The Generous Pour at The Capital Grille

Special - Wagyu beef ribeye with onion rings.

The Capital Grille is again offering its summer wine event, The Generous Pour. This fantastic deal runs until September September 2, 2012 and is even available during Queen's Feast restaurant week, which is going on in Charlotte now until Sunday July 29. Click here to see the special menu offered by The Capital Grille for restaurant week. Here's the deal about The Generous Pour: unlimited portions of 9 different fine wines are available for a flat cost of $25. You must order an entree to participate. This is a great deal as several of these wines retail for more than $100 per bottle. It is also neat that you can have so much variety with your meal without ordering 9 separate glasses of wine.

I recently had the chance to come in, have dinner and sample all of the wines available with The Generous Pour. I brought our family friend Joal Fischer along, who is not only a wine lover but also a chocolate maker and co-founder of Barking Dog Chocolatiers. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and had fun tasting the nine available wines that are unlimited when you participate in this special wine event.

Joal's favorite wine of the night was the aperitif: Lunetta Rose sparkling rose from Trentino - Italy. This straightforward sparkling has very clean flavors and was a fabulous start to the meal. Other notable wines include the Falesco, Assisi Rosso 2009, the Villa Mt. Eden, Grand Reserve 2007, a Slovenian wine: Simcic, 2008/2009 - making its US debut for this event - and the South African dessert wine Kanu Kia Ora 2006, a chenin blanc - sweet and very tasty. The dessert wine was my personal favorite - it paired very well with the cheesecake, which is one of my favorite renditions of cheesecake ever.

We enjoyed our food as well, particularly the entrees: salmon prepared as the seared tuna usually is and a special Wagyu steak with onion rings - very tender and succulent meat. I also enjoyed the calamari and the Wagyu carpaccio. Dessert is always a winner here as well. The ice cream sampler was very good - I love the peanut butter ice cream that was available alongside the traditional chocolate and vanilla - and the carrot cake was something I'd never had here before - also very tasty. I encourage any wine lovers out there to make your way over to The Capital Grille to dine while The Generous Pour is being offered - a great opportunity to try some excellent wines and enjoy the classic ambiance offered by The Capital Grille.

Joal Fischer of Barking Dog Chocolatiers enjoying the wines from The Generous Pour.



Wagyu beef carpaccio.



Appetizer sampler.



Calamari.



Salmon - substitution for the seared tuna - loved the ginger, white soy and wasabi sauces and the delicious coconut rice.



My favorite cheesecake.



Ice cream with cookies.



Carrot Cake.

Disclosure: The meal and wine described in this review was complimentary.

The Capital Grille - New Summer Plates Menu

Seared sea scallops with sweet and sour tomatoes.

I was recently invited to sample the new Summer Plates menu at The Capital Grille. Now that I am in Charlotte, I was able to try out another Capital Grille location and enjoyed a lovely lunch with my mom in uptown Charlotte. This outpost of The Capital Grille was bustling before noon on a Monday. Many business meetings and lunches are held here and the obviously enthusiastic staff kept things running smoothly and truly went above and beyond even with a close to full a house. At lunch parking is validated for the lot behind the Dunhill Hotel, making it a reasonable $2.

The Plates menu features choice of a soup or salad, an entree and a side dish for a set price of $18 at the Charlotte location. For the summer menu, a new entree of seared scallops with sweet and sour tomatoes is available. I love how the scallops are served with a grilled lemon wedge for a citrus taste that goes perfectly with the beautifully presented and cooked shellfish - delicious. The other new additions to the menu include a carrot ginger soup (hot) which I also really liked (the tasty classic New England clam chowder is still available as well) and a tomato and watermelon salad with feta cheese - a refreshing option for a side dish. The Wagyu beef burger with fried egg and crispy onions is back on the menu following multiple requests after it was featured last summer and then removed. My mom ordered this and LOVED it - and she is not usually a fan of burgers at all. The truffle fries go great with the burger, which is really a treat.

The Plates menu is a truly exceptional value for lunch at The Capital Grille. Give it a try this summer while the Wagyu burger and seared scallops are still on the menu.

Outside The Capital Grille - Charlotte.



Carrot Ginger Soup.



Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Feta Cheese.



Clam Chowder.



Wagyu Cheeseburger with Fried Egg and Crispy Onions and Truffle Fries.



Grapefruit soda - love that they have an different non-alcoholic option.



Mini-sampler of tenderloin and lobster roll - the chef was kind enough to do this so we could taste these items along with our lunch choices. Both of these are available in larger portions on the Plates menu.



Coconut cream pie - a delicious, rich dessert option with lots of whipped cream!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

La Paz

Steak & Shrimp Veracruz.

La Paz, now located at the Metropolitan complex, has taken a downturn since it moved from the South Boulevard location. Even when it was on South I felt much of the authenticity had been lost following the move from the original location in a charming house in Myers Park off Providence Road. Now it feels like another big box chain - without being a chain! My recent dinner was ho-hum, nothing fantastic, nothing horrible. The waitstaff was obviously green and despite the huge space being close to empty on a Sunday evening it took a long time for us to find our waitress to pay our check. I appreciate that La Paz has a diverse menu including salads other than a taco shell with iceberg and several vegetarian dishes but I am on the hunt for an authentic, good and inexpensive Mexican staple in Charlotte. I have a few places I plan to try coming up - what's your favorite and why?

Veggie fajitas.



Chips - the salsa was tasty.



Char-grilled Chicken Salad.

Portabella and spinach tamales with goat cheese - interesting but lacks zing.

Empire State South - Atlanta

Super Food with hangar steak.

For my farewell lunch in Atlanta my Atlanta office dined at Hugh Acheson's Empire State South in Midtown Atlanta. I am so glad I had the chance to try this place before we left because it was great and it was a really fun place for a group lunch. The highlights for me included the Super Food salad plate - available with the standard hangar steak, chicken or fish. The farro and radishes on the plate particularly shined but everything really worked together well. The pimento cheese with bacon marmalade was truly out of this world also - a must-try starter. Everyone enjoyed their meal and we enjoyed sharing several desserts to top it off. The brownie ice cream sandwich was a bit too sweet for me but I like how they have baked goods available in the center of the restaurant for eating in or take-out. Several in our party also tried the specialty sourced coffee, which proved to be tasty. The atmosphere here is versatile with an airy, inviting dining space suitable for business, friends or family. I hope to have the chance to have dinner here when I am back in town visiting. Breakfast is also served.

Pimento Cheese with bacon marmalade - delicious!



The bar.



Fish po-boy.



Super Food with Tilapia.



Bratwurst with chips.



Phatty cakes, strawberry cupcake and chess pie.



Ice cream sandwich on brownies!

Dinner at Glen-Ella Springs in North Georgia

Rack of New Zealand Lamb.

Our family has dined at Glen-Ella Springs several times over the years since we have a relative who lives nearby. There are few choices for a high end meal in this area of Georgia and Glen-Ella's location gives it a special charm. Located in Clarkesville, Georgia in the north Georgia hills, Glen-Ella is a bed & breakfast in addition to offering dinner to the public. The historic property boasts more than 12 acres, a swimming pool, a fire pit, an herb/flower garden and wonderful views. I have never stayed at Glen-Ella but from what I have observed it would make for a very refreshing weekend, with the option of hiking nearby or relaxing and playing games on site.

Lump Crab Cakes.

Most recently I dined at Glen-Ella for dinner in April 2012. Unfortunately, the food seemed to have taken a downward turn as compared to my previous visits - we heard that they have gone through several chefs in recent years which might explain the drop-off.

First the highlights - the crab cakes and spinach salad were both good. If I find myself dining here again I might ask to have the crab cakes on the spinach salad or order one as appetizer and one as main dish. The trout, previously a favorite of my grandmother's was practically inedible. Poor grandma pushed it around on her plate but was not able to enjoy it. The lamb chops and ribeye were passable but really nothing special and the vegetarian wellington tasted quite odd - kind of a mess of cheese and doughy pastry, not at all what I expected. The ravioli special was also fine but nothing memorable. Service was mostly good but seemed a bit amateurish for the level of restaurant it appears the owners are going for; still, anyone who can handle a large group (we had 6) should be commended for getting mostly everything right.

I was really excited about going to Glen-Ella this last time but unfortunately it did not live up to years past for me. Still, with such a beautiful view and location, it is a worthy destination especially if you can stay overnight. Perhaps they will change chefs again in the near future - hopefully this time it will be for the better and we can return for a nostalgic dinner that lives up to our earlier visits.

Sorbet intermezzo.

Spinach salad.

Mushroom ravioli special.

Rainbow Trout.

Grilled ribeye.

Vegetarian Wellington.

Molten Chocolate Cake - a sweet end to the meal - who can resist warm chocolate cake?

Chicken and the Egg Revisited

House made Pimento Cheese and Buttermilk Fried Oysters with Creole Tartar Sauce - a wonderful start to the meal. We were even able to pack up the leftover cheese to take home!

We recently went for a second visit to Chicken and the Egg in Marietta after being invited back to try the entire menu. Our dinner at the Friends & Family night was superb so we expected nothing less. I am pleased to say that this newcomer delivered once again. We were seated in a comfortable booth in the center of the far wall - a great place for people watching and seeing the workings of the entire restaurant. It was a Friday night and it was busy - I suggest reservations for sure on weekends. Again, service was stellar and we were lucky enough to get to talk with Chef Marc Taft and his lovely wife, Elizabeth, who are the co-owners as well as manager Tom Foust. It is evident that all three really care about the dining experience of each visitor and that means a lot. If you haven't been yet - go soon. I hear there is a new fall menu now. I can't wait to try the new fall menu as well as brunch one of these weekends!

Specialty drinks by mixologist Brandon King include creative cocktails and tasty non-alcoholic "mocktails" which are just my speed! Left, the Strawberry Pie non-alcoholic and right, Calvin's Grilled Peach Manhattan, which includes infused bacon!

The restaurant has moved from the mini-corn muffins to the above spoon rolls, which are equally wonderful if not better with the molasses butter.



Special of the day: Hanger steak with black garlic puree and potatoes. I adore black garlic and have used it in cooking at home after my mother included it as one of my Hanukkah presents. I found it really neat that Chef included this ingredient in such a traditional dish. The meat was also very tender and the potatoes were great for soaking up the sauce.



Seared Sea Scallops with Pimento Cheese grits, charred onion, baby arugula and chili oil. I really enjoyed this dish, especially more of that wonderful Pimento Cheese. The one issue was that the arugula was overly salted. With the other great flavors in this dish, the greens could really go without any salt at all.



Praline Bread Pudding with caramel ice cream and Rhubarb Streusel Tart with brown sugar-sour cream ice cream. I think we got the last rhubarb of the summer season! The bread pudding really hit the spot - delicious!