Charlotte's Jon Fortes wins dining competition title

Chef Jon Fortes, representing Mimosa Grill (though he's now at Fort Mill's Flipside Cafe with spouse and co-owner/chef Amy), won the statewide final of the Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series on Nov. 22.

Fortes, who had won the Charlotte-based "Fire in the City" leg of the series, faced chef Dean Thompson of Flights in Raleigh, who had topped the "Fire in the Triangle" leg, in the final, held in Raleigh.

The competition, which began with 64 chefs in five regions, worked like this: Two chefs, with accompanying help, cooked three courses each in head-to-head competition, using a surprise N.C. ingredient that was announced just before beginning each event. Winners advanced to finals in each region; those then faced each other. Organizers chose the chefs and seeded the brackets. Culinary professionals and diners who bought tickets helped judge each event, scoring each dish as the night progressed.

The surprise ingredients Nov. 22 were Apple Mill apple butter, caviar from Atlantic Caviar and Sturgeon Company, and Biltmore Winery's Sparkling Blanc de Blanc. Fortes' highest scoring dish (above) was his Duo of Carolina Pork: apple butter pork rillette and sparkling-wine-braised pork belly with goat cheese, andouille, leek and mushroom bread pudding, and sparkling wine and apple butter squash sauce. Highest scoring dish of the night was Thompson's carrot and apple butter cake with caramelized white chocolate and apple butter streusel, sparkling wine icing, apple butter mousse, sparkling wine and caviar salted caramel, sparkling wine apple chip, candied walnuts and apple-butter-brandy frozen custard (below).

Final score: Fortes, 27.13310185 to 25.90297158. Fortes' teammate Thomas Marlow is now executive chef at Mimosa, while alternating members DJ Ivey and Joe Cornett, are also still with Mimosa.

“Dean Thompson is a phenomenal chef and competitor, so it was clear that we needed to execute at a high level to be able to take home the title,” Fortes said in a press release.

The 2015 series will begin in January with the Triangle series, followed by Charlotte, then the Triad, hosted for the first time in Winston-Salem. Tickets and more info: www.competitiondining.com.

New menus from NoDa to uptown Charlotte

Heist Brewery's new winter menu offers lots of "twisted eats": Among the highlights are The Grilled Cheese (shown above; made with black truffle butter, Manchego sheep's cheese, cave-aged Gruyere and Jasper Hill Farm blue cheese, and served with White Oak & Hickory Smoked tomato bisque); dates stuffed with Ashe County Cheddar blue cheese and served with candied pecans, applewood-smoked bacon and a ginger pear chaser; and chicken and waffles: whipped meringue waffles with maple horseradish syrup and pink peppercorn and Champagne butter​. 2909 N. Davidson St.; 704-375-8260; www.heistbrewery.com.

The fall menu at The Asbury, dubbed the "campfire" menu, includes more small plates ($4-$10), with deviled eggs, house-pickled vegetables, BBQ caramel popcorn and winter squash fondue -- and that's just on the Snack Plate. Chef Chris Coleman says his childhood memories of fall -- "smoke, embers, warmth and comfort" -- inspired the lineup, from Campfire Trout (shown below; from Sunburst Trout Farms in Canton, this is brined in smoked water and seared in cast iron) to chicken and dumplings (which uses herb and potato gnocchi) to Ooey Gooey Candy Bar, which is housemade marshmallows, boiled peanuts and chocolate in a bite-sized serving.
Also new: Matthew Krenz, formerly with Passion8, is now chef de cuisine at The Asbury, which uses beef from his family's Krenz Ranch. 235 N. Tryon St.; 704-332-4141; www.theasbury.com



5Church has a new lunch lineup. Among the list: French onion roast beef sandwich; honey-mustard chicken wrap; chicken Cordon Bleu; mussels and fries; plus new salads and lighter plates. (FYI: The lamb burger stays.) 127 N. Tryon St., 704-919-1322.

Crowne Plaza reno includes restaurant

Food for Thought is the revamped restaurant in the renovated-to-the-tune-of-$10 million Crowne Plaza Charlotte Executive Park. Executive chef Michael Cowan aims at farm-to-table and locally sourced ingredients "with a Southern twist" and has cooked at the Omni San Francisco and the Boathouse II restaurant in Hilton Head. Look for stone, reclaimed wood and a more open setting in the restaurant. 5700 Westpark Drive, off Tyvola Road near I-77.

Growlers Pourhouse opens for lunch in NoDa, Lumiere starts brunch

Growlers Pourhouse now serves lunch starting at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday-Friday, and its housemade sausage and brats, twice-fried fries (and poutine -- fries with gravy and housemade cheese curds on top) and panini (and there's gluten-free bread). Lunch starts at noon Saturdays and Sundays, as in the past. 3120 N. Davidson St.; www.growlerspourhouse.com.

Lumiere plans to start serving Sunday brunch on Dec. 7: Look for classic French omelets, pastries and more: 1039 Providence Road; 704-372-3335.

Speedway Christmas coming

“Speedway Christmas” at Charlotte Motor Speedway lets visitors dine in the Speedway Club and overlook a holiday light show with more than 3 million lights and an infield Christmas Village (there’s a Santa’s workshop, mini fair rides and a petting zoo) – plus, you can sign up to drive the track. This is the fifth year for the event, and the course has been redesigned; this year, you drive under the concourse behind the front stretch grandstands as part of the 3.1-mile course. Drive-in holiday movies will be shown Friday and Saturday nights.

The driving course opens Nov. 22, and the Christmas Village will be open each Thursday-Sunday until Christmas Day, plus Dec. 22-24, then will open again Dec. 26-28. The light show goes through Dec. 30 (closed Christmas Day). Entrance is $20 per car on nights the Village is open, $15 per car when it’s closed. Visitors can dine at the Speedway Club each day in that timeframe except Christmas, and on Thanksgiving Day, it's serving 400 troops. The speedway is at 5555 Concord Parkway S. in Concord; info at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or 800-455-3267.

Bubbles and Bordeaux

D'Vine Wine Cafe hosts "Bubbles & Bordeaux" Dec. 4 for $49.99. On the menu: Sauternes with foie gras "rocher" (think of Ferrero Rocher candies, then think foie gras); Vieux Manoir Red Bordeaux with duck confit, sweet potato waffle and cranberry chutney;
Delamotte Brut Champagne with pear frangipane tart, and more. 14815 John J. Delaney Drive; 704-369-5050.

Heritage celebrates 1 year with tasting menu

Heritage Food & Drink in Waxhaw celebrates its first year with a tasting menu from chef-owner Paul Verica, offered Tuesdays-Thursdays through the end of the year. The menu features some of the dishes the place opened with, says Verica.

Options include the pretty beet salad above (with walnuts, goat cheese, parsley and balsamic), sunchoke chips, pulled pork in a jar (with grits, collards and a topping of crispy onions), short rib with house pasta, N.C. shrimp with black rice and Asian greens and more. Three courses for $33, four for $40; 704-843-5236 or email info@heritagefoodanddrink.com; 201 W. South Main St. in Waxhaw.