Food Notes
Which menu is most N.C.-centric?
Three Charlotte-area restaurants made the list of the five best menus for N.C. products in the N.C. Department of Agriculture contest “Dig Into Local.” Heirloom, 8470 Bellhaven Blvd.; Bonterra, 1829 Cleveland Ave.; and Harvest Moon Grille, 331 E. Main St., Lincolnton, all made the list for things like identifying local produce, using it on their menus and offering N.C. wine and beer. Also on the list: Gravy and Sitti in Raleigh. Basnight’s Lone Cedar Cafe in Nags Head won for best menu for N.C. seafood, and Over Yonder in Valle Crucis won for the best menu for N.C. spirits and cocktails.
Heirloom puts local wines to the test
How do N.C. wines stack up? Carolina Shock, a blind wine tasting, will pit wine from three N.C. wineries against wines from around the world, at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at Heirloom, 8470 Bellhaven Blvd. Tickets are $50 and include tastings of six wines and small plates. Reservations: 704-595-7710.
Hang up your recipes
The next time you have a recipe from a magazine-newspaper-relatively thin cookbook, clamp a trouser hanger (you know, with the two little grippies) onto the paper. It holds open the magazine or cookbook, and if you hang it from something above the counter, it gets the recipe out of the way and at eye level. Another tip to keep a recipe splatter-free: Insert it into a gallon-size zip-top bag.
Michelle Stark, Tampa Bay Times
Chai with a coffee kick
What do you get if you mix espresso with chai tea? Dirty Chai, our favorite flavor among the new barista-style line of teas from Celestial Seasonings that includes ready-to-drink lattes, tea bags and concentrates. We enjoyed the Dirty Chai flavor in its latte and tea bag versions, for while masala chai spices dominate, espresso hints at the end. A 9.5 ounce bottle of latte is $2.99; a 20-bag box of tea is $4.99.
Judy Hevrdejs, Chicago Tribune
Coming Friday
How’s Aqua e Vino? Helen Schwab is checking it out. Look for her reviews and more restaurant news on Fridays in CLT.
This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Food Notes."