Restaurant Review: Miguel's

I love sushi and beautiful, upscale gourmet restaurants, exotic foods and trendy decor. That being said, one of my absolutely favorite restaurants of all time is a dingy, hole in the wall on the west side of Charlotte: Miguel's.

I remember the first time I ate here. It was near my best friend's home, and a huge group of us went one day. I wasn't an adventurous eater then, so I ordered something that looked pretty tame. I had the nacho cheese burritos, with chicken. That was in 2001 and for the past 12 years I have ordered the same thing every time I visit.

There is a short list of "must visit" places every time we go home, and Miguel's is #1 on that list. When you pull into their gravel parking lot, look past the outside of the building and it's location. When you get inside, look past the decor & the cracked, red vinyl booths. Take a seat (there is no host/hostess, just sit where you want), dive in to the chips and salsa (I could eat their salsa with a spoon!) and get ready to enjoy a truly delicious meal.

This visit Graham & I both began our meal with a margarita. We were heading to a movie after dinner, so I got a small one. If you're not going to sit through a three hour, really depressing musical (Les Miserables... really good, though) order a pitcher. They had them on special that night and it the pitcher was cheaper than what we spent on the drinks we ordered. Graham thought his was weak, and ordered an extra shot of tequila, I thought mine was perfect.

We devoured two baskets of chips and salsa while waiting for our meal. Finally, it arrived. We were starving, and of course this was the one time that the service was slow. But our food came out and it was worth the wait. I know these burritos don't look like much... but oh baby.

Nacho Cheese Burritos; $7.75

The cheese sauce is absolutely delicious, and the inside of the burrito is stuffed with huge chunks of chicken, bell peppers, tomatoes & onions. Every single bite is delicious. I was craving some black beans too, so I ordered a dish on the side. Black beans are usually pretty bland at most restaurants, and these were too. But a spoonful of the delicious salsa and some salt worked wonders.

Graham is a little more diverse in his meal selections than I am. I find something I like, and I tend to stick with it. He typically gets something different each time. This time he ordered the Enchiladas De Chorizo. This was excellent. The chorizo was perfectly cooked and really flavorful.


Three enchiladas filled with Mexican sausage, covered with shredded cheddar cheese & green sauce. Served with rice, lettuce & pico de gallo.

Enchiladas De Chorizo; $9.95

Miguel's is truly on my list of my favorite restaurants of all time. The food is delicious, the service is quick and the staff is always pleasant. The same people have worked there forever, and back when I still lived in Charlotte and ate there every week, my server would bring me a sweet tea without even asking. And the price absolutely can not be beat. Dinner, margaritas & tip cost us about $42.

Restaurant Review: The Kings Kitchen

So, as some of you may know, Graham & I were married on Saturday, April 23rd. He's deploying a LOT sooner than we expected, so we had a simple, VERY private ceremony with our parents. The big party is happening on Lake Norman on December 31, so keep those calendars open.

One of my absolute favorite things about Charlotte is the plentiful culinary options. Unlike Little Rock, it isn't a town of a handful of great restaurants. It is a huge city with enough amazing restaurants to keep you satisfied and challeneged for years. So narrowing down all of those places to just one was incredibly challenging. Especially since our families are quite traditional and not into the types of food we usually enjoy. Also, since it was a party of nine and Graham was planning on paying, I wanted something a little more budget friendly.

The Kings Kitchen was the answer to my prayers. The owner of the restaurant, Jim Noble, has a few other restaurants in Charlotte. I've eaten at one of them. Noble's, and it was fantastic. But a bit pricier than I wanted my new husband to have to deal with. I saw a link to The King's Kitchen, and after checking out the website, I was in love. The food was very southern, but I was immediately drawn to the salmon AND what they do for the community. So, I told Graham about it, made the reservation and anticipated a delicious meal.

After our short & sweet wedding, we headed downtown for dinner. We had reservations, but they weren't incredibly busy, so we probably would have been fine without one. We were seated quickly and our server greeted us promptly. He took our drink orders, came back and we ordered a few appetizers for the table. We ordered the deviled eggs & the pimento cheese. I can't comment on the pimento cheese, since I don't care for it, but the eggs were delicious. He also brought out two plates of biscuits with homemade strawberry jam and cornbread. Everyone raved about the cornbread. I had a biscuit with some jam and it was delicious, but nothing special.

The entrees came out quickly and everyone was more than pleased. I had the salmon with the pea risotto, which was fantastic. The salmon had a lime butter on top and the risotto was perfect. And the color was gorgeous and interesting. I was very pleased with the flavors of this dish (the salmon was some of the best I've ever had).

 

Several members of our table ordered the pot roast. I had a bite of Graham's and it melted in my mouth. I've never had a roast that was that tender and had such great flavor. My new mother in law had the fried flounder. I had a bite of that and it was incredible as well.

Everyone loved their side items (the mashed potatoes, creamed corn & macaroni and cheese were HUGE hits), and almost everyone was pleased with their entrees. My new brother in law ordered the fried chicken, and while it looked delicious, he said their was so much grease it actually became unappetizing the more he looked at it.

Other than the fried chicken, the dinner was a huge success, and a fantastic evening was had by all. And while I loved my delicious dinner, I love what the restaurant does for the community and that just makes me want to go there over and over again. Anyone in Charlotte needs to try it out.