The Katharine Brasserie in Winston-Salem

The Katharine Brasserie & Bar (401 North Main Street, Winston-Salem 27101, (336) 761-0203, katharinebrasserie.com) is located in the historic Reynolds Building, now the Kimpton Cardinal luxury hotel. Ambience is unique- an art deco French brasserie, the concept chosen in homage to and named after Katherine Reynolds, who loved her travels in France.

Dining Room, photo by Amber Renea Photography

Executive Chef Adam Barnett, who trained under illustrious names such as Eric Ripert and Patrick O’Connell, introduces new menus every quarter. Additional, special menus will be in place for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The fall-winter menu is stellar. This restaurant is hitting its stride. I now rank it among the elite.

Executive Chef Adam Barnett, photo  by Amber Renea Photography

(Food photos below by John Batchelor, just cell phone shots from table.)

My wife and I started a tasting meal with a cheese plate. French styles are sourced in the US, from Georgia and North Carolina. These are all pleasantly mellow in flavor. The arugula salad in the center is lightly dressed, the toasts crisp.

The Crab Salad is flavored with preserved lemon, herb aioli, and celery root. It is light, the taste of fresh crab subtly undergirded by chives, sharpened by the lemon. This is really special!

Mussels Mariniere are delightfully fresh and tender, no grit, no muddy taste, resting in broth of white wine, garlic, and creme fraiche, with slices of celery and fennel. Seriously flavorful!

(Note that the entrees below are part of a tasting menu, therefore small portions; 

if you order as a main course, the serving size is larger.)

Salmon is sauteed, its crisp crust giving way to tender interior. It is surrounded by melted leeks and celery, red and purple potatoes, all accented with a mustard buerre blanc.

Trout is served with its crisp skin side up, over horseradish creme fraiche, braised greens, and sweet potato hash. The trout itself is moist and tender; it picks up a subtle accent from the mild horseradish.

Ricotta Gnudi combines tender duck confit and gnudi- similar to gnocchi but based on ricotta cheese- plus greens, butternut squash, and hen of the woods mushroom on top. The mushroom looks weird and tastes great!

Creme Brulee is both light and rich. Couldn't wait to take that first bite!

LSU Press

LSU Press is launching a crowdfunding campaign to  support their academic publishing. They published one of my books, Race and Education in North Carolina: from Segregation to Desegregation. (Let me know if you want an autographed copy. I sell for $35, which is $10 off list price of $45.) This is one of the best academic publishers in the US, and LSU's football team is pretty good, too! What a game with Alabama! Go to link above to join me in contributing.

Taco Mama

Had dinner at Taco Mama (2168 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro 27408, 336-790-1987, tacomamaonline.com), a very casual, college neighborhood feeling sort of place. You order and pay at counter, then they deliver to your table. It's a chain/franchise operation that started in Alabama.

It's a no-risk experience. A long list of margaritas made me indecisive. Server said, "No problem." I told them I just wanted a simple, traditional margarita, not one of the fancy variations on the list. "Try this," she replied, handing me a little taste. The frozen margaritas come out of machines that constantly stir the ingredients. I did not like them. Everybody at my table identified a chemical aftertaste. So we all opted for beer, and that's easy to choose. (They had also provided a little taste of the wines.)

But we did like the food. It's simple and inexpensive. Deliveries come out fast. I got The Hippie Fisherman, a burrito filled with flounder, shrimp, ancho chile slaw, avocado chunks, tomatoes, and a poblano pepper tartar sauce. My wife tried the ground chorizo sausage tacos, and we both really liked those. Thin chips, not heavily salted, and tomato salsa round out the servings.

I'll go back on occasion to try other things. Taco Mama seems to be a good choice for an inexpensive, casual meal.