Here Fatty Fatty... (pronounced fa-tee fa-tee)

Good morning, at least the last 13 minutes of it. Looking back at my older posts I see I have some catching up to do and was told the other day that to be a blogger I must blog everyday. Malarkey, was my response and also that if anyone was reading our blog and knew us they already know that there will be mis-spellings and perhaps our own creation of punctuation.
Over the past week Jamie and I have been actively seeking the perfect spot for the Fatty. We have seen houses, basements, strip malls and yet no Proper. As proud soon to be parents (restaurant not small person) we do not fear the hunt, nor will we be discouraged is we must practice patience. Yaaaaaar!
Upcoming Events: Jamie is cheffing a farm dinner Wednesday Sept 15 at Poplar Ridge Farms in Waxhaw. I will be pseudo cheffing with full support of our lovely Hollace Stephens. This will be a great affair!
Go to link below to get information about Poplar Ridge Farms and how to purchase tickets.

http://www.poplarridgefarmnc.com/classes.cfm

I have some pictures and interesting captions coming later today.
Now we brunch!

Tactful ranting.

In this time of economic uncertainty we are seeing restaurants open and close just as quickly. Last night Jamie and I were discussing the most recent closings and not jinxing but observing what may be the next ones up. Everyone knows that we are scouting spots for our beloved Fatty Proper, which is why I personally find it important to keep my ears open. Service industry folks never like to see one of their own go down, no pun intended, but sometimes the warning signs were always there and it's only a matter of time. Constantly baffled by Charlotte's standard of what good food is I am confident that we will do more than please your palate, we'd like to start a trend.

Recent Yummy's

Our last date night was a couple weeks ago when Jamie took me to Carpe Diem here in town on a Friday eve which is rare. Let me begin by saying, if you have never ventured to Carpe Diem, you should, if only to just look at the design of this restaurant. Jamie and I both agree it is easily the most stunningly designed restaurant in Charlotte. I kicked myself the moment we walked in for never have even mentioned coming here before, it's location is prime but has been in the midst of nasty street construction for two years or so. All the streets have been repaved and if I were the owner of this restaurant I'd never let the space go. Onto it already!
We walk in and the first thing I notice is the perfect dim lighting which most places miss the mark either putting you under dressing room lighting (ugh) or making it hard to see your food (suspect)! Not Carpe, it was oozing with romance the moment we walked in. We sat at the bar for a bit of pre-gaming and people watching, another of our favorite past times. That's when the hand carved wooden floral wine wall caught my eye; no kidding it was amazing. The entire wall behind the bar area is whimsical design carved wood with unsuspecting cubby holes to hold all the vino. Immediately it became something neither one of us is willing to live without once we win the lottery. We were happy with the selection of wine and found the drink list to be interesting, so far this place is ringing my bells!
I continue to look around and then up to the crown molding that circles around dome cathedral like ceilings, incredible!
I decided that it was time to taste and we were guided through the enormous dining room to the back which had at least 40 or 50 seats. Our table was by the window, lit with candles and a great thunderstorm brewing outside... Dear Buddha please don't let this be the climax, everything was so perfect I was waiting for the storm to knock out the power. I have to add that Jamie and I are now on our second beverage of the night and are starting to get relaxed when all of a sudden our server walks over and says, " Good evening, can I get you something to fucking drink?" The night just got better when I saw it was our friend Paige who would be directing us through our culinary experience! It is agreed by Jamie and myself that we love all the aspects of fine dining, especially the good service but it's always so stiff you feel you're going to get kicked out for having a bit of fun, so seeing Paige was a great surprise. Bells still ringing! We had beef carpaccio to start and if you can please Chef Jamie with the carpaccio we are off on a good foot. Following we had mushroom bolognese which happens to be one of Jamies specialties and still is! We had pork cooked perfectly and scallops which were the same, the sides were equally as delicious but begin to run together since we ordered enough food for 4 people.
As we came up for air I once again began to look around noticing all the detail of the metal work which was draped all around the room below the crown molding.
If you know us then you have already noticed that I have yet to say anything about the restrooms which to me can make or break the deal. I excused myself and left Jamie to scour the dessert menu while I did field research.
Wouldn't you know it, I was greeted with an aged copper sink that had been hammered and set in stone, marble perhaps. Beautiful from floor to ceiling, clean, modern and again dimly lit. The toilet paper wasn't folded but I didn't need that reassurance, no Carpe had done it and done it well!
I floated back to the table and Jamie could tell I was pleased only because he knows that I appreciate the complete experience, which this was.


Enough with the romantics let's get to my new favorite obsession: Midnight sushi! I always bitch about the lack of late night dining and how even when it is attempted it's so half ass I end up feeling tricked. Well we were turned onto Pisces, a new spot in mid-town by Trader Joes that stays open Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 2a.m. When you walk in at 1:30a.m, you don't even get the stink eye!!! You're in fact greeted by Bryan, the owner who is a young guy with a lot of experience in restaurant business and is eager to please you properly! The fish has always been fresh and the sushi menu is creative with some familiar rolls leaving the only downfall in my opinion to be that you can only order sushi late night, no noodles or spring rolls, etc. BUT, you get great sushi late night so who cares!?
 Since we live in America and love over consumption they do offer a $9 all you can eat sushi during the week. It's made to order so not great for the quick lunch break, but still not a bad deal if you have time. I love that on the bottom of the lunch menu it asks that you be mindful of how much you order so as to not waste food. It's something I would do! Pisces is a great alternative to late night greasy spoons that you settle for or may I say your stomach unsettles for.
I'd also like to tell you about a dinner that Jamie and I participated in for the 2nd year that was an experience of its own. It was a farm dinner held at New town farms belonging to a friend of ours Sammy Koenigsberg and his family. Not only is this farm the source of some of the best vegetables I have ever eaten, the chickens in our backyard, the majority of the produce you'll find in Barrington's restaurant and other in the know small restaurants in town but everything is grown and raised with pure love and adoration for the earth and it's gifts.
Sammy hosted wine maker Tony Coturri and his seasonal wines for a culinary knock out. There are usually about 5-10 different chefs hand chosen from around town and given their options of wine to pair with their dish of choice and only 130 tickets are offered and sold promptly. Sammy and other local farmers supply all the produce and meats, you could easily call this a family affair.
The farmhouse where the dinner is held is breathtaking, sprawled out over acres of green grass, enormous old trees that have stories to tell and has been in Sammy's family for generations. The first thing you see when walking up to the house is the wooden front porch that wraps around the entire front of the house, it's the kind of porch you see in movies that makes you want to fall asleep in rocking chairs while the sun goes down.
Tables are set up on each corner of the porch giving each chef their own personal space and an amazing view. The kitchen in this house always inspires me with it's 6 eye gas stove and counter space for days which is always filled with chefs, different smells and unique ideas! There is a courtyard in the back where the other chefs set up their tables, lights are hung and dining tables are placed for people who want to sit. This event was truly the first time I had been exposed to people who all share the same desire to be conscious of their food and it's origin, appreciation for the people who grow it and how important it is to support our local farmers. All in attendance are so grateful and appreciative for the part everyone plays in this event that the night is spent meeting new people, trying interesting food and drinking wine which was as carefully grown and produced as the food itself. Jamie and I always leave with an enormous sense of accomplishment and responsibility to never compromise our beliefs on food.

Eating our way through NYC!

Jamie and I just got back from our inspirational trip to the concrete jungle or urban paradise, whichever makes you feel best.
Since the majority of Jamie's culinary career was spent in New York we decided to pay a visit to his old gastro grounds.
First stop. DBGB, Daniel's newest addition which he tastefully put in the old CBGB spot in the Bowery. The walls are made entirely of etched glass with witty food related quotes that help pass the time while you wait for your brunch and cocktails. Being the lady at the table I decided to get what was called the Piggy; a confit burger cooked a beautiful mid-rare, jalapeno mayo with a dollop of pulled pork. I can honestly say it's in the top 10 best items ever to enter my mouth. I wish I had a picture, but all we took was a coaster. Jamie followed suite with a burger called the Frenchy, but he liked mine better!
Prune was on the agenda for dinner, which we had been highly anticipating; with it's unusual menu that gave you only 5 or 6 options for each course (we love simple!)we started with the bone marrow. Coming out on a plate were 3 large bones standing up filled with roasted marrow, this would be the highlight of our meal. The marrow was prepared properly and with so much flavor we could have made a meal out of it.
For my entree I went with the braised chicken in a vinegar sauce that looked exciting, but after a few moments I decided I had been deceived and not only was the chicken awkward to try and slice into but became very difficult to eat. Jamie on the other hand chose well and had the beef pot-au-feu which was cooked splendidly with a succulent flavor. Needless to say I was stealing bites from across the table bitching about my poor bird.
The restaurant itself was so adorable with under 30 seats, eclectic adornments and old wooden tables and chairs. The hype on Prune is a bit more than what it produces as far as the food goes and no one said anything about the service... The host was friendly and tried to be as accommodating as possible, the bartender was the same, offering up a couple drinks while we waited for our table and then there is our server who could have cared less about checking on us, getting our beverages or even coming by the table which is all fine because by that time we were already a bit schnokered on pimms (Jamie's new favorite drink!).
All in all we were glad we had the experience.
Let's talk about Laconde Verde, Andrew Carmelinis new restaurant. Andrew is a chef and friend of Jamie's that he worked with for quite a few years in NYC at Cafe Boulud and highly admires.
Nail hit on head! The first thing I did when we got there was hit the ladies room, it's a small personal test that I perform which tells me much about the restaurant.
Let me tell you, superficial as it may be, there is something about walking into a bathroom stall and seeing the toilet paper folded; you know the triangle of comfort that lets you know you need not hover. Marble everything, aromatherapy in the air and not a soul in sight; this girl was in heaven!!! Moving on...
Lighting was perfect, acoustics perfect, service was on point and the dress code; to quote Andrew verbadem: " A shirt and something on your bottom." Hows that for tact!
Not only did we have a second order of steak tartare, we had 3 mouth watering appetizers 2 entrees and a trio of desserts that could have fed a small tribe. Even being lactose intolerant nothing was stopping me from hazelnut ice cream draped in caramel! We walked out high on food, wine and tartare, an immaculate experience if I may say so myself.
I'm going to tell you about this secret mixology bar that we visited which created some of the most unique flavors I have ever had the pleasure of sipping. We were led by a friend of ours through a yakatori restaurant to a door which I thought would lead us to a restroom, only to be introduced to Angel Cher. This was one of the major highlights of the trip! Seriously, if you don't know it's there, you'll never hear or find out about it; but we did...
Imagine ginger infused vodka, fresh lemon, ginger shards and some magic; atleast thats how jamie is still referring to it. I had a rosemary infused peace of heaven which ignited every sense I had and calmed me like a drug. The bartenders didnt speak much to you and moved with pure intent as they carefully mixed each liquid with perfect proportion. In one word, ecstacy. We intend on paying tribute to this moment in our time at the Fatty Proper!
The last thing I want to share with you all is Chinatown; not just where you label whores buy knock offs:). Chinatown for us was not only a photographers eden but the smells, foodies you know what I'm talking about. The smell of ramen, phoa, fresh fish, dumplings, chicken, roast pork, noodle carts, and some aromas that can only be identified as ancient chinese secret. If you have seen any of our pictures you know we were in the midst of fish market heaven. I'd like to say we were brave enough to have tryed everything, but thats not even possible in a 24 hour time span. Jamie and I both agreed that it wouldnt be a terrible exsistance to wake up to those aromas on a daily basis.
Prepare yourselves folks, we have full intention of bringing all the charms of big city culinary utopia to the Queen City!

China town fare...

Microwave to Robot?

Top o the day to all of you who are still vomiting green beer! :)

Jamie and I have been extremely busy with works n such that we have had little time to do much that requires an after blog, except for what I threw his way a few days ago. hehe

As I'm in our humble kitchen with all of our gadgets, gizmo's, bowls and ingredients I find I'm using anything that will stand still long enough for counter space. I'm in the throws of my first ever attempt at a homemade pie, crust and all, while I have have sausages simmering in beer and pasta commanding my attention, I realize I need more counter space!

I treat my kitchen organization like tetris, everything will fit but there is a skill to it and sometimes you have to smash blocks to make more room.

My block seems to be the microwave! Oh you unattractive heat savvy beast of a machine, I'm starting to wonder if food and life as we know it can continue on without you... For those of you who know me personally, you know it wouldn't be unlike me to pick it up and simply chuck it out the back door and let the boys have fun taking it apart after they have realized it's become spilled milk. I hold back on my impulses to consider the immediate consequences of having no box that will magically heat anything I put into it in mere seconds.

I have to be honest with you, I feel almost like a hypocrite talking about the importance of food and quality awareness when I have this contraption in my kitchen that says things like, "avoid cellphone use while within 10ft of microwave," and "dizziness may occur."

Not to mention this gigantiwave takes up a qtr of my counter real estate. We are believers of slow food and I believe eliminating this modern day convenience will not only keep my cooking honest but will allow us the space we desire without having to pack up the family and move to a bigger place. Not to mention, the 5 1/2 yr old that runs our house would really dig turning it into a robot!

Any thoughts?

Secrets in the sauce

Not the good kind of secrets folks! There must be something about me that makes people in the food industry want to divulge some of their kitchen info. Perhaps it's that they have yet to discover that we have a food blog, whatever the case may be, I'm going to tell you some things you may not want to know.
In my house, leftovers involving meat are up for grabs for the next 3 days and veggies rarely get past that either. But did you know that in certain undisclosed restaurants certain cooks have no problem serving short ribs that were prepared, Oh I don't know 10 or so DAYS ago! Shame on you and vomit for me! The sniff test is not a certified cooking technique and how could you possibly smell the rancidness through all the special sauce it's been swimming in.
I understand being a business owner and trying to be on top of food cost, but really how effective are you being when you jeopardize the well being of your patrons by serving them bad food. Not just bad tasting food but indigestible and sickening! I wonder if the owner even knows about the staffs lack of concern and integrity.I cannot expose where this establishment is, but can promise you that you'll never be invited by us to go here.
This has been an informative rant brought to you by Cozy!

More utopia!

After 2 weeks of Jamie and I going back and forth on what else makes up this ideal dining utopia we came up with a few more ideas...

How about great, healthy and affordable food at any hour; you know like a big city?!

Who wants sushi at midnight or later? We do! You may too and there are just a handful of spots that have started leading the way.

Soul gastrolounge being the first, offers a wide range of tapas and sushi, but I believe they only serve til midnight. The sushi is usually very pristine and moderately priced and the tapas tend to be a bit inconsistent in portion and flavor. I repeat we are not reviewing restaurants just giving our opinions :)!

Cyros sushi and sake bar was a great find and get this, you can get sushi up until 2am! The rolls we tried were fresh, presented well and creative. Unfortunately the sushi also carries a south park price tag which I believe to be a late night convenience fee. But hey, it's worth it to get food you want when you want it.

Amelie's is a great cafe type restaurant that is open 24/7 offering European influenced sandwich's, pastries, soups, coffee, tea, etc. It always feels like a buzzy coffee shop, the kind college kids main line their caffeine so they can finish papers and studying. Having said that, we haven't been too many times and have yet to find out where they get their ingredients.

Now, I have heard that there is a little restaurant called the Mad Greek on South blvd that also stays open late that we have yet to try.

I also should not leave out the one and only Landmark diner which we consider to be a decent breakfast place with an in house bakery; here comes the but, they to my knowledge still don't offer any locally raised/grown food.

So this is what we are asking of you, our people! If you know of any rumored or definite late night food spots, let us know!

It's a damn shame that the people who are preparing and serving delicious food in the high end restaurants rarely ever get to experience it for themselves and I refuse to believe that the only options for you are chicken wings! Let's be real though, who doesn't enjoy a proper chicken wing?

Dine well,

Cozy and Jamie

Let's go to New Zealand!

New Zealand cafe that is!

This is a picture from our favorite sushi spot in town, where we have the pleasure of dining every Monday. If you have any experience with the sushi in Charlotte than you know your options are limited.

Nikkos, which continues to hold the city's title for favorite sushi, has personally let us down on more than one occasion. No, it wasn't Nikko herself leaping onto our table with her baby in tow yelling "sake bomb!" so much as it was the not so fresh feeling tuna they attempted to serve us. There doesn't seem to be a need for details so we will carry on.

Sushi 101 offers you mediocre service with a frown and once again compromised tuna. Remember we are BIG advocates of fresh food and knowledgeable staff, so the fact our server was rude and tried to tell us "tuna sometimes looks that color," we no longer give them money.

Rusans is where I have a soft spot, on and off but a soft spot all the same. Being the first sushi experience I had in the city it remains nostalgic. High energy yet staying casual it was good for most any occasion. The problem lies within the consistency, meaning the sanitation score goes up and down like a mood swing. If you're going to push a sushi lunch buffet, please keep your sani close to 100 and not high 80's; I shamefully compromised my stomach lining a few times.

Finally, our sushi loving journey brought us to New Zealand, a small quaint place my fellow yelpers turned me onto. This locally owned and operated spot has 40 seats and 5 at the bar, it stays relatively full but you never have a wait. The decor isn't much and the music will send you through a few time warps but the sushi makes it the most desired spot in town for those who know. People who enjoy the sushi experience for the fresh fish and not the see and be seen environment will find the beauty in New Zealand!

Culinary Utopia?

This culinary utopia we speak of is much simpler than it sounds and consists of things we see everyday. My first experience with said utopia happened in Paris of 06 on my second trip to France. A friend and I rented a little apartment in the Jewish qtr above a few cafes which opened early and closed late into the night. Across from our apartment was an open air market that had handmade jewelry, clothing, bags, fresh bread, cheese, vegetables, fruits, pastas, wine, coffee, etc. This market didn't open up just on Sunday's, it set up and shut down everyday and was prepared for rain as well. I couldn't help but wonder where these people came from. Here we were, in the middle of the city and who seemed to be farmers of sorts showed up everyday with fresh produce and sundries! People came and went through the market all day to get breakfast, do grocery shopping, picking up lunch and dinner, until almost everything was gone. I smile just thinking about it.

All this brings me to the present time, where my daytime dining options( if I haven't packed a lunch) consist of Chipotle(texmex), Five Guys(greasy burger joint), Noodles( processed and packaged everything) or and old school burger and ice cream shop. Lunch is a discussion no one wants to have. Recently though an all raw food restaurant has opened in the area and it is worth dodging the cars to cross the busy street to get to.

We live in a city which claims to pride itself on promoting your local businesses and expanding culture... why have we not invited our farmers to come in with fresh meats, veggies and fruits? Why is it better to throw up(literally)another fast food chain instead of building an open market to support our locals all while providing a much needed service?

This is not a rant, but a simple idea.

A quick rant...

As most of you probably know there is a shortage of truly great restaurants here in Charlotte leaving our Queen City lacking the cuisine fit for her! Part of this issue is the over saturation of corporate chain fast food eateries. We will not refer to them as restaurants because they do nothing to restore anything to people except maybe some chemical preservatives and saturated fats! These places are NOT healthy, wholesome, or quality! ( Unless your idea of quality is utility grade beef, chemical pesticides and the like? ) The owners and operators of these places are not even "restauranteurs", but franchise owners preying upon large families and people on the go!They do not care about you as individuals nor care where the product they serve comes from as long as it is affordable, allowing them to make profit.

We will no longer accept this mentality from the people and places that serve us food! Food should be nourishing, comforting, fresh, grown/raised and prepared with care! We do not want to be fed foods that are proven to cause health issues,we all deserve to eat well and feel good! The best way we have found to do this is to eat at some of the smaller, chef owned restaurants where the Chefs are passionate about food, service and will care deeply about how their cuisine is regarded by their guests, preparing your food with care. Many local chefs prefer to use local produce, meats and sundries, advertising this on their menus and telling you which farm or breed the ingredients come from. We appreciate knowing these details!Get to know your local chefs, some of them even have multiple restaurants meaning more good food for us. We believe that by only supporting these small local restaurants rather than fast food chains is the key to preserving the availability of quality food and insuring its growth here in Charlotte!!! Oh yea... and fast food sucks!

Well here goes our first attempt to translate the desires of our taste buds into words for you all to read. Why do we think you maybe interested in what we have to say?

To my right we have Jamie who's passion and dedication to evolving fresh and skill full foods has led him to work with some of the countries most talented chefs.... we can only hope some of it has rubbed off enough to keep you interested!

Myself, I'm Cozy, an italian mutt who enjoys researching all aspects of dining. I'm constantly trying to find and create umami in the most natural of senses.

Together we have taken our love for life, food, wine and adventure to create this blog until our restaurant takes form.