Loco Lime

Loco Lime is a brand new restaurant in the Plaza-Midwood area. Since I had Monday off (thank you Mr. Presidents…) I decided to stop in and give it a try. We were greeted by a friendly staff who took our drink order and brought us some chips and salsa. The salsa was a homemade red tomato salsa – you could see and taste the fresh cilantro and peppers. When the waitress returned, she asked if we wanted some hot sauce and I quickly said yes! We were quickly brought two bowls of additional sauce – a green tomatillo sauce and a red chipotle sauce. The tomatillo sauce was a little creamier than a regular tomatillo sauce in that it had some avocados mixed in and it was complimented by lime and cilantro. My first taste of this sauce was something I have yet to taste at a Charlotte area Mexican restaurant – it was bliss. The tomatillo’s small ‘bite’ was cooled by the lime. The avocado gave the sauce a nice thickness to coat the tortilla chip. I then tasted the red chipotle sauce. This sauce was the thinnest, hottest and smokiest. The taste of the chipotle was strong and had the smoky undertone of a roasted pepper. I then combined the red tomato salsa and green tomatillo salsa (thanks to an extra bowl brought for just that) and was proud of my combination. The chips were also nice and hot and had a trace of some paprika.

The waitress was real friendly and gave an overview of the restaurant and its menu. She was able to provide several good suggestions – in which we took her up on them. My friend ordered the vegetarian burrito. This burrito was stuffed with refried beans, mushrooms, corn, zucchini and plantains (which at first my friend thought it sounded weird) and topped it with a citrus chili sauce. There are several options of sauce for your burrito topping – the citrus chili, queso, green tomatillo or red sauce. I settled upon the chicken enchilada (topped with green tomatillo sauce) and a cheese relleno. I substituted the refried beans for black beans.

I continued to drink the green tomatillo sauce until our food arrived. Our plates were hot, hot ,hot. My friend’s burrito was a perfect portion. The friend commented that the plantains were actually tasty in the burrito and complimented the citrus chili sauce nicely. As far as my dish, I jumped on the enchilada first. The chicken was very very tender and flavorful. It tasted as if it was simmering for hours. The green tomatillo salsa on the enchilada was a more traditional tomatillo salsa (thinner but still full of flavor). The cheese relenno was a huge poblano pepper that was lightly battered and filled with a lot of queso fresco (cheese is my secret lover). The queso fresco was hot and oozed out of the pepper. It was a nice mild cheese that mixed well with the ranchero sauce – neither overpowering the other. The pepper itself was nicely battered and not greasy. I am glad I ordered the black beans as they tasted fresh and was flavorful with a lime aftertaste.

We were both too stuffed (like a poblano) to order dessert… maybe next time. But it was all muy bueno. I give this new little place 4 ghosts – yes, equal to my beloved El Valle. My lunch was ~ $9 with tax and tip. Loco Lime also has a Huntersville location.

http://www.locolimecharlotte.com/

Foskoskies

Foskoskies.... now say that 3 times fast! Anyways - before heading out on a night on the town, my friends and I decided to hit up Foskoskies - a small hole-in-the-wall place in the Plaza/Midwood area.

We arrived around 6PM on Friday and at the perfect time as 5 minutes later there was a line of people waiting outside the door (which means it has to be good....). We sat near the front of the restaurant right by the "Specials" wall. There were about 7-8 specials ranging from homemade meatballs to seafood to dessert and the menu overall carries a down-home Southern flare with fried chicken to turkey pot pies to crab cakes. Our server came and seemed down-to-earth and was part of our table. We gave our drink and meal orders - my friend and I both ordered the boneless fried chicken breasts served with a honey pecan sauce and our other friend ordered the homemade meatballs. While we waited, we were delivered hot yeast rolls with room temperature butter that melted and glazed over the rolls. The rolls were probably the best 'free dinner rolls' I have had in a long time.

Not long after, our food arrived. My plate was nicely presented - two chicken breasts nicely fried (no grease) with the honey pecan sauce, a broccoli casserole and rice. I cut into the chicken and didn't even need to use my knife. It was moist and hot and very tasty. The honey pecan sauce was good but became overpowering after the 4th-5th bite (I did ask for it on the side and it was not). The broccoli casserole was warm when I got to it - it has a perfect mixture of broccoli and cheese and no additional seasoning was needed. As for the rice - it was just regular white rice so I barely paid attention to it except to use it as a mop for the chicken and broccoli. My friend who ordered the dish also enjoyed it. The friend who ordered the homemade meatballs received about 5 huge meatballs (made of beef and Grateful Growers sausage) and served on top of the penne. The meatballs were tender and juicy and filled with the perfect mix of Italian-like seasoning and hint of the sausage. From the looks of it - there was way too much penne and the presentation could have been a little more but overall it was tasty. My friend did not finish her meatballs.

The service overall was great. The server came over, as well as the owner, on various times to ask about refills and how our meals were. 5 ghosts for them! The atmosphere was cute - an 'old bar/restaurant' look however it seemed hotter in the restaurant than outside and I was sweating while I was eating - 2 ghosts. As far as the food - I really enjoyed it. Again, the honey pecan sauce was a little overbearing near the end but I just scraped it away... and yes, I did ordered it on the side and it came out on top of the chicken. With this in mind, the overall flavorness of the food that required no additional seasoning and the melting texture - I give the food 3.5 ghosts - for a total average of 3.5 ghosts.

2121 Shamrock DrSte ACharlotte, NC 28205

(704) 535-2225

Penguin

Well I decided to hit up the Penguin for a Monday night meal - hoping it would not be too crowded. When I arrived, I my name with the host and learned the wait was 30 minutes (30 minutes is not bad when people wait an hour + on the weekends). While waiting, I noted a beer special of Shock Top for $1.50/pint or $5/pitcher - so of course, I got a pint and the wait was soon over.

The menu is the typical 'diner' fare with sandwiches, hot dogs and vegetarian options... with their main item being the hamburger. They have three sizes of hamburgers - the single, double and the triple stack (or the 'Hemi') and you get add-ons such as pimento cheese and dressed all-the-way (lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, mustard, mayo) or Southern style (which has slaw, chili, and some all-the-way items).

The server came to the table immediately and took my order - fried pickles, a single burger with pimento cheese dressed all-the-way and sweet potato fries. The pickles came out hot and fast - so hot I had to blow on them to cool down. The pickles were nicely fried with a hint of grease and had the perfect salty dill flavor in each bite. The pickles also come with ranch dressing for dipping that allows for a yummy bite. The 'regular' size is big enough to share with others and a good appetizer until the main event comes. The burger and fries came - and again, the food was on fire! I could barely wait to gobble the burger down so I risked burning my mouth in order to take a bite and it was delicious! The burger was moist and the pimento cheese (made daily by the Penguin) added a great flavor. The burger was about 1/3 lbs in size and was very filling. It was so good though I could have made room for another. Lastly, for the sweet potato fries - I was a little disappointed. Yes, they were hot - but they were limp and soggy. I like my fries crispy! They were also very thin-cut and usually sweet potato fries are a little bit bigger sliced...

The burger is about ~$7, with the pickles and fries adding about $3-4 each to the total. Leaving the Penguin, I was still craving the salty taste of the fried pickles and the perfectly cooked burger and thinking nothing of the fries... I give the Charlotte drive-in 'gem' 4 ghosts.

The Penguin is located at 1921 Commonwealth Ave, Charlotte, NC in the Plaza-Midwood district. Get there early on the weekends or try it during the week for dinner - you won't be disappointed.