Restaurant Reviews By Chef Paul

May 6, 2010

Brown Sugar Café

In this edition of Fork in the Road, I decided to stop in at the Brown Sugar Café. Located at 1475 Highland Ave. NE in Hickory, the restaurant specializes in home cooked southern food. I had the pleasure of eating on a Sunday morning when they were serving homemade meatloaf, collard greens, broccoli casserole and dozens of other choices. All of the food was made in the house and served with a smile.

It is always a pleasure to see a new, locally owned restaurant doing such a great job. The restaurant is decorated with murals of jazz musicians and the soft music was relaxing as we ate lunch. I had never heard of the café until my sister Maria told me about it.

When we entered we were greeted with a smile and the lunch was served cafeteria style. The portions were large and the prices were low, and this will make customers happy.

The meatloaf reminded me of my mother’s recipe it was moist and had a wonderful flavor. Any time you have meatloaf you have to have the mashed potatoes to go with it. I can’t say enough about the slow cooked collard greens, they were great as well. The potatoes were fresh and the gravy was smooth and flavorful.

Other choices that we loved were the broccoli casserole and the pasta salad, which were wonderful. For dessert, try one of the homemade cakes and pies on display.

This stop along the road was a pleasant surprise. The word is out on the street, the Brown Sugar Café is serving up great home style cooking at affordable prices.

So when you want a great home cooked meal, but you don’t feel like cooking, head over to the Brown Sugar Café.

Crawdad Café

It is that wonderful time of the year when the flowers bloom, the birds sing and America’s favorite passtime starts up again. We are fortunate to have the Hickory Crawdads and their beautiful ball park right here in our back yard. The Crawdad Café has undergone some changes during the off season that should entice more fans to come in for food.

The restaurant is a baseball lover’s dream with memorabilia of the game and a great menu as well. The restaurant is now serving half pound Angus burgers and a new array of salads and appetizers. Before the ball game it is a really nice place to spend time with friends and family while watching the teams warm up. A terraced patio gives customers the chance to see the entire field while enjoying their favorite appetizers or entrees.

The appetizers include wings, poppers, onion rings, quesadillas and all of the old favorites. Healthy items including the chef salad, and a great house salad with fresh mixed greens should surprise the returning fans. We had the Angus burger with bacon and cheddar cheese which was one of the best burgers I have ever had. It was moist and flavorful and served on a corn dusted Kaiser Roll with a large portion of fries. The menu also features wraps, and homemade BBQ which is made on site in the café.

One new feature in the restaurant this season is the buffet on the weekends that with home style foods at an affordable price of only $8.00. I am impressed with the prices of the café because one would expect to pay a lot more at a sporting event, but they are very competitive with everyone here in town.

Thank goodness baseball is back in the Hickory area and they have a great café and what looks like a good ball team as well. Good luck to all at the stadium, hopefully it will be a great season.