Spring House in Winston-Salem, NC

I had dinner there a week ago and overall I was impressed.

We had the gumbo, Gen Tso Sweetbreads, shrimp and grits, ceasar salad and the pork and grits. While the gumbo desperately needed more seasoning, the sweetbreads and pork and grits were true standouts. The sweetbreads were perfectly fried on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside. The accompanying Gen Tso's glaze was truly addictive. ANd who can go wrong with pork belly. The belly was cooked until falling apart and had a spicy glaze.

Meanwhile the Shrimp and Grits and Ceasar salad were just average preparations of those dishes. I had a terrific Ceasar salad at Bleu off of Hanes Mall Blvd the other day.

I would only have two complaints: Parking is great in the evening though I would imagine it would be a nightmare during the day and most of the appetizers were meat/pork centric. Many had pork sprinkled in where one would expect it. You see so many people through baon gratuitously these days. Not an issue for me but I can see these menu choices limiting the friends I can/would visit Spring House with.

The building has been a beautifully renovated, if you ever saw it when it was a county office building you will be truly impressed.

quazi in Southeast

Dinner near SECCA in W/S?

Go to milner's on stratford road and get the fried chicken. Nice atmosphere, good service,great food.

quazi in Southeast

Green Chartreuse - what recipes are out there?

Chartreuse swizzle. Just amazing drink. Google it for it has many variations. I have not tried the Last Word but it appears to be delicious as well

quazi in Spirits

Buying six bottles at once- what would you get?

Three sites that I think are great for rum reviews: http://therumhowlerblog.wordpress.com/ http://www.amountainofcrushedice.com/ and http://www.rndrumreviews.com/RnDRumReviews/Home.html

I don't always agree on their rating but they have exposed me to different rums. Once you see how your tastes are relative to theirs then you can use their reviews as an effective guide.

For a rum sidecar, try it with Kraken. I am not generally a fan of spiced rums but a Kraken sidecar is wonderful

quazi in Spirits

Can anyone help me find a store in Delaware/NJ (live in Philly burbs) that carries these spirits (can't get in PA)?

Go to total wine in Cherry Hill. I was like a kid in a candy store. Lots of rum choices - I think they have the ED12 but not any others in the ED line. Pretty sure they have Brokers and Ransom. I visited and bought Old Raj and Junipero. I don't think they have any Rhum Clement products.

Several items I bought did not show up on the site, so I would definitely visit.

quazi in Spirits

Buying six bottles at once- what would you get?

I would definitely beef up on the quality of rums - try the El Dorado 12, good sipper and great mixer, or the Plantation Rum

Add a cachaca El Barriero if you can - Leblon is a good back up.

I think the Aperol is much more accessible than the Campari and I am a bitter fan. I can see someone more readily sipping the Aperol, Plymouth Gin.

Does your store sell mini's? I have gotten good deals on mini's of absinthe, would skip the paul masson and get the martel or anything but the masson.

If you want an overproof rum get the J wray or the smith and cross

quazi in Spirits

Craft Beer in the Triad (GSO - WS)

Definitely check out both mellow mushrooms - the one in winston and greensboro. Both have great selections. Also in winston try first st draft house. I think foothills beer is much better than Natty's, though Foothills food leaves much to be desired as arbyunc stated. If you try any foothills selections be sure to sample their barrel aged products or their sexual chocolate.

Suprisingly the last time I went to darryls they had a much better than expected craft beer list. Not as many drafts as either mellow mushroom but plenty of options

quazi in Southeast

Three Days in Winston-Salem

It looks like you've done your homework. You have selected some of Winston's best. I would only add that I would strike Cloverdale Kitchen from the list. They are a decidedly average diner type place. Also the hero house has now moved removing area choice from the Sundance area. One of the few remaining places is Meltdown which has good bar type food but nothing revolutionary.

For BBQ, I would venture to lexington if you have the time and the stomach space to take in a few places. Best bet is to share a chopped plate with outside brown at two or three different places

quazi in Southeast

Pathetic state of burgers in Winston and Greensboro

where did you go there are plenty of good burgers you just need to tell them what you want. try milners, or river birch and ask them to cook them as light as possible. i have been able to order medium rare at most places with no problem also try harpers in greensboro.

you didnt name names but where have you been so far?

quazi in Southeast

Nice Restaurant in Greensboro for 60th Birthday?

I will go ahead and fourth it. I think their food is better than print works, they have very good service and the room is great as well

quazi in Southeast

Fresh duck Asheville

In my experience most duck in this region will be frozen. At a place like whole foods or earth fare if the duck is soft it has been thawed out. Most small producers at farmers markets use a processor who delivers back to them frozen ducks whether whole or in parts. I've been through the same search myself. The meat is still very fresh. I have only bought a few farmers market ducks but I will say I got better duck breasts(from whole ducks) from Whole Foods. They were larger and the ducks yielded more fat for confit later

quazi in Southeast

Giacomo Italian in Greensboro

They moved Now located in a strip center behind a gas station at the corner of New Garden and Battleground

quazi in Southeast

Greensboro Dim Sum Restaurant?!? Anybody been yet?

i saw a grand opening sign for this last week. At the time I could not tell if it was for Van Loi or the Nhu Yi space or something totally new. I will try it this coming week and report back.

quazi in Southeast

What to buy in France?

For me it would start with hard to find Chartreuse variants, boutique champagne producers and smaller cognac houses.

quazi in Spirits

Generic Triple Sec ==> Cointreau

Cointreau or Clement creole shrubb with a piece of ice is a wonderful thing personally. i think you buy cheap Triple Sec or its equivalent at your own peril.

quazi in Spirits

Meat and fish delivery in Raleigh, NC area/

you can always visit a local fish market for locally grown and more economical choices in fish. You will have alot more variety than you can find in the grocery store and they are typically much fresher.

Not sure about Raleigh but in the past i have ordered skate, monkfish etc. from my local Whole Foods

quazi in Southeast

Store with good beer selection near Winston

I will second city beverage and Total Wine. City Beverage gets my vote. Hit their website, they have weekly tasting events and they just had their biannual clear out the inventory sale where a lot of stuff is 60% off.

For whisky you may want to visit a range of different local stores. Many times they will have different offerings

-----
City Beverage
4810 Hope Valley Rd Ste 105, Durham, NC 27707

quazi in Southeast

Need recommendations for a good gold and /or dark rum for mixing

Depending on the cocktail you can definitely tell the difference. In a mai tai, daquiri or even rum and coke I think you can tell the difference between various rums. A variety of rums will definitely change the taste of a mai tai, I am continually experimenting though I keep coming back to ED 12 and St James

quazi in Spirits

Best Eats in WS! & ?

I will second senor bravo. They have the standard tex mex stuff but do it better than average and they have some authentic mexican dishes as well. Their tequila selection also rises above the average

quazi in Southeast

What have been your best and worst liquor purchases?

While I have not done a blind tasting, this past week I have been sampling both the 12 and 15 and the 12 wins out by far. I think the 15 is overly smooth, while the 12 just keeps delivering additional layers of flavor over the course of the evening. And its cheaper to boot.

quazi in Spirits

What have been your best and worst liquor purchases?

If your in Charlotte the Creole Shrubb is back as is the Clement Agricole Rum. You can check the meckabc site for specific stores.

I bought the last four bottles when they last had it and they said at the time they were discontinuing it. I was gratified to see it still available about two months ago

quazi in Spirits

Beasley's Chicken and Honey Opened in Raleigh?

This thread made me remember this soul food place in Winston named Chicken and Honey. It's been closed for at least 7 or 8 years and until recently they had a menu still posted; can't remember if chicken and honey was on the menu or where the name came from.

The building still sits there waiting for the next chicken entrepreneur.

quazi in Southeast

any recipes for an economical alcoholic punch to serve at a party for about 15 people?

I have had success with the one in this thread by MC Slim JB. My only alteration was to add simple syrup. The better your ingredients the better the punch so fresh squeezed lime juice and homemade grenadine were tactics that brought the quality level up.

I just used light and and gold rum though

chowhound.chow.com/topics/369713

quazi in Spirits

Asian Market in or near Winston-Salem

there is one in Winston on Lockland avenue off of Silas Creek. There is also another one on Peters Creek near mayflower seafood but I've never been to that one in greensboro there are several Vietnamese stores, a Korean one and the pan asian store on w. Market st near spring garden.

Are there any items in particular that you seek?

quazi in Southeast

I Cannot Seem to Make a Decent Margarita

I've made this one a few times. It tastes great with gin. I've been meaning to experiment and see how it tastes with tequila

quazi in Spirits

Rum-based drinks that don't use many ingredients?

I think you at least need to squeeze a lime or two. Fresh lime/lemon juice will be your savior for good rum drinks.

You could do a rum sour, a mojito or a daquiri

quazi in Spirits

Help: Good food near UNCSA - Winston-Salem

Welcome to the Twin City! Arbyunc gave you some great recs. I would add to the list Sixth and Vine and if you neeed a bbq fix Mr. BBQ.

More mexican is located in the other direction on sprague(El Rancho) and waughtown(El Paisano) streets. Mostly hole in the walls with great tacos.

If you go to Winkler's get some sugar cake and some sparkling muscadine/scuppernog juice

quazi in Southeast

Home Carbonation System?

depends on your price range and dedication. You should be able to find a soda siphon for under $50, less if you buy used. CO2 cartridges run about $5 for 10.

You make your syrup add it to the glass and spray in the seltzer

Pros-love the look, they are simple inexpensive

Cons - Can't control level of carbonation

next up you have sodastream and other devices that will carbonate a liter bottle using their syrup. Though I have seen recipes for making your own.

You can keep a fridge full of plain or seltzer bottles, saving time and you can adjust the level of fizz. The link below gives loads more info

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/381990

Higher upfront cost but cost of carbonating a bottle is low.

quazi in Spirits

Help Please -Sunday between Winston-Salem/Lexington and Charlotte

Go to Milners in Winston-Salem on Stratford Rd and have the fried chicken or a pimento cheese burger. I can't think of any good que open on Sunday

quazi in Southeast