Tuscan Grill

Last evening we took two friends down to Carolina Beach to check out a few options. First, we tried Tangerine Caribbean Grill. Having read all the wonderful reviews, we were certainly in for a nice treat. Checking in, we were told there would be a 20 minute wait. No problem. We warmed up the to bar and ordered $2 Longboard beers. Not a bad price for a Saturday night. The atmosphere is super cute. It looks and feels like a Caribbean place. We were seated outside on the deck that overlooks to harbor. The deck even has a pool table. How cool is that? Anyway, as we sat there for about 10 minutes without any server coming to us, I glanced over at the manager was talking to the table next to us. The 2 couples looked miserable. I asked how long they have been sitting there....45 minutes! Ouch. We figured we better try this place on a different night.

Anyway, we called Tuscan Grill which sits down the road on the main strip. The owner told us there was no wait and we could sit outside. We hurried down and were indeed quickly ushered to a lovely patio. The server was awesome. He was so attentive and down to earth. When we looked at the prices we were worried we were out of our element. But the server really made us feel welcomed telling us he lobbied hard to get the owners to offer $1.50 PBRs!

We ordered a starter of artichoke dip. This was a huge order - I was glad there were four of us. The dip was tasty and well prepared. I like mine a little more zingy, but this was definitely good. We ordered halibut with asparagus and a spinach salad. The halibut was very well prepared with a lovely creamy sauce. The serving size was quite large. Lynn and I split the order. The side of pasta with alfredo sauce was huge! Oh goodness, it hit the spot.

In all, the dining experience was great. The only complaint was the price. Our bill came to around $48 for 2. That included a starter, one entree, and a starter salad. But the taste, the atmosphere, and the service made up for the sticker shock! We will definitely be back.

Lynn says...  I thought it was a wonderful experience. As soon as we walked in the door we were asked if we were the party of four that had just called and were quickly whisked off to the back patio. The atmosphere was simple elegance with just the perfect lighting for an evening dinner. I agree with Jayson our waiter was very friendly and attentive throughout the meal. The Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip - $9.95 that was served with ciabatta toast points was unique. I found it to be very tasty and enjoyed the subtle flavor of pine nuts that were blended it. It added a little bit of extra crunch that mixed well with the creaminess of the dip and ciabatta toast. The Fresh Halibut Oscar style (crab and Bernaise sauce with asparagus spears) and served with one side choice - $23.95 was fantastic - light and flaky. As a side we choose the pasta with alfredo sauce. I am not usually a fan of alfredo sauce but appreciated the delicate dressing of sauce they coated the pasta noodles in. The Tuscan Greens - $6.45 had fresh baby spinach, toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and was finished with a balsamic raspberry vinaigrette. It was very flavorful and all of the different textures and tastes went very well together. Overall I really enjoyed this meal, the staff, atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this restaurant for a casual night out with friends or a romantic dinner with your partner. Don't forget to take a walk on the boardwalk and a stroll on the beach after the meal.

Big Thai

For an early Sunday night meal, we headed to the Brooklyn Arts district to try Big Thai located at 1001 North 4th Street.  After its sister restaurant closed up shop in downtown Wilmington, I expected much the same. Having ate at the sister restaurant, I expected the same quality and the same great taste. 

Big Thai's orange building  screams"Hey you, check me out!" or "Attention, good stuff inside!" The interior atmosphere is a little odd and does not give that Thai feeling. It has high ceilings that make it look as if it belongs in a strip mall. I tried the restroom and thought I was actually in Bangkok. Let's just say it was in bad shape. But hey, it did have running water so I knew I was in the States.  

Looks aside, I was ready to have some great Thai food. We shared a few meals: Chicken Pad Thai, tofu green curry, and a vegetable mix with chicken. Now I have had many plates of Pad Thai in my time including eating it from many street vendors in Bangkok. This version simply did not do it for me. It was a little bland for my taste and the noodles were sticky and mushy. I barely tasted any fish sauce. The taste was fine for an everyday plate of Pad Thai, but it was not what I expected. The curry was only so so too. It was spicy which was a good thing. But it was served on a plate where there was very little sauce. Being spread on a large plate made the meal cold to the touch when it arrived. It seems as if serving curry in a bowl would be a better option. The third meal was only OK. OK enough to say I cannot remember it the next morning. 

I have had their coconut cake on at least three occasions. Each time the slice was huge! So, three of us decided to share. To our dismay,  there must have been a shortage of cake. The slice was tiny at best. The taste rocked as always, but the portion size was very disappointing. 

I hate to say it, but our experience was only mediocre. I love Thai food and really wanted to find a favorite place where I would pick up carry out to take home or a place that could be my Asian get away. I wish I could say it were so, but this was not the place. 

I will try Big Thai again....but sadly, very sadly I must say I was not wowed this time. 

Pilot House

For lunch, we headed to downtown Wilmington to take in the colonial feel of the city. We chose the Pilot House. The location is superb - it is located on the river walk overlooking the Cape Fear River with the lift bridge as the back drop. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Since the weather was so nice, we decided to sit on the patio and bask in the sun.

I tried the BBQ, smoked bacon wrapped salmon. Now that was a party in my mouth. The crispy bacon was smokey and flavorful. The BBQ sauce was not too overpowering where I could not taste the salmon. It all worked together quite nicely. It was presented over a bed of grilled vegtables which was a nice addition to the sweet and tangy sauce. The price of this treat was around $10.

If you are looking for a good place to check out the city, watch the river, feel the downtown culture, and enjoy a tasty treat, the Pilot House is a good option. 

Sweet and Savory

Last evening, Lynn's mother and grandmother came into town on their way from Florida to Michigan. Waking up we had a real hankering for a good breakfast. We took them to Sweet and Savory. If you have not been there yet, you are missing out. It is tucked into a side street on the way to Wrightsville Beach right before your cross the bridge. We have been there on at least six occasions and have been pleased with each visit. Today, I had the Sunrise Garden breakfast sandwich.

Stacked between two pieces of homemade bread were scrambled eggs topped with melted Havarti cheese. The sandwich was then filled with lettuce, tomatoes, cubed cucumbers, thin sliced onions, fresh sprouts, and mushroom. The sandwich is served with a wonderful garlic mayonnaise. The sandwich felt light but was very filling: a great morning combination. Of course there are lots of options for a sweet tooth....I held back (if only this time).

If you are at the and are looking for a close place to grab a quality meal, this is your spot. I have had their diner too and was just as happy. Oh yeah, worry not...there is a small bar inside too.

Lynn says....
Sweet and Savory never disappoints. Their menus are printed on one double sided sheet of paper folded into three. There is a separate menu for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I have only had the breakfast but each time I look at the other menu's and report that I am definitely coming back for lunch the sandwich options look fantastic.

With a never ending cup of coffee and a fresh, quick, light meal it was a perfect place to take my mom and grandma before an early morning walk on the beach.

Casey's BBQ Buffet

This week, we have a visitor in from Minnesota. We thought we should treat her to some southern food. A joint we have visited many times is Casey's BBQ Buffet. Now normally I am not much of a buffet style eating guy. The first time we went here was by mistake. Coming from the North, I thought BBQ would be lip-smacking ribs. So when we walked into this place, we were a little taken aback. However, once we tasted the food, we understood why folks call this comfort food.

The BBQ is vinegar based. It is a pulled pork that is cooked so well that it almost melts in your mouth. I love it! They have all the southern favorites too including mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, turnip greens, rice and gravy, hush puppies, chitlins, fried chicken, baked chicken, and loads of deserts. Their banana pudding is just yummy.

The only drawback with going here is the pain I feel walking out. I simply cannot stop myself from returning to get more goodies. I guess things could be worse....

There are a few other BBQ joints in town that we will eventually try out. For now, my southern food fix gets met at Casey's!

Lynn says.......
When are we going back? I LOVE this place. Jayson swears every time that he is going to limit himself and eat less. But I truly believe once he gets in the door he just can't stop himself. All willpower is left at the door. I never expected to enjoy this restaurant as much as I do. It is one of only a few places that I crave and anticipate going back to.

The tables are all covered in plastic picnic tablecloths, clean and simple. Even when there appears to be a long line that you will never get through it moves very quickly. All of the servers and staff are so nice and helpful my ice tea is never empty. Sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, hush puppies, coleslaw, pulled pork, fried chicken, fish, fried mussels, the food never ends and hits the spot every time we go in.

Jayson and I have taken most of our out of town guests to Casey's to give them a taste of the local cuisine and every person has left with a full belly and a smile on their face.

Pop's Diner and Last Resort

Last night we went down to Carolina Beach to grab a donut at Brits on the boardwalk, but found it was closed. So, since we had a hankering for something sweet, we went to Pop's Diner at 104 North Lake Park Blvd for a funnel cake. All I can say is mmmmm. The flavor was even better than I remember from my many ventures to the Minnesota State Fair - that is saying something! The cake was hot, crispy and covered with fresh sprinkled powdered sugar. Scrumptious! Price: $5

If you are on Carolina Beach hunkering for a sweet, check out this place.

After we got our sweet tooth on, we headed back north and stopped into the Last Resort for a drink. This is a little pub smack in the middle of the street located at 600 North Lake Park Blvd. The atmosphere is very beachy and extremely cute. Inside is tiny, but the place makes up for it with ample deck space that really makes you realize you are at the beach. It is a great little place to just kick back and take in the local flavor.

Lynn says.............
I am by far not a funnel cake connoisseur but this funnel cake definitely hit the spot. When it was able to curb Jayson's disappointment over Brit's donuts being closed I knew we had found a new little place to come for comfort food. It really was fresh hot and crispy. Truly melt in your mouth good. My friend Jaime was in visiting from Minnesota and it was not quite as warm as she had hoped - the funnel cake seemed to put everyone in more of a summery mood. At pop's they have a fairly large assortment of treats including ice cream and hawaiian ice. And the best part - it is just a quick walk from the beach.

And then over to the Last Resort to continue with our summer dreaming. It is a small building with hardly any room to turn around it but having the outside seating was fantastic. I am a huge fan of sitting under the stars with friends and a drink. It was a perfect place as we headed out of Carolina Beach on our way home.

Mason's Haunt

Jayson said...

Mason's Haunt is located in a cute, off-the-beaten path of Masonboro Loop Road. It is located in a strip mall, albeit a very upscale strip mall. There are plenty of windows to gaze out at the small pond in the back. So all in all the views are good. The inside is a little sterilized for my taste. But for many, this is a good thing.

Walking in, we were greeted with the sounds of a lovely female acoustic guitar player who focused on playing songs from from the likes of Lisa Loeb and Jewel. She sounded wonderful and really added to the atmosphere. The waiter brought out little cornbread rolls and wonderfully warm biscuits. The cornbread rolls were just OK, but the biscuits were grand. They were served with regular butter. I would have preferred a nice honey butter though.

We started off with an appetizer of beef and mushroom strudel. The presentation was wonderful and the taste good. Nonetheless I was not 'wowed' with this particular starter.

I was torn between the roasted chicken and Korean style braised short ribs. The ribs won...much to my palette's pleasure. This boneless treat was melt-in-your-mouth tender. It was pipping hot and very good. The soy and sesame glaze left a great taste in my mouth even hours afterwords. It was served over a bed of soba noodles. This sounded a little odd, but it added a good texture to the moist dish.

We ended up the meal with a chocolate mouse cake. The mouse was very nice, but it left me wondering what the carrot cake tasted like.

Very nice ending. The dishes are around $15-$20 a plate. Our total bill was around $47 which included the appetizer, two entrees, and one dessert.

In all, Mason's Haunt is a good place to go for an quiet meal at a reasonable price. The food and staff are both upscale.

Lynn said......
I really enjoyed Mason's Haunt. It was a quiet and warm atmosphere. The live music was perfect for dinner. The girl's voice was gentle and the acoustics for the restaurant were good, we could actually hear and understand the soft background music. After our drink order was taken we were quickly brought a basket of warm cornbread and biscuits. The biscuits were mini versions of a homemade biscuit warm and flaky. I thought the beef and mushroom strudel appetizer was very flavorful and light. It was good but too strong for my taste. For dinner I ordered scallops over linguine and it was fantastic. Again very light and flavorful. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the scallops, tomatoes and olives were tossed in a light cream garlic sauce. The chocolate mousse cake was wonderful. Too often chocolate cake is dry and chalky. This cake was moist and very chocolaty. There was a strawberry garnish that added a perfect touch.

Overall this was a very pleasant meal, great dinner music, light, flavorful food and our waiter was very attentive but not over bearing. Our water glasses were always full.

Introduction

Hello readers. We will use this blog to detail our travels in eating around Wilmington and Southeast North Carolina! We will try to add pics and comments by both Lynn and Jayson to give you balance. Suggestions for places to try out are always welcomed!