Triad Eats

Firebirds, Winston-Salem

Celeste and I tried out Firebirds, the new steak joint off of Hanes Mall Blvd. in the new building behind Ethan Allen. 

First let me start by saying that the food was very good.  The steaks were prepared just right, the baked potatoes were light (not overcooked) and a perfect compliment to the steaks. Prices are a little up there with a NY Strip running $25.95 and a sirloin around $18. Still, the meals don't disappoint and since all prices seem to be going up these days I wouldn't call the pricing unreasonable.  Definitely worth a try if you're a steak lover.

We had about a ten minute wait before our table was ready and although I tried to get us some drinks at the bar I didn't have much luck.  Seems like they're still trying to work out the service kinks but once they get it figured out I'd say it's a decent place for a drink and a steak.

Side note: Firebirds also seems to be a popular "girls night out" spot for ladies who are no longer girls.  Maybe it was just a coincidence that so many groups of 30-40 something ladies were there the night we were, but the atmosphere does feel right for get-togethers so I'm thinking it was more than coincidence.

Address:
1215 Creekshire Way
Winston-Salem, NC  27103
(336) 659-3973
winston-salemevents@firebirdsmail.com

Good Eats in Greensboro

Greensboro, NC is about a half hour east of where I (and my lovely family) live in Lewisville, NC.  Since we're right outside of Winston-Salem we usually spend our time there, but we've had some opportunities to go to Greensboro and we'd like to go more. So I thought I'd pick the brains of Greensboro's bloggers for places to eat.  Following are recommendations mined from some blogs and comments on those blogs about eating in Greensboro.  These aren't in any particular order, just a random sampling of what I found while browsing the blogs of Greensboro's finest.  I'll update this as I come across more.

Monk's Cheese Steaks and Cheeseburgers
1030 Summit Avenue
275-1105
Recommendations from David Wharton's and Ed Cone's blogs.
Quote from Wharton: "Monk's Cheese Steaks and Cheeseburgers in the Northeast Shopping Center knows exactly how to make them. Visiting Monk's is like taking a little trip to an everyday New York eatery, complete with an airbrushed mural on the wall featuring the Twin Towers. The staff is friendly in that New York kind of way, the place is immaculate, and the cheese steaks ... oh, yes.

The meat comes handsomely piled on the soft bun, laced with just the right amount of gooey cheese, onions, peppers, and seasoning. The fries were hot and delicious and the service was fast. The only complaint comes from my cardiologist."

Ganache
403 N Elm St
Greensboro, NC 27401
(336) 230-2253
Quote from Sean Coon in the comments on Cone's blog: "by far the best cheesecake i've had in town to date is the chocolate chip cheesecake at ganache"

Ghassan's
3 Locations in Greensboro
Battleground: (336) 273-2266
State Street: (336) 378-1000
Coliseum(336) 294-4060
Quote from Jerry Bledsoe on Cone's blog: "Damn, all these Blogsboro soft-bread Cheez-Whiz (it ain't even food)lemmings. Try a real cheese steak. Go to Ghassan's."  And another quote from Wharton in the same post comments: "Yes, Ghassan's fries are special. From the taste, they're not fried in vegetable oil. Probably beef tallow."

Solaris Tapas Restaurant & Bar
125 Summit Ave.
Greensboro, NC, 27401
(336)-378-0198
Quote from Potato Stew: "We’ve been to Solaris twice, and we enjoyed it quite a bit. Very tasty tapas. We’ll be going back there more..."

Cafe Europa
200 N Davie St
Greensboro, NC 27401
(336) 389-1010
Quote from Roch101 on Plead the First: "The food is good, the wine list extensive and dining on the terrace this time of year is a treat."

Undercurrent
600 South Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27406
(336) 370-1266
Quote from Patrick Eakes on Plead the First: "It is on the more expensive side, but provides plenty of coziness and a romantic setting."

223 South Elm Restaurant
223 South Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27401
(336) 272-3331
Quote from Potato Stew: "It was great! Very interesting menu. I had the trout which had a black pepper goat cheese on top that was amazing. I would defenitely recommend the restaurant."

Bistro Sofia
616 Dolley Madison Rd.
Greensboro, NC 27410
(336) 855-1313
Quote from, well, me: "Celeste and I had dinner there a couple of months ago and I can tell you it is one of the two or three best meals we've had since we moved to NC.  Can't recommend it highly enough."

Originally posted on JonLowder.com, October 16, 2006

Ed Cone: Best Places to Eat in Greensboro

Ed Cone is a professional writer and prominent blogger in Greensboro and when he writes something controversial like "Best barbecue? Tough call. I will vote for the Brunswick Stew at Stamey's" he gets lots of comments telling him why he's wrong and then the commenter provides their own favorite BBQ place.  Check out Ed's list of favorite restaurants by genre and make sure you read the comments for more insights.