Dolce Vita Wine Bar CHARLOTTE 94

My girlfriend had been hounding me about trying Dolce Vita (in Noda) after trying it for the first time last weekend... Now it's me that will be hounding YOU to go and check this place out! I decided to go in with said girlfriend for a late lunch yesterday afternoon a little after 2pm. We had the whole place to ourselves which was awesome, but at the same time unfortunate that everyone else in CLT was missing out! The restaurant itself is small, comfortable and inviting... perfect for a casual hangout with friends or a romantic date. I absolutely fell in love with the warm colors and cozy tables. I browsed the lunch menu despite the fact that I knew what I wanted: a personal pepperoni pizza with fresh mozzarella (top left). The lunch menu also offers tasty sounding sandwiches and a personal pizza sans meat. After I ordered I realized that I also had to have the baked brie appetizer(top right). If you like brie you MUST try this appetizer.. even if you don't like brie I still think you should try it. It was simply phenomenal!! The brie was perfect and warm inside a bread shell (croissant like, flakey and delicious) drizzled with a little honey and balsamic and served with pita chips and crackers. I will probably order this appetizer every time I go back. Even still, the main star was the pizza which is the best I've had since I moved to Charlotte in August. It wasn't soaked through with grease like most pizza, and everything about it screamed fresh. The mozzarella really makes the pizza, and the thin but tasty crust makes it very easy to polish off the whole thing. It was so good that I had to force myself to save a piece to bring home to the bf (which he scarfed down as soon as I returned). I didn't look through wine racks, but I could tell they had a great selection including my favorite champagne. Dolce Vita also offers a nice selection of wine by the glass. I really appreciated how each glass of wine had a small description under it because I'm always looking to expand my basic wine knowledge. The owner took care of us, and she was nothing short of sweet, friendly, and genuine which completed a wonderful meal. I gave Dolce Vita a 94 because I simply can not wait to go back for more!!

M Cafe COLUMBIA 82

This past weekend I decided to venture to Columbia to visit some girl friends. As I was heading that way on Friday afternoon, my friend called me and made me promise we'd have sushi for dinner at M Cafe. We originally set off to M Vista (which is the newest M Cafe location, near Wild Wings) around 8 pm, but after finding no remotely close parking spots and noticing how packed the restaurant was, we decided to try the location on Sumter st. After a quick drive we found a spot out front and plenty of tables available. We were seated right away and everyone quickly fell in love with the lychee martinis. We all agreed to split appetizers so we started with edamame, meat filled dumplings, and rock shrimp in a spicy sauce. Edamame is always a safe bet and everyone enjoyed the dumplings. I liked the rock shrimp a lot, but both of my friends had to stop eating them because they thought they were to spicy. Our dinners followed shortly after; once again we had decided to split three sushi rolls and chicken teriyaki. The "Volcano" (the top roll pictured above) roll was the favorite, probably because it was deep fried. M Cafe's menu is big without being to overwhelming. They have plenty of interesting specialty rolls which are hard to decide between, and also offer entrees other then sushi. The chicken teriyaki was pretty good, but the sushi was definitely better. It's a really good spot for a date or a girl's night. We left dinner with to go boxes, full, and ready to go downtown. I rated M Cafe and 82 and definitely plan on going back.

Cabo Fish Taco CHARLOTTE 87

Cabo Fish Taco has quickly become one of my favorite places to grab lunch or dinner. Decorated with interesting artwork and bright colors, this little restaurant on N Davidson fits in perfectly with Noda. I've eaten at Cabo Fish Taco a handful of times since I moved to Charlotte and it never disappoints. The bf and I almost always get seated right away, and are promptly greeted with their fresh corn salsa made daily. On our most recent trip I decided to order something other then their amazing tacos. I settled on trying the "Epic Tuna Burrito" (pictured above) made with grilled tuna, avocado, rice, cheese and a cilantro white sauce (I opted for no beans). The bf decided to stick with tacos but mixed it up by ordering the "Serrano Chicken", something neither of us had yet to try. Our food came out fairly quickly, and while everything was good, we both agreed that we had ordered better in the past. The tuna in my burrito was grilled perfectly and the flavors were nice, but their fish tacos are definitely better. The chicken tacos were good, but the chicken was a little bit over cooked. Even though it was our least favorite trip, we still enjoyed ourselves and felt satisfied. Whenever I think of Cabo Fish Taco a few things come to mind: 1. Everything I've ever eaten there has always tasted super fresh. 2. They have a great range of different specialty margaritas and beer. 3. They have great prices, $15 and less for entrees (though most range around $10) and $4 and up for margaritas. Overall I gave them an 87.. definitely a place I'll be going back to.

Cantina 1511 CHARLOTTE 74

After a long and lazy labor day weekend the bf and I decided to keep our "mexican food streak" going by trying out Cantina 1511 on East Blvd. It was a good experience, but the food was just okay. There was a 10-15 min wait for a table for two so the bf and I bellied up to the bar to try out a cocktail before dinner. I was a little disappointed with their specialty margaritas. They had an interesting selection, but most seemed fruity and sweet. I must say that their actual tequila selection was off the chain, in fact, it took up a full page on their large cocktail menu. The bf was not feeling tequila shots so I went with a patron cosmo, which was simply perfect. Our table was ready pretty fast, but they wouldn't transfer our drinks to our tab and the bartender was busy so we had to wait to tab out. We made it to our table and our friendly server came to us promptly. We decided to start out with the shrimp and crab ceviche and the top shelf guacamole. The guacamole was made fresh at our table with avocados, salt, and some pico de gallo, and it was my favorite thing ordered. I did not care for the shrimp and crab ceviche... It was served in a small glass with shredded crab and whole shrimp drowned in a sauce that tasted pickle-ish. I hate pickles, and that seemed to be the dominating flavor. For dinner I decided to try out the "Pescado Yucatan"(pictured above), grilled fish of the day (mahi) with spicy habanero pico de gallo, pickled red onions, and black bean and plantain mash, served with corn tortillas. It also came with a corn salsa, and it was pretty much a "build your own taco" set up. The fish was cooked nicely, but there was no "wow" factor. It was good, but not amazing. The bf decided to try out three different tacos; they have seven you can mix and match from. He tried the "al pastor" (slow cooked pork), "guadalajara shrimp", and "carne asada steak". The steak was a little on the greasy side, however the pork and shrimp were pretty good. Nothing was terrible, except for the ceviche but that's my opinion. I would definitely go back and try out some more tacos, but probably wouldn't make this a regular spot. Overall I gave Cantina 1511 a 74.

Cajun Queen CHARLOTTE 78

Last night I was starving and craving some New Orleans style cuisine. The bf and I decided to try out Cajun Queen off of E 7th St. It was pretty good, but not great. We decided to start out with the "Cajun popcorn" (pictured left) which was lightly fried pieces of crawfish tale in a light and tasty sherry remoulade sauce. It was our favorite dish of the night. I was worried that the crawfish would be overly fried and overcooked, but this wasn't the case at all. The lemon wedges that came with the appetizer made it the perfect dish. The bf decided to try the shrimp and crawfish etouffee for his main course, while I opted for the blackened mahi mahi with a crawfish and tasso sauce. The etouffee was definitely the tastier choice, even though the shrimp wasn't seasoned and was pretty bland. The mahi was okay but the mashed potatoes it came with tasted old and dry (reminiscent of fast food KFC mashed potatoes). They had an almost overwhelming cocktail selection, which is cool because it caters to many tastes. I had a cadillac margarita which, if you like grand marnier in your margs, was awesome. I also tried a tornado (rum, banana liquor and OJ) and it was very very sweet. The meal was satisfying for my craving, but I feel as if I could find a better Cajun restaurant. Overall I gave Cajun Queen a 78; I'll go back, but not very often.

Enso CHARLOTTE 88

I was very excited to try out Enso, the new sushi place at the Epicenter. It definitely lived up to its hype. The decor was well thought out and sleek, and the whole place managed to give off a hip vibe. The bf and I decided to sit right away at the sushi bar instead of waiting 15 minutes for a table (a little odd because the restaurant was only half full). We went at 8:00 pm planning to catch a 9:30 movie, but the service was so slow that it was impossible. Plan on spending your time and some money if you come here, you won't be disappointed. The restaurant is designed to be the kind of place where you can order as you eat. The menu is pretty big and ranges from dim sum to specialty rolls to asian fusion entrees such as a duo of king crab. Everything on the menu sounded good, but the bf and I had our hearts set on trying out the sushi-and some appetizers of course. We started with the "New style sashimi" (pictured above left) which was a beautiful presentation of salmon, yellow tail, and tuna thinly sliced and stacked on each other to make the perfect bite size. We also tried the Wagyu beef carpaccio which was simple but fantastic. We tried four different specialty rolls, but two really stole the show. The king crab roll (pictured on the top to the right) consisted of mostly king crab on top with more crab and some avocado inside. It was probably my favorite roll, the flavor was really concise with a slight sweetness. The shrimp mania roll (pictured at the top on the left)was interesting and pretty good, but the other roll that really won us over was the fire roll. It had sliced scallop on top and had the perfect amount of spice. There was a nice size saki menu, unfortunately they were out of almost everything due to their grand opening this past weekend. All of the cocktails were very sweet and uninspired. Another cool thing worth mentioning is that Enso serves off their sushi menu late on weeknights (I believe until 12:30 or 1:00 am) which makes it the only late night sushi place I've found thus far. I will definitely be going back to Enso to try some of their unique entrees and more of their fantastic sushi! Overall an 88.

Cafe Strudel COLUMBIA 70

After a late night in Columbia on Friday me and a couple friends decided to try out Cafe Strudel on State St for a late Saturday lunch. The first appeal was that they served breakfast all day and were pretty cheap. The food was decent, nothing special or amazing. I opted for their buffalo grilled chicken salad served over fresh romaine lettuce (pictured left). The chicken was okay but a little dry. Cheap, bland, and slightly off the mark are the best descriptions for the sandwiches and salads. I would go back to try their breakfast, but probably wouldn't try anything else. Overall Cafe Strudel is rated at a 70 for a cheap decent meal.

Taqueria Jalisco Mexican Restaurant COLUMBIA 89

Jaliscos is in my top 5 favorite Mexican restaurants of all time. I must admit that this isn't my first time dining at Jaliscos; when I lived in Columbia I made sure to eat there a couple times a month. It's by far the best Mexican restaurant you'll find in Columbia. Located off St. Andrew's road, Jaliscos offers amazing and authentic micheladas (Michelada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), ceviche, and tortilla soup. The ceviche (top right) is $3.95 and comes on a tostada with avocado slices on top. I have compared many ceviches, and Jalisco's version always comes out on top. The tortilla soup or their sausage and potato tacos are just the thing for a cold day. My personal favorite entree would have to be the Camarones a la diabla (bottom left). The delicious, spicy orange sauce tastes good on everything! Jaliscos is in no way expensive or gourmet, but the food is wonderful. The only thing that Jaliscos doesn't bring to the table are their margaritas. I personally don't care for them, they're very sweet. However, their pina colladas and beer selection are great! Just on the cusp of a 90, Jaliscos comes in at an 89 making it worthy of returning to.