Jonathan P.'s Profile

Decent pizza, thick crust, and tiny but tasty peperoni's.
Much better than Domino's or Papa John's buy not really in the same league as Pasquale's or Giovanni's.  Give them a try if you want a decent pie.

Giovanni's is right by Ikea soniy's perfect to refuel there after a long shopping session with your significant other. They have great specials there as well as excellent and friendly service.

We started our meal with the Caprese Salad, the Mozzarella slices were thick and soft and fresh and complimented the tomatoes perfectly, with a little salt, they were absolutely fantastic.

For our main course we got Mama's homemade meatball with Ricotta Cheese, and it was scrumptious. We got a little extra red sauce to dip with, on the side to. Balance out all of the cheese.

The crust was soft and chewy the cheese was plentiful and perfectly melted and the homemade meatballs were meaty and seasoned just right, they weren't greasy or covered in bread crumbs, but instead had a very down home taste. All in all Giovanni's was a great choice and I would recommend them to anyone!

I went to Don Carlin for lunch today because I was feigning for some good Cuban food.
My girlfriend and I decided to start things off with a little Cafe' con leche. They brought it out quickly and with some delicious buttered and toasted Cuban Bread.
In all honesty the Cafe' was some of the best I have ever had, rich and creamy with plenty of smooth espresso.
I, then ordered the Palomilla steak with Tostones, Plantains and white rice...I was pretty impressed that it came with three sides for only $6.99.

The Palomilla was. very good, seasoned to perfection and just thin enough to make it easy to cut and chew. I was very impressed...although the portions were not as large as I have tried at other local Cuban  restaurants they were Plenty and I did not leave feeling Overstuffed.

The Tostones were very good as well, though I could have gone for a little more mojo.
The Plantains were large and sweet and very well cooked.
Vanessa got the "pollo enchilada" which was good, but not as good as the Palomilla,in my opinion.

If you're looking for a fast, inexpensive  Cuban meal Don Carlin is the way to go.

In the tradition of full disclosure, I never really liked Quiznos that much anyway....I'm more of a Firehouse or Harris Teeter Hoagie guy, but the other day I was hungry on lunch and decided to give them a try.  The Roast Beef and cheddar looked pretty good.  But it wasn't.  It had a weird sort of taste, and with every other bite or so I would notice these odd little mushroom bits...you know like the canned mushrooms, and the seasoning and added flavors were not to my liking.  Not to mention the after effects....uggggh...never again Quiznos....never again.

I got the fried rice with beef, and it was so-so.  I've had better.  The restaurant was decent andthe staff was friendly and fast.  But the food was just ok, and I have to admit that while I was eating it I was a little worried if I would get sick or not.  
But to be fair the other people I was eating with loved their food.  I heard the tempura vegetables were great.  Unfortunatley my experience was just mediocre. Thats the way it goes though, but  I will give them another shot , roll with the punches and try a different dish.  I'll keep you posted.

Good pizza and affordable prices.  I stopped in here for lunch the other day and got their special: 2 slices of pepperoni and a drink for $5.95.  Not bad, especially for a restaurant Uptown.  The pizza was really good too.  It was that thin crust pizza more like the type you would actually find in Italy than stateside, where the crust is the same thickness all the way through, and there is no thick edge like in American pies.  The tomato sauce ws good too. I was very pleased with my meal, grabbed a refill of  orange Fanta on my way out and was good to go.  If you are looking for reasonably priced pizza and are Uptown, give Pie in the Sky a try.  The service was also great.  The guys working there were very friendly and the food was out in no time.  When I went back to get my refill, both fellas behind the counter asked how my pizza was.  I appreciate that sort of interaction with restauranteurs, they genuinely cared about my experience at their restaurant.  Very friendly ,accomodating and easy on the wallet.

Moosehead Grill, I've passed it numerous times going down Montford, but never stopped in. It always looks packed and seems like a pretty cool place to kick it. So one day while on a "Bike Bar Crawl" I decided to pop in, I ordered the namesake's beer...The Moosehead, and my brother, buddy and I headed outside to climb the twisting staircase and hang out in the crows nest on the very top of the building. Very cool. Nice view, plenty of space and some convenient built in benches to sit back, soak up the rays and enjoy your Moosehead brew. I dug it, the Moosehead beer was good, for some reason it reminded me of a Rolling Rock, only better...maybe it's the green bottle. I am a big fan of the porch and crows nest. Chill place, I'm definitely coming back.

Great outdoor patio, perfect for the majority of temperate and beautiful days here in the QC.

They have a descent selection of beers on tap, I believe on this particular day I decided to go with a pint of "Old Speckled Hen" pretty, pretty, pretty good.

If I remember correctly, East Blvd Bar and Grille also has some pretty tasty food, like chili cheese fries. And the friendly staff works hard to make up for the cramped space and less than accommodating indoor seating. Also watch your step walking down from the bar to go out the back door, that one's a doozy. And this would make stop #2 on the "Bike Bar Crawl"

Ed's Place is cool.  A neighborhood spot definitely, and they have some delicious beer.  I stopped in the other day, mid-October, grabbed a "Kind Beer" a high gravity beer and sat outside at the picnic tables enjoying this tasty brew and the Charlotte Fall weather.  The "Kind Beer" was inexpensive and very kind, with a taste similar to Sierra Nevada, but with much more of a punch.

My friend and I made this our first stop on a little trek I like to call "The Bike Bar Crawl" which basically consists of bars I can ride my beach cruiser to, Ed's Place was stop numero uno. Keep your eyes open for stop 2 and see if you can connect the dots....

P.S. it might be in reverse.

Here we go again, with a place I've only heard rave reviews of. This time it was my boss, who's from Ohio, blah, blah blahing about how great Donato's is. And he wasn't the only one, I'd also heard it from quite a few of my other Friends who all were from Ohio too. Maybe Donato's is actually good in Ohio? Maybe? Either way the one here in Charlotte is not my style. I'm a New York Pizza kind of guy, I like my slices long, greasy and cheesy with a few Pepperoni, lets say ten per slice to be generous, I like the crust to be soft and doughty and thin, but not crispy.

I wasn't feeling the thin crispy crust, or the weird square slices. And way, way too much pepperoni.

There were some good things though. It wasn't all bad. The crust though too thin and crispy for my taste did have a nice buttery texture and plenty of flavor. You can tell the guys at Donato's know what they're doing, its nothing against them, its just not the kind of pizza I like. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think, I've got an open mind.