Charlotte By The Palate- Episode 1

On our first stop, Charlotte By The Palate visited The Nappy Chef, an unassuming new restaurant on Albemarle Rd. When you visit, you’ll see the Nappy Chef himself getting dirty in the kitchen.

The Nappy Chef

Initially, I wasn’t sure that we should try it, but the lack of parking, full outdoor seating and long line of (dare I say) Black people made me feel like this may be a winner. Generally when there’s such a long line of people the wait at a small place like this is RIDICULOUS. On this Saturday however, we were in and out in under 20 minutes.
The Nappy Chef offers what I like to call “bar food” = wings, burgers, fries, tacos. They also offer specialties like chicken n waffles on Sundays. You’ll need to tune into their Insta for the latest on new and short-term menu items. Also, there’s something called a “Boss Plate” that I kept hearing people order. This consists of 6 wings, a burger or taco and fries for $15.
We decided to go for the wings on this trip. After scanning the flavors on the menu, we were immediately intrigued by Henny Honey Hot. Yes, please. We also chose to order a Sweet Thai Chili wing plate. A wing plate comes with 6 wings and fries and will cost you $9.95. Pretty steep in my opinion. The ranch is sold 2 for $1. Red flag.
After a brief wait, we received our food sprinkled with paprika for extra pizzazz I suppose. We were greatly underwhelmed when we opened our boxes to find what looked a bit larger than Cornish hen wings fried and tossed in sauce. (For $10??? Can I get a drink with that?)

Baby Wing Plate

Size aside, the sauces were decent. The wings were cooked pretty well. The fries are your average run-of-the-mill pre-fab frozen potatoes. But the ranch. My goodness that was the worst part for me. Ranch is always in the same sentence as wings in the south and Charlotte By The Palate is definitely a self-proclaimed “ranch connoisseur”. I knew by the cheap cost of extra ranch that this was gonna be terrible, but I had hope.... Alas, it’s not as bad as Kraft.
Overall, I give The Nappy Chef 2 out 5 stars. There are definitely better local spots the get wings from that are cheaper and offer better ranch. I do applaud the small business for branching out and opening up a store front. I may be convinced to go back and try a burger one day.

For pictures and other restaurant news, follow us on Instagram @CLTbythePLT

Charlotte By The Palate

So I consider myself to have a pretty decent palate.. I enjoy various types of foods from various parts of the world. I'm always seeking a new kind of delicious. What will follow is my take on some new spots and a few classics in the Queen City.
This is the beginning of my new blog series Charlotte By The Palate.
Stay Tuned...

My best winter break breakfast ever!

So this morning i drew the following conclusion: i have homemade cinnamon raisin bread (gift), eggs and milk - French Toast it is!
So i proceeded to crack my 2 eggs then added some milk and a sprinkle of sugar. Got my elbow grease working, then i realized: i have no syrup!!! So i scramble through the pantry just to be sure.. well, there's honey. No.
Google! Google has been my best friend for years now. So i type: "homemade syrup", browse a few recipes and come up with this:
         1/2 cup white sugar
         1/2 cup brown sugar
         1/2 cup water
         1 tablespoon vanilla extract (because i didn't have maple extract and who knew they even made that??)

This is like the best food mishap i have ever had. When i say flippin amazing?! Whooo!
I have a thing for vanilla-y, custardy, creamy tasting stuff anyway so this is right up my alley. And it's Baby Soup approved!  It's a definite must try. One thing i will say is the syrup, even when cooled was a little thin for my liking so next time i may cut down on the water just a touch. We'll see. Oh and this is definitely not a meal for diabetics or those conscious of their sugar intake...
So here's my "recipe" for your success:

BEST FRENCH TOAST EVARRR

FRENCH TOAST:
3 slices of (preferably) homemade cinnamon raisin bread
2 eggs
Some milk (maybe 1/2 cup?)
A sprinkle of sugar (a teaspoon??)
Butter

1. Crack the eggs into a flat container wide enough for the bread slices to lay flat. Add the milk and sugar. Get a fork and beat it!
2. Heat a pan on the stove over medium heat.
3. Add some butter to the pan and wait till it gets foamy.
4. Dip the bread one slice at a time into the egg mixture then place it in the pan. Cook until lightly browned on the bottom. Flip and cook until lightly browned.
Serve immediately.

VANILLA SYRUP
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water (a little less if you like thicker syrup)
(approximately)1 tbsp vanilla extract - i used a bit less

1. Place the sugars and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Add the vanilla and reduce the great to medium low.
3. Simmer 3 minutes.
Serve warm. (At these measurements,  the syrup was a little thicker than water bit still delicious).

****usually people have pictures in their blog posts.. idk how to do all that on my phone yet lol, plus i started eating before i took a good pic or two****