Nonna's Kitchen - Review

September 28, 2009


Nonna’s Kitchen is located in a small strip mall at 828 East Morehead Street, near the corner of Oriole Avenue, a few feet short of McDowell Street.

Well, today one of my bad habits took over.  I never had breakfast and waited until I was seriously hungry to have lunch (at about 1:30).  When I reach that point, I usually have trouble deciding what to eat and where to go and my tendency is to ignore my usual, enjoyable lunch spots.  This led me to Nonna’s Kitchen for only the second time.

I first found Nonna’s Kitchen about 6 or 8 months ago when some catered food showed up at the office and everyone was moaning and groaning while eating.  As I was about to meet my wife for lunch, I quickly grabbed a small piece of a sandwich and headed down the elevator.  Without much thought I popped the mini sandwich in my mouth and as I chewed while walking to the car I noticed that the bread had some nice texture and found the flavors of mozzarella cheese and roasted red peppers to be pleasing.

The next day I hit Google and found the location, which was only a few minutes from my office.  There was a sign at the entrance way describing Nonna’s Kitchen as an Italian Deli and my mouth began to water.  As I opened the door disappointment started to set in with the sight of a few sparsely stocked shelves.    There were some obscure Italian products and loose bottles of wine.   Still, I walked up to the counter, surveyed the menu and ordered an old favorite; something they called the Tuscano Panini.   It was to be Parma Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil and fresh tomato in a grilled Panini.   Parma Prosciutto is such a favorite in my house that I buy it whole from an importer in Philly.  I even own a commercial slicing machine just so I can get each slice it to the proper tissue paper thin consistency.   It was after the lunch crowd and no one else was in the shop, yet it took almost 15 minutes for the sandwich to be made.  Once packaged, I snatched the Panini out of the young woman’s hand and ran over to one of their café style tables, unwrapped the food and in my best ‘prison cafeteria form’ readied to attack the sandwich.  It only took one look for disappointment to set in.  This sandwich wasn’t a Panini; it wasn’t flat and olive oily toasted with cheese oozing out the sides.  It was thick Focaccia which had been lightly toasted in some form of sandwich press.  I talked myself past this detail and took a bite.  Now I needed to control myself as anger was setting in.  First of all, the Prosciutto was thick. Much too thick and it definitely wasn’t Parma Prosciutto.  I felt as if I was misled.   The Italian boy from the Bronx was once again disappointed with the food in Charlotte.

So here it is 6 or 8 months later and I’m hungry, but I don’t want anything; so off I go to give Nonna’s Kitchen another shot.  I walk in and the shelves have even less stock than my last visit. The Bindi desert freezer has only 4 items in it.  Not 4 different styles of desert, just 4 items in this large freezer.   I have passed the point of no return and vow to eat lunch here.  After reading the menu for a few minutes, I decide on the Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini; yes, Panini.   As I order the sandwich, the gentleman behind the counter recommends I put mayo on as that sandwich tends to be dry.  My right eye twitches, but I decide I should listen and off he goes to make my “Panini”.  I’m the only customer in the shop and it takes him 15 minutes.  This time I decide to take lunch back to the office with a small side of potato salad (included) and San Pelligrino Orange drink.  I ask for a menu to take with me at which point I am informed that they are “overhauling” the menu.  There will be less sandwiches and the addition of pizza and pasta as they are awaiting their new pizza oven.  I now feel the lightening brewing in the dark raincloud in my mind.

As I drive back to the office I remind myself to have an open mind and an enjoyable lunch.  Once back at my desk, I unpack and start off by examining the “Panini”.  Instantly I remember my last visit as I see it is another toasted focaccia rather than a panini.  But I keep my smile on and investigate the rest of the sandwich.  Ah, sliced, grilled chicken with a few slices of ham folded on top and a large slice of Swiss cheese slightly wilted just underneath the sandwich top.  Seeing the one slice of cheese I now understand the mayo recommendation.  Undaunted, I pick up half, open wide and take a bite.  Not bad.  Nice bread. A little dry.  But it isn’t a Panini and it isn’t worth just under $ 9.00.  Hey, they gave me potato salad; let’s give that a try.  A mayo based Russet potato salad with a very distinct ‘lemon flavor’.  I take another forkful and my lips pucker at the taste. Either the mayo has turned or someone spilled lemon juice into the salad.  A second disappointing visit and my wallet is lighter $ 11.17.

But wait, they are going away from sandwiches and more towards pizza and pasta.  Nah, I don’t think so.  After all, I have a wood burning Tuscan pizza oven at home, so I don’t think I want to see what they call pizza.  As for quick pasta at lunch; I’ll stick with Noodles and Company.

Website:                      http://www.nonnas-kitchen.com/

Recommendation:      Not Really 

Nothing But Noodles - Review

September 24, 2009

Nothing but Noodles is located on 1605 Elizabeth Avenue right off East 5^th Street. It is just down the street from Presbyterian Hospital and Carolina Medical Center.

In order to assist my poor typing abilities, I will refer to Nothing But Noodles as NBN throughout this review.

My first visit to NBN was on a rainy day about 6 weeks ago. Elizabeth Avenue was still under construction and parking was limited and somewhat difficult. I walked in with expectations of a franchise similar to Noodles & Company (of which I am a big fan) only to find a much larger and louder establishment. Not only was NBN physically larger but the menu was much more expansive. I wound up over ordering for lunch and never truly got a sense of the food or the restaurant itself.

So, today it was drizzling and I wanted something different, yet familiar for lunch. I was about to head to Noodles and Company when I decided that NBN should get a second chance. I walked in with a purpose to order something light, yet tasty. I started with half of a Pear & Balsamic Spinach Salad ($3.89) and their Margherita Pasta ($6.50, I believe). Below is the description of each dish taken from their menu online:

Pear & Balsamic Spinach Salad
Fresh cut Bosc pears, crunchy walnuts and spinach tossed with Bleu cheese crumbles and a tart, balsamic vinaigrette.

Margherita Pasta
Farfalle pasta smothered in our own made-to-order sauce of ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, fragrant garlic, red pepper flakes and extra virgin olive oil. The dish is garnished with basil and fresh Parmesan and Romano cheese.

NBN is a large “not so fast food” restaurant where your order at the register and a server brings your food and utensils. You fill your own drinks and empty your tray but you get a real dish and silverware. As I wait for my food, I notice the abnormally high ceiling which echoes sound throughout the restaurant giving it a high school cafeteria feel, while the tables and chairs insist that you have moved on to graduate school.

My Pear & Balsamic Spinach Salad is the first to arrive in what seems to be a deep soup bowl. The half salad is somewhat deceiving and spinach is stuffed into the deep bowl. There is a light coating of Balsamic dressing on the spinach with 2 thin half slices of pear on top. As I eat the salad I find too few Bleu cheese crumbles and too many crunchy walnuts. The taste isn’t bad but it seems to have so much more potential. I wonder if the full salad in a larger (salad type) bowl may have the proper proportions to make this an outstanding salad.

Now comes my main meal, the Margherita Pasta in a nice oversized pasta bowl; and it’s a three footer. You cars guys out there may be familiar with a 20- footer. The car looks cherry at 20 feet and starts to deteriorate as it gets closer. Well, that is pretty much what happened with this dish but in a 3 foot span. As it got closer, the first thing I noticed was the generic silicon coated Parmesan and Romano cheese. Perfect little sticklets of cheese about ¼ inch long and as thick as a sewing needle. In the back of my mind, I knew this was the type of cheese that was coming but for some reason it now disappointed me. As the bowl was being placed in front of me I realized why: the tomatoes. They weren’t red, but rather orange and they were perfectly cut little cubes. These were semi-fresh tomatoes. It is September and nearing the end of tomato season but these weren’t just picked and diced. These tomatoes were picked and diced and packaged some time ago and purchased from Sysco or some other food service company. That isn’t ‘fresh’ as far as I am concerned. Finally the pasta was in front of me and the smell came wafting up and I knew that it was over. Only one thing has this bitter, burnt smell and that is jarred, chopped garlic. Yep, the one in the little jar that the grocery store has the nerve to sell in the fresh produce section. This garlic was chopped months before and put in a bottle with preservatives and liquid. No bulb, no paper, not fresh.

The Margherita Pasta tasted just like it was; a plastic copy of something good and fresh. The ingredients are so simple and so affordable for this dish. Couldn’t they find an illegal alien or two or maybe a Johnson and Wales dropout who could dice fresh tomatoes and peel and chop fresh garlic?

I may come back to NBN and give the Pear & Balsamic Spinach Salad a try in its full portion form. But if I feel like quick, affordable, fresh pasta for lunch, I think I’ll just go to Noodles & Company. The menu may be smaller, but the ingredients are fresher, the sound is quieter plus they have a friendly staff.

Website: http://www.nothingbutnoodles.com/

Recommendation: Maybe for a salad, but doubtful for pasta

Instead try: http://www.noodles.com/