Coco Osteria CHARLOTTE 92

Hunger struck around 9:30pm last Friday night as I battled through the usual Uptown traffic. By the time I settled for a spot in Hearst Tower’s parking garage one thing was for certain; I was now starving. Lucky for me, Charlotte is full of great restaurants that stay open later on the weekends. I was immediately drawn to a small Italian place in front of Hearst Tower called Coco Osteria. Let me reiterate that this place is small, perfect for escaping with a couple of people before facing the bar crowd. As my eyes darted over the menu, I realized it was going to be a hard decision; Coco features authentic Italian cuisine including homemade pastas. After careful deliberation I decided that I would have to start with the bruschetta and have the pan seared salmon as my main. The bruschetta came out quickly and did not disappoint. The bread, a Tuscan style baguette, was grilled to perfection topped with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and a balsamic reduction, which was simple and delicious. Just as the bruschetta was nearing its end my salmon came out to keep me going. At first glance I could tell my salmon had a lot going on: olives, capers, tomatoes and garlic in white wine over jasmine rice, but as I began eating I realized that all of the ingredients were essential to the dish. I ended up overeating, and being stuffed yet satisfied. The smaller environment also made for a cozy, well looked after restaurant. The staff gave off a genuine vibe and never left me wanting for anything. If the food isn’t enough to get you down to Coco then you should also know that they have awesome drink specials all week, including half priced martinis on Fridays and half priced select bottles of wine on Saturdays. I’ll definitely be back for more!

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!!

300 East CHARLOTTE (brunch review)

I often look forward to Sundays solely because of brunch. Late afternoon breakfast accompanied with socially acceptable mimosas and bloody marys? Yes please! This past Sunday I was in the mood to try out a new place, and found myself at 300 East. It wasn't until I was seated at a table on their cute outside area that I realized I had indeed eaten brunch there before! I immediately became excited as I remembered how great their shrimp and grits were. I browsed over the menu anyways and found myself in conflict over a variety of other brunch items such as crab cake benedict, a personal favorite, and french toast. One thing was for certain; I needed a bloody mary. Drink in hand I made up my mind and went with my original order: cajun shrimp over cheesy beer grits with fried eggs (pictured above). As I waited for my food I noticed that my bloody mary was not particularly good. It was a bit watery, pretty bland, and lacking any sort of spice. Bloody mary aside, 300 East is a great place to sit outside when the weather is nice, and I enjoyed relaxing in the shade while listening to Bob Dylan over their speakers. The service was good, but a little on the slow side which was understandable considering how busy they were. When the food arrived I was a little disappointed. While it was good, it wasn't as great as I remembered. The shrimp had a nice cajun flavor, but were definitely overdone. The eggs were verging on perfection and the grits were amazing, more cheesy then beer-y, and anything but plain which made the dish overall okay. My girlfriend had ordered the crab cake benedict and reported that the eggs were nicely cooked, but the dish needed more sauce. My overall brunch experience was great, however the food and beverages were lacking in areas. I gave 300 East's brunch an 81... I won't be racing back next week, but I'll definitely go again.

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.

Gourmet Shop COLUMBIA 93

The Gourmet Shop is located in 5 points and offers more then a kick ass wine and cheese selection along with endless, fun kitchen necessities. They also serve lunch as well as coffee and a few pastries. This might be one of my favorite lunch spots in Columbia; their fresh ingredients always guarantee satisfaction. They offer soups, wraps, and different salads, but I almost always end up ordering a panini. It's hard for me to order anything other then the "Turkey Panini" (pictured above), made with turkey, avocado, tomato, and goat cheese. The sides are difficult to choose between as well, but the different pastas are the best. I usually get the pesto pasta (pictured above), which goes great with any of the sandwiches. They offer tables outside in the shade, which is great if you want to bring your dog, and a few tables inside as well. The service is always good and it's an ideal spot for a quick lunch or a long coffee. Overall I gave Gourmet Shop a 93. The food is definitely crave worthy and the service is great.

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.

Solé CHARLOTTE 81

Saturday was the beginning of my Mexican food binge. It all started at the Spanish influenced restaurant, Solé. The weather was great so the bf and I decided to sit on their charming outside patio which was definitely on the romantic side. They had a medium to small wine list which contained quite a few good bottles. We went for the Marques De Caceres Reserva Rioja '05 and we both loved it. The bf started with the Gazpacho (pictured above) and while he was a little disappointed, I thought it was good. I started with a house salad which was great with their blueberry balsamic. For my entree I went with honey mustard glazed shrimp skewers over rice. There were two skewers containing three large shrimp which were cooked almost perfectly. The flavors were good but the dish just seemed a little bit on the dry side. The bf decided to get the "Mejilloes Diablo", mussels in a mildly spiced tomato sauce, and the Empanadas. The mussels were okay, but we both agreed that they had no spice to them. The Empanadas were a-ma-zing. They were some of the best Empanadas either of us had ever had the pleasure of trying. We left dinner happy and satisfied. Overall Solé got an 81, we'll definitely be going back.