Out to Dinner: AZN

Saturday night we tried a new restaurant for dinner - AZN, recently opened in Piedmont Town Center. AZN describes itself as "upscale pan-Asian", and the prices reflect that - appetizers in the $10 range, cocktails $9 to $11, and entrees from $12 to $30. We got there at 7:15 and the restaurant was about half full. It filled in some as we ate and was nearly full by the time we left. Service was uneven at the beginning of the meal, with people who appeared to be managers circling the dining room every couple of minutes but inexplicably not noticing that we needed drink refills. For some reason, once the room started to fill up, the managers and servers became more attentive and we had no further issues.

I started with a vegetarian sushi roll.

This was excellent. It had cucumber, avocado, carrot, pickled turnip, and pickled burdock root (along with one or two things I don't remember - I should have taken notes). The pickled vegetables gave it brightness, and the flavors blended very well. I enjoyed this much more than my vegetarian roll at Cowfish last week. The roll was more compact and easier to eat, with a better ratio of rice to filling. Also, this roll had a seaweed wrap, unlike the Cowfish roll which was wrapped in flavorless soy paper. I didn't realize it until I ate this roll, but I really need that seaweed flavor in a sushi roll - it just doesn't seem quite right without it.

My main course was Cantonese roasted duck.

I enjoyed this, and brought about half of it home - duck is rich and heavy! The meat was moist and flavorful. It was served with flour tortillas, cucumbers and scallions, and a sweet dipping sauce. My only quibble would be that I like duck better when the fat is completely rendered out of the skin - this had about a 1/4 inch layer of fat under the skin, which is a texture I'm not fond of. However, I think I'm an outlier in this respect - most people who like duck like it the way they served it. On the whole, we enjoyed our experience at AZN and would definitely go back.

Out to Dinner: Big View Diner

Tonight's dinner was at Big View Diner, one of my favorites for a casual meal.

Yes, the dreaded diner diet plate - chicken salad, cottage cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers and fruit. But here it's not dreaded, because Big View does such a great job. The chicken salad is light, made with sour cream instead of mayonnaise so it doesn't get that stodgy texture. And I'm not sure how the folks at Big View do it, but they have flavorful tomatoes all year long. Big View serves a lot of big food - giant sandwiches, big platters of appetizers and entrees, and monster-sized desserts - it's all good. But it's nice to know it's possible to keep it healthy there as well.

A pocketful of breakfast

This morning's breakfast:

Mini whole-wheat pita pocket filled with:
1 egg
2 mushrooms, sliced
1 2% Kraft Single
all scrambled together

200 calories

Stir-fry and more

Tonight's meal is mostly from the frozen section of Trader Joe's.

1/2 cup vegetarian fried rice (frozen): 80 calories
1 cup tofu/mixed vegetable stir fry (made with extra firm tofu, frozen vegetable mix, and Trader Joe's General Tso sauce): 180 calories
1 chicken egg roll (frozen): 160 calories

Lynx to Food: Tyvola Road

Today's Lynx to Food is a visit to the venerable Charlotte institution Bill Spoon's Barbecue, which has been serving up delicious 'cue for nearly half a century. Their slogan: "We Cook The Whole Pig - It Makes The Difference". Unfortunately, dim lighting meant that my photos did not come out, so no pictures with this entry. I had a pork barbecue sandwich and unsweet iced tea. The sandwich at Bill Spoon's is definitely one of the best in town. The pork is very finely chopped, mildly smoky, and only lightly seasoned with Spoon's vinegar-pepper sauce, which allows the rich flavor of the pork to dominate. (There's more sauce available on the table for people who prefer to spice it up.) The pork is topped with mild white cole slaw. Presentation at Bill Spoon's is decidedly no-frills -  the pork sandwich came on a small paper plate, the tea in a red Solo cup - but when it comes to great barbecue, who needs anything fancy?

I can't pretend that a barbecue sandwich is health food, but I didn't order any side dishes, so at least the 'cue wasn't augmented by mac'n'cheese or french fries or - sigh - sweet potato pie.

Turkey Mole

I unearthed some of the Thanksgiving turkey that I had stashed in the freezer for tonight's dinner.

Turkey in mole sauce (Dona Maria brand),  refried beans, rice, pineapple, and avocado. I haven't done the math on this meal, and I know the mole sauce is pretty high-fat, so I just took small portions and hoped for the best.

Out to Lunch: The Cowfish

Today's post-shopping lunch was at The Cowfish, a popular South Park establishment which offers sushi, burgers, and "burgushi" - sushi rolls with burger fillings. I had a Soy Vegan Roll:

The outer wrapping was soy paper, and the fillings were lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, beets, and mango. This is a great place, as much for the fun vibe as the food, and since we were there at 3:00 pm we didn't even have to wait.