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Glad to hear you finally made it to the Penguin! I agree with you on their dogs - not that great. To be honest, other than the fried pickles, their burgers are the only other thing worth eating. I was there last Tuesday and had their grilled pimiento cheese. Theirs has nothing on the grilled pimiento cheese at the Varsity in Atlanta. That being said - I still love the atmosphere at the Penguin, and vegetarians rave about the veggie dog. Green's does have its fans, but I personally detest their chili - it has a bitter taste and I assume it is the canned stuff from Texas Pete (there is no meat in the stuff).Some time ago, I believe the E&T section of the Observer did a feature story on hot dogs - these were favorite dogs from chosen by a variety of folks. I tried to find the article, but failed. As I recall, one guy really liked the dogs at Snoops - they also make a darned good burger. Matt's Chicago Dog was also mentioned. There are multiple locations in Charlotte. Lupie's also ranks up there. Kathleen mentions Chili Man. I miss the Old Teal Mobile. The guy used to park his cart outside my office at 200 S. Tryon Street. He made the best burgers, dogs and grilled boglona sandwiches! Speaking of burgers, my hubby has decided that the best in Charlotte is to be found at Eddie's Place. Eddie's uses ground sirloin. North Carolina adopted a law several years ago that resturants had to cook burgers until well done. Apparently, ground sirloin burgers are exempt from this rule? Anyway - you can get your burger cooked to order at Eddies! Eddie's also has very good She Crab soup, fries and as far as I know - it's the only place in town to get frog's legs!

My first attempt at nigthscotsman's recipe for vanilla marshmallows is colling now. In my fridge, I am defrosting a package of blackberry puree and plan to use it in lieu of the strawberry. My Latin food market has a wide selection of fruit purees - I think I will try passionfruit too. BTW - to Nightscotsman. Here is a recipe for Modjeskas that I found of Recipesource.com As suggested previously, there caramel is poured onto a slab, cooled and then cut into pieces and wrapped around the marshmallows. Modjeskas Also, on Food Finds, they will air the episode featuring Bauer's Candies (they make Modjeskas) on December 17 at 1:30PM EST

I will buck the gourmet trend here. I just finished making my recipe for praline sweet potatoes. These really qualify as a dessert more than a side dish. Mashed sweets are mixed with butter, sugar, cream and eggs the put in a pan and topped with a mix of brown sugar, butter, flour and pecans then baked. Truly rich, decadent and sweet - excellent

I will second Siboney for Cuban - we had lunch here and it was excellent. Another great place for a really good Cuban sandwich is 5 Brothers Grocery. Very good burgers and grouper sandwiches were had at Caroline's on Duval. You will be there during peak stone crab season. If you are driving to KW from Miami, I strongly recommend stopping at Keys Fisheries in Marathon. You can eat there or buy your claws to go. I have ordered claws to be sent fed-ex twice - in fact, it's time for another order! Best key lime pie is from the Blonde Giraffe - especially if you like mile high meringue. I recently read a good review on Louie's. I haven't eaten there in years, but even the locals say it's still one of the best spots in town. Another local spot for a great burger, great fish sandwich and wonderful local atmosphere is BO's fish wagon. Stop by Peppers of Key West for a huge selectino of hot sauces and other chile pepper inspired products. The staff is fun, you can sample all you want. Off Little Torch Key there is the exclusive resort Little Palm Island. They are supposed to have excellent dining. You have to reserve in advance and you get there by water taxi.

My inspiration for the marshmallows was prompted by that thread, not to mention the memories of making marshmallows in home-Ec back in the 8th grade. That recipe included egg whites and I am tempted to try the two variations just to compare the flavors and textures. I have decided to add gougeres to my list - they sound easy enough and I would love to serve something new at my next cocktail party. I had considered a croquembouche - but no one eats cream puffs anymore!

I have decided I am only making two food gifts for the holiday season - both inspired by the pastry shops in Paris. I will first learn to make homemade marshmallows - they were all the rage in paris last year. Secondly, I will learn to make macaroons - I found Herme's recipe for chocolate. I also have an old issue of Saveur with a recipe. Now, to find a recipe for pistachio creme! What are you learning to make this year?

I loaded up all 10 digits with ripe, California black olives! Relish trays must be an important feature on the Southern table. When I married over 20 years ago, I received no less than THREE relish trays as wedding gifts. The second most popular gift item: the Turkey Stuffing Spoon!

Here's one common recipe: 2 cups self-rising flour ¼ cup shortening ¼ cup cold water In mixing bowl combine flour and salt Cut in shortening until batter is coarse. Add water and mix well with your hands. Bring chicken broth back to a slow boil. Do not rapidly boil. With floured hands pinch quarter size pieces of flour and drop into chicken broth. Gently stir after adding several pinches. Repeat until you have used all the dumpling mix. Stir gently. Add butter and black pepper. Stir gently. Allow to simmer 8-10 minutes. For one soul food variation, try this: http://www.chitterlings.com/chicken-and-dumplings.html This version made me crave cracklin cornbread, since it has bacon bits in it!

Supreme comfort food for sure. In fact, my daughter came home today feeling feverish, and I have a pot of C& D simmering on the stove as I write this. You get the benefit of the healing properties of chicken broth combined with the soothing comfort of dumplings, and in this case, the noodle kind!

When I was growing up, the only chicken and dumplings my mother made came from a recipe that came with our new microwave oven. The dumplings were balls of a soft dough that were placed on top of the simmering broth. As a kid, I loved those gummy, gooey dumplings. When my second child was born, my mother came to help us out. She spent a week cooking us fabulous dishes - one of which was a recipe for chicken and dumplings in which the dumplings were long strips of dough like noodles. The broth was enriched with a can of evaporated milk. This new recipe has become a family staple for the rainy cold nights of winter. Crucnhed for time, I often rely on Anne's frozen dumplings. hen, all I have to do is boil a cheicken (I always add chicken bouillion to boost the flavor) and add the dumplings. I think chicken and dumplings is the ultimate in comfort food - right up there with cinnamon toast and macaroni and cheese. What is your best recipe for chicken and dumplings?

The Magic Pan was in the Galleria Mall. The pan was magic because they made crepes. It wasn't particularly good - I remember some awful chicken crepes. Back in my day, it was a real treat for my mom to drop me off at the Galleria so I could go ice skating. Was there a Swenson's Ice Cream parlor there? In addition to the ice cream and shopping at Spencer's Gifts for junk, we would go to what I guess was a Mikimoto Pearl store and you could pay a $1 to have them open an oyster to see if you got a pearl. That was right up there with the mini loaves of Mrs. Baird's bread I would buy at Astroworld!

Tell Tony hello from Tracy and Kate in Charlotte! My daughter and I are shameless fans of Mr. Bourdain and wish he were coming to our little burg to sign books.

Wow - do I ever remember Sonny Look's place, Sir Loin. Sonny was one of my father's customers, and Sir Loin's was the only place my parents took us kids when it came time for a fancy meal. I have vivid memories of the real, live Knight in Armour on horseback, complete with lance, riding in front of the restaurant, which I recall was on Westheimer. I seem to recall one year the horse was hit by a car (could be a bad dream, however). Look at this - that must be Sonny's wife Carol standing in front circa 1960-something. A Charlotte, NC restaurant called Bayou Kitchen had an old menu from Sir Look on its wall for years - I always mean to ask someone how the owner got it. Another family favorite was Pino's Italian Restaurant, though it appears they are actually still in business! I loved the ravioli there - and the bread sticks. Back then, there were the requisite chianti bottles and fake grapevine hanging from the ceiling. Prom night, most kids from my high school (Memorial) went to Vargo's - also still in business. Do they still line their fence with miles of white twinkle lights at Christmas? What about the Magic Pan?

Hash browns - to me - are shredded potatoes cooked until nice and crispy-crunchy on the outside. The Coffee Cup serves what many call "homefries." These are chunks of potatoes cooked with onions. The are not especially crispy, but they are very flavorful. Eddie's Place makes pretty decent potatoes, though it is rare they are delivered to the table hot. Eddie's are diced (small dice) and cooked with onions until they are fairly brown and crispy. By-the-by, I usually order grits because it is so hard to find decent hash browns, but I prefer the later - unless the place has cheese or stone ground grits. The grits at the Coffee Cup are VERY good. They have plenty of bite to them. What does not exist in Charlotte is a decent country-style breakfast establishment that also has good coffee. All of the places here have coffee that tastes as if it has been filtered through a paper towel. I skip the coffee and go even more southern by ordering a Coke!

After bemoaning the plethora of mediocre restaurants in Charlotte, I decided it was time for me to highlight one of our city's greatest: The Coffee Cup. I have lived in Charlotte for 12 years and have tried many breakfast establishments. To me, a good breakfast is a place where you can get good bisuits, good grits (I like mine on the firm side -- not runny), excellent bacon/country ham/sausage and hash browns or homefries. We have tried John's Country Kitchen on Central, Andersons, Athens, The Landmark, Eddie's Place and countless others. We mourned the demise of the Cupboard on South, which had really good biscuits and country ham, not to mention a deadly coconut pie. My husband almost cried when Rogers Barbecue closed - meaning the end of their deadly breafast "casserole" of scarmbled eggs topped with onions, bell peppers, potatoes, cheese and sausage gravy. We have missed the country ham and red eye gravy at Nashville's Loveless Motel since we left that city in 1991. We have been to the Coffee Cup before. After yesterday's breakfast, my family decided it was the ONLY place worth going to in Charlotte for a traditional country breakfast. They make real biscuits that don't have flecks of the yellow butter-flavored Crisco used by so many restaurants. You can order chicken and waffles, salmon patties, steak - even fried chicken with the fixin's for breakfast. I devoured my bacon - which was really more like fried side meat - fatty, crispy, melt-in-your mouth bits of salty bacon. Their smoked sausage and potatoes with bits of onion are excellent. Their sweet tea willl throw you into a diabetic coma if you're not careful. And the service - while a tad slow - is friendly and efficient. To all who visit - go here for breakfast. To all who live here - keep this place alive!

Pasta and Provisions will have the olives, but your best bet is to hit Dean and Deluca at Phillips Place. They have a wonderful selection of cured Italian meats, an olive bar, anchovies, etc. Not sure about the sodas. They will have a large selection of olive oil, but it's pricey. Here's the site for Pasta and Provisions: Pasta and Provisions For Italian olive oil, check out this website Slowtrav There is extensive info on what to look for and online sources. My favorite oil comes from Liguria!

I have been reading about that. I have never been to an EarthFare. While their store in Charlotte will be over 13 miles from me - out in the new Ballantyne community - that is certainly shorter than the 90 miles I have driven to Winston-Salem to visit a Whole Foods! A while back, Kathleen Purvis (I think) wrote an article on food shops in the Raleigh area. There were quite a few that made me want to jump in my car and make the 3 hour drive! According to the Creative Loafing, Ferruci's makes their own sausages as well - and Cornelius is closer than Greensboro. The now-defunct place in Matthews didn't have much. What Italian products are you looking for? Pasta and Provisions has lots of dried/canned goods, and of course excellent fresh pasta and house made sauces, but they lack in the meat/cheese dept.

Charlotte got D&D because a local developer is friends with a D&D exec. The first one proved to be very successful, and the others followed suit. The Wine Bar at Phiilips place has great atmosphere. And yes, having a D&D within 3 miles does mitigate the pain! We have the same problem here with Harris Teeter! They own the market - other chains fear to compete. Luckily, we are finally getting a Whole Foods in 2006, but I would love to have a Central Market or some other such store. We need a place to get better produce. The Matthews Farmer's market has good organic produce grown locally, and the regional farmer's market is good, though the selection is limited. The Fresh Market is okay, but their products tend to overlap HT. IMO, most of the good restaurants are in town - not Uptown. The best I have tried are Barrington's in Foxcroft Village on Fairview, and Bonterra on Cleveland Avenue in Dilworth. Uptown, their are some good choices: Arpa for tapas and Luce for Italian. I never bother with chains: Morton's, Palomino, Capitol Grill. I think part of my reasoning is that I want to give the "little guy" a chance. I have to be honest - I never venture to the burbs to dine. I don't like the idea of drinking a few glasses of wine, eating a big meal and then driving 10 miles or more to get home. I was excited about the possibility of a new place scheduled to open later this year - announced in Charlotte Magazine:

I certainly hope this proves to the the case. That is certainly the expectation. One thing Charleston has over Charlotte is tourism dollars, which typically lends itself to more and better restaurants. However, I have heard that Providence (not your typical tourist destination) has a decent restaurant scene courtesy of J&W. I also have to say I am very happy we have not just one but THREE Dean and Deluca's in town where I can always count on the availability of duck breasts, venison and some other specialty items. Our Fresh Market temporarily carried D'Artagnan products, but I guess they didn't sell (bad marketing?). D&D makes some decent to-go items and they have a first rate cheese selection, though you have to watch out for some that are beyond their prime. I would like to see more Charlotte restaurants featuring the unusual products - at least, unusual for Charlotte. We never see Artic Char on the menus, or skate. Rarely do you see venison or boar. Until I read the review on Salute, I had never heard of anyone in Charlotte offering squash blossoms. How about something with morels or other mushrooms not found here? I want a La Madeleine or other bakery that can make a knockout croissant. I would love a Middle Eastern bakery where i can get fresh pita bread. I would also love a Moroccan restaurant. Don't get me wrong - I am all for cuisine terroir - but I also love to try new and wonderful things.

In Charlotte, we have a couple of upscale "chains" that cater to the steak and potato crowd: Mortons and The Palm. I have tried neither because I can buy and cook a pretty darned good steak and potato at home at a fraction of the price. For the $7 I would have to spend on one baked potato at Mortons, I can buy two bags of Yukon golds and make pommes Anna. Reading the posts here, I believe the problem in finding innovative and excellent cuisine in Charlotte or Birmingham or Blacksburg, VA or Greenville, SC (or any other mid-sized city anywhere in the US) is that the audience is limited. Charlotte is populated mostly by upper middle-class family types. They have the means to dine at great restaurants, but not the courage to try something unique. I gave a cocktail party one year for my office staff and no one touched the brie or cantal cheeses, but the country ham biscuits were gone in a flash. And pate? Forget about it - though many of these folks have been known to eat livermush! All of that said, however, I am sure Atlanta and Dallas and Houston and Miami have more than their share of mediocre restaurants serving the usual steak, chicken, fish entrees I complain about, but that do a booming business.

I have lived in Charlotte since 1992, having moved here from Atlanta. I must admit, the dining options have GREATLY improved, especially in the area of "ethnic" cuisine. In 1992, the best Mexican food was at El Cancun, and I can tell you , as a native Texan, El Cancun was pretty darned sad. I remember eating at a Mexican restaurant called "Tres Amigos" that was owned by Greeks. They had spaghetti and spanikopita on the menu. There was one Thai restaurant, no Vietnamese or Cuban. Luckily, there was (and still is) the Middle East deli. Now, we have Thai, Cuban, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Brazilian, Indian, etc. To be honest, when we go out, we prefer ethnic. At least I can eat something I would never venture to make at home. I have lived in a few large cities - Dallas, Houston, Atlanta - so I can say assuredly that the situation in Charlotte is not unique. For every new restaurant featuring new, innovative and exciting cuisine there are ten new "chain" style establishements catering to the masses. Certainly, the "burbs" are rife with chain restaurants feeding people more of the same. The real problem is that cities such as Charlotte cannot support the innovative because the majority of residents prefer the Olive Garden style approach to dining out. Until we can get more Charlotteans out of the meat and potatoes rut, we can expect more of the same. I am sorry to hear about Salute. However, I am not completely surprised. Helen Schwab has been known to give rave reviews to places I have found downright awful. But I also have to commend Salute for "restrained" portions. Again, give me good quality with a true culinary twist in small portions over a pile of garlic mashed potatoes any day! If I am going out and spending $24 or $30 on an entree, I want to feel as if I got my money's worth. My husband is a rather good cook, and I am not too bad myself. In fact, we have duck confit in the oven right now. To date, the best, most innovative cuisine we have in town is found at Barringtons. If you haven't been there - try it!

My husband and I recently dined at City Tavern on East Blvd in Charlotte. What a disappointment. To borrow a phrase from John Kerry - it was just more of the same. Why do so many restaurants feature the same boring stuff? I am tired of garlic mashed potatoes, some sort of salmon, some sort of steak, sort sort of chicken. In my opinion. "blackened" food needs to disppear off all but Cajun menus. City Tavern thrives at the mediocre --- the service was slow, the food delivered had obviously been sitting on the counter waiting to be served and was served less than hot. And the food? My tuna was over done, even though I had asked for rare. My husband's lamb, while tender, was flavorless. Even the coffee was luke warm. It is restaurants like this that keep me from going out often. It is all the same. A new, high-end restaurant opened called Bentleys in Charlotte Plaza. We have not yet dined here, but my husband looked at the menu. Guess what? More of the same. Some sort of fish, some sort of steak, and some sort of chicken. To add insult to injury, their free-range chicken entree is $24! Who pays $24 for a chicken dinner in Charlotte, NC? I was happy to read the review by Helen Schwab on the new Salute restaurant on Providence Road, and I look forward to trying it. Too bad it is too late in the season for the squash blossoms. Note to Charlotte restaurants: there are poeple in this city willing to try something new and interesting.

The location for your friend's java joint is excellent - near a booming revitalization area - near the trolley line, etc. If you haven't tried Phat Burrito (at Camden and Park I think), that is a must - excellent salsas and a really good spinach quesadilla. The historic South End has REALLY changed in the past ten years. The area around the intersection of South and East used to be populated by hookers and other sad types and the only establishments were topless bars. Now, there a several good restaurants, a large selection of lofts, some great art galleries and fun shops. I hope the Elizabeth area and Plaza Midwood area experience the same success as they are closer to where I live. One more winter in Syracuse, and you will be down here. There are plenty of former New Yorkers here - including a huge contention from Rochester and surrounds. We will make you a Southern boy yet! BTW - I pick up a taco from a "loncheria" or taco wagon at the corner of South Blvd and Archdale and it was excellent - $1.40 a piece - choices were carne asada, barbacoa, cabeza, lengue, al pastor, pollo y chorizo. A bit greasy but very good. Then I bought some wonderfully soft, fresh, made-in-house corn tortillas from the tortilleria next door. I also bought some excellent skirt steak at the Carniceria on Central avenue and cooked up some fajitas and tomatillo salsa washed down by frozen margaritas. Fiesta!

That classic diner place is The Penguin! They have burgers (pretty good, but small), dogs, cue (never tried it -- they "import" it from some place I've never heard of), homemade soups and great fried pickles and onion rings, plus some blue plate stupe dishes. And you can't beat the atmosphere -- tattoos and body piercings compete with the banker look. On Satudays at lunch this is a real family joint, so you may prefer to hit later in the day - after 5 - to avoid lots of little kids being allowed to run amok. The next time you go to Dish, try their shrimp and grits - a signature dish for them and my favorite off the menu. I wish they'd create some outdoor dining. Next door to Dish is Thomas Street Tavern. Don't go there to eat - but it's a great place to hang out and have a few drinks. They have a great patio. Their chips and salsa are good, though. Around the corner, on Commonwealth Ave, is The Diamond -- another "meat and three" joint. They are not open for b'fast, but they do a fair job with fried chicken and veggies. Fuel Pizza, on Central, is just okay IMO. Also on Central is a new Caribbean joint that was just okay. The best Caribbean according to Charlotteans is Antonneys, but I do not like it. I have heard good things about Austin's Caribbean on Kings Drive. Less than a mile away, at the corner of 7th and Caswell, you will find Bayou Kitchen, which has the town's best chicken fried steak and not-too-bad Texas-style cue (I am a TX native). Further up 7th Street towards town is Cajun Queen. And even further up is Restaurant Cibi - a chef owned place that was very good the two times I visited. It is currently closed for renovations. I moved to Charlotte in 1992, and I can say the restaurant scene has improved 150% since then. It is much more fun to go out to eat now. The burbs are still plagued with chain establishments, but "in town" things are really picking up. When are you planning on moving to town?

I have never been to Herlockers, but I have heard it is a great local hangout. My husband and his work buddies are on a mission to find the best burger in Charlotte. So far, the contenders are Lupies (on Monroe Road), Zack's on Scalybark (just off South Blvd) and Fenwicks (on Providence Road). The big downside to Zacks is that they are closed on weekends (I really hate that) Same with Mr. K's Another fun place to visit for a real old-time South feel is Tony's Ice Cream on Franklin Blvd in Gastonia. Tony's makes a mean burger as well as incredibly thick milk shakes. Here's some exciting restaurant news that appeared in the 9/04 issue of Charlotte magazine: