Thai Taste

Thai Taste is just that... a taste of Thai cuisine. I have been a couple of times and have had good experiences each time I have been. Warmly greeted, I was seated quickly and was brought ice water. Hot tea was also offered - and I accepted - since it was a balmy 30 degrees outside.

The menu has many options in which you select a 'base' then add chicken, duck, pork, beef or seafood. There are also several vegetarian options. For a starter, I ordered the Poh Peah Tod, which are spring rolls stuffed with vegetables and served with Thai sweet and spicy sauce. The spring rolls arrived quickly and were fried hot. The rolls were not greasy and had a good flavor of the vegetables and the sweet and spicy sauce. There are four rolls per serving so it's an easy split between a party of two.

For my meal, I ordered the Pud Gra Pow with chicken (chili and basil leaves, stir-fried with mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, and carrots). You have the option to order from mild to super hot as to the spiciness of the dish... and I went for medium. It's always to add more spice than take it away in my opinion. The dish arrived overflowing with veggies and meat. It was paired with a bowl of steamed white rice. I did ask if there was an option for brown rice but there is not (which I would enjoy more than the white rice but oh well). Back to the food - yes, it was brimming over with not only veggies and meat but with spice and flavor. I was glad I ordered medium as it was pretty hot... but that did not stop me from adding some more chili sauce. The veggies were nice and crisp and were plentiful and the chicken was tender. The portion of the dish is quite large and can make 2-3 servings depending on how hungry you are.

I give Thai Taste 3.5 ghosts. The service is top-notch and the staff was very friendly and courteous. Several refills were provided for both water and hot tea. Due to this, it bumps up from a 3 to the 3.5 score. The food was good but I have had a little better Thai food in the area. Overall, I was happy with my dish and plan to return for a nice spice kick in the pants.

Thai Taste has three locations - Matthews, East Blvd and University.

http://www.thaitastecharlotte.com/

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/

Lebowski's Grill and Pub

Lebowski's is in it's maiden year opening this past March 2009. It's on East Blvd, nestled within the likes of Cantina 1511, Big Daddy's, Moe's and Rock n' Lobster. It's named after the Big Lebowski and has various posters and quotes around the restaurant as well as album covers hanging from the wall. I decided to meet my spouse for lunch - we've never been and it's in the middle of where we work... a good meeting spot. We arrived and our drink orders were taken and delivered promptly. At that time, we were busy reviewing the menu - which had several items I wanted to order: The Sizzle Salad, the Turkey Burger, the Quesadillas... the list went on and on. We decided to both order a sandwich and split it as well as split the sides:

Me - Turkey BLT Wrap with Mac and Cheese (the wrap had Roasted Turkey Breast, Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato & Mayo)
Spouse - Chicken Florentine (Chicken Breast, Provolone, Baby Spinach, Bruschetta and Spinach-Artichoke Spread on Grilled Sourdough) with garlic fries

We waited not even 10 minutes and out popped our food. The wrap was a good size - much larger than I have seen at other sandwich places. There was plenty of turkey and bacon (I loved that the turkey was crisp and not oily) and it was stuffed end-to-end. The mac and cheese was definitely homemade. The mac was cavatappi pasta and the cheese were several cheeses that oozed in the bowl. There was enough melted cheese left to scoop up with the garlic fries. The mac and cheese was hot and not overly salty. My half of the Chicken Florentine was still hot when I got to it (this was after eating my half of the wrap and mac and cheese). The chicken breast was thinly sliced and with each bite I could taste a piece of artichoke and spinach. The artichoke gave the sandwich the perfect sour bite - a good balance with the chicken and cheese. The garlic fries were equally delicious. They appeared to have a garlic batter and were garnished with parsley. The fries were a true treat - something I normally don't order (yes, even ghosts need to watch their weight) but they were worth it. I will be thanking these fries and the mac and cheese for my 3 mile run this afternoon.

All and all, the lunch was very good and at a great lunchtime value. The two sandwiches, sides and drinks was ~$23. You can pay the same price (or more) at Panera or Five Guys and the meal at Lebowski's was far better. I would like to go back to try the burgers and wings and their "mystery beer." I give Lebowski's 4 ghosts for overall service, food and price. We'll be meeting there again in the future.

http://lebowskisgrillandpub.com/