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.

Dilworth Neighborhood Grille

With free entree coupon in hand we decided to check out Dilworth Neighborhood Grille. After all, we live in Dilworth and it's always fun to try a new place. The space is attractive and has a lot of seating, with a large bar area and lots of TVs for superior sports watching. Service was also pleasant and prompt. Unfortunately the food we tried (other than the house salad, which was fresh and good) was nothing special. The slaw on the BBQ platter was not very flavorful and the BBQ itself didn't have any kind of smoky appeal. The mac & cheese was OK but not great. As for the shrimp and grits, to me it was way too cheesy/greasy- some may like all the cheese but definitely too rich for my taste and not enough distinct grits flavor separate from the sauce/cheese. This would be a fun place to watch a game and definitely good for the drinking set. Of course I only tried a few items from the menu, but from what I tasted the food is not the draw here.

BBQ plate - a bit skimpy on the meat.



Shrimp & grits - a bit too cheesy for me!



House salad - fresh and tasty.

Mussels at Fran's Filling Station

I recently had some awesome mussels and fries at Fran's Filling Station. I reviewed Fran's once before but it has been quite a while! Now that I am living close by I will be back more often. Love that you can have the mussels prepared in 3 different ways - I had the white wine and garlic preparation - yum! The portion was also generous and more bread was supplied when needed.

Dots Dario - Marion, NC

Dots Dario stand.

On the way to our mountain cabin stands Dots Dario in Marion, NC. Dots serves an impressive variety of soft-serve flavors as well as dipped ice cream, sundaes, banana splits and sorbets. Recently we enjoyed some chocolate dipped soft serve as well as the lemon sorbet. I suggest sticking to the ice cream as the sorbet was sticky sweet. This is a fun place for a treat on the way up the mountain or a way and a nice stop to console yourself on your way back home!

Chocolate dipped soft serve and lemon sorbet.

Sweet Lorraine's Bakery

Sweet Lorraine's Bakery opened in Dilworth on East Boulevard last month. This is a very welcome addition to my neighborhood! I attended the Grand Opening and enjoyed tasting lots of the pastry and bread offerings. My favorites include the prosciutto bread, the pecan sticky bun and the cannoli as well as the signature Sweet Lorraine bar - a brownie and blondie stacked together - what could be better? I look forward to returning to try the cupcakes, scones and muffins as well as the cookies. Coffee is available and there are several tables so you can enjoy right there in the store. Chocolates from Courtney Paul Chocolates are also for sale, including a luscious passion fruit ganache in dark chocolate. Welcome to the neighborhood, Sweet Lorraine's!

Cupcakes!







Samples of sweets!



The Sweet Lorraine's team in the kitchen including owner Christine Guerriero (2nd from left)!



Chocolate display.



Palet Or (left): creamy dark chocolate ganache topped with gold leaf and Almond Hazelnut: creamy ganache with puffed cereal.



Passion Fruit Ganache enrobed in dark chocolate - my favorite of Courtney Paul's chocolates.

The Pizza Shop - Spruce Pine, NC

Custom pizza.

Spruce Pine, NC is fast becoming a culinary destination. Now delicious pizza (including gluten free), calzones and salads are available at The Pizza Shop & Dry County Brewing Company on Spruce Pine's upper road. Last time we visited our mountain cabin we ventured over for a pie on Thursday evening. Lucky for us, Thursday is trivia night, which made a fun night even more fun with our multi-generational table. We started with salads. My favorite was the Ceasar with fresh croutons and lots of parmesan with a tasty but not too overwhelming creamy dressing. The beet salad was also good, although for some reason I did not expect it to come with lettuce - I thought it would just be beets! The pizza here is formidable, with a nice char to the crust and lots of toppings available. The kitchen seemed to miss some of the toppings we ordered (and subbed green peppers for the roasted red peppers) but we were quick to forgive once we tasted it! We had the traditional tomato sauce pie but a pesto pizza and a white pie are also available. Next time I definitely want to give one of these a shot! For dessert we tried the brownie, which was delicious but would have been even better with ice cream. Maybe some ice cream could be offered in the future?

As you might imagine from the name, hand-crafted beers are available on tap. We didn't try any so I can't comment but The Pizza Shop and Dry County Brewing is a fun spot that anyone visiting Spruce Pine should visit.

Ceasar salad (top), beet salad (right) and house salad.



Brownie.



Steve out front.

Pizza Peel & Tap Room

The "No Apologies Pizza" from the Secret Menu - available if you ask for it and online here.

I recently had the chance to try The Pizza Peel and Tap Room on Colwick Road near Cotswold. The Pizza Peel turns out custom and specialty pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and salads and boasts an impressive beer menu. I like that pizzas are available in personal size portions and you can make even a personal size half and half - fun! There is also a Secret Menu. Ask for it.

I tried the above "No Apologies Pizza" from the Secret Menu which has chipotle hot tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, chorizo sausage, spinach, red onion and whole roasted garlic - whew, that was one fully loaded and tasty pizza! The Roasted Veggie (available on the regular menu) was also very good. The dough on both pizzas tasted fresh and well cooked. I also really enjoyed the curry rolls: although not what you might expect at a pizza place, the fried curry spring rolls with chicken, carrots, onions and cabbage got my taste buds going and offered an excellent start to the meal. Other starters include garlic knots, bruschetta, nachos and even house made potato chips. The house salad I sampled was also top-notch and other salads are available as well. I love salads with fruit, nuts and cheese and this house salad fit that bill with cranberries, bleu cheese and walnuts - yum! Pastas like beer & four cheese lasagna and eggplant parm are on my list to try another time and the fish tacos have received accolades as well. The Pizza Peel definitely offers a diverse menu with something for everyone. Every week there are lunch specials and every day there are events like trivia, live music and pint night. Check the calendar here.

In celebration of National IPA Day on August 2, 2012 The Pizza Peel and Tap Room will host Taylor from Natty Greene's Brewing Company for a complimentary tasting and beer education at 6 PM. There will be 6 different 2 ounce samples: Highland Kashmir, Stone IPA, Natty Greene's Freedom IPA, Loose Cannon IPA, He'Brew Hop Manna and Terrapin Hopsecutioner. A $5 appetizer buffet including stout meatballs, bruschetta and flatbreads will be avilable for those attending the tasting. Additionally, all IPAs will be $4 all day and Pizza Peel staff can recommend the best pizza to go with your IPA. Check it out!

Chicken Curry Rolls.



House salad includes dried cranberries, blue cheese and walnuts.



Roasted veggie pizza.



Lunch buffet - so many pizzas to choose from!







Taps galore!

Disclosure: The meal described in this review was complimentary.

Juanita's Bakery

Red velvet cupcakes.

With cupcakes all the rage these days (and my history of cupcake criticism!) I decided to try out Juanita's Bakery on South Blvd. Offering much more than just cupcakes, Juanita's serves up traditional Dominican cakes and pastries including guava filled cakes and gorgeous birthday, shower and wedding cakes. I tried the red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing and was very pleased. The cake was very moist and flavorful and the icing had that cream cheese flavor that makes this cupcake so good. The other great thing about Juanita's are the reasonable prices. The cupcake is $2 plus tax. With so many other shops charging $2.50 or even $3.00 for cupcakes (many of them inferior to this one) this is an excellent deal. I look forward to trying more from Juanita's soon!

Juanita's fabulous truck.

Samples of the gorgeous cakes available from Juanita's Bakery.

Taqueria Mexico on South Blvd.

Shrimp Taco.

Taqueria Mexico is a refreshing little spot out South Boulevard serving up authentic, homey Mexican cuisine. We were pleasantly surprised with the trio of salsas, including a tasty green tomatillo along with as many chips as you can handle. The tacos are a real standout here, especially the shrimp taco. The wet burrito was very good as well, with a piquant sauce and melted cheese giving it that extra touch. The menu here is huge and I look forward to returning. The prices are also very reasonable and I'm sure the larger dishes would be enough for 2 to share. I am still on the lookout for additional great Mexican spots in Charlotte, but I'm glad to have added Taqueria Mexico to my regular rotation!

Guacamole salad and wet burrito.



Fish taco and pork taco.



Chips and salsa - nice to have so many salsa options!