Adventure Carolina

We celebrated Easter a little early over the weekend with our nieces and a good old-fashioned easter egg hunt! While visiting the Charlotte area, we just had to take in a bit of the local fare.

Straight from the airport from an early morning flight, we greeted our first day at Skillets, a breakfast eatery.

I was intrigued by the house specialty, pecan-encrusted french toast. Just based on the name, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think my mind's eye pictured toast dipped in a batter with ground pecans. When the french toast came out, turns out encrusted was a pretty good adjective. One side of the bread was completely covered in a cinnamon-sugar smothered pecan crust. A good pour of maple syrup made for a rich, crunchy, sweet dessert-before-breakfast.

The next day, I had to feed the craving for sweet potato tempura maki rolls, which could only be fulfilled at the asian-fusion restaurant Johnny's red bowl.

We called in our carry-out order and when we arrived, we were immediately enchanted by the floating parasols hovering above the whole restaurant.

The owner explained that his friend is the manager of a props studio for a local theater and always lends seasonal decorations to the restaurant for a lively and modern decor. I just thought back to my mother suggesting the same idea for our wedding, but getting turned down by the venue in favor of the simpler chinese lanterns. Between parasols hanging from the unfinished ceiling and the waterfall behind the bar, red bowl had a definite zen feel. We also learned that the restaurant will be opening a second-floor patio for outdoor dining.

Oh, and the sweet potato tempura rolls were pretty good, too.