Arooji’s Wine Room

My spouse and I decided to go to Arooji’s Wine Room last week for a little celebration. We ended up going around 6PM on a Friday night to the South Charlotte location and it was pretty empty (maybe 4 other tables filled). We were glad there was no wait so we gladly accepted a booth. The waiter was friendly and attentive but also laid back. He took our drink orders and gave us time to review the menu.

The menu has several different pasta options and entrees as well as the regular ‘Italian’ type appetizers. The wine menu was a nice size and you could clearly see why it is a ‘wine room’. We settled on the calamari and I ordered the Lasagna all' Emiliana – which is lasagna with bolognaise sauce, parmesan, and provolone cheese and the spouse ordered the Ravioli Miramonti – which is lobster ravioli served in a light wild mushroom cream sauce. As we waited for our appetizer, we were brought some fresh bread and olive oil/balsamic vinegar with some white limas and tomatoes.

The calamari came out shortly after receiving the bread and it was plentiful and hot. The calamari was served with two dipping sauces – the traditional marinara and a roasted pepper aioli. The calamari looked pretty bland and when I tasted them, I knew I wasn’t going blind. There was really no flavor and I had to rely on the salt and pepper and the two sauces to eat them. The sauces were good though and was very glad I had them.

Once the appetizer was finished, our main dishes arrived. My lasagna was huge and hot. It had several layers of pasta and sauce and a nice serving of cheese. This is what I came here for – a good, hearty portion of comfort food. The bolognaise sauce had nice pieces of meat and was full of flavor and was more of a creamy tomato/vodka type sauce which was real good. The spouse’s lobster ravioli were also tasty. They were plump and had a nice amount of lobster. The wild mushroom sauce was also good and added a nice balance to the lobster ravioli.

The waiter was very good. He kept our glasses filled and was prompt and friendly. The restaurant started to get more crowded as we were leaving (~7PM). If I had to base it on the calamari alone, it would be 1 ghost but since the meal was delicious and service was good, I will give Arooji’s 3 ghosts.

Arooji's has two locations - one in South Charlotte at 485/Providence Rd and in South Park.
www.aroojis.com

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!