it, then I’m going to forgive any missteps made in my meal during the night.  I cannot wait to get back!

ROUND TWO!

OK, so we went back and I have more dishes to share.  We 4 duplicated some of the dishes but anything new I photo’d and will review for you here!

This time my husband got the spaghetti and meatballs.  Bad move.  Though the towering pile of pasta was plentiful, there was a tang of vinegar in the sauce that  completely overpowered the marinara.  He couldn’t even eat it the second day.  That dish needs a major rework, chef!

My friend got the huge Tomahawk steak, and on that night they said it would take an hour to get it.  We agreed, we were in no hurry, and they got it out to us sizzling and juicy in less than the promised hour.  Robert reported it to be very tender and delicious.

The only different dessert was our bread pudding.  It was huge, but more is not always…more.  It was dry and the caramel it was drizzled with had a burnt taste.  I brought it home and it didn’t get better with age.  Here’s another dessert for you to re-work, Chef.  Next time, Creme Brulee all the way.