The Scone Shop - Charlotte, NC

I was lucky enough to have freshly baked cranberry orange scones delivered to my office personally by The Scone Shop's owner and founder, Fielding  Williams. The scones were still warm from the oven, buttery and delicious with the perfect amount of sweetness. It was also delightful to talk with Fielding and hear her story. The idea for The Scone Shop came after Fielding made cookie dough to help her son with a fundraiser. She tried scone dough next and it was a hit. Now you can buy the frozen scone dough at several local markets in Charlotte including Healthy Home Market on Central Ave., Whole Foods, Reid's Fine Foods and you can buy a warm scone ready to eat at the Nordstrom EBar at Southpark. The scones are also available at select locations in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem and Fort Mill, SC. Custom orders are also available to be delivered.

 Fielding Williams, founder.

In addition to my in-office sample, I received a full package of the cranberry orange scones to bake at home. My family loved them - what a great treat without any of the hard work that goes into making homemade baked goods! I think these would make a great gift for Valentine's Day and would add a special touch to any breakfast or brunch menu! I look forward to trying some of the other flavors, which include: cinnamon chip, butterscotch chocolate chip, chocolate cinnachip and savory option spinach feta.

Disclosure: The product described was provided to me, but the opinions are my own.

Brunch at Block & Grinder

Awesome biscuits. Seriously the best I have ever had with delicious sorghum butter.

While Malika of Atlanta Restaurant Blog was here in town, we also had the opportunity to check out Block & Grinder. I was psyched to try this place since I missed the media event they held prior to opening.  Block & Grinder is unique in that in addition to being a full-service restaurant and bar, there is also a butcher counter where you can purchase meats to cook at home. The restaurant focuses on premium beef as well as natural, organic meats and wild game so carnivores will be in heaven. However, there are options even for vegetarians including an "anti-burger" made from lentils and the house-smoked salmon is sure to please any pescatarian as well.

We had a lovely Sunday brunch here and we were table to try a good portion of the brunch menu. The above biscuits were outstanding and everything else was very good. My favorite dishes (although very hard to choose from the items we tried) were the house smoked salmon - my son's first taste of smoked salmon and he loved it - and the corned beef hash. The coffee (French press) was also wonderful. 

As of July 2013 Sunday brunch is no longer being offered as there is a high demand for cooking classes and private events during that time. However, as noted here, many of the brunch items are available on the lunch and dinner menus. 

House smoked salmon with cornmeal cake.

Sunday sausage.

Shiitake and Gruyere Burger - fantastic flavor and great fries. This is also available for lunch and dinner.

Crawfish & Grits.

Corned beef hash with egg.

Out front.

Cute decoration and the famous butcher counter.

More neat butcher tools on display.

Full bar. I didn't sample any alcohol this visit but the cocktail offerings sound fantastic! I look forward to returning to try the lunch and dinner menus. The pork belly, duck and quail options sounds particularly enticing and I'd wager this would be a great choice if you want a good steak.

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

Brunch at the Mellow Mushroom in Charlotte

Brunch pizzas! I was invited to try both of the brunch pizzas that are offered on Sundays at the Mellow Mushroom. Both the Morning Glory (left), a vegetarian pizza with egg base, spinach, mushroom, onion, green peppers, mozzarella and diced tomatoes, and the Rising Sun (right), a meaty pie with egg base, sausage, bacon, ham, onion, green pepper, mozzarella and cheddar were very tasty. The superior crust really lends itself to combine with the egg base and other ingredients for a different, fun weekend breakfast choice. As always Mellow Mushroom was very accommodating to us as a family. They even brought out some avocado for my little one - one of his first foods! If you haven't tried fresh pizza for breakfast, it's time you took the plunge!

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom with artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and feta - delicious!

The awesome bus in the Mellow Mushroom - you can even sit inside!

Shrimp Hoag-boy - grilled jerk shrimp with pesto mayo, grilled mushrooms and carmelized onions - one of my favorite hoagies!

Half Thai Dye (left) and half Mellowterranean (right), served with a side of tzatziki sauce - yum! I really liked the spice and the addition of cucumbers to the Thai Dye. The sauce was great with the cheesy Mellowterranean.

Key Lime Pie - a sweet ending with lots of tasty whipped cream.

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

Breakfast - Desayuno - at Rosa Mexicano

My favorite dish: Shredded Beef with Eggs - so flavorful and juicy!

I had the opportunity to sample the new breakfast menu at Rosa Mexicano while we were in Atlanta in mid-March. The breakfast offerings are available every weekend starting at opening time (11:30 AM) and include some delicious choices. While you cannot go wrong with any of the breakfast offerings, my favorite dish by far is the Machacado con Huevo or Shredded Beef with Eggs. This is made from short rib and includes scrambled eggs with the succulent shredded beef, jalepenos, tomatoes and onions, served hot in a cast iron skillet with tortillas on the side. This is truly one of the best breakfast dishes I have ever tasted! My second favorite main dish is the Creamy Breakfast Tamale, which is grits infused with chorizo, topped with chile-poached eggs and fried cheese - yum! I also really liked the Fried Eggs and Carnitas Hash and the Stuffed French Toast (see photos with additional details).

Special drinks are also available. A sucker for good hot chocolate, I adore the Mexican Hot Chocolate - and get the churros on the side - these are awesome! The hot chocolate itself is infused with almonds and cinnamon and served with whipped cream - delicious. I also enjoyed trying to Coconut Horchata made from pressed rice milk and the variety of Aqua Frescas or "Fresh Waters". My favorites are the honeydew melon and the hibiscus blackberry but the cucumber-tomatillo is also tasty. Although we did not sample them this visit, special adult breakfast beverages such as Mezcal Bloody Maria and Horchata Especial (Anejo tequila, coffee liqueur and horchata with espresso!) are also available and sound awesome.

 

If you have the chance to try Rosa Mexicano on the weekend, definitely check out the brown paper menu on the table, which offers this special breakfast menu!

Horchata (left) and Fresh Water selections.

 

Fried Eggs and Carnitas Hash - love the pineapple-habenero mustard jam served on the side!

Tropical Fruit Bowl - a nice lighter selection.

Soft Scrambled Eggs and Cactus Paddle served with molletes (soft roll spread with refried black beans).

Mexican hot chocolate - yum!

Stuffed French Toast - Cinnamon-Cascabel chile-crusted brioche bread filled with Mascarpone cheese, topped with caramelized plantains - has a delicious kick. One of my favorite items!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary. 

Toast Cafe - Dilworth

Lobster Roll with pesto pasta salad - love this!

Toast Cafe in Dilworth is one of my new favorite spots for breakfast, lunch or brunch. I have enjoyed 4 meals here recently with tasty food and superior service. The prices aren't bad either. Toast also has a location in Davidson and a new Toast is set to open soon in Ballantyne. The menu is diverse yet simple, creative but not fussy. I really like the lobster roll - above - which is not something easy to find in the south. I also dig the omelets including the avocado (not pictured) omelet with bacon and parmesan - so delicious - and the complimentary cornbread and apple butter served during weekend brunch. I love that I can walk to Toast and that they are so busy - we recently waited about 30 minutes for brunch - hopefully this is a sign they will be around for a long time. I look forward to returning again soon to try even more items - if I can bear not to have my favorites!

Delicious quiche of the day with bacon - another favorite.



Portobello mushroom sandwich.



Tofu Fresca salad with blue cheese, apples, walnuts and cranberries.



Veggie wrap with pesto pasta salad.




Egg white omelet with hash browns.

Watermelon gazpacho - great special for a hot day.

Harvest Moon Grille - Apparently you have to wait for the Harvest...

Catfish and eggs with grits.

My second time dining at Harvest Moon Grille was on June 24, 2012 for brunch. My mom had friends visiting from out of town and she made a reservation for 5 of us at 11 AM. The first bad sign came as the host greeted us: "The kitchen is running about 30-45 minutes behind and your table isn't ready yet." Our friends were running a bit late themselves so we thought this would be OK. They arrived about quarter after 11 and we waited quite a bit longer before being seated around 11:45. The host also promised "As soon as you sit down we'll bring you some biscuits and jam." That sounded promising. Unfortunately only after 4 requests to 4 different staff members and about an hour later did said biscuits and jam appear. They were delicious - actually the best part of the meal - hot with fresh raspberry jam. I could have eaten 3 by that point but settled for 1.5.

But the late-arriving biscuits could only do so much. For a party with a reservation, the wait time we endured is totally unacceptable anywhere. I was literally about to walk out. Two couples did. One had to be at the airport and they had waited over an hour for breakfast. I was embarrassed for the city of Charlotte as many of the waiting patrons were tourists. To think this might be their lasting impression of our fair city! Very unfortunate. I advised one couple to visit Queen City Q since it was past noon. I seriously considered getting up and going elsewhere again. I felt bad for the Dunhill, an excellent hotel, that its reputation may be scarred from its proximity to the restaurant. The front of the house staff could not have been nicer although our waiter seemed overworked and was probably avoiding us because he could not bring us anything to eat.

We finally got our food just after 1 PM - yes, two hours after our reservation time. The catfish and eggs with grits is a unique and very tasty dish. Everything else was nothing special, similar to the previous brunch I had here. So disappointing. The concept of farm to table cuisine is admirable but based on my experience, this place does not yield satisfactory results. Harvest Moon Grille seriously needs to take a look at its business operations and be sure they have backup. And about those biscuits: they should come out gratis to every table as soon as folks are seated, even if the kitchen is running on schedule.

Another negative note: parking is supposed to be free in the Dunhill deck when you eat at Harvest Moon. When we exited, it showed a balance of $2. Although this is not a big deal in theory, considering the strife we went through just to eat, this was the last straw. We went inside and someone had the audacity to tell us that it was $2 "because we were there too long". No kidding. They finally gave us the $2 in cash to use at the machine after a lot of argument. I'm not sure if this was the hotel or the restaurant but either way, the restaurant needs to figure out how to handle this issue as well. Good thing there are more and more places to eat downtown. Some advice: find another one.

Harvest Moon Eggs Benedict with pulled pork.



Pulled pork sandwich with potato salad. Pork and potato salad were bland and the sauce (I had to ask for it) was sadly not much help.

Harvest Moon Grille

The Farmer's Market Frittata with fruit.

On Easter Sunday my mom treated us to an Anniversary brunch at Harvest Moon Grille in Charlotte. Attached to the Dunhill Hotel uptown Charlotte, Harvest Moon Grill is a farm to table operation that opened following the success of a food cart with the same name - their motto is "Farm to Fork". Harvest Moon offers 3 squares a day and weekend brunch. We were lucky enough to snag an outdoor table which allowed for us to enjoy the beautiful day and the people-watching.

I enjoyed brunch but the food did not stand out in the way I expected after reading about this place in advance. The flavor combinations worked but lacked something of a punch for me. The omelet and frittata were fairly standard to me and a bit overcooked. However, the house-cured bacon was delicious and went great with the pancakes. I do look forward to trying lunch and dinner here also as the menus look very tempting.

I appreciate what they are trying to do at Harvest Moon and these days many people are drawn to restaurants that emphasize local produce, meats and dairy products. Hopefully I will get to try more soon! Cooking classes are also offered and the restaurant's website contains a lot of information about he local farms and events in addition to the menus and other standard information.

Buttermilk pancakes and a side of bacon.



Omelet.

Five Napkin Burger

Original Five Napkin with onion rings.

I was recently invited to come check out Five Napkin Burger, which opened a location last year at the corner of 10th St. and Piedmont Ave. With four New York City locations and locations in Miami and Boston, Atlanta is the first true Southern city outpost. Although the specialty of the house is obvious, they also have sushi, which we did not try on this visit. I do like the concept though, since you can bring a carnivore and a pescetarian and both be happy :)

We arrived just as the restaurant opened for brunch and had a nice booth near the window. The space is modern and bright, with a full bar and high ceilings. We started with the pork taquitos, which are cute mini pork tacos in hard shells - tasty and not too filling, a good thing with what we had coming next! I had to try the Original Five Napkin burger, which is a whopping 10 ounce patty of custom ground beef with gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary mayo. It really hit the spot and is everything a big juicy burger should be. Some of the other burger selections like the Piedmont with pimento cheese, griddled onions and pickled jalepenos as well as the ahi tuna burger, sounded great as well - next time!

My favorite menu item was actually the lobster sliders. Calvin and I have looked long and hard for a good lobster roll in Georgia. It just isn't happening. While the sliders are a bit of a different take on the traditional "roll", they were warm, buttery and delicious. Definitely a repeat order for me. We also tried a side of the mac & cheese, which was creamy although not as heavy as some versions.

Pork Taquitos.



Butter poached lobster sliders with sweet potato fries - yum!



Macaroni & Cheese.



On our way out we took milkshakes to go. They were really tasty as well, making for a nice sweet end to the meal. Five Napkin is a neat addition to Midtown. If you are in the area it is another good place for brunch, lunch or dinner.

Disclosure: The meal reviewed in this post was complimentary.