Tiffany Tastes

Andrew Blair's- Redux

A little while back, I asked you if you thought that I should re-review restaurants if I revisit them after my initial review.  You said yes, so here it goes.

A little over a year ago, I brought you a review of a restaurant all the way in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Andrew Blair's Comfortable Dining is a casual eatery with an upscale menu and reasonable prices.  A few weeks ago, I found myself back in Charlotte and back and Andrew Blair's.  I give you this update.

For my appetizer, I had the spinach artichoke dip.  It was a good rendition of a standard staple.  It was creamy, well-seasoned and was great with the salted lavash that was served as an accompaniment.  Unfortunately, this is where the positive part of my meal begins...and ends.

I chose the Madison Park Chicken (a house specialty) as my entree'.  It is advertised as a grilled chicken breast stuffed with feta, topped with artichoke, capers and tomatoes and served over risotto.  In my mind, this sounded like a tasty and satisfying dish, and if all of the elements had been well-executed, my prediction would have been correct.  However, my chicken breast was extremely dry and desperately needed salt.  The feta filling was bland and had an unpleasant texture.  The artichoke/caper topping was unpleasantly bitter and while the flavor of the risotto was decent, it was cold and the texture was gummy.

Hoping to end on a positive note, I finished my meal with the creme brulee.  This may not have been the best choice; the custard was runny, bland and grainy and the sugar topping was burnt in some places and completely untouched by heat in others.  It was a complete failure of a dish that is usually fairly simple to execute.

Final Impressions:  The service was pretty good, and I'll admit that our group was large, but there is no excuse for the quality of the food that was served.  On the upside, drinks are potent and well-crafted and the cornbread and hushpuppies that are served with every meal are delicious.

Additional Notes: My original rating of :) :) :) out of :) :) :) :) does not apply for this particular visit.  I'm not sure if it was my menu choices or if the food has really fallen this far in the last year.  While the atmosphere is still cool and chic, I would suggest that if you do visit Andrew Blair's Comfortable Dining, come for the drinks, not the food.

Tiffany's Favorite Part: Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Tiffany's (revised) Rating: :) 1/2 out of :) :) :) :)

Andrew Blair's Comfortable Dining
1600 Montford Drive
Charlotte, NC 28209
(705) 525-8282

Average Appetizer Price: $7-$14
Average Salad/Sandwich Price: $10-$16
Average Main Course Price: $17-$28
Average Dessert Price: $6-$10

Operating Hours
Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday 5:00pm-10:00pm
Bar Service: Tuesday-Saturday 5:00-until

The Grand Finale

Alas, my readers, with the end of 2008 also comes the end of my 3-part Charlotte series. Because work is starting to quiet down, I hope to update more often in the coming weeks.  I hope that all of you had a great holiday season, and I wish you all the best for 2009.

Onto the food...

The final Charlotte restaurant I will review is Wolfgang Puck Carolina Bistro.  I stopped in for lunch on a weekday afternoon and decided to treat myself to a bowl of soup and a pizza.  I chose the butternut squash soup (I love butternut squash) and the 4-cheese pesto pizza.  The soup was served with a roasted red pepper swirl on top.  It was very savory, and the red pepper added a nice contrast to the natural sweetness of the squash.  The soup was lukewarm, so my only complain is that I wish it had been a little hotter.  The 4-chesse pesto pizza was delicious. The pesto was very flavorful, and the pizza had sliced tomato on top which added freshness and brightness to the dish.  Then, each tomato slice was topped with a dollop of tangy goat cheese.  It was a great combination of flavors on a nice, crispy, crust.

Final Impressions: The prices are very reasonable for the large portions and the quality of ingredients that you receive.  It is a great place to drop in for lunch; the service is incredibly fast, so you get in and out quickly.  It is probably a bit too casual in food and decor for a nice dinner date.  It's everything you expect when Wolfgang Puck's name is attached- quality ingredients and simple food done right.

Tiffany's Favorite Part: The pizza!

Tiffany's Rating: :) :) :) out of :) :) :) :)

Wolfgang Puck Carolina Bistro
5349 Ballantyne Commons Parkway
Charlotte, NC 28277
(704) 708-5802

Average Appetizer Price: (dinner only) $6-$11
Average Soup/Salad Price: (lunch and dinner) $4-$13
Average Sandwich/Pizza Price: (lunch and dinner) $9-$13
Average Entrée Price: (lunch) $8-$13 (dinner) $11-$15
Average Dessert Price: (lunch and dinner) $4-$5

Operating Hours
Sunday-Thursday 10:30am-9:00pm
Friday and Saturday 10:30am-10:00pm

Wow...that was underwhelming

It's true! Faithful readers, I have returned for an all-new restaurant review.  When I last wrote in-depth, I started a 3-part series on dining in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Today, I am offering my notes and thoughts on Aroojis Wine Room (at Providence/Ballantyne, not the South Park location).

I stopped in for lunch on Wednesday afternoon around 1:30pm.  There was only one other diner in the entire establishment, but this didn't concern me since the lunch rush was probably already over.  The decor was Tuscan traditional with lots of exposed brick and rustic wood.  The lunch menu is a small but thorough affair of classic pasta dishes, sandwiches, soups, and salads.

For my entrée, I chose eggplant parmigiana.  It was different than most versions that I had eaten previously.  Instead of being almost casserole-like with layers of fried eggplant, marinara sauce, and cheese, Aroojis' version was a single, meaty, thick, slice of eggplant which was coated in a mixture of bread crumbs and herbs and served with a side of spaghetti.  The eggplant itself was pretty tasty, but lacked salt.  The real disasppointment of the meal was the spaghetti; it was way overcooked (mushy), extremely bland, and totally lacking in every aspect.

Even after the terrible spaghetti, I decided to order dessert.  I picked tiramisu in hopes that it would provide some kind of redeeming quality for the restaurant.  However, while the tiramisu was edible, it was definitely nothing special.  It had all of the requisite components that a tiramisu should have, but it was fair at best.  The plate was decorated with dollops of Cool Whip or some other non-dairy whipped topping, which was a real shame because it masked the texture of the tiramisu's whipped marscapone filling (the best part of the entire dessert).  Ultimately, I did not feel like my tiramisu was worth $3, and it defintely wasn't worth the actual $7.95 price tag that they charged me.

Final Impressions:  While the decor is warm and inviting, the food definitely isn't.  I'm no expert on Charlotte, but I'm sure you could probably find better Italian food elsewhere.  However, if you are intent on having lunch at Aroojis, avoid the pasta.  I have a hard time trusting any Italian restaurant that can't properly cook spaghetti.

Tiffany's Favorite Part: Um...the eggplant, I guess

Tiffany's Rating :) 1/2 out of :) :) :) :)

Aroojis Wine Room
Providence/Ballantyne
5439 Ballantyne Commons Parkway
Charlotte, NC 28277
(704) 845-5244

Operating Hours
Lunch: Monday-Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm
Dinner: Monday-Thursday 4:00pm-10:00pm
           Friday and Saturday 4:00pm-11:00pm
Sunday Operation: 12:00pm-9:00pm

South Park
720 Governor Morrison Street
Charlotte, NC 28211
(704) 366-6610

Operating Hours
Lunch: Monday-Saturday 11:00am-2:30pm
Dinner: Monday-Thursday 5:00pm-10:00pm
           Friday and Saturday 5:00pm-11:00pm

Lunch Prices (both locations)
Average Soup/Salad Price: $4-$7
Average Sandwich Price: $8-$12
Average Pasta Price: $8-$15
Average Dessert Price: $7-$9

Dinner Prices (both locations)
Average Appetizer Price: $7-$15

Average Entrée Price: $16-$30
Average Dessert Price: $7-$9

At Long Last

I know that I have been neglecting you, faithful readers, but my new job has kept me so busy that I haven't been able to update lately.  Today's post will be the first in a series of three that will chronicle my food adventures (and misadventures) during a recent trip to Charlotte, NC.

During my trip, my coworkers and I attended a business dinner at Andrew Blair's Comfortable Dining, a cozy restaurant on the outskirts of downtown Charlotte.  The waitstaff was very accomodating of our large (26 hungry associates) party; our wine and water glasses were always filled, and they were not cowed by any of our special (strange) requests.

For my appetizer I had marinated artichoke hearts stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in prosciutto, and finished with a balsamic drizzle.  The combination of flavors was spot on; the tangy goat cheese contrasted nicely with the saltiness of the prosciutto and the sweetness of the balsamic.  It was much more elegant than most of the artichoke applications that appear on standard appetizer menus (like spinach and artichoke dip).

Next, I had a small cup of French onion soup, and this was the one big disappointment of the night.  The onions weren't caramelized at all; some of them were actually a little crunchy.  The soup desperately needed salt, and the broth was extremely beefy, as though it were a beef stew instead of French onion soup.  None of the flavors were harmonious, and the meal would have been much better if I had just bypassed the soup altogether.

I completed my meal with the stuffed pork tenderloin.  The pork was perfectly cooked (done, but not dry), and the stuffing of apples and onions added a nice sweetness.  The pork was served with garlic mashed potatoes, grilled broccolini, and the plate was finished with an apple cider reduction.  The broccolini needed more seasoning, but that was my only complaint as the rest of my main course was savory, filling, and left me feeling quite satisfied.

Final Impressions: This joint is classy, yet casual.  You should feel comfortable bringing a date, or hitting up Andrew Blair's for a night out with the girls (or guys). There is a full bar with several specialty drink options, an extensive wine and beer list, and if you just avoid the French onion soup, you'll have a fun (and tasty) time.

Tiffany's Favorite Part: Prosciutto wrapped artichoke hearts

Tiffany's Rating: :) :) :) out of :) :) :) :)

Andrew Blair's Comfortable Dining
1600 Montford Drive
Charlotte, NC 28209
(705) 525-8282

Average Appetizer Price: $7-$14
Average Salad/Sandwich Price: $10-$16
Average Main Course Price: $17-$28
Average Dessert Price: $6-$10

Operating Hours
Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday 5:00pm-10:00pm
Bar Service: Tuesday-Saturday 5:00-until