Storm "Hussein" W.'s Profile

A little side-of-the-road cafe that sits on top of the site of the Battle of Shallow Ford, also known as Battle Branch.

The Shallow Ford on the Yadkin River, on the boundary that divides Forsyth County from Yadkin County, is a geographical landmark rich in history. The ford, a flat-bottomed section of the river used in the eighteenth century as a wagon crossing route, was the site of skirmishes during the Revolutionary War and Civil War. It was the place where Lord Charles Cornwallis led his troops across the Yadkin River in 1781.

In the mid-1700s immigrants to western North Carolina began using Shallow Ford as a crossing point. The ford was rock-bottomed and safe for travelers under normal conditions. It was an integral part of the Great Wagon Road, which linked backcountry North Carolina with colonies along the eastern seaboard. The route, which retraced an ancient Indian trading path, extended from Pennsylvania to Georgia and contributed significantly to the settling of the Piedmont.

In October 1780, a skirmish between Surry County Loyalist militia and Patriot militia from North Carolina and Virginia took place on the banks of the Yadkin. On the 14th, the Loyalist militia of about 500 men under the command of Gideon Wright fought with Patriots from local counties and southern Virginia. The Patriots sustained one casualty and four wounded in the battle, while the Loyalists lost about fifteen men, as well as another thirty-five that were either wounded or taken prisoner. The Patriot victory ruined the organization of the Surry County Loyalists, which never amassed the same numbers.

Lord Charles Cornwallis crossed the Shallow Ford in February 1781 while following Nathanael Greene's forces into Guilford County. Lord Cornwallis, commanding around 2,200 men, was in pursuit of General Greene and General Daniel Morgan's troops following the defeat of British forces at Kings Mountain and Cowpens. As the Patriot forces retreated, Cornwallis led his men into the northern counties of North Carolina. On February 17, Cornwallis's forces crossed the Yadkin River at Shallow Ford before marching to Hillsborough to rest. The fighting finally culminated in mid-March at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Shallow Ford was the site of a skirmish during Stoneman's Raid in April 1865. During the closing months of the war, Major General George Stoneman led about 5,000 troops through western North Carolina in hopes of expediting the end of the conflict. On April 11, 1865, part of Stoneman's force, under the command of Colonel William J. Palmer, split from the main force and engaged in a skirmish with Confederate forces at Shallow Ford. The Confederate militia, outmatched and fearing defeat, quickly fled, easily giving the Union army control of the crossing of the Yadkin.

Anyway, this little country cafe is very good - quick service and tasty eats. I had the chicken sandwich and my wife had a porkchop sandwich AND some of their peach cobbler (that I of course sampled).

Closed. This location seems to be cursed when it comes to coffee shops. Braided Cord was the third to die in this spot.

RIP

New Japanese restaurant now opening serving both sushi and hibachi traditional fare. Even though they may have gotten off to a rocky start, they quickly smoothed out the rough edges.

Been here twice now with my wife and both had the sushi. As a west coast sushi snob, I must say it is pretty good! I will say I thought the ginger dressing on the salad was a bit too sweet, but my wife, he is not a fan of sweet dressings, didn't think so. Then again, I have a bad head cold and have been slurping wasabi just to open up my head, so I'll defer to my wife's uninfected pallet.

Service was wonderful and take-out a breeze.

Location is in the former Donatos store front.

A dynamite place to eat pizza with their single slice deals and if you want a huge, mega 18" pizza they can help you there.

Very good pizza and dishes. They know how to load up a pizza with pepperoni!

I needed a place to meet an old friend and discuss some business today and looked around for a coffee shop with wi-fi and Cloud 9 fit the bill perfectly. They have a wide screen playing softly in the background and have plenty of chairs and tables, plus sofas and VERY COMFY chairs in which to lounge, sip and surf.

They also have live entertainment at times, call the for a schedule.

Of course all of this is meaningless without great coffee and I was very pleased with their selections of coffees and snacks. I ordered a French Vanilla latte and Cloud 9 passed my taste test with flying colors - the latte was delicious.

The coffee here is five stars as all of the Starbucks I have been in. This is more or less a review of the store and its location.

It is on Hanes Mall Blvd and is somewhat of a nightmare to get to. It is much easier to go 50 yards up to the Barnes and Noble and get your all your coffee goodness from the Starbucks inside the bookstore.

If it is near morning commute, parking here is problematic at best.

I was very surprised to see a spa in downtown Lewisville, I was even more surprised when I found out that there is a SUPERB spa in downtown Lewisville!

Most "spas" in the Lewisville-Clemmons area are nothing more than low rent barbershops with a stick of incense burning. Not so with Sunpiper. The comfortable and intimate decor and the highly experienced personnel reminds me of the multitude of wonderful day spas that pepper the San Francisco hills - just like the one I used to visit for my hair care - well, as much care as you can get for the four strands that pop out of my scalp.

Sunpiper offers a bit of West Cost spa excellence with their wide variety of services - hair care, massages, waxing, facials, etc.

BTW, if you see my wife up there, please send her home... she has turned into a spa groupie!

Winston has been in dire need of a art house theater to show foreign and eclectic films for many, many years and Aperture is a great two screen theater that achieves that end.

Cinemas need three things to be successful; great screen, great projection and comfortable seating. Unfortunately, Aperture has only two of those three. The seating is miserable. The seats are too narrow - you can't angle yourself at all to get comfortable, they do not rock back and they are hard as hell. My wife and I try to see several movies a week and we really looked forward to the opening of Aperture, but her knees ache after a short period of time and my back simply can't take their chairs.

We will continue to see these selections of films in Greensboro or other venues where we can watch a film in comfort and not be distracted by the seating that is not meant for gently aging audiences.

If you have read my other sushi reviews, you will know that I am the worst kind of over-opinionated sushi snob that has ever graced the pages of Yelp. So when I tell you this place is amazing - jaw-dropping amazing, know where I am coming from.

It is in a strip mall and has a very unassuming front, but judgments should be left in the road. Newly opened in Oct of 2009, the decor is pleasant, the service is top notch and the food delicious. My wife and I discovered this place about a week ago and have been there four times already - counting one take-out order.

So far I have had their hibachi steak, Philly roll, sweet potato roll (oh yes!) and their salmon roll. All of them were 5 star - totally awesome.

They have a terrific lunch menu with most items being $6.95 and including rice plus soup or salad. For a buck or two more, you can get hibachi steak or a fab-o bento box full of goodies.

Get there before the world beast a path to their door.