Fruit Bouquets by 1-800-FLOWERS.com

Mixed Berry Margarita.

I was recently given the opportunity to sample the fruit bouquets from 1-800-FLOWERS. I received the mixed berry margarita, above, from the Charlotte location. To order in Charlotte, you can call the store directly at (704) 910-1199. Of course you can call 1-800-FLOWERS.com or go to their website to have fruit bouquets or flowers or other gifts such as cookies, popcorn and candy delivered anywhere they serve (most states). The berries presented as a beautiful bouquet - very impressive and tasty, although I would love to see a dark chocolate option - these use milk and white chocolate and various toppings including sprinkles, coconut and ground toffee. This is a unique gift in lieu of traditional flowers and can be delivered the same day they are ordered.

 

DISH

Salad, green beans, tomato soup and mac & cheese served with a deviled egg and a biscuit - a great veggie plate.

Dish is a funky spot in Plaza Midwood that turns out great food including wonderful vegetables. Recently my mom and I had lunch here and truly enjoyed going meatless with the wide selection on the veggie menu. I particularly enjoyed the tomato soup and the green beans and the deviled egg and biscuit really added an extra touch. Dish also has plenty of options for carnivores including burgers (veggie available), sandwiches such as fish, grilled eggplant and grilled pimento cheese, entrees like meatloaf, shrimp & grits and chicken & dumplings, a variety of salads and "South of the Border" items like nachos, burritos and quesadillas. Desserts are also offered including a wonderful sounding vanilla bourbon sweet potato pie - yum! I look forward to returning to Dish again soon. In addition to lunch and dinner service, breakfast is also served on Saturday from 10-3. Dish is closed on Sunday.

Fresh fruit, squash, collards, cauliflower casserole with a deviled egg and a biscuit - yum!

How Do You Roll? Opens In Ballantyne

The Director's Cut Roll - seaweed wrap, kani and unagi (crab and eel), avocado, tofu skin, crunch, wasabi mayo and unagi sauce.

How Do You Roll? just opened a new a fast-casual sushi spot in Ballantyne that allows diners to design their own sushi rolls or bowls. Protein options include many cooked meats like beef, chicken, freshwater ell (unagi) and even crawfish tails. Salmon, escolar and tuna are available raw. Both seaweed and soy wraps are available and you can choose from white or brown rice. Then you pick your veggies, toppings and sauces. Classic and original rolls designed by the restaurant are also available. This location of How Do You Roll? joins an uptown Charlotte location and two dozen or so total locations throughout the country.

I was invited to preview the restaurant's offerings earlier this week and enjoyed the Director's Cut roll (above), custom shrimp roll (below) and sides such as the tasty and authentic miso soup, edamame, calamari salad and seaweed salad. I also sampled the fruit roll and green tea mochi ice cream. Whether you think you love sushi or not, this is a great alternative for a healthy, fast meal. Even if you don't like raw fish there is plenty here for you to try.

Through Sunday How Do You Roll? hosts its Grand Opening, with a benefit for childhood cancer in association with the Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation. If you donate at least $1 to the foundation now through Sunday, you get a free sushi roll or bowl - a great way to try this new spot and fight childhood cancer at the same time.

Some of the available ingredients for rolling.



Custom shrimp/avocado/mango roll with brown rice.



Dessert fruit roll.

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.

Yogurtland

Yogurt and toppings - quite a nice variety!

I was recently provided with a gift card in order to sample Yogurtland, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop (apparently the first such company that offered self-service) with 170 locations in the US, Guam and Mexico. The majority of locations are in the western half of the US. In Atlanta there are 2 locations, one on West Paces Ferry Rd. near I-75 and another in Norcross. A third location in Peachtree City is coming soon. At the West Paces Ferry location on a recent rainy Saturday, high school kids dominated the constant crowd in the bright, friendly shop. A sprinkling of young families played into the mix as well.

Although I believe the Atlanta yogurt market is over-saturated I was pleasantly surprised with Yogurtland's flavors, toppings, atmosphere and price. I tried many of the available flavors (more than a dozen!) including limited edition Yo Frappe and Mango Mixer tart flavors. Both were tasty. I personally prefer the tart flavors, and found the plain tart flavor to be delicious, especially when coupled with fruit and chocolate toppings! Toppings include the usual fruits, nuts and candies as well as mochi and tiny pieces of cheesecake as well as cookie dough bites - definitely appealing for the under fifteen set. Other flavors I enjoyed include Pecans & Pralines, Superfruit tart, Guava-Pineapple tart and Red Velvet Cupcake Batter. In my experience it is hard to find a good chocolate frozen yogurt and Yogurtland's version was pretty good - another welcome surprise. On the company's website you can view all flavors. I would love to try the Matcha Green Tea (which was not available when I visited).

I was also impressed by the pricing. At 33 cents per ounce the cost is reasonable and seems quite a bit lower than some of the other local yogurt establishments. Each of the above creations cost about $3.50. If Yogurtland was closer to me it would definitely be my top pick. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Disclosure: The yogurt described in this review was complimentary.

The Capital Grille - lunch post

Mini-tenderloin served with roasted butternut squash & cranberry chutney. Usually two tenderloins are included but we split this plate with the fried lobster tails (unfortunately NOT on the special $15 plate lunch!) and the chef split the plates for us.

I was recently invited to try The Capital Grille's new lunch menu, which includes special 3 part lunch plates. The lunch plates are $15 and include soup or salad, choice of entree (current choices include mini-tenderloin sandwiches, lobster roll and "knife and fork" BLT) and a side dish - see Atlanta lunch menu here. This is a more economical option for those who want to experience the great service, atmosphere, view (it's on the 8th floor) and food of The Capital Grille in Atlanta. I found all of the options I tried from $15 menu to be tasty. I also love the bread service here. In addition to the $15 plate with the porcini bisque, mini-tenderloins and roasted squash we also tried the special oysters of the day (wonderful!) and the fried lobster tails - also a daily special. The Capital Grille is a great place for a business or special occasion meal and now for lunch there is a more cost-conscious option as well.

Porcini mushroom bisque- one of the options on the $15 lunch plate menu. Creamy and tasty.



Special of the day: fresh raw oysters, shucked perfectly with lots of sauces to choose from.



Homemade grapefruit soda - really fresh and not too sweet. I preferred this to the lemonade.

This cheesecake is awesome: light, delicious and made even better by the strawberry puree and berries served on the side. I love the sugar top and the tasty crust is made from vanilla wafers. I usually don't even like cheesecake and this was so good I had to take a piece back for my co-workers.

Peaches from Georgia Peach Council and a Cookbook

This summer I was fortunate to be provided with a box of peaches from Pearson Farm through the Georgia Peach Council along with Peach County, GA native Gena Knox's excellent cookbook, Southern My Way: Simple Recipes, Fresh Flavors. The peach crop this year is wonderful and I truly enjoyed eating and cooking with these peaches. I made peach ice cream (my own recipe) as well as a Georgia Caprese salad and a Cornmeal Peach Cake from Knox's book. The cornmeal peach cake was particularly spectacular. I actually made two!

Georgia Caprese Salad with Lime Vinaigrette (Gena Knox's recipe)



My box!



Cornmeal Peach Cake, cooling.



The sliced warm cake with homemade peach ice cream. Gooey and delicious!

If you haven't bought any fresh peaches this year, buy them now - they are still ripe and can be purchased at any of the farmer's markets around town.

Cook's Warehouse Midtown Breakfast with Chef Nancy Waldeck

Luscious shrimp and grits, baked cinnamon and maple french toast and strawberries with lime glaze. A healthy take on delicious classics.

Back in June I was invited to a breakfast at the Cook's Warehouse Midtown location in Ansley Mall. I had not yet been to this location, which moved from Amsterdam Walk. The space is large, with a wonderful kitchen for cooking classes and great kitchen products as always. Chef Nancy Waldeck entertained us by cooking several of her wonderful recipes - the shrimp and grits was a favorite - and showed us how to keep the calorie count down in addition to making the dishes taste great. Tricks for this include using low fat cream cheese in the grits and using chicken stock instead of cream when sauteing the shrimp. Nancy has a wonderful website and blog as well as a book called Taste and Savor. Cook's Warehouse is a must-visit for anyone who loves to cook and also a great place to learn, since they have many classes ranging from basic to advanced and theme cooking.

Chef Nancy Waldeck gave us some great tips, like how to cut a bell pepper properly for slicing and cooked the above tasty breakfast for us before our eyes.

Pie Shop

Coconut Cream Pie = heavenly.

I was invited to try the fabulous Pie Shop back in July. This recent addition to Buckhead puts out pies, tarts, custards, tassies and more, including both sweet and savory items. In addition to what is pictured here, I've also tried their Savory Custard with Okra and Mushrooms, Vegetable Pot Pie, Cherry Pie, Chocolate Pie and Lavender Honey Pie. A unique feature: the shop stays open until 1 AM on weekends to accommodate dessert-seekers and bar hoppers in the neighborhood. Their communal tables allow for lunch, dessert or a snack (or dinner on the weekends!) to be eaten in; or you can take a whole pie to go. The selection changes weekly - click here for the current menu - and you can join the shop's email list to have the weekly selection emailed to you on Monday. The combinations range from classic to inventive - definitely a place worth seeking out.

Entrance to Pie Shop. You drive around back to reach the entrance. Look carefully for the Pie Shop sign on Roswell Road as it is easy to miss.



Pie on display.



Strawberry-topped Cheesecake bites with gingersnap crust, Caramel-Banana Tassies with Pecan-Shortbread Crust, and Peanut Butter Cream Tassies with Chocolate-dipped Cookie Crust.



Three Grape Pie - unique and tasty.



Strawberry & Candied Lemon Peel Pie - my second favorite after Coconut Cream.



Wall of pie poetry - a really neat idea!



North Georgia Fried Apple Pie.



Butterscotch Meringue Pie.



Owner Mims Bledsoe with the pie boxes used for takeout. Tell her Amy on Food sent you!

Yogurberry FroYo in Buckhead

This week I was invited to check out Yogurberry Frozen Yogurt and Smoothies (local site and worldwide site) in Buckhead's Terminus building. A friend and I were treated to several samples of this store's tart yogurt. Current flavors include plain, chocolate mocha, blueberry and taro, and the flavors change regularly. Yogurberry has several unique features when compared with the many yogurt shops popping up around town. For one thing they offer a variety of smoothies, hot drinks and bubble tea in addition to the yogurt. In addition, they offer a granola parfait (pictured above) and a variety of other drinks. I also like the homey touches: hand-made signs and topping combination suggestions including owner Brian Hah's "Brian's Special".

The yogurt here is quite tasty and apparently is made in-house. I liked the plain and taro flavors the best - in my opinion chocolate does not pair well with the tart yogurt taste and the blueberry was a bit sweet for me, but still delicious. They have many different and unique toppings here, including Pocky, mochi, a variety of cereals and tons of fruits and candies. I absolutely loved the avocado shake with bubbles (tapioca balls) added in. Wow - this could definitely be lunch and as it is not too sweet, probably a pretty healthy one. I will be back for that shake and recommend this place for a good, unique yogurt fix. Parking is validated for up to 3 hours.

Plain & blueberry swirl with strawberry, mango, granola and blueberry.



Taro with Strawberries, mochi and coconut - these flavors so very well together - you have to get a taste of each in one bite!



Chocolate Mocha yogurt with marshmallow creme, chocolate sauce and Golden Grahams - Yogurberry's homemade s'more.