La Tagliatella - Epicentre

The Tagliatella signature pizza with eggplant. 

I have been meaning to blog about La Tagliatella for quite some time so I am glad I am finally able to post about this relatively new Italian option in Charlotte. La Tagliatella is a chain restaurant, but unlike most that we know, most of its locations are in Spain with only 6 locations in the US. The Charlotte location opened early last fall and we enjoyed a friends and family night and media night. A few weeks later, we took my mom for a special birthday dinner and had a very enjoyable meal. The above pizza, actually called the Tagliatella, is one of my favorite menu items - how could it not be delicious with fried eggplant and drizzled with honey and balsamico glaze? We also really enjoyed the Caesar salad and several pastas - I can't recall exactly what is in every photo but we did enjoy everything. For dessert, try the bocconcino - a cheesecake topped with delicious custard. There is a lot to choose from and the dining room has a neat, unique European feel. There is a special lunch menu, kids menu and bar menu and regular specials including some great specials in March - see the website for details. I encourage you to try La Tagliatella if you are uptown - it is definitely a great option at Epicentre. 

Beef Carpaccio with pierina.

Caesar Salad - very good!

Pasta with red sauce and meatballs. There are a variety of handmade pastas including several stuffed pasta options. 

Garlic Shrimp with Ravioli - much of the pasta is made in house. 

Risotto.

Another tasty pizza - you fold it over so you taste all the components. 

Desserts including the special cheesecake (right) - one of my favorite cheesecake renditions ever!

Libretto's - New Parktowne Village location

Il Diavolo (back half) and San Gennaro (front). The Il Diavolo was spicy and one of our very favorite menu items!

Soon after moving back to Charlotte in 2012 I visited the Ballantyne location of Libretto's - post here. Now a third Charlotte location at Parktowne Village (corner of Woodlawn and Park Rds.) joins Ballantyne and Epicentre. I recently had two very enjoyable meals at Libretto's - Parktowne and even had the opportunity to speak with owner Mike Libretto about his restaurants and the restaurant business here in Charlotte. 

All of the food was good and the atmosphere at this location is pleasant, nice for couples and families with a bar available for single diners as well. The eggplant parmigiana remains a personal favorite. However, this was my first time trying the pizza and it was also very good - so many delicious specialty pies to choose from. My husband and I both love spicy foods so the Il Diavolo was right up our alley with pepperoni, spicy sausage, jalapenos and roasted garlic - yum! The stuffed mushrooms were also fantastic as an appetizer and we enjoyed the linguini with clam sauce as well. The best news is that this new location delivers to where we live - awesome! I look forward to returning to Libretto's to try more soon, including the wings, Square pizzas, Calzones and Strombolis. 

 Out front.

 Neat bar/outdoor area. When the weather is nice you can sit outside overlooking the fountain!

Full bar. 

Half of a Roasted Beet Salad - kitchen was nice enough to split this for us.

Linguini with White Clam Sauce - garlicky and delicious!

Florentine (right half) and New Yorker (left).

Display of pizzas and garlic knots. Easy to stop in for a quick lunch.

Tasty garlic knots with the wonderful tomato sauce.

Stuffed Mushrooms with sausage in a creamy alfredo sauce - so good!

Eggplant Parmigiana - a beautiful rendition and still one of my top picks.

Eggplant Rollatini - awesome appetizer - would be enough for small appetite meal.

Side of meatballs. Must try. The baby also loved these!

Cannoli we tried was good! Tiramisu, cheesecake and a brownie are also available to satisfy the sweet tooth.

e2 Emeril's Eatery

Outside patio and entrance.

Corn muffins served with lunch - moist and a good way to whet your appetite but save room!

I was lucky enough to be invited to try e2 Emeril's Eatery in uptown Charlotte just a few weeks ago. Most folks know Emeril from television but now he owns more than a dozen restaurants across the country in places such as Orlando, Las Vegas and New Orleans. Charlotte's  e2 is located on the Levine Avenue of the Arts between the Mint Museum uptown and the Bechtler Museum. Inside is a full bar and plenty of table seating. There is also a nice patio for al fresco dining. We sat at the bar (there is also a "Food Bar" where you can sit and watch the food being prepared) and enjoyed tasting portions of several of the most popular dishes. My favorite dishes that we tried include the oyster shooter, the signature barbecued shrimp, the pasta with housemade sausage and the apple crepes (photos below). The burger was also good and I enjoyed the corn muffins (above). Other lunch options include chicken and waffle, fresh fish sandwich (this sounded really good!), shrimp and grits and NC Rainbow trout. Several salads and soups are also available including a "gumbo of the day" and there are gluten free items available. 

I did not indulge in any of the stellar looking drinks, although we did sample the house made limoncello - delicious! e2 has a nice drink list, which includes not only classic cocktails, beers and an impressive wine list but also special signature and New Orleans style drinks executed by mixologist Miki Nikolic. His soon to be famous Grass Hopper cocktail includes wheatgrass, hendrick's gin, jalepeno simple syrup, lime juice and cucumber water - yum! Other signature options include a Bacon + Maple, a Pumpkin Spice, and a Prickly Moon with prickly pear juice. New Orleans cocktails include a Sazerac, Bijou, Ramos Gin Fizz and more. I look forward to returning for dinner so that I can sample some of these! 

e2 takes reservations for lunch and dinner and is a great place for a business lunch, a special occasion or a "just because" let's go out! A special 3 course "lunch crunch" menu is offered for $24 with a guarantee of a 40 minute lunch. Adjoining the main restaurant is e2Go, a place where you can grab a sandwich, salad or soup for an even quicker lunch. 

During lunch I had the pleasure of chatting with General Manager Jeff Wakem who also made sure we had everything we needed and were able to taste lots of different dishes. Jeff has worked directly with Emeril in different locations and Emeril himself visits each of his restaurants from time to time. Check out e2 and you never know, you just might see him there yourself!

Oyster Shooter - with spicy New Orleans style Bloody Mary mix and a pickled haricot vert. This was unique and so good - for all you raw oyster fans!

Wood Oven Oyster on the Half Shell - with bacon, onions, spinach and parmesan reggiano. A great choice - love this simple preparation.

The bar, including several homemade liquors. 

Emeril's New Orleans Barbecued Shrimp served with rosemary biscuits. Delicious taste - one of my favorite options - after devouring the large shrimp, the sauce paired so well with the tasty biscuits.

Yellowfin tuna tartare with cucumber, jalepeno, avocado, cilantro and ponzu. Fresh and simple.

Pasta course: with housemade fennel sausage, broccoli rabe and parmesan reggiano. Loved the sausage in this delicious warm-you-up dish.

Chef de Cuisine, Brian Mottola.

Half of "The Burger" with fries.

Special side of the day - warm potato salad.

Honey crisp apple crepes with bacon-maple syrup and house made vanilla ice cream. Utterly scrumptious! I also snagged a piece of the famous banana cream pie to go. It has chocolate shavings and delicious caramel sauce - definitely a good one to share. My family ate it before I could take a photo! Other dessert options include blue corn brioche bread pudding, espresso pudding and (what I want to try next time) - sweet potato cheesecake!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary. 

Zio's Casual Italian

Chicken Piccata served with homemade pasta and vegetables.

Zio's Casual Italian is one of my new Charlotte finds. A friend recommended that we meet here for dinner several weeks ago and I am so glad that I now know about this place! Zio's has a pleasant yet casual atmosphere, good service, and most importantly - delicious food. You enter by going down a short staircase and the restaurant is welcoming to families as well as to groups and couples. The food is truly worth coming back for - especially the grilled pizza (loved the pear and Gorgonzola pie) and the house made pasta. I also really enjoyed the Caesar salad. I look forward to returning here again soon to try more menu items.

Baby Arugula Salad with Asparagus.



Caesar Salad.



Grilled pizza: half Margarita and half Pear & Gorgonzola.

Rosa Mexicano's Foods of Baja

Conejo de Fideos - deliciously different!

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to try Rosa Mexicano's special Foods of Baja menu, which features culinary advisor Jonathan Waxman's special Baja-influenced menu from now until July 1. I dined at the Atlanta location, which recently welcomed Executive Chef Brad Weideman to the team. Foods of Baja features a fun menu with several really interesting dishes worth trying. My favorites include the lump crab meat tostadas - so much crab meat with interesting flavors that add just the right amount of flavor without being overpowering - and the fideo pasta - special Mexican dried pasta with rabbit, chicken and portabella mushrooms in an wonderfully spicy habanero chile-roasted tomato salsa. This entree is delicious and unusual - definitely a good choice.

All three desserts that we tried were fantastic as well, including the special Baja menu dessert of plum and blackberry compote with crema catalana - very creamy and fruity with crunchy crust bits on top. The churros are seriously one of the best things I've eaten in quite some time (see last photo, below). Calvin also really enjoyed the special drink (Miel de Toronja) with its unique smoky flavor and we had wonderful service from Ramon - what a great waiter! If you are looking for something different to try during the rest of the month, definitely check out the Flavors of Baja menu at Rosa Mexicano.

The Miel de Toronja (left): Herradura reposado tequila, Vida mezcal, honey, fresh grapefruit and lime.



Amuse bouche of seared scallop with slow braised beef short rib - Mexican surf and turf.



Tostada de Jaiba con Coco. One of my favorite menu items!



Zucchini a la Parrilla. Loved the most chile cornbread.

Tacos de Camarones de San Felipe (shrimp tacos)



Our expert guacamole maker.



Spicy guacamole - you can't eat at Rosa without ordering the guacamole!



Salsas and bottomless rice and beans, which accompany every meal.



Compota de Ciruelas y Zarzamoras - tasty plum and blackberry compote with crema catalana.



Pastel de Queso - apple cheesecake with cajeta and candied pecans.



Churros.

Awesome churros with three dipping sauces: chocolate, caramel and raspberry guajillo. We almost didn't order these but luckily Ramon talked us into it and we were not sorry - these are very good. The presentation is also nice - the churros come in a bag with cinnamon and sugar which Ramon shook table side to ensure each churro was coated with a nice layer of sweet goodness. The caramel sauce was my favorite but I also love that the raspberry guajillo has a serious kick!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.