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

Mmmm...McEwen's...Eh, nothing special

Downtown Memphis offers several eateries where you can get a good meal.  One weekday afternoon, the hubby and I decided to grab lunch at McEwen's on Monroe, which is (obviously) on Monroe Ave, right off of North 2nd St.  It's nondescript from the outside, and the sign is a bit small, so if you didn't know to look for it, you might pass right by.

Lunch at McEwen's is a casual affair.  Salads, soups, and sandwiches fill the menu.  There are just a handful of entrées,but the prices are pretty reasonable. I ordered the chicken pot pie, and Tom chose the Cuban sandwich.  My pot pie was surprising light and fresh and not at all heavy.  It was a bit lacking in the chicken department, but it had a ton of fresh veggies and the puff pastry crust was nice and flaky.  It was served with a salad of mesclun greens and a raspberry vinaigrette.  The salad was pretty disappointing overall.  The greens tasted like the plastic bag that they evidently came out of, and while the dressing had some tang, it didn't taste at all like raspberry and definitely needed some salt.Tom's sandwich was a decent homage to a classic Cuban.  At McEwen's they make their version with a baguette instead of Cuban bread.  They kept the traditional toppings: roast pork, ham, pickles, and mustard.  The meat was tasty, but a bit dry, and the pickle seemed to overpower almost everything else. (I happen to like dill pickles, but the hubby only likes them on Cuban sandwiches, so he wasn't too impressed).

For dessert, we selected the key lime pie (one of Tom's go-to options for dessert). The texture was extra-creamy (tasted like sweetened condensed milk was involved), and the crust was delicious, but the pie itself was not tangy at all.  There was no contrast in flavor between the filling and the homemade whipped cream (which was delicious) on top.

Final Impressions: Before I started my blog, I had dinner at McEwen's, and it was way more impressive than their lunch time fare.  Do yourself a favor and try McEwen's at night; the prices are more expensive, but you'll have a more satisfying experience.  As with most of downtown Memphis, parking is non-existent. Make sure to bring some cash to use at one of the nearby parking garages, or take advantage of the restaurant's convenient valet parking service.

Tiffany's Favorite Part: Nothing (Uniformly okay, but no standouts)
Tom's Favorite Part: Chicken Pot Pie

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

McEwen's on Monroe
122 Monroe Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 527-7085

Average Appetizer Price: (dinner only) $8-$13
Average Soup/Salad Price: $5-$11
Average Sandwich Price: (lunch only) $8-$12
Average Entrée Price: (lunch) $9-$10 (dinner) $20-$30
Average Dessert Price: $6-$8

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

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

Ya'll Come Back Now...Please?

If you ask my husband, he'll tell you that I have extraordinary luck at the casinos.  Unfortunately, gambling is illegal in Tennessee.  Luckily, there is pack of casinos about 35 minutes outside of Memphis in Tunica, MS.  In the past ten years, Tunica has become a mecca for gamblers looking for Las Vegas-style action without having to trek all the way to Nevada.  Most people know that at many casinos, food is an afterthought, often given away for free as part of generous comp packages.  I don't mean that the food is bad; actually, it's quite the opposite.  Several casinos in Tunica have twenty-four hour buffets with many choices.  However, they're all pretty much the same. If you've been to one, you've been to all of them. 

Food Network's reigning queen of all things butter and mayonnaise, "Lady" Paula Deen, sought to change the monotony plaguing the casino buffets by offering her name and likeness to the newly renovated Harrah's Tunica, formerly The Grand Casino.  In May of 2008, the all-new Paula Deen Buffet opened with a whirlwind of commercials and high expectations.

I have a feeling that Paula had creative control over almost every aspect of this restaurant, from the southern colonial decor to the large gift shop featuring a wide array of Paula Deen merchandise.  This place is so huge that there is a map given to the diners when they enter.  There are several different dining rooms, each with their own names and themes, as well as five different buffet stations- The Lady and Sons (signature comfort food such as fried chicken and southern-style vegetables), Captain Michael's Smokehouse (smoked meats like ribs and brisket), Granny Paul's Garden (the salad bar), Uncle Bubba's Oyster House (seafood), and Little Jack's Corner (desserts).

Having made several trips to The Lady and Sons in Savannah, I was really excited about the prospect of being able to get Paula Deen food so close to Memphis.  The hubby and I visited the buffet on a Saturday night to grab a bite to eat before hitting the blackjack tables. Because I tend to taste a little bit of everything in a buffet setting, I'll only hit the highlights and the low points in this review.

THE GOOD: The chicken pot pie, while not as refined as the version that is served at The Lady and Sons,  had great flavor, and the crust had good texture.  The collard greens and boiled cabbage were well cooked (not at all mushy) and well-seasoned.  The fried shrimp was flavorful and had just right amount of breading.  The cheesy biscuits were light, fluffy, and a perfect accompaniment to the meal.  The gooey butter cake was just as good as the one served at the Savannah restaurant.

THE BAD: The sqaush casserole was very bland, runny, and contained a large amount of bell peppers that were way under cooked.  The hubby said that it was the worst squash casserole he had ever eaten.  The green bean casserole was incredibly mushy and flavorless. The cheesy meatloaf had these strange crunchy bits in it, and the sauce tasted like melted Velveeta. The brisket was so tough that I couldn't chew through it.  I honestly had to spit it out. The chocolate covered cream puffs were soggy, and the pastry cream was extremely gritty. The bread pudding was so hard and dry, that even a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream couldn't save it.  But, the biggest disappointment had to be the macaroni and cheese (which is pretty standard as far as southern cuisine goes, and should hold up well on a buffet).  However, the macaroni had no flavor, the cheese sauce had weird chunks in it, and the noodles were way over cooked, making the whole thing a mushy, soggy, mess. 

Final Impressions: Our service was great, but unfortunately, a lot of the food was not.  There was more bad than good, and the bad was really, really bad.  With a price that exceeds the dinner buffet price at The Lady and Sons in Savannah by five dollars (when you visit on Friday or Saturday night), I expected the food to be amazing.  However, upon leaving, I had to admit that the experience was at best mediocre.  If you want a great southern-style buffet that is worth the price of admission, make the trek to Savannah.  While I've always left The Lady and Sons feeling satisfied, I walked out of the Paula Deen Buffet extremely disappointed.

Tiffany's Favorite Part: Chicken Pot Pie and Cheesy Biscuits
Tom L's Favorite Part: Fried Shrimp

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

Paula Deen Buffet
13615 Old Highway 61 North
Robinsonville, MS 38664
(800) 964-4946

Breakfast Buffet Price: $8.99
Lunch Buffet Price: $10.99
Dinner Price (Monday-Thursday): $17.99
Dinner Price (Friday and Saturday): $22.99
Sunday Supper Price: $17.99

Operating Hours
Breakfast: Monday-Sunday 7:00am-10:30am
Lunch: Monday-Saturday 11:00am-3:00pm
Dinner: Monday-Thursday 4:00pm-10:00pm
            Friday-Saturday 4:00pm-1:00am
Sunday Supper: 10:30am-10:00pm