soup

Bald Head Island Club

Posted on by Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers

Last night, to celebrate the end to our wonderful New Year vacation, Kath, Matt, the Husband and I headed to the Bald Head Island Club for a “fancy??? dinner :-) (The Husband had to wear pants and not shorts = fancy dinner.)  We hopped in the golf cart, as bundled up as we could be (it’s cold here!), and headed on over for our 7pm reservation.

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Since the restaurant is in the country club, there was a large open space when we first entered.  A large bar/lounge was off to the right and the restaurant could be found straight back. (This is actually the view from the restaurant back into the lobby.)

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The four of us perused our menus and discussed (for quite a bit) whether or not to get a bottle of wine or to go with glasses (some were not in the mood for entire glasses).

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We finally decided to get a bottle and what a great decision it was! We went with the Gemtree Vineyards Tadpole Shiraz.  The entire table raved about how good this was!! I haven’t had a Shiraz in a long, long time and I’m glad that Matt and I decided on this.  One bottle worked out well, as well, based on everyone’s wine desires for the evening :-)

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To start, there was a consensus that soup would be ordered.  (We were still cold from the golf cart ride and needed to warm up!)  There was along as Cheddar & Ale Soup that was calling our names.  However, when the Husband learned that the soup of the day was Tomato Basil, as I shared my Cheddar & Ale with him, he definitely had to have the Tomato Basil.  Kath and Matt decided to share a bowl while the Husband and I each went with a cup.  Kath appropriately described ours as “fondue-like??? which, as you know, is something that I liked :-) The Husband really liked his Tomato Basil as well.  We were off to a good start!

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In between the soup and entree courses, the Husband also decided to get a Wedge Salad.  Luckily this salad wasn’t drenched in blue cheese dressing (like the last time) and he could enjoy the variety of flavors.  Kath and Matt each enjoyed a small taste as well.

On to the entrees! After realizing we both were planning on the same thing, Kath and I discussed ordering different items so that we could taste each other’s entree.  Luckily the husbands did the same so there were a lot of tastings!

I went with the Rosemary-Skewered Scallops over Spinach Fettucine.  The scallops were very flavorful and cooked perfectly (in my opinion) and I found that the “skewers??? were rosemary branches and very cool!  It came with a blood orange light cream sauce (if I remember correctly), which unfortunately gave little to no flavor for the pasta.  However, the spinach fettuccine itself was quite fresh.

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The Husband went with the Shrimp and Grits.  It included Grit Cakes instead of the usual mound at the bottom.  It was unique and flavorful way to present the grits.  He decided to save half as leftovers for some time this weekend.  (I tried his Grit Cake but let him have all of his shrimp ;-) )

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Kath ordered the Crab Stuffed Flounder with Hollandaise.  I had a bite and it was very good! Matt ordered the Breaded Catfish.  He also shared this with me (thanks guys!) and it was amazingly salty! He ended up having to take the breading off the second half of the fish as it was unbearable.

Even though we had consumed what felt like a lot of food, we discussed ordering a dessert to share amongst the four of us.  Kath and I decided on the Pumpkin Cheesecake.  It was made fresh at the club and included fresh whipped cream and crumbled ginger snaps.  This was a sweet way to end our dinner and our vacation!

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We  are headed back to Charlotte now from Bald Head Island :-( Thanks to Kath and Matt for inviting us out! It was a great mini vacation to celebrate the new year!  With the start of 2010, the Husband and I have some fun trips planned and those that are in the planning process.  Stay tuned as we recap those and ask for suggestions for things to do and places to eat in our upcoming excursions! We’ll also be catching up on the end of 2009 in the coming weeks :-)

Dean & Deluca

Posted on by Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers

Yesterday, after participating in the Charlotte Runway 5K, Kath, Matt, the Husband and I decided to meet up again later in the day for lunch and pedicures (for the girls) and books and beer (for the boys).  Knowing that we’d be eating a lot at our respective Halloween festivities, we wanted to go light with our late lunch and decided to go with Dean & Deluca for sandwiches and salads.

My first exposure to Dean & Deluca was in college watching one of my favorite shows at the time: Felicity :-) (Anybody else love the show??)  My first actual time getting to go to a Dean & Deluca was while living in Washington, DC (the city proper).  There was a location in Georgetown and I remember having some amazing macaroni & cheese!

Since becoming friends with Kath, I’ve been to both Charlotte locations and go to them when I want to splurge on some amazing salad!

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It was a gloomy day here in Charlotte so we decided to sit inside instead of outside where there were plenty of tables looking over a fountain.

Before Kath and Matt arrived, the Husband and I perused the many display cases and shelves of yummy gourmet foods.  There were cakes…

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Other desserts, mini cakes, tarts, and pastries…

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A hot and cold food bar… (where I would have found mac & cheese if they had any!)

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And chilled beverages…

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In addition to the prepared foods, you’re able to have salads, sandwiches, and pizzas made from scratch for you.

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As planned, I got a small salad.  I went with their House Salad (which I love!).  It has mixed greens, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, and balsamic vinagarette on the side.  They don’t skimp on the goat cheese and it’s awesome!

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Because it was slightly chilly, I was also looking for something to warm me up.  I went with a small Tomato Ravioli soup.  Lots of fresh vegetables and large raviolis.  I would definitely get this again!

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The Husband went with a Ham & Brie sandwich which he had heated up on the panini press.  He said the sandwich was just “ok” – there were onions in a sauce that were just way too strong for his taste :-/

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On the side, he tried the Dean & Deluca Spicy Potato Chips.  We each tried one and agreed that they weren’t at all spicy but were very tasty.

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Kath’s salad unfortunately had a lot of lettuce in it that had gone bad.  However, she took it up to the counter and they gladly made her a new one that was way better.

This was a great light lunch before we headed off for our pedicures and books/beer :-)

Have any of you been to any of the other Dean & Deluca locations? What did you think?

Dean & Deluca (Phillips Place) on Urbanspoon

Blossom

Posted on by Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers

For my birthday dinner, I made reservations at Blossom after recommendations from both Kath and Diana.  In the excitement, I forgot to take a picture of the outside but captured the inside as we walked in :-)

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We had the option of sitting inside or out.  With the humidity finally subsiding, I quickly chose to sit outside in their cute patio!

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After our great wine at Social the night before, I was interested in trying another glass this evening.  I went with their signature, Blossom Chardonnay.

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The Husband went with the Ruination IPA.

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The Husband and I both decided to go with the Tomato Bisque, being one of our favorite soups.  A bowl for him and a cup for me! We found this Tomato Bisque to be quite good.  A lot of times, restaurants put too much cream in them but this was quite tomatoey and enjoyable!  Their crusty bread went wonderfully with the soup as well and I definitely dipped a few pieces in my soup :-)

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For our entrees, we found that we were both going to order the same thing – Ricotta Gnocci.  We decided to order two different items and share.  I ended up ordering the Crab Ravioli with I believe a corn and mushroom sauce.

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The Husband went with the Ricotta Gnocchi with shrimp.

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The Ricotta Gnocci was the most amazing gnocci I have ever had.  And the shrimp was amazing! I had sworn off shrimp a few months ago as I decided that I actually didn’t like it anymore.  Well, I was WRONG! I apparently don’t like frozen/non-fresh shrimp.  Local fresh shrimp is AMAZING!  The Husband was sweet and let me have most of the gnocchi while he enjoyed the ravioli.

Overall, we really enjoyed the food at Blossom and I was happy with this choice for my birthday dinner :-) The service and atmosphere weren’t as great as the other Charleston restaurants we visited, but it was a really good evening.

Blossom Cafe on Urbanspoon