River Birch Lodge

 My restaurant columns for YES! Weekly newspaper can be accessed at yesweekly.com. Just search on John Batchelor. The first Wednesday of every month is usually a Greensboro restaurant, the third Wednesday is usually a Winston-Salem restaurant, with High Point and Kernersville and points in between thrown in from time to time.

I am posting now, however, about last week's column, devoted to River Birch Lodge (3324 Robinhood Rd, Winston-Salem 27106, (336) 768-1111, riverbirchlodge.com). I loved the food here!  A few samples below:

The Beast Burger- ground elk, wild boar, bison and wagyu beef on a brioche bun

Scallops Pappardelle, bathed in a shrimp and lobster sauce, enriched with portabella mushroom slices

Banana Pudding

Wine Dinner at 1703 on September 28

 

Upcoming wine dinner at 1703 (1703 Robinhood Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27104, (336) 725-5767, 1703restaurant.com/), featuring wines from the Piedmont region of Italy. 

August Wine Dinner

 

Mark your calendar for August 19 at Cafe Pasta. Upcoming wine dinner featuring South African wines, hosted by the winemaker himself! I have tasted these in preview, and I helped curate the food pairings. This will be a good night!

Fried Shrimp at Reel Seafood Grill

 

You can't get any better at the beach!

New Travel Book about North Carolina

 There's a new travel book out, "100 Things to Do in North Carolina Before You Die." I don't plan to die anytime soon, so I am following author Kristy Tolley's advice and arranging some trips that she suggests.

Check your local bookstore, order from Amazon, or direct from the publisher: Reedy Press

(reedypress.com).

Wine Dinner at 1703

 Here's another wine dinner, this one in Winston-Salem at 1703 (1703restaurant.com), featuring wines from the Loire Valley.

Follow up- The dinner was great, as I expected from 1703, which I consider one of the Triad's best. I will be writing about this later in the month. Watch this space and my forthcoming Facebook post.

Wine Dinner at Cafe Pasta

 I am hosting another wine dinner at Cafe Pasta on June 17. Come on out! Good wines, good food, reasonable price ($65).

Folowup- We had a great crowd- about 75 guests. The place was packed. I was surprised that a lot of folks told me they were not familiar with Murphy-Goode, or that they knew about it, but it had just kind of fallen off the radar. I picked this winery because it's one of my "house" wines. My wife and I drink these often. Very good and very high value. Food pairings were successful, too, if I do say so myself! (I set the menu and chose the wines.)

There will be another wine dinner August 5. This one will be big time, with the winemaker himself, from an international winery that has only recently become available in the Triad. More information forthcoming.

Another Block Party

 

Another neighborhood block party in Seven Gates. We get together and visit, having dinner with a food truck that sets up wherever we have shade. We really like West Coast Wanderer (facebook.com/westcoastwandererllc/#, westcoastwandererllc@outlook.com). My favorite starter is Fried Artichokes. I usually get Shrimp Quesadillas with sliced avocado for my main course. Other favorites include Pork or Steak Tacos, Steak and Cheese Wrap, and Crispy Chicken Tacos.

Harper's Thursday Wine School

 As posted before, Harper's has "wine school" each month. Go to harpersrestaurants.com/events for the schedule. Each event features three wines that follow a theme, along with paired tapas style food pairings. Prices are very reasonable, and these events create an opportunity to sample wines that are otherwise unfamiliar. I have had a lot of experience with wine, but I have enjoyed learning about many that I had never had before.

The May event was based on California wines.

We started with Una Lou Rose' of pinot noir from Carneros. This is a summery, light wine, not sweet, that would pair well with a lot of food. This course was Hickory Grilled Shrimp with watermelon and feta cheese. The shrimp were large and tender, and the flavors of the shrimp, watermelon, and cheese played off each other well. I bought two bottles ($18 ea).

Hickory Grilled Shrimp

The second course wine was Camp chardonnay, from Sonoma county. This is made in the French style, softly oaked, with notes of light lemon. A Lump Crab Cake with lemon aioli worked well with the crab flavor. I liked the wine, but I am already well stocked in charonnays, so I passed on this purchase ($19).

Crab Cake

Third course was Grilled Flank Steak with chimchurri, crisp fries, lightly tossed in truffle infused olive oil, on the side. Chimichurri is derived from South America, made from finely diced parsley, garlic, oregano, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes. The kitchen knocked this one out. Really good depth of beef flavor. And The 75 Cabernet Savignon from Beckstoffer in Mendocino is richly flavored, identifiable with Beckstoffer terroir. I bought two bottles of this one ($17)!

Grilled Flank Steak

I included wine prices in order to show the value that these experiences offer. Quantities are limited.

Dinner at MJ's

 MJ's is a personal favorite. My wife and I recently returned for dinner. 

Apple Harvest Salad

Fried Oysters

Shrimp Tacos

(My wife's favorite)

Barramundi