Big Daddy's Burger Bar

Ok – so here is the Big Daddy’s review (like I said – I have been swamped!). The spouse was craving a burger and fried pickles so we found our Sunday meal at Big Daddy’s. We were seated pretty prompt (surprisingly) and put our order in for the fried pickles. We debated on which burger to get as there are quite a few… between the basic burger, veggie burgers, Southern (with cheese, slaw and chili) and a blue cheese burger – just to name a few. We settled on splitting their other namesake restaurants – the Mama Ricotta burger (housemade mozzarella, tomatoes, and pesto) and the 1511 Cantina burger (black bean patty, green chilies, avocados, cheese and chipotle ranch – I upgraded the black bean patty to the buffalo meat). The order was placed (both medium) and the pickles arrived… The fried pickles here are sliced long versus the ‘chips’ you can get at other places like the Penguin and the Counter and served with ranch dressing. From appearance, it looks like a lot of pickles – but when you bite into them, I tasted only a salted fried matter. One slice of the pickle can give you your sodium allowance for the week. I ate a few more to see if it was just that slice – but these badboys were saltier than the Dead Sea – at least the ranch dressing helped mask it. The pool of grease was not that appetizing either. I will note that these were saltier and greaser than what I have had at other places in the Queen City area.

Our burgers arrived about 10 minutes later nice and hot. We both halved our burgers and began to dig in. I started on the Mama Ricotta burger first. I noticed that the bottom of the bun was completely soggy – but oh well – I guess that means one nice, juicy burger. Wrong. This burger seemed over cooked and was very dry, the tomatoes were overripe and super mushy, and the pesto was not very flavorful (here is where an actual dash of salt and pepper would have worked). The housemade mozzarella was actually pretty good and helped the overall burger taste. I shutter to say that I could have gotten a better cooked burger at Five Guys. Next – to my main event – the 1511 Cantina burger with buffalo meat. This meat was super flavorful and moist… another reason to ‘upgrade’. The avocado and chilies also added to the flavor and was complimented by the chipotle ranch dressing. This was the burger I was wanting – a juicy dream with a slight kick. We both had the tater tots with the burgers – nice and crispy and hot!

The service was pretty good… much better than it has been in the past. For the overall experience, I will give Big Daddy’s 3 ghosts. The 1511 Cantina burger carried the rating due to the dry and unseasoned Mama Ricotta burger and the overly salty and greasy pickles. I know this is a Charlotte hot-spot… but a dry burger is like walking across the desert with no water. They also have grilled chicken and salads for healthier options. The overall price of the restaurant is up there ($11.50 for the Cantina burger with the buffalo). I plan to visit again in the future (for some more buffalo) but will have to save some coin.

Two locations - Dilworth and Ballantyne - http://www.bigdaddysburgerbar.com/Home/

Eddie's Place

If you want a place that serves breakfast all day and some NOLA influence...and have time to spend... Eddie's is your place...

We went to Eddie's later in the day after the regular Sunday church crowd and took a seat near the bar (because football was on, of course). Eddie's had several drink specials and we settled on the $1.50 Miller Lites. From the first glance of the menu, it had just about anything anyone could possibly want... from all-day breakfast, Po'Boys, to Low Country fare. I ended up getting the She-Crab Soup and the half Muffalatta (being the NOLA theme). The spouse settled for the egg breakfast platter (with sausage patties, grits and biscuit). Not to forget - we started with fried pickles.

The pickles came out fast and they were hot. They were sliced in chip form and were cleanly fried. Not overly greasy like I have had before but super salty. The soup was next. I am a big fan of She Crab soup and order it anywhere I can. I have only found super great She Crab in Charleston and nothing that compares. I will say that the She Crab soup at Eddie's was good but not comparable to Charleston's She Crab. It says that its award winning... but I found that I needed to add some salt and pepper and the crab was lacking. It did not have the big crab lumps that I am used to when I order the soup in Charleston. Finally - our meals came. My Muffalatta was big! For those who don't know - a Muffalatta is a NOLA born sandwich, made with genoa salami, mortadella, ham, swiss cheese and olive tapenade salad. The sandwich was flavorful and piled with meat. The olive was suptle but gave a nice after-bite and complemented the spices of the meat. The sandwich was on ciabatta bread that was nicely toasted and not overly hard and crunchy. You can also get this sandwich 'cold.' The spouse's breakfast dish was filled to the brim. I took a couple of bites of the grits - which were nice and creamy - and especially good with pepper added. The biscuit was good and I will plan on ordering the healthy biscuits and gravy on the next visit.

I will mention that the service is slow and if you are in a hurry, then I would plan adequate time and pack your patience. The food overall was good. I only wish the She Crab soup was better. I give Eddie's 3 ghosts for the combined food and service.

There are two Eddie's locations - one near Cotsworld and one in Ballantyne.

http://www.eddiesplacerestaurant.com/index.html

PJ O'Reilly's

PJ O'Reilly's is a new Irish pub off Ardrey Kell Road near Ballantyne. I found this place by accident as it is hidden in a shopping center and no bright lights (which the no bright lights is a good thing!). I went in and was very happy to find it was 100% no smoking and there were several televisions that decorated the walls. The restaurant was also decorated in the homely, pub flare.

The menu had a variety of food and not limited to "Irish" - Irish food (corned beef, cabbage and potatoes) and some English dishes (bangers, fish and chips) and America (burgers, chicken fingers, cheesesteak). I had settled on the Rynne's Ruben (corned beef, kraut, swiss and 1000 island dressing) and wedding rings (aka onion rings). I also ordered a Guinness for an appetizer.

The food took a little bit (but hey - it's a new place) but the server was very friendly and had a great attitude. She made the wait shorter by bringing another Guinness. My food eventually came and I was more excited about the wedding rings than the sandwich. They were fried in a Guinness batter - hot and crispy. As far as the Ruben, I was disappointed in the corned beef. Being Irish (ah oh!) - the corned beef was thick, dry and fat was covering the entire piece of beef. The beef was also very tough and grainy. I did not care for this at all and did not finish my meal. I was surprised that an Irish pub would serve corned beef in this condition. If made correctly, the corned beef would have been moist and the fat would be barely noticeable (noting that corned beef is a fatty meat) - primarily since the corned beef is cooked in its own juice and brine.

I was disappointed that the menu did not have enough true Irish food. Don't get me wrong, Irish food is not the most appetizing but it was more American food with witty Irish names. The service was great but the food failed. Again, this is a new place so I am sure there are some things to 'banger' out. I am torn but I will have to give PJ's 2 ghosts. Service and atmosphere = good but the food = not too Irish.

Feel free to give them a chance - I am sure I will be by there again for another Guinness and possibly another try.

http://www.pjoreillys.com/site/index-1.html

Zapata's Cantina

I was feeling a little festive with the Holiday weekend approaching so I took myself to Zapata's Cantina in Ballantyne. The server came right away offering chips and salsa and bringing my non-alcoholic tequila (i.e. water). The chips were served with two sauces - a mild and a hot. I noticed that one of the sauces had pieces of tomato and onion, while the other was a simple looking sauce. Both tasted the same temperature to me - I preferred the one with the tomato/onion pieces because of some additional flavor. I also ordered some queso, which was hot and served in a large 'soup bowl.' Tasty.

For my meal, I ordered a beef burrito from their Pronto Lunch Menu (a little smaller portion at a good price). The burrito soon arrived (pronto!) and was gigantic - it took up the entire plate. It had ground beef in the inside and topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato and guacamole. My first bite of the burrito was okay - nothing spectacular. I was disappointed that the plate the burrito was served on was hotter than the burrito itself... also I thought that the flavoring of the beef could have been more (like the salsa) and less greasy. I did finish the burrito and was stuffed - which is always good. The burrito was $7 plus tip. I will note that the service was excellent as the waiters were very considerate and constantly refilling the chips and salsa and water.

Based upon the temperature of the burrito and the lack of flavor (show me some heat!), I give Zapata's 3 ghosts as I could have made a better burrito at home (or another Mexican restaurant to be named later). Overall, if you are just in the mood for some fast-served Mexican food - then Zapata's is your place... and kids eat free on Sundays.

www.zapatasrestaurant.com

Nikko - Ballantyne

Went to Nikko Sushi Bar in Ballantyne, which is a step-down on the 'hip' scale from the South Blvd location. I have dined here before - but I am going in with an open mind. We were seated promptly where the waitress came and took our drink orders. This place has some good martinis and I always order my favorite (an off menu item) - a plum martini. This is half plum wine and half sake... a nice balance of sweet and tart. This was shared by an appetizer of edamame.

For dinner, I decided to order sushi - the restaurant's namesake. From reviewing the menu, I wish there were some more options of sushi but it appeared to be primarily salmon and crab based items. I ended up ordering the dragonfly roll (a spicy, fried tuna roll with crab), the Philly roll, the scallop roll and the spicy crab/shrimp roll (the best sushi I have had is a place called Seito Sushi which is not in Charlotte - best roll - Sunset Roll that has salmon, a lemon wedge and crab).

Once I ordered, the edamame came out hot! It was as good as edamame gets. Good service so far but that soon changed. While sitting in the restaurant, I noticed that other diners were complaining about the lack of service. The dining room was not too full but it seemed like there were only 2 waitresses, which could have been the cause of the lack of service. Viewing the sushi bar, it had 3 'sushi artists' which did more talking then making sushi and this seemed to cause a break-down in the food serving. From the time I ordered, it took about 45 minutes to get the four rolls of sushi I ordered. During that time, the waitress did not come by the table to ask if I wanted another drink or refill the glass of water. Like I said -good service went down quick!

Finally - the food came. I can't complain about the sushi. The dragonfly roll is a larger roll with tuna that resembles more like chopped tuna (instead of the sushi grade tuna I am used to) but was still good and has a piece of crab. I believe it is the hot sauce they add to it that gives it the great flavor. The Philly and scallop rolls are the 'regular' rolls that you can get anywhere - but the fish tasted fresh and they were wrapped nice and tight. Finally, the spicy crab/shrimp roll was a 'salad' like roll with the same hot sauce used on the dragonfly roll. It too was good but I believe that the hot sauce gave it its flavor.

At the end of the meal, the waitress finally came and refilled the water. Too bad she did not do this while I was eating the spicy rolls!

Overall, the meal with two drinks, appetizer, four rolls and tip was ~$65.

Food = 4 ghosts, service = 3 ghosts for an average of 3.5 ghosts.

http://www.nikkosushibar.net/index.html