Eater's Digest: Charlotte, NC

May 2017
bojangles' famous chicken 'n biscuits / soul gastrolounge / dish / price's chicken coop / sabor latin street grill / sunflour baking company / amélie's french bakery / the king's kitchen / ru ru's tacos and tequila / zaxby's / bojangles' / imani's fusion cafe / zablong / laurel market / midwood smokehouse / the asbury / tin kitchen / the cowfish / the improper pig / cantina 1511 / suárez bakery / seoul food meat co. / king of pops / bojangles'



The "Extra Napkins Please" Sandwich (The Improper Pig)
smoked cajun andouille topped with french fries, smothered with house-made pimento cheese, and sprinkled with scallions; served in a hoagie roll

^ I have a feeling we're not in California anymore.

The sausage was tough.


Shrimp Po Boy Taco (Cantina 1511)
crispy hush-puppy-dusted shrimp with shaved romaine, escabeche tartar sauce, cholula, and fresh roma tomatoes
—A fried shrimp taco, but sweet.



Asian Glazed Pork Belly Tacos (Soul Gastrolounge)
on flour tortillas with watermelon salsa

^ Do it for the 'gram, not for ease of eating.


Dirty South Nachos (Soul Gastrolounge)
fried chicken skin "chips" with a pimento cheese fondue and jalapeño pickled okra

^ Too much cheese fondue for my liking.


Ramen Bowl (Soul Gastrolounge)
noodles tossed in a garlic cream, with braised veal cheeks, goat cheese fried mushrooms, veal glace, and caramelized onion powder

^ Divine veal cheeks, delectable goat cheese fried mushrooms, undercooked noodles.

Duck Banh Fit (Soul Gastrolounge)
foie gras pate, ham-cured duck breast, chili-glazed duck confit, daikon and carrot salad, fresh jalapeño aioli, on a toasted french baguette
—I would never guess that this is a play on a banh mi.

Anchovy Fries (Soul Gastrolounge)
fresh fried whole anchovies with tomato-lemon tartar sauce


Dominican Nachos (Sabor Latin Street Grill)
yuca fries with shredded chicken sauteed with tomato and onion, topped with pico, cabbage cotija cheese, and rosada
—The yuca fries in Sabor's Instagram photo look like fries. What I received was five or six yuca logs.

Arepa (Sabor Latin Street Grill)
venezuelan-style white maize cake filled with shredded chicken, diced tomato, onion, cheese, and rosada sauce
—A surprisingly satisfying arepa sandwich.



Mercado Sandwich (Laurel Market)
roasted turkey, bacon, chipotle pepper spread, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, and tomato

^ One of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten.


The Tripping Goat Pizza (Zablong)
mushroom truffle, roasted local mushroom blend, crumbled goat cheese, fig marsala, crushed red pepper oil, cracked black pepper

^ One of the best pizzas I have ever eaten.

Banana Pudding (Midwood Smokehouse)
—One of the best banana puddings I have ever eaten.

Creamed Potatoes and Gravy (The King's Kitchen)
—One of the best mashed potatoes and gravy I have ever eaten.

// walking toward (The King's Kitchen)
Jon: Wait, is this a Christian restaurant?



Sausage Soufflé (The Asbury)
custard-soaked biscuits, herbs, fontina, sausage

^ "Soufflé" is misleading. It's more of a bread pudding.


Sticky Biscuits (The Asbury)
country ham, goat cheese icing

Maw Maw's Cast Iron Biscuits (The Asbury)
bacon jam
–Lotta biscuit for brunch this day.

BBQ Scallops and Octopus (The Asbury)
poached egg, spring veggies, confit san marzano tomato vinaigrette
—Like, two scallops and three baby octopuses.

Deviled Crawfish Salad Sammy (The Asbury)
'nduja aioli, ember-roasted spring vegetables


(The Cowfish) is a "sushi burger bar."

In its washrooms plays a Pimsleur tape parody translating Japanese and redneck. I chuckled.


The Deliverance Roll – Southern Style Bar-B-Q-shi (The Cowfish)
pulled pork, caramelized onion, and bbq sauce wrapped in soy paper and potato strings, then flash-fried; topped with house-made bacon coleslaw and chives

^ Fried pulled pork sushi.


The 4-S [Sear-iously Sensational Sushi Sandwich] (The Cowfish)
seared koji-marinated tuna and yellowtail, asian slaw, red peppers, daikon sprouts, cucumber, served on grilled spring roll wrapper "buns" filled with kani and sushi rice; served with a side of sambal sesame soy

^ Its buns are grilled spring roll wrappers filled with rice and imitation crab:


(Seoul Food Meat Co.) is "southern BBQ with heavy Korean inspiration."

// selecting a protein
Jon: What is Fire Chicken?
Server: It's spicy grilled chicken with melted cheese on top.
Jon: The chicken is covered with cheese?
Server: Yes.
Jon: Okay, I'll have the crispy pork belly.

Crispy Pork Belly (Seoul Food Meat Co.)
—Crispy!


Fire Chicken (Seoul Food Meat Co.) looks like Taco Bell.

Sides were a mixed bag.

Sriracha Cracklins (Seoul Food Meat Co.)
—The pork rind kind of cracklins [no meat attached] dusted with a chili powder.


Ram n' Cheese (Seoul Food Meat Co.)

^ Mac and cheese with ramen as the mac.

Should be a ham and cheese sandwich with ramen as the bread, no? Croque ramensieur.


Pimento Corn Cheese (Seoul Food Meat Co.)

^ I mean… Cream cheese and corn with shrimp chips?!


ORTS

Bo-tato Rounds (Bojangles')
savory potatoes, fried to a golden brown with just the tiniest hint of onion
—Why haven't other fast food chains ripped these off?

Grilled Chicken (Zaxby's)
—"Why can't I stop eating this chicken?" I wondered. Then I realized: "Because it's salty as fuck."

Chana Masala Taco (Tin Kitchen)
stewed chickpeas and mirepoix in coconut curry sauce over kachumber cous cous, topped with crumbled goat cheese

Coleslaw (Midwood Smokehouse)
—A good, clean, slightly spicy slaw.


MISSED CONNECTIONS


The Doughnut (Stoke)
brioche dough, diplomat cream, heath bar crumble

^ It weighs one pound.


Banana Pudding Layered Pancakes (Tupelo Honey)
sweet potato pancakes, foster rum sauce

The No. 6 Bowl (Earl's Grocery)
duck confit and beet hash, farm egg, barrel slaw, tko sauce

Korean Dipped Chicken Biscuit (Earl's Grocery)
fried chicken breast, sweet and spicy sesame dip, seoul pickle aioli, house white lilly flour biscuit

Shortcake Salad (Earl's Grocery)
grilled chicken, mixed greens, strawberries, nc goat cheese, walnuts, biscuit croutons, champagne vinaigrette

(The Mayobird) is a restaurant that specializes in…chicken salad. Choose from 16 different chicken salads.

Flavors of Chicken Pot Pie (The Asbury)
whipped potatoes, spring vegetables, biscuit, roasted lemon jus

Shrimp and Grits (The Asbury)
coconut and green curry rice grits, roasted mushrooms, tomato broth

The Nature Boy's WOOOOO-shi BuffalOOOOO-shi Roll (The Cowfish)
sautéed chipotle bison, fried green tomato, grilled onions, feta cheese inside; coated with tempura flakes; topped with fresh green tomato, chipotle aioli, diced tomato, red onion, jalapeño pepper

Cody Zeller's "Hoop, There It is!" Burger (The Cowfish)
half-pound beef burger with hoop cheese and fried pork tenderloin, lettuce, pickles, and sweet indiana mustard sauce; brioche bun

Baked Alaska (Essex Bar and Bistro)
layers of strawberry, mango, and caramel gelato with vanilla cake, covered in toasted italian meringue, served with caramel sauce and candied almonds
—Intriguing trio of ice creams.

Sweet Tea and Lemonade Ice Pop (King of Pops)
Blackberry Banana Ice Pop (King of Pops)
Herbs de Provence Ice Pop (King of Pops)

#eatersdigest

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