Our Epic Road Trip: A wonderful day in Charlotte.

It's hard to believe that it was almost three weeks ago that we were getting ready for our epic road trip up the east coast. Before we could get started on our vacation, we needed to leave our animals in capable hands with family in Charlotte. I know it seems crazy, driving six hours south before heading up north, but the cost to board our animals was ridiculous.

Home Sweet Home. The first of the 13 states we'd cross into during our trip.

I got an email a few weeks earlier reminding me of the Komen Race for The Cure. We did it the year before, and I loved it, so I signed us up again. I love the positivity that comes along with it. Not to mention it's such a pretty city and we love exploring it. 

 

 

 

 

 

The food in Charlotte was as epic as always. 

This pomegranate margarita popsicle was AMAZING. 

And even more amazing: the Breaking Batter hot dog from JJ's Red Hots. OMG, so good!

I love eating hot dogs, but that night we headed uptown for a fabulous dinner with some friends.

(And took a few photos in the parking deck...)

We ate at Kings Kitchen for the first time since our first wedding, about 2.5 years ago. Their menu had obviously changed, but the meal was fantastic and did not disappoint. 

We started withe the pimento cheese dip. It was phenomenal. Nothing like the chunky stuff that us southerners spread on sandwiches. This was a queso consistency and I just wanted to eat it with a spoon. 

We also ordered biscuits & cornbread for the table to share. The biscuits were the best I've ever had. The cornbread was disappointing, but I think that was just a personal issue since I prefer sweet cornbread. 

Graham & Megan both ordered the shrimp & grits. This was amazing. The sauce was just right, the shrimp was excellent and the grits were perfect. I've decided from here on out, I only want to eat stone ground grits. 

(Stone Fisheries shrimp, Anson mills grits, spicy tomato sauce)

My friend Heather and I couldn't decide between two dishes, so we each ordered one and shared. The scallops were slightly overcooked but they had delicious flavor and were still really tender. The succotash was fantastic as well. 

(Stone Fisheries seared scallops, low country succotash, fine herbs)

The other dish we were torn between was the chicken and dumplings. This was (in my opinion) the best meal at the table. Everything was perfect. Vegetables are easy so of course the were good. But the sauce & the chicken? Oh my. The sauce was perfect. The chicken was perfect. The meat was super moist and had amazing flavor, and the skin was crispy and delicious. The dumplings were good, but the chicken & the sauce were completely amazing.

(Seared Airline chicken breast, house dumplings, fresh vegetables and pan jus)

We headed home after dinner, since we had to get up super early to start on our road trip. But it was a fabulous day in Charlotte and I'm already ready to be home again for Thanksgiving!