More for V-Day

D'Vine Wine Cafe will do a four-course surf & turf dinner with live lobster, served Feb. 13, 14 and 15. $74.99 per couple, including a glass of bubbly; the menu includes lobster bisque, a New York strip and poached lobster tail and bananas Foster a la Ashley -- in which the "Ashley" refers to chef Ashley Wilkes. (Yes. So if your significant other is a "Gone with the Wind" fanatic, so much the better for the love story.) Other entrees will also be offered. Reservations required: 704-369-5050; 14815 John J. Delaney Drive.

300 East will do a three-course dinner (with choices for each) for $50 per person in place of the regular menu on Feb. 14. Options will range from oyster bisque with brie and lobster martini to grilled heart of ribeye with scallops and braised lamb shank, to chocolate soup and toasted carrot cake. Reservations: www.300east.net or 704-332-6507; 300 East Blvd.

Bean Vegan Cuisine will offer its regular menu as well as a Valentine's one 5-9:30 p.m. Feb. 14. On that special one ($25 per person): deviled jackfruit stuffed mushrooms, salad, baked shells Bolognese with tofu ricotta and housemade "sausage" and chocolate-covered cherry cheesecake. Reservations required: 980-939-1234; 3001 E. Independence Blvd.; eatatbean.com.

Passion8 offers a four-course dinner 5-10 p.m. Feb. 14 for $140 per couple. Among the courses: scallop with grit cake and prosciutto slaw and duck confit hash; lobster bisque and steak tartare; and entrees of filet of beef, duck breast with gnocchi and day boat fish. Reservations: 803-802-7455; 3415 Highway 51 N, Fort Mill.

BLT Steak’s Valentine’s blackboard menu will include beef tartare, spinach and citrus salad, diver scallops with country ham, a 14-ounce bone-in filet, lobster orzo gratin and more. One appetizer, entree, side and dessert will cost $60. Also offered: a truffle and champagne pairing on both Feb. 14 and 15: $20 gets you five chocolate truffles and two glasses of Moët Imperial Champagne. Reservations: 704-972-4380; in the Ritz Carlton, 110 N. College St.

Del Frisco's will offer an 8-ounce filet and 8-ounce lobster tail for $79 on Feb. 14 and 15. 704-552-5502; 4725 Piedmont Row Drive.

American closed; Passion8 open and new one on way

Passion8's Luca Annunziata no longer has the American Cafe & Lounge at the Clarion Hotel in Fort Mill. The restaurant closed after Christmas, without any notice to the hotel, according to a hotel spokesperson. Annunziata says he closed because contract conditions were not met; Passion8 remains open, and plans continue for a new location in Elizabeth, in a storefront adjacent to Red Sky Gallery. The Clarion did not return a call for comment.

Hey, you: Yeah. You. Make your Valentine reservations right now

You don't want to be scrambling around, right? You realize Valentine's is traditionally the No. 2 dining-out-day of the year in this country, right? (See below for No. 1, if you can't guess.)

In the interim, here are the first of the places offering special menus:

Passion8 offers a four-course dinner 5-10 Feb. 14 for $140 per couple. Among the courses: scallop with grit cake and prosciutto slaw and duck confit hash; lobster bisque and steak tartare; and entrees of filet of beef, duck breast with gnocchi and day boat fish. Reservations: 803-802-7455; 3415 Highway 51 N, Fort Mill.

BLT Steak’s Valentine’s blackboard menu will include beef tartare, spinach and citrus salad, diver scallops with country ham, a 14-ounce bone-in filet, lobster orzo gratin and more. One appetizer, entree, side and dessert will cost $60. Also offered: a truffle and champagne pairing on both Feb. 14 and 15: $20 gets you five chocolate truffles and two glasses of Moët Imperial Champagne. Reservations: 704-972-4380; in the Ritz Carlton, 110 N. College St.

Del Frisco's will offer an 8-ounce filet and 8-ounce lobster tail for $79 on Feb. 14 and 15. 704-552-5502; 4725 Piedmont Row Drive.

A deal, a cup, a heart

Blue will offer its three-course-for-$30 Restaurant Week menu for an additional two weeks, beginning today (Jan. 27). (The above is not on the menu.)

Charlotte-based Salsarita’s has partnered with Dilworth Coffee, and will serve the brew at its two uptown locations (the only ones that serve breakfast), at Overstreet Mall (101 S. Tryon St.) and Latta Arcade (320 S. Tryon St.). (The above is not in the lineup.)

Beginning today (Jan. 28), Dunkin’ Donuts is selling heart-shaped donuts: a new Cookie Dough Donut and the throwback Brownie Batter Donut. (Yep, that's them up there.)

Bits and crumbs and a little CLT outrage

Southern Living lists the "100 Best Bars in the South." Half a dozen in Charleston, as you might expect, and New Orleans does well, and there are tiny-town ones, too: in Big Pine Key (go Florida) and Helotes (yay Texas). I was curious when "The South's Best New Restaurants" had no Charlotte entries, but there were only five (plus a peripheral dozen) in that list. This is 100 -- including a place that's closed (with no note online) and one where it's suggested you drink a Michigan beer. This is a little harder to ... swallow.

Agree, or am I getting my Queen City knickers in a bunch for nothing? Where would you suggest Southern Living stop in?

'Be a poet, not a gladiator': Links for a Monday

Garden & Gun does a handsome job with Southern cocktails here (though I'd lobby for a Charlotte spot or two), but Kevin Barrett from Raleigh's Foundation gets quote of the week, talking about his Redless Snapper here.

When someone brought me a bit of moonshine at a holiday party, I found it lovely. Guess I can expect to see more, according to NPR here. Yes, "Moonshiners" appears to have something to do with it.

Seriously: Spend 7 minutes with Ferran Adria's food here, with an excerpt on Eater of "1846," which documents each of the 1,846 dishes the legendary chef served at defunct elBulli in Spain. Amazingly clear photos of stuff you will have NO IDEA the identity of. Feel free to comment with guesses. (I'm feeling "fish skeleton" at 3:54, but with Adria, it could totally be caviar-flavored foam frozen into the shape of a fish skeleton with liquid nitrogen.)

Menus out for The Asbury at the Dunhill uptown

Here's a look at the lunch and dinner menus for The Asbury, which takes the place of Harvest Moon Grill at the Dunhill uptown. What most interests you? Soft opening starts Monday, if all goes according to plan.

Links of the week: 'Wolf' sides! A pizza quiz! Waffling!

You think you can't ring up $26,000 in sides? Think again! Best note in story: the double-digit cost of a single carrot in a New York steakhouse. Best additional note: Here's the menu at American Cut. It's actually fourteen dollars, and the dish is a "carrot-glazed carrot."

Think you know pizza and pop culture? Let Jonathan Gold tell you whether you're right.

And, speaking of pizza, here is cold pizza and a waffle iron and something I might have to do this weekend.

Soup on Sunday, THIS Sunday

Help support hospice care and get soup at the 14th annual Soup on Sunday benefit for Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region 11 a.m.-2 p.m. this Sunday, Jan. 26.

Central Piedmont Community College hosts the event at the Philip L. Van Every Culinary Arts Center, 425 N. Kings Drive (at the corner of Kings and 7th). Forty bucks gets you food, drink and a pottery bowl handmade by a local potter; $30 gets you the food and drink, and kids 7-12 get in for $10 (younger kids are free). You can also buy the bowls separately.

Along with the soups below from Charlotte-area restaurants, there'll be dishes from culinary arts students from CPCC, Johnson & Wales and The Art Institute. More info, and online ticket-buying at souponsunday.org. You can also buy tickets by phone at 704-335-4312 or at the door.


300 East: Butternut squash with Gorgonzola
Barrington's: Cauliflower with truffle oil and smoked bay scallops
BrickTop's: Lobster bisque
Brixx: Chicken posole
Chuy's: Chicken tortilla
Community Culinary School of Charlotte: Carrot ginger
CPCC: African chicken and peanut; cannellini bean and garlic
Crepe Cellar: Portobello bisque with poblano cream
E2: Chicken and andouille gumbo
Fenwick's: Tomato bisque; cream of chicken and mushroom
Fern: Mexican street corn soup
Flavors: Turkey sausage potato with kale and quinoa
Fran's Filling Station: Provencal chicken with fennel, carrots, leeks and tarragon
Gallery: Butternut squash
Global: Cauliflower
Halcyon: Potato leek soup with chicken liver pate
Harper's: Colorado chili
Jackelope Jacks: Black bean and ham
Johnson & Wales: Shrimp bisque
La-Tea-Da's Catering: Sweet potato corn chowder
Letty's: Sweet potato and black bean chili
Local Loaf: Italian wedding
Mama Ricotta's: Pasta e fagioli
Newk's: Ultimate crab
Nolen Kitchen: Tomato fondue with marinated feta
Peculiar Rabbit: BLT soup
Red Rocks: Chicken tortilla
Rodi: Smoked salmon chowder; Tuscan white bean
Sante: Roasted butternut squash
Savannah Red: Cream of celery with chive oil and smoked paprika
Terra: Cream of onion
The Art Institute: Mushroom sausage
The Fig Tree: White bean and crawfish
Trio: Bacon cabbage and white bean; Mulligatawny
Zebra Restaurant: Truffled mushroom

Queen City Q = Charlotte Knights' 'cue

Queen City Q is now "the Official BBQ of the Charlotte Knights" and will be served at the upcoming BB&T Ballpark at all games and events, the team announced. The restaurant, at 225 E. 6th St., is close to the ballpark, which opens with the Knights on April 11 for a night game against the Norfolk Tides. Info: www.charlotteknights.com.

Dunhill's new restaurant: The Asbury

The Asbury is the name of the new restaurant going into the Dunhill Hotel, slated to open "in the coming weeks," and described as "a modern Southern restaurant that honors the past, celebrates the seasons and looks toward the future."

Taking the spot of the former Harvest Moon, this is the newest work from chef Chris Coleman, formerly at McNinch House. The Asbury gets its name from Louis Asbury Sr., the Charlotte architect who designed the 1929 hotel, which opened as Mayfair Manor just a few weeks after the stock market crash.

Coleman plans to use heirlom ingredients and specialty items from small family farms in the region, and the place will serve three meals daily, plus brunch on weekends.

Sample dishes: Maw Maw's cast iron drop biscuits with housemade bacon onion jam (the biscuit recipe is Coleman's grandmother's); Blenheim tempura N.C. oysters with apple chow chow; butter-poached N.C. shrimp with polenta, preserved lemon, smoked cabbage, pork sausage and red pepper relish; and pan-roasted guinea hen with Calvander cheese and brioche dressing (the hens are raised for Coleman by Carolina Heritage Farms in Florence, S.C.).

For the history buffs: When Mayfair Manor opened, its facilities were a revelation: According to a description on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission's site, the kitchen had "the latest in cooking conveniences ... an electric dishwasher, a sterilizer with a 5000 dish capacity, steam tables, electric potato peelers, and mixing machines. A ventilating system capable of changing the kitchen air every three minutes was also on the list of notable extras. A skylight was built into the kitchen ceiling for the benefit of the workers. The dining room management planned to include a bakery in the future, and a special dessert and salad department was already incorporated into the kitchen organization.")

New beef-on-weck on way

Kirk Weaver of Lebowski's in Dilworth will open a new place called Trifecta Grill, if all goes according to plan, on Jan. 22 in Indian Land.

Lebowski's focuses on what Weaver terms "the Buffalo (N.Y.) Trifecta": chicken wings, 'weck (roast beef on a kimmelweck roll) and haddock. Signature dishes at the new place, just outside of Ballantyne, will be a spinoff of that: chicken tenders instead of the wings -- since the place is fast-casual -- plus haddock and the 'weck. There'll be a burger, too, plus craft beers and wine by the glass. It will be open daily at 9931 Charlotte Highway, Indian Land; 803-228-0131; www.trifectagrill.com.

Babies and fine dining: What could go wrong?

Social media controversy of the moment, re: restaurants: Should people be allowed to bring babies to fine-dining restaurants?
A couple's babysitter cancelled at the last moment Saturday night, or so the story is going, and the two decided to bring their 8-month-old to their dinner at uber-fine-dining Alinea in Chicago, where chef Grant Achatz dishes up internationally renowned creative fare -- and the prices are equally impressive.
You can guess the rest: Baby cries. And cries. And CRIES. Achatz, appearing on "Good Morning America" Tuesday morning, says he could hear it in the kitchen.
He doesn't ask them to leave, but he does tweet:

Tbl brings 8mo.Old. It cries. Diners mad. Tell ppl no kids? Subject diners 2crying? Ppl take infants 2 plays? Concerts? Hate saying no,but..
— Grant Achatz (@Gachatz) January 12, 2014

He later tweets:

Definitely not baby food... @AlineaBaby pic.twitter.com/jQBrp5DwGU
— Grant Achatz (@Gachatz) January 13, 2014

Twittersphere, and accompanying media go berserk, including the creation of a hilarious @Alineababy on Twitter. (Thanks to colleague Kathleen Purvis for waking me to the baby.)

My only question: What's the question? There IS no question. No sitter, no meal at a nice place. Period.

Disagree? Help me understand you...

Bits and crumbs

Barnett Vineyards' winemaker David Tate will return Jan. 13 to Sullivan's Steakhouse for a five-course wine dinner with six wines. Among the courses are braised beef ravioli with Pinot Noirs, and filet mignon with grilled shrimp and Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain. $80; 1928 South Blvd.; 704-548-9463.

New at Bonefish Grill: Sunday brunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with eggs benedict, both traditional and in several variations, and more. Multiple locations: www.bonefishgrill.com.

New at LongHorn Steakhouse: Specials on a "peak season" menu and a "chef's showcase" lineup, including garlic mussels, roasted butternut squash risotto (pictured above), blue crab and Meyer lemon filet and blackened salmon and cheddar grits. Multiple locations; www.longhornsteakhouse.com/locations.

BLT offers game-day menu

BLT Steak will get on board the Panthers bandwagon Sunday with a game-day-only menu from chef Ben Miles: a Carolina barbecue sandwich and San Francisco crabcake sandwich, plus other themed menu items. The 'cue uses braised short rib, with cilantro and apple slaw, and a mustard seed sauce; the crabcake will be on a brioche roll and garnished with cornichon tartar sauce and fennel. The restaurant will be open for breakfast 7 a.m. to noon, while brunch runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Diners can use the free valet parking, too. 110 N. College St. in the Ritz-Carlton;
704-972-4380.

Charlotte's best new restaurants of 2013 were ...

... varied, both contemporary and classic, and spanned the globe, from artistically Southern to traditionally Bosnian to creatively and authentically Japanese.

Let's take a tour:



The list (for those unwilling/unable to watch the video): BAKU, Fork, Heritage, Kabab-Je, Euro Grill, Taste of Europe and Nom Nom Burgers.

Disagree? (Of course some of you do!) Comment here with your substitutions, and we'll have a poll.