Fine Dining in a One Horse Town

I'm from what you call a "one horse town," make that county. The county refused to allow the railroad line to go through in 1871, 1885, and again in 1908 and we've been a little behind the times ever since. Restaurants are one of the things we are severely lacking in, especially nice restaurants. As a transplant from NYC once told me, "popcorn shrimp ain't exactly fine dining." As our wine region continues to grow, however, we are beginning to see some improvement in our dining options as well. (What kind of wine does go with popcorn shrimp, I wonder?)

Tonight, Mom and I had dinner at Sanders Ridge Vineyard & Winery and we found it a delightful evening all around! Enjoying something other than a hot dog (or fried seafood) in a beautiful log building nestled in the woods is a great treat for us one-horse-towners. The menu is not extravagant, in fact in mainly involves salads and sandwiches, but there are some intriguing entree specials as well.

View from the porch at Sanders Ridge

We began with a cheese course that featured blueberry Stilton, granny smith apple, candied cashews and grilled foccacia. It was simply wonderful. I could have stuffed myself with bread and cheese and been perfectly content.

For the entree course, I ordered the grilled rib-eye smothered with bleu cheese, grilled onions and overnight tomatoes. I'm sad to say I did not take a photo, but it was a sight to see! The steak was huge! My boyfriend will be extremely jealous when he hears about it, he does adore a rib-eye! I think he would probably have enjoyed the dish more than I did. While it was good, I have come to the conclusion that rib-eyes are just a little too fatty for me and I found the bleu cheese a tad overpowering to the dish. The garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus were seasoned perfectly, however!

I was jealous of Mom's entree. She ordered what they were calling a "stuffed chicken" which was actually a very unique interpretation of chicken cordon bleu. It was a fried chicken breast stuffed with honey ham and pimento cheese! We (yes, that's the royal we!) love pimento cheese! 

Being at a winery, we naturally chose to enjoy a glass of wine with our meal. Mom had the Carlos Muscadine wine. If you grew up in the south, and ever had a fresh muscadine grape right of the wine, you will certainly identity with this wine. Of all of the muscadine wines I have had, theirs tastes the most like a fresh muscadine! 

I had a glass of the chambourcin (ok, I had two!) I plan to do a future post all about chambourcin soon, because it is one of my favorites. The Sanders Ridge chambourcin has a very intense smoky flavor and a very unusual tartness, reminiscent of rhubarb! It paired nicely with both the Stilton and the steak. 

Sunset at Sanders Ridge

Having such a restaurant nearby is such a joy for us and the lovely setting is really the best part. This evening as we were leaving, there was a beautiful full moon rising over the vineyard. As much as I love my iphone, it really couldn't capture the true beauty of the scene. 

Moonrise over the Vineyard

If you are in the Yadkin Valley area for any reason, you should definitely plan to do a tasting and dine at Sanders Ridge. If you are the adventurous type, you can also go zip lining as well! Let me know how you enjoy it if you do get a chance to go.

Cheers!

Plant a watermelon (martini) over my grave

When I was a kid my dad always sang this silly song that went something like this; "just plant a watermelon over my grave and let the juice sssssssslip through." Of course you make a dramatic slurping sound on the "s". As fun as singing the song was, watermelons have always been something I could take or leave. Watermelon mojitos are a whole other story!

Watermelon Martini at Twenty One & Main

Last summer our favorite restaurant, Twenty One & Main, made watermelon jalapeno martinis and they were fabulous! I've been dreaming of them ever since. Now, let me tell you, this restaurant is amazing and they try their very best to accommodate any request you have. I had been asking them to make some more watermelon martinis this summer but it just hadn't worked out for me to be there on the weekends they were trying to do it.

So, for my friend's birthday last week, I decided to show up with my own watermelon and see what they could come up with. Sadly, they didn't have any fresh jalapenos on hand, but they did make us fresh watermelon martinis and they were yum, yum, yummy!!! A few days later, we ended up back at Twenty One to have drinks and they still had some of my fresh watermelon so the bartender made us watermelon mojitos! I adore a mojito! (I also adore exclamation points. Can you tell?) Our fabulous bartender managed to concoct a drink with the absolute perfect balance of mint and watermelon flavor. Even my boyfriend liked it and you know how men can be about "girly" drinks!

Watermelon Mojito at Twenty One & Main

The first watermelon martinis that we had tasted just like fresh watermelon and nothing else! My guess is that she used just the pureed watermelon and some watermelon vodka. How easy is that? If you have some fresh watermelon and think it would be fun to drink it rather than eat it, here are some links I found that look promising. With August already flying by I think an end-of-summer party is definitely in order and watermelon drinks should be the featured item!

Here is Bobby Flay's watermelon martini recipe. He is just adorable. Isn't he?
If Martha says it's a good thing, we should definitely try it! Here is Martha Stewart's recipe for watermelon mojitos.
And here is one for watermelon sangria.

If you have a favorite watermelon beverage, please share the recipe with us. Better yet, invite us over to enjoy some!

Cheers!

Wine 101

Award winning wines at Hanover Park Winery.

The very first wine I ever had was Boone's Farm. Go ahead, you can laugh! After only consuming Strawberry Hill and the like, my first job as a wine reporter for a small newspaper was very enlightening. As a reporter in a small town you have to be a jack (jill?) of all trades. From house fires to car accidents and the annual gingerbread house contest, I photographed and wrote about it all. Reporting on wineries and new bed and breakfasts, where they fed the reporter during the interview, were certainly the best perks of the job.

Having a job where tasting wine was a requirement made a huge impact on my life. I am now an oenophile and a big proponent of this growing industry in my community. The Yadkin Valley Wine region in North Carolina is still very young, but it is continuing to grow and mature. There are currently 17 wineries in the Yadkin Valley region and a total of 112 wineries in the entire state. (My goal: Visit them all!)

Many farms that produced tobacco for years are now growing grapes and many people in the bible belt who used to think drinking wine was a sin are now enjoying a glass with their evening meal! For me, it wasn't exactly something I took to right away. Sure, the sweet wines were one thing, but sampling those dry reds for the first time wasn't always a enjoyable. When you visit our local wineries, they will begrudgingly tell you that their sweetest wine is their biggest seller. I say there is no reason to be ashamed of that. The locals (and even some visitors from exotic metropolises like Charlotte) are still growing into this wine thing too! Believe me, I drank a lot of muscadine wine before I was brave enough to drink more than a sip of a merlot or cabernet. 

Bottom line, I say drink what you like, but don't be afraid to try new things. As I continue to visit my favorites and some of the 112 NC wineries I have yet to explore, I will share my thoughts with you here. Please come back and visit soon. 

Whether you are an NC native looking for a relaxing weekend or planning a visit to our great state to sample the wines, be sure to check out www.visitncwine.com. 

Cheers!