Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Darryl's Wood Fired Grill: What’s old is new again…only bigger and much better!

DARRYL'S WOOD FIRED GRILL
3300 HIGH POINT ROAD
GREENSBORO, NC 27407

Years ago the High Point Road area of Greensboro was thriving.   Restaurants were abundant, the mall was a shopper’s dream, and retail stores peppered the corridor.   Times have changed.   High Point Road is no longer to go to spot for retail and restaurant space.   The same stretch of road now has numerous vacant stores and restaurants.  Just when the locals had written the area off, a change was on the horizon…a big change.  Thanks to Kotis Properties, the landmark Darryl’s restaurant has a fresh new exterior, revamped menu, and food to make your mouth water.
 
The renovations completely changed the outside facade of Darryl’s.   They added a fabulous outdoor dining and bar section complete with granite topped bars and creative fire pits that flank the entrance.   For the winter months there are heaters and seasonal door panels to keep diners nice and toasty.    The patio is by far the biggest and best outside dining offered in the Triad.   Inside Darryl’s, the renovations are blended seamlessly with the traditional Darryl’s we all remember.   Sorry 80’s babies, the double decker bus has moved on.   The jail cells, ferris wheel seat, and brick walls will bring back those cherished memories of your childhood.   New features include a business area near the bar with pop up electrical outlets, free wi-fi, and meeting space complete with audio visual equipment.  Surrounding the bar there are multiple flat screen televisions tuned into sporting and news events.

The menu has a wide ranging assortment of beef, chicken and fish all of most of which are grilled on Darryl’s infamous wood fired grill.   Burgers, sandwiches and salads are also listed on the menu.   Some interesting local favorites like shrimp and grits are combined with old favorites like Darryl’s infamous lasagna.  There are 24 beers on tap and both beer and wine flights are available.   Local beers from Mother Earth, Foothills and Red Oak Brewery are on tap.

For an appetizer, we chose the original homemade crackers.  These monster sized, free form crackers are served with ranch dressing for dipping.   They are lightly sprinkled with coarse sea salt and their crunchiness is irresistible.   The creaminess of the ranch is a nice contrast to the saltiness of the cracker.

I chose the Tennessee Black Jack Chicken with seasonal steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes.   The entrée arrived with two perfectly cooked, lightly glazed chicken breasts.   The sauce listed as a tangy Jack Daniels bourbon honey mustard sauce was not like any other honey mustard I’ve tasted.   It had a nice balance of sweet and tangy which was offset by the oaky undertones of the bourbon.  The additional sauce that arrived with the plate was much appreciated.  The red skinned potatoes were mashed to a nice consistency and were well seasoned.   The steamed vegetables included yellow squash, zucchini, red bell peppers and onions.   I was delighted to find they were still crunchy and tasted freshly picked.
 
My partner chose the Adam’s BBQ Beef Ribs with a loaded baked potato and baked beans.  I do not care for ribs, but the beef ribs at Darryl’s have converted me to a rib lover!  They arrive pre-cut and the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone with a prick of the fork.   The ribs are served on a large plate so there is plenty of room to move bones around as you eat.   They are covered in a sauce that is smoky and sweet with just the right amount of back heat.   The sauce gives new meaning to the words “finger licking good”.   The sauce is currently bottled and sold exclusively in the restaurant.   My partner was quite pleased with the attention the kitchen staff paid to his potato.  It was cut in a zigzag pattern and stuffed with cheese, butter, scallions and sour cream.   The baked beans arrived in a small augratin.   Their smokiness and creaminess was the perfect offset to the starchy potato.

We were told to save room for dessert but the food was simply too good to resist.   Never ones to turn down something sweet, we continued on with our gastronomical journey.   I chose the chocolate chip pie with vanilla ice-cream.   Thinking about it now still makes my mouth water.  Chocolate chips and pecans melted into a delicious, warm, gooey pie.  Hands down the best chocolate chip pie I’ve ever had.   My partner chose the Cappuccino Cake with chocolate ice-cream.  The chocolate cake was rich and moist.  The frosting was creamy but not overpoweringly sweet.  Best of all, the frosting tasted just like a cappuccino.     Feeling the need to take home a snack, we asked for s’mores to go.  That’s right, those same yummy campfire s’mores from your childhood.  You can have them inside Darryl’s at your table, outside on the patio by their cool fire pit, or at home on your couch.  They are so tasty; I wish I had another one!

The wait staff was knowledgeable and friendly.   Personal touches were added to item descriptions and our waiter shared his favorites from the menu.   We were pleasantly surprised when asking about the temperature of the craft beer to find the wait staff was well informed and ready to share their knowledge.

Bottom line:  The food, service, and ambiance is a home run!  Reconnect with Darryl’s today!

http://www.urbanspoon.com/e/restaurant_link/944730

Monday, January 31, 2011

Not Here: Cafe Pasta

Café Pasta –
305 State Street, Greensboro  NC 27408


We chose Café Pasta as the perfect place to have our 1st anniversary dinner.   It’s located just a few blocks from our house and we had a great new year’s dinner there.   It still has the ambiance of a jazz bar but is cozy enough for dinner.   They offer free event space and had a wedding party in the upstairs space during our visit.   

The menu arrived on an oversized, one-sided piece of well-worn card stock.   The menu had obvious signs of wear and what appeared to be oil stains.  I expect better first impressions from lower-end chains.  

For our appetizer, we selected the Tuscan Oil Dip which is listed as a blend of spices, garlic and cheeses.   It arrived in an au gratin dish with a side of assorted rolls.   I was delighted to find that this was not your typical seasoned oil dipper.  It was more like marinara mixed with olive oil and cheese.  My excitement quickly diminished as I found the cheeses were powdered parmesan and pre-grated asiago.  The dish was also chilled and may have tasted slightly better having been warmed at least to room temperature.   The accompanying rolls were stale, tasteless, and semi-frozen in the center.

My boyfriend chose the Filet Oscar which he’d enjoyed during our new year’s dinner.  The filet was ordered at medium but arrived glaringly rare, without crab meat topping, and lacking hollandaise sauce.   Our server quickly returned the plate to the kitchen and apologized for the oversight.   Unfortunately on its second arrival, the plate was equally disappointing.   The filet, now re-cooked, was dry.   The crab meat topping was brown and severely discolored.    Needless to say the crab was not eaten.   The hollandaise sauce was curdled and looked like chunky lemon pudding.   This meal should not have been served to any guest under any circumstances.   The visual clues alone should have been enough for someone in the staff to ask quality related questions.  I was disappointed that the chef allowed it to leave the kitchen and that the server paid such little attention to the plate she carried.

I selected the chef’s special risotto with shrimp, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and parmesan cheese.  My entree arrived semi warm and did not look like the creamy dish I am accustomed to.  I was offered a topping of preshreded parmesan cheese.   Even olive garden has freshly grated cheese!  My risotto, if you could call it that, was essentially sticky rice topped with sautéed mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and under cooked shrimp.  There was no creamy sauce; the risotto was literally like paste.  The one and only shrimp I dared to taste, was under cooked and was less than fresh. 

The restaurant owner stopped by our table several times and commented that I had not eaten my shrimp.   My boyfriend mentioned that they were undercooked.   The owner summoned our server and asked that she give me a dessert on the house.   We found it interesting that there was no mention of my problem entrée.   Who said I wanted dessert anyway?   Never one to turn down dessert, I selected the tiramisu.   It arrived perfectly chilled and was the best tasting part of my meal.  The mascarpone cheese was nicely whipped and the sponge cake was laced with just enough coffee liqueur.  


Overall our meal at Café Pasta was a bust.   We were disappointed that the meal was so terrible while our experience just a few weeks ago was so good.  We’ve vowed to never go back.  On our next anniversary we'll go out for pizza.

1/28/2010