Dolce Vita Wines and Crepe Cellar - Revisited

Ok - went to NODA for the gallery crawl... which was pretty cool. Saw different works of art from photography to a reconstructed slave quarter to some paintings I believe I could paint myself. I also enjoyed the free wine and music and people watching as well. So back in NODA and thinking where to eat....

My friend I was with wanted to try the Crepe Cellar and I said - sure, I said I would visit again. The wait was a little over an hour so we left our name and number and decided to hit up Dolce Vita Wines.

Dolce Vita was nice and open and had a guy jamming on a guitar. We were both a little hungry - after walking around the galleries - so we decided to get a cheese tray. This was the only disappointing thing of the visit as the waitress did not know what was on the cheese tray... but hey - we ordered anyways. We paired this with a bottle of Ciao Bella Pinot Grigio and the hour went by quicker than expected (note - one glass of wine was $7, one bottle of wine was $22... do the math). As far as the cheese tray - it was pretty good. It had crackers, three types of cheese (I did not know what they were - just like the waitress), peppered salami, bread and olives). I enjoyed the honey-drizzled bread and peppered salami as they both played different tastes with the Pinot. If grapes and chocolate were on this tray, it would have been heaven.

So back to the Crepe Cellar... yes, I have visited - pretty recently - but was ready to dive in again. To be fair, I ordered the same item - Queen City crepe (see previous write-up) and this time it was nice and hot and the cheese was perfect and the bacon crunchy! Bravo! I will upgrade to 4 ghosts!

Crepe Cellar

I finally made it to the Crepe Cellar in NODA. This hip, new restaurant/pub is where the Addie's Jamaican Cuisine used to be. Walking in, I noticed that the Cellar was a small, cozy place with a nice looking bar - as well as the friendly staff. Once being seated, our perky waitress came over and took our order - we started with nice cold Carolina brew and the pesto brie fries. All I can say about the fries - home cut - which means a good effort and a nice taste. The pesto and brie complemented themselves well.

For dinner, I ordered a crepe (obviously) - the Queen City crepe. This crepe has roasted chicken, cheddar, bacon and a tomato sauce served on top. For my side, I had to get the mac and cheese. This "crepe" cellar - has 5 dinner crepes and 6 dessert crepes. There are also other entrees that seem to outnumber the crepes! From the looks of other diners - it seems like they branched off from the crepe train and ordered the non-crepe items. I will say that the Steak and Guinness Pie looked tempting (and I will try it next time!).

Ok - so back to dinner - my crepes and mac and cheese have been delivered! The appearance was nice and simple... two crepes covered in the roasted tomato sauce - a nice size and not overly stuffed. As I took a bite - I was a little disappointed that the cheddar was not all the way melted. There were some areas that brought the chicken and bacon together through its gooey dream but the other half was unmelted shreds of cheese. The temperature was also not up to my liking - sub warm. Seems like the crepe was made and sat under the heating lamp while the mac and cheese was being dished - as this was hot! Yes - I did enjoy the flavor of the chicken and loved the sauce - but was hoping that the cheese was all the way melted and the crepes were warmer. The mac and cheese (as I mentioned) was hot. This was the best part of the dish - perfect noodles and a mix of melted cheese throughout. I will say that all this food made me pleasantly stuffed.

The service was exceptional - great staff that had a good vibe and made the Cellar a comfortable dining experience - I give them 4 ghosts. The food - it has potential! If the Cellar kicks it up just a bit - they will go from good to freaking awesome. I know its their rookie year too so they have some kinks to work out... so the food will get 3 ghosts - for an overall score of 3.5 ghosts. I will give them another chance for sure and look forward to it. Cost of meal was ~$25 with tip (inlcudes one $4 beer).

If you plan to go - go early - this place is small and it gets packed.

www.crepecellar.com