The Weekend Birch: Five Year Wedding Anniversary
/This past weekend we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary with a delicious dinner at Kindred and an awesome family-centric day on Sunday.
We arrived thirty minutes before our dinner reservation, which allowed us to explore the adorable college town of Davidson, NC. We stopped in several shops along the main street, including South Main Sweet Shop for a little pre-dinner treat.
Davidson, NC
South Main Sweet Shop | Davidson, NC
There's a ton of hype around a number of restaurants in Charlotte and surrounding areas. Most of these restaurants are just that, hype with very little substance to back it.
Kindred is different because the hype and the expectations are not only met but exceeded. My first visit to the restaurant was this past January with a group of foodie friends and we literally ordered the whole menu. It has also been voted one of the best restaurants in the country. For this, and many other reasons, Kindred is one of my favorite restaurants and was our top choice to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary.
The space is perfection, from the floor to the ceiling. The service is top notch. But the food, oh the food!
The main menu and the main man in my life.
The meal began with a serving of milk bread. If you love bread as much as Oprah loves bread, this is your bread.
I LOVE BREAD!
Our first round of drinks were Barkeep's Choice. We picked a liquor and a flavor profile and the bartender created a custom drink. Bourbon for him, tequila for me. Nothing sweet for either one of us.
Barkeep's Choice: Tequila, Campari, Lime Juice | Kindred
Barkeep's Choice: Bourbon, Luxardo Rinse, Orange Bitters.
The Rambler: Cognac, Rye, Benedictine, Vanilla, Bitters. | Kindred
Cheers!
The menu is divided into three portions: small appetizer sized plates, larger entree sized plates, and dessert. The whole menu can easily be shared family style and I highly recommend going that route. Plan on two to two and a half dishes per person.
Here's what we ordered:
Grandfather's Pickles. These are SO good that I've spent this whole week trying to recreate them.
Grandfather's Pickles | Kindred
Duck Fat Potatoes are also a must. The homemade aioli is what dreams are made of and I don't even like aioli. There, I said it!
Duck Fat Potatoes: dill, lemon aoili. | Kindred
The combination of chiles en adobo and vanilla bean in the Strozzapreti was a definite highlight!
Strozzapreti: eggplant, country ham, chiles en adobo, vanilla bean. | Kindred
And finally the rigatoni! The dish was hearty without being heavy.
Rigatoni: lamb Sugo, okra, parsley. | Kindred
We finished the meal with a complimentary serving of birthday cake and ice cream:
Birthday Cake | Kindred
We made a pit stop at a nearby brewery before heading home to relieve our babysitters.
Sunday morning we attended a traditional service at the University City UMC. The message we heard was perfectly timed with everything happening in my head and heart. I've been mulling over next steps, both professional and personal, and how to get over the hurdles and the challenges that I know await me as I pursue these new ventures. The guest speaker was Romal Tune and he reminded us that we all have a story that needs to be told to help others who need to hear it. We are all here for a reason, we all have a gift and that gift can help others.
After church we drove down to SouthEnd for brunch but found that most of the restaurants open at noon (it was 11:30 am) or for dinner only. Thankfully, The Liberty was open without a wait.
I ordered the steak and egg special while Brandon ordered the crunch burger.
Steak and eggs, morning potatoes, and asparagus.
Painted Hills Natural "Crunch" Burger: pimento cheese, smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, stacked with house chips. (Voted Southern Livings 2012 NC Best Burger) | The Liberty
We walked the Rail Trail to Atherton Mills to pick up spice refills at Savory Spice Shop before heading back home for naps and the Panther's game.
Spice Refills: Caribbean All Purpose Curry Powder, Peruvian Chile Lime Seasoning, and Ground Celery Seeds. | Savory Spice Shop
Stop, selfie time! | Rail Trail, SouthEnd
My heart!
