Scirocco's Profile
Why aren't my waffles crispy? Help!
Yes, I know. this an old thread that got revived. I resolved it by cranking the temp up to max heat. :-)
Nice idea on the cornmeal though - I LOVE corneal!
Why aren't my waffles crispy? Help!
Yup (on location). We used to live on that side of town, so would go often for breakfast, but now that we're in Mills River, we forget about it too. :-/
Their website says T-Sun 7 - 2pm and it seems like they pretty much do breakfast ONLY with a couple of sandwiches thrown in. Since breakfast is my favorite meal, that works for me!
http://www.firesidepancakeinn.com/
Why aren't my waffles crispy? Help!
It was at the Fireside Restaurant ("and Pancake Inn") in Hendersonville. :-) Ironically, I didn't care for their pancakes. Tasted like baking powder or something. But their homemade bread is really good and it made REALLY good french toast!
that creme brulee french toast sounds fabulous. must experiment at home....
LOVE Charleston, but rarely get there unfortunately.
Why aren't my waffles crispy? Help!
there is a restaurant around here that seems to dredge their french toast in sugar or maybe cinnamon sugar before grilling. It makes a wonderful crust on the outside!! Been meaning to try it at home. I'm sure you have to watch the heat though. We do "Bailey's French Toast" at home and you do have to turn the heat down because of the high sugar content. It's delicious!
NC now allows rare burgers!
I had heard that this was happening this summer. Something on schedule???!! Amazing. But seriously, that is wonderful news for this still-mooin' burger lover!
Why aren't my waffles crispy? Help!
Yes, sorry. My updates got buried.
Turned out it was operator error. :)
I had been worried about putting the heat on high for fear of burning them, but when I finally did, that did the trick! I crank it up to high and they are perfect every time now!
Why aren't my waffles crispy? Help!
No, it wasn't broken. The operator was broken. LOL I didn't have it on high because I thought they would burn. I crank it full bore now and it works perfectly!
And you're right, they aren't $20!! LOL
and I'm a she.... :) (always hard to tell on these boards!)
Out & About in Asheville, pt. two
Have not heard ANY good things about Blue Note other than some live music. I would find it really hard to believe he was there now (doesn't seem anywhere close to his caliber), but hey crazier things have happened! And Blue Note has a different owner now than it did even a year ago. When David (owner of Flat Rock Wine Shop) passed away, a friend of David's took it over. He didn't have restaurant experience and I think became overwhelmed. He sold it and I haven't heard good things about it lately. I don't get the feeling that food is their focus. ??
Good to know about WF's dessert upgrade! (or maybe not, in the interest of my waistline!) That was one thing I never bothered to get there as it never measured up to the rest of the amazing food.
And those macaroon pie at White Duck sounds reaaaally good!
The Dugout - Hendersonville, NC
Just doing a shout out for the Dugout in Hendersonville. It's in the old Margaritagrille location and I must, repeat MUST, emphatically state that the new owners of this spot have completely CLEANED the place. Four layers of carpet, flooring, etc. stripped down to the (now color-stained) cement floor. They lightened it up a ton. Redid the kitchen and bar. They really have done a lot of work.
It is now a sports bar, but not loud. They have several flat screens, but they are on mute. You can get a little box for your table for a particular TV if you want to hear what's playing. They also have music playing throughout, but it's not too loud to have a conversation. It is most definitely family friendly in the sense it is not a "bar scene" (at least during dining hours). Right now, it is open 7 days/week. They have live music most (maybe all?) weekends.
The food is massively better than Margaritagrille. Supposedly, everything is made from scratch as much as possible. This is not your high end restaurant and doesn't intend to be (and they would prefer to be known as a restaurant first and a bar second), but the food has been solid pub type stuff. Prices are very reasonable.
We especially like the haddock plate/sandwich when they have it. It's frozen, which is to be expected here, but is surprisingly good. The batter (if you get it fried,which we do) is homemade, light and seasoned well. And the piece is huge. I always take half home. We tried the cod (when they didn't have haddock) and didn't care for it, so just FYI on that. We've tried the burgers and they are good too. They will cook medium and up. Their fries are cut to order and taste really good but they are still struggling with the crispiness, so they are a bit limp, but I still order them because they have good flavor. I really like their cole slaw - it is the mayo/tangy type which is what I like. Other items people had at our table were: salad which looked good, reuben, a chicken/cheese sandwich (can't remember exactly what it was) and a philly cheesesteak (what I had the first time I went). Everything was reported to be good. I wasn't enamored with my cheesesteak, but it may be partly me. I like a really really really gooey cheesey cheesesteak and rarely get it.
Haven't sampled too many apps because we got stuck on the bbq chicken dip. not too spicy. we love it and get it every time we go now!
Desserts are homemade (wife of the owner has a pastry degree from J&W). Simple, but good.
Sorry this is long, but I had to post some details because these folks are trying really hard. Their biggest obstacle is going to be overcoming the HORRIBLE reputation of Margaritagrille and Eleanor's before that. The previous clientele is not too thrilled with the changes, so have not been saying nice things around town. The Dugout is trying to cater to a different crowd now and I'm very happy about that!
I don't think they have a website, but they are on FB.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dugout-Hendersonville/137654719696986
Food Recommendations in and Around Fletcher/Brevard, NC
They're totally different restaurants. Sq 1 is h'ville. Sq Root is Brevard. unless you were just being funny... :)
Was the Sq 1 chef new as of a month or two? I think the guy from Flight was the last one I'd heard of and I think he owned it when the original owners sold. Do you know where the new guy is from? I've never been too excited about Sq 1 before (although it's had moments here and there), but it's been sold at least once, so maybe I should try it again...?
Food Recommendations in and Around Fletcher/Brevard, NC
interesting you said that because I was just about to ask if danna had tried Square Root recently. I had thought it was very mediocre so quit going after the first year. But a friend of mine said she had been recently and it was much better than before. I always liked the space and was thinking about trying it again after she said that, but wasn't sure if I wanted to "take one for the team" or not. :-/ good to know about the med-rare burger too.
danna, sorry to hear about Marco's. I had the same experience you did and gave up on it. Too bad. I like the front porch.
South Asheville Dining
Agreed. Ya, I didn't mean to imply that West First was the only good place to eat in Hendersonville, it's just usually my top choice (that and Never Blue). :)
South Asheville Dining
Blue Sky has great wraps/sandwiches. I've only been there for lunch. Wasn't sure if dinner was different or not?
South Asheville Dining
Do you have an idea of what you're looking for (meaning cost, ambiance, ethnicity)? Stone Bowl Korean on 25 (just north of Long Shoals) is new and reported to be good. Don't know what its ambiance is. There are the usual suspects in Biltmore Town Park - mostly small chains, some are decent though.
Up a little farther on 25 (toward Asheville) are places like Frankie Bones and Tupelo Honey. Cinnamon Kitchen is decent Indian and a friend likes Green Tea Sushi, but I haven't tried it yet (we are Umi fans).
There's nothing really amazing in that area though. Probably Stone Bowl would be my first choice just because it's different and people on here have said it was good (and I trust them!). :)
Is Hendersonville a choice? It's not that far and I'd recommend West First over all of the above.
Dobson NC weekend
My FIL lives in Dobson and so we are there a lot. As others have said, not much to choose from unfortunately (we eat at Goober's in Mt. Airy a lot, but that's super casual).
We really enjoyed Kitchen Roselli (Italian) in East Bend. Probably 30 mins from your hotel. Not sure if it's faster to go down 77 to exit 82 or go through back roads. http://www.kitchenroselli.com/
Good luck!
Calling on Hendersonville-ites
The Jamaican place closed recently. :(
re: Papas 'n' Beer, I had one disappointing experience with the Brevard Rd one. I get the spinach burrito a lot and the one in H'ville uses fresh spinach and I got canned or frozen in the Brevard Rd. one. Yuck. I didn't understand how the same brand (albeit run by different family members) would have that difference. But, the rest of the Brevard Rd one was very good. Much bigger space too and MUCH MUCH nicer atmosphere than the H'ville one.
Agree with Danna on Purple Onion in Saluda too. Hadn't thought that far south.
Calling on Hendersonville-ites
mmm.....it's probably Papas 'n' Beer on 25. It's your standard Amer/Mex, but it's definitely the best. I forgot about them!
Calling on Hendersonville-ites
West First is always great! We also really like Never Blue (small pates - latin flavor, great drinks), but it gets mixed reviews on here. Umi is good for sushi. Inn on Church is under new ownership and reported to be good, but I haven't been yet. Mezzaluna has been surprisingly good the last few times we've gone. Big beer list if you like beer. If you want to splurge, Season's at Highland Lake Inn (Flat Rock) is nice for an upscale meal (lunch much more reasonable). Oh and speaking of Flat Rock, the Flat Rock Bakery is always great (same owners as West First) and Hubba Hubba has good BBQ (outdoor seating or take-away only though. But, if it's a gorgeous day like today, outdoor seating would be perfect!). Flat Rock Wood Room is newish, but stick to the BBQ or ribs which are very good. I do NOT like their pizza. Go to FR Bakery or West First for that.
Never Blue Asheville
The a'ville one was in the old Tingles location.
yes, the Saluda one is much smaller and a different focus than the h'ville one. Not really a full-service restaurant (for lack of a better term) like their h'ville one. It has more lunch/snacky (??) food. I would love the outdoor option! As I recall, they opened in the fall (they are closed now for the season), so this year will be the first for full warm weather outdoor opportunities.
I did talk to the owners last night and it seems that the a'ville closing was simply that it was proving to be exhausting to run both locations, so they decided to just focus on the h'ville one (and the Saluda one in season). That actually makes me happy because I was worried about quality suffering due to being spread too thin.
Never Blue Asheville
we loved it too. I haven't heard what happened yet, but I'm wondering if it was just too much too fast? They had the h'ville location, the Saluda one and then the A'ville one (the last two opening close together). And just the three people running things. Jesse's a smart cookie from the business side, so I find it very hard to believe it was bad business decisions - maybe something unexpected came up. I know they were trying to come up with the best solution for times being open too. Trying to figure out if all 3 being closed the same days was better or spreading it out. And I think they usually take a Christmas/winter break each year, so timing might have been a bit wonky for getting started. Who knows. Anyway, it's too bad. I really enjoy their food, drinks and vibe. H'ville is just as close for us, so we'll continue to go there! :)
Paczki Search
I got some at Publix last year too (in SC). Not the best quality I'm sure, but could do in a pinch.
Stone Bowl Korean, Asheville
that is great to hear! been on our to-do list, but we had been out of town so hadn't had a chance to get there yet. I suspect we will get there shortly....
Slightly Upscale Steakhouse[Grove Park, Asheville NC]
we go to the Sunset Terrace only when it's truly on the terrace (in the warmer months). The terrace is wonderful when it's nice out - fantastic view. I think the whole experience would be lacking indoors. ??
And we tend to stay away from the a la carte steaks unless a real "splurge" meal. I think those are a ripoff. The other entrees aren't priced that way. Why the steaks? The other (non a la carte) entrees are more reasonably priced and have been good for us. So far. :)
The Junction = YUM (Asheville)
Thanks for the report!
Agreed on the small plates - I picked more than one piece of my chicken off the table to put it back on the plate (I tried not to think about the cleanliness factor - wasn't gonna waste the food!). Didn't notice it being particularly sweet, but then my other moniker is "sweet tooth", so hints of sweet not a problem for this chick. :) Remember, I'm the one who added more juice to the Storm's Devil's Oasis! I thought the chicken batter was a tad dark, although the interior was still super moist, but I still enjoyed it greatly, mostly because I liked how it all came together with the sides/sauces.
Would love to eat outdoors as that was really my only negative - too noisy in there. It's hard to hear me in good conditions, so I found myself shouting a bit across the 2 person table.
Good to know on dessert....
The Junction = YUM (Asheville)
we went tonight and Jeff, I'll answer your question first (since desserts are near and dear to my heart!). I'm assuming desserts change daily (no menu offered). There were two choices tonight - NY style cheesecake and a flourless chocolate tart. The tart sounded good, but we have Katharine Hepburn brownies at home so we opted out (awesome brownies - google it if you like really fudgey brownies). So, can't comment on quality, but I'm guessing there are only a couple offered each night.
Dinner was great though. Service was good (it said on the menu that my chicken would take 15 - 20 mins - no biggie). I got the fried chicken with mashed sweet potatoes w/caramelized onion gravy and balsamic vinegar. Really good. And my husband got the gnocchi described above. He hates mushrooms, so they kindly gave them to us on the side and I happily devoured them. :) We shared a bowl of caramelize parsnip soup. Interesting flavor - we liked it. I had a $7 cab for wine. Total pre-tip was $36. Portions are typical small plate size, with my chicken being slightly larger (listed on their "supper" portion of the menu). But, still, the chicken was only $12.
It is pretty noisy in there (lots of hard surfaces), so don't go there if anyone is hard of hearing. I think the bar area would be a lot quieter.
We would absolutely go back. Enjoyed it very much!
Creating a recipe for stuffed shells advice
Oh ya, definitely not as healthy! haha A mix would be good too. Sorry, I had missed your comment about watching your weight.
It was a couple of years ago, but I want to say I did some of mine, if not all of it ahead. ?? I would think it would be fine. And I agree, you want to be able to spend time with your guests! :)
Creating a recipe for stuffed shells advice
I think that sounds great! I made the Giada de Laurentiis butternut squash lasagna one year for a Thanksgiving "side' and it was delicious. Similar to what you're doing. It used a bechamel-type sauce though which I think would go great with what you're doing.
Maybe do layers of both the winter squash sauce and bechamel? Or you could stuff with the winter squash puree (along with the spinach and ricotta mixture) and just use the bechamel for the sauce. Lots of options!
here is the link to the original recipe. For her recipe, I used sage instead of basil. Read the reviews for more ideas. I usually find them helpful.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/butternut-squash-lasagna-recipe/index.html
Annual 20 hours in Asheville: Cúrate, Sazarac, Tupelo
could also take a cab. then you can really enjoy their cocktails as well! :)
The Junction = YUM (Asheville)
I just saw on their site that they are offering brunch on Sat/Sun from "about 10:30 - 2:30" starting in January. No lunch during the week, but they are honoring the lunch Groupons for dinner or brunch. Guess I'll just have to suck it up and go to dinner there. Life's tough. :)
And yup, White Duck Taco closed until 1/23. I'll have to make other plans for lunch next week!
