Soul Gastro Lounge CHARLOTTE 86

I was very excited to check out Soul the other night because it's walking distance from my apartment, and I've heard great things. If you're planning on going over the weekend for dinner; plan on waiting. Soul is always packed with people dining and drinking alike on Friday and Saturday night. While we were told there was an hour wait (for two) the bf and I were seated on their small upper deck within 20 minutes; which is great if you don't mind cigarette smoke, and has a pretty sweet view of the city. Soul is the perfect place for different tastes because their menu includes sandwiches, salads, tapas, and sushi. The bf and I decided to try the sashimi tacos, curried lamb skewers and a couple sushi rolls. The sashimi tacos were a-ma-zing!! Three homemade wontons made into little taco shells stuffed with tuna and drizzled with a spicy sauce (pretty sure it was wasabi aioli). The sushi was also dynamite, we both loved the soul roll (pictured above), which was perfected by jalapenos. The sushi is cut pretty big, and can be hard to eat, but it's so good it doesn't really matter (unless you're on a first date maybe). The only disappointment was the curried lamb skewers. The bf had tried out Soul the week before and had been raving over how great the lamb was. Unfortunately the night we ordered it the lamb was way overdone, making it EXTREMELY chewy and hard to eat.. it was also pretty bland. I was told that the past order had been perfect with a stronger curry flavor so I'm definitely interested in giving the lamb a second chance, and with everything else I tried that night I'm sure it was a minor glitch. The sake selection was small yet foolproof. We tried the "g" sake which we both loved! Aside from that, they have a good selection of beer and liquor. The service was okay but not really noteworthy, maybe even slightly chaotic. It's definitely a fun and cool atmosphere, but it can also be loud (there's a DJ inside) and dark. Go for a good time and great sushi (although the tapas are definitely worth checking out as well). I will definitely be going back to try more. Overall I gave Soul an 86.

Something Classic CHARLOTTE 20

Today me and the bf were in the mood to try out a place in our neighborhood, plaza midwood. We decided to try Something Classic on Central Ave. The place looked like a cute catering business and deli, however it was our worst dining experience in Charlotte up to date. They had more catering options then lunch items, but they seemed to have a decent selection of sandwiches and salads. The bf decided to try their cuban but with out pickles. I opted for a California wrap (pictured above): turkey, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, and a cucumber mayo. The cucumber mayo made me hesitant because when I do eat mayo I like it minimally, but I decided to try it on the wrap anyways. They had some outside tables so we decided to walk there with our dog; I waited outside while the bf went in to place our order. He came back 12 minutes later, which was odd because there were 3 people working, and only 2 other costumers who had already ordered and had just gotten their food. The bf seemed frustrated and told me that he was completely unacknowledged for 10 minutes, they acted like he wasn't there... We then waited almost another 10 minutes for our sandwiches, also odd because they didn't have other costumers... As soon as we unwrapped our sandwiches I realized that the cucumber mayo was pretty much just plain mayo and was slathered on in a disgusting way, and the bf realized that his "cuban" was on a baguette and loaded with pickles. We were both grossed out and turned off by the food we got. I tried a bite of each sandwich which was, just as one would think at this point, not good. We both lost our appetites and walked home with out eating. Horrible service and lousy food. It was a complete fail- a 20, and once was definitely to much!