So we have developed a new system!
1.) Order drinks while perusing the menu (aka do not order right away!)
2.) Order an appetizer or small plate to share while we wait for our entrees
3.) Leave and head to a new cafe or bakery for dessert, thus prolonging date night
This obviously is not a new idea or anything all that creative, but it nearly doubles or even triples the duration of our date night! Just throwin’ it out there for those of you who polish off food at an alarming rate like we do!
5Church
Saturday’s date night took us to 5Church, one of your Charlotte restaurant recommendations!
5Church is a contemporary restaurant that is obviously quite popular and decorated with trendy touches, including hand-painted quotes on the ceiling and feathery lighting fixtures over the bar.
I began my meal with some fresh bread topped with herbed jalapeño butter and a glass of the William Hill cabernet. Ryan ordered the rosemary gin fizz.
I loved my wine, but Ryan’s cocktail stole the show.
Ryan first fell in love with gin fizzes during our dinner at Woodfire Grill in Atlanta. I loved his rosemary gin fizz so much that I ended up ordering one myself after I was done with my wine.
While we sipped our drinks, we looked over the menu. We initially planned on participating in the Charlotte Restaurant Week promotion where guests order a three-course meal for $30 each, but opted out when we did a little price comparison and realized the three courses I would’ve selected would not have added up to $30 if I ordered them separately.
To begin, we shared the pork belly snack plate which was basically a teeny appetizer.
For my main meal, I selected the crispy marinated tofu entree.
It came with buttery green beans, kimchi, sautéed spinach and a teriyaki sauce.
Ryan ordered the cornmeal fried Carolina catfish which I’m pretty sure he did so he wouldn’t have to share with me.
Catfish gives me the heebie jeebies. It’s basically the only fish out there I won’t eat. The whiskers… The fact that catfish grunt… The way they lurk at the bottom of the lake… I can’t handle it. Ryan said his meal was good and I just took his word for it. (By the way, if catfish creep you out, NEVER Google “giant catfish.” The images will haunt your dreams forever.)
Once our meal was done and we paid the bill, we decided to walk around the city for a little while before we were ready for dessert.
Lots of people were out and about and it was nice to stroll around without feeling like the heat might make us keel over at any minute. (I think Ryan and I talk about how much we are loving the “hot” Charlotte weather every day here. It’s definitely toasty but nothing compared to summertime in Florida where you just want to be at the pool or the beach if you’re outside. Floridians, remind me of these comments in the winter when I’m shivering every day.)
Bar Cocoa
Pretty soon my sweet tooth told me it was time for dessert, so we popped into Bar Cocoa for some gelato and macarons.
Ryan and I selected the s’mores, coconut, orange and honey macarons to share. The s’mores macaron just tasted like chocolate which was a little disappointing, but the other three flavors were fantastic. The honey flavor surprised us by being our favorite. The filling reminded me of a honey-flavored buttercream icing.
I also ordered a small cup of caramel and honey pecan gelato which Ryan convinced me into sharing with him after I let him have a bite.
It was a pretty sweet way to end date night! (And that was a cheesy little pun for ya to end this blog post!)
Questions of the Morning
- Are you a super-fast eater?
- Do you have any tips or tricks to help fast-eaters slow down and enjoy their meals?
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Yes I have a problem eating grow amounts of food in under ten minutes. I’m a teacher and I’ve learned that I have to eat quickly or I’m not finished by the time the next class is coming in. Yes I know it’s bad I’ll take any suggestions.
jonny & i may have you & ryan beat for the fastest eaters ever… itz ridiculous. and you know what’s funny? i just read this interesting study how people spend longer in restaurants now than before… because of their phones! here it is: http://happyplace.someecards.com/stop-sharing-this-crap/a-restaurant-studied-its-old-surveillance-and-discovered-why-it-takes-so-long-to-get-a-table-happy-place-investigates/
I AM a super fast eater, but I’m trying to be better about it and chew my food slowly to allow me to enjoy the meal and savor the experience – especially when I eat out!
Also, I LOVE your outfit – where is it from?
Thank you!! The top and skirt are from Nordstrom Rack (I’ll check the brands when I get home and report back!) and the top was $14 while the skirt was $18! Nice and cheap! 🙂
Yes please! I was just about to comment on your outfit as well! Haha.
I’m glad you’re enjoying Charlotte. I’ve never been to Bar Cocoa, but given my love for gelato, I need to check it out! I’m not a huge fan of restaurant week. Yeah, you often get more food at a deal doing the 3-course thing, but I can be satisfied for less than $30 at most all the restaurants.
Catfish are super creepy and they taste more fishy to me than most fish so I’m with you. 😉
As far as the eating thing, the Mr always had this problem. A dietitian back in the day told him to put his fork down between bites and take a sip of water when he put the fork down. The water helps fill you up and putting your fork down makes it linger longer. She also said to chew each bite 15-20x but that just feels unnatural to us so we’ve never really implemented that one but you could always give it a go.
Hi Julie,
I know someone already asked, but I wanted to compliment you on your outfit! So pretty! I’ve been looking for a cute cropped top look with the skirt just like that! Would love to hear where you found it!
Thanks Katie!! I’ll let you know as soon as I get home to check! 🙂
Charlotte just looks so romantic and small town! Love it.
That pork belly appetizer looks good, I had some type of really decadent pork belly dish when I was in New York last fall and I swear it absolutely melted in my mouth, SO good!
I like this strategy! I’m usually all about getting to the main course, but so many restaurants do have great appetizers. And I totally agree that a walk and then a new place for dessert is the way to go. Places that specialize in dessert just knock food restaurants out of the water, in my opinion 🙂 Loved your crop top/skirt combo, too! So fun!
I always thought I was alone in how fast my boyfriend and I eat! I think its because he eats so fast I speed up to keep up with out thinking about it! I like the tips for slowing down the meal!
Ha! We are the same way. When we get the babysitter for 4 hours on weekend night after 45 minutes, we play the game of “so what do you want to do?”. Thanks for the tips to drag out dinner 🙂
Now that you said NOT to Google catfish…it makes me WANT to! But, I’ll take your word and restrain!
When I was younger my family went on fishing trips every summer. The one summer we had heard a giant catfish had been seen swimming around the docks. Well one day my dad started yelling and we ran out to see that he spotted this beast. I remember being so afraid I would fall in and be near this thing. My dad made us all throw in a line to try to catch it of course we didn’t and I was not upset we didn’t lol!!
Oh my gosh!!!! I couldn’t resist googling giant catfish. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m just going to keep telling myself that those pictures aren’t real, even though know they are!
You and Ryan look great! Looks like it was a fun restaurant. Now you have me hungry for macaroons!
My husband and I are also really bad about eating really quickly and then it is over SO fast! We have to remind ourselves to slow down and ENJOY it!
Oh my gosh! Catfish totally creep me out, too. They are the only fish I WILL NOT touch. Disgusting creatures. I’m loving all of your awesome posts about your new life in Charlotte!!
That is too funny about the catfish. I am convinced that my boyfriend orders things he knows I won’t like so I don’t reach over to his plate. He’s even tried a Joey Tribbiani-style sharing buffer before!
I find myself slowing down the nicer the restaurant we’re at. I think because we don’t do it very often, and I want to prolong the experience. I try to chew slowly, and while it’s a redundant tip, put my fork down and just take time to talk between bites.
Ahh I should not have Googled giant catfish!! Creepy.
Your outfit is adorable. And that gin fizz looks yummy!
I eat ridiculously fast! I have had to make a concerted effort to slow it down, because my in laws are Indian and always want me to eat all the food known to man. As soon as I clean my plate, more appears, so to prevent that I make sure to take my time. I also try and talk more so that there’s less of an opportunity to inhale my food 🙂
When my boyfriend and I first started dating I noticed he ate super fast and on dates I would be the only one eating for the last 10 minutes. Now I have picked up his ways and have turned into a fast eater! Our date nights end quickly so these tips will be helpful!
Looks like a fun date night. My husband and I are fast eaters, too. I try to remind myself to chew my food thoroughly as it’s so much healthier, but it’s hard!
I’m a fast eater when I’m at home…always in a rush 🙂 When I’m out I tend to take more time over my meals, chew slowly, put down my fork for a rest… My FAVE ice cream is pecan caramel! No wonder he wanted you to share!
Ahhh I eat at lightning speed too – my whole dad’s family does it, so if we have them over for dinner everyone races through their plate except my mam, it’s so funny. I try to keep putting DOWN my fork in between bites – when you’re eating a mouthful you shouldn’t be already picking up the next one! (Although in fairness I usually suck at this. Especially if it involves chocolate.)
I eat sooooo fast. My trick: I cut my food into tiny bites. Makes it last a little longer…
Living in San Francisco, my husband and I go out to dinner a lot and we do the same thing to prolong a meal. We always start with drinks, then do an app together and go somewhere else for dessert. You’ve got to do it. The walk between the meal and desserts helps clear room for more sweets too! Looks like prices in Charlotte are totally reasonable out to eat. Jealous!
Holy crap! Your outfit is amazing!
Looks like such a fun date night! How do you balance enjoying the evening with taking photos for the blog? I feel like if I tried, I would either forget to take any pictures, or be so busy trying to get a photo of our dinner that I forgot to talk to my husband.
After four years, I feel like it is almost second nature and I can do it quickly without it interfering. One thing I almost always do is try to “front load” my photos and snap four or five in the beginning of the night so I don’t have to worry about taking anymore (other than a quick food photo if necessary) as the evening goes on. Sometimes I do forget and it is actually Ryan who reminds me to take a picture of my dinner if it’s an experience I am planning to blog about. I think also not blogging about everything or every date is helpful so there are experiences that go undocumented that I don’t photograph.
Haha, my husband and I are exactly the same! Our babysitters are always surprised when we walk in so early! We’ll have to try this method 🙂
I’m with you! Catfish are super creepy. I eat any fish expect that one too.
I’m not a fast eater really, but since my husband always orders so much more food than me I find myself waiting for him most of the time ha!
My husband usually finishes before me, but that typically because I’m too busy yapping on about something to eat any faster 🙂 We also have a pet peeve about when the entrees are served while we are still eating our appetizer. So we always wait to order our entrees until the appetizer has arrived or we’ve made a dent in it. That also draws out the evening!
Jalepeno butter sounds divine! I think that’s the best thing about moving to a new place is getting to try all the local foods 🙂 Dessert of course looks amazing!
Yum those macaroons look so good!! I seriously need to just go buy one, because I have yet to try one! I would say talk, in between bites but haha my boyfriend is a fast eater and just talks while eating sometimes. Drives me crazy haha.
ha! My boyfriend is the fastest eater EVER. Thankfully I am really slow so that prolongs dinner a bit 🙂 I hate going to super busy restaurants because I feel stressed out that we need to hurry up and finish and leave!
So I totally had to go and google giant catfish and just oh my gosh, that’s all I can say!… eekss! I am the speediest eater, so I feel the pain! I usually just sit there awkwardly while everyone else or my date finishes. During family dinners, I will stall and let everyone else get their food first, then I will go use the bathroom and just dilly dally so they get a 3 minute head start on me. It’s bad!
The fact you told me to never Google “giant catfish” now makes me HAVE to Google it. UGH. The curious mind. Hahaha.
I get embarrassed how fast I eat! Not really, but I have a really hard time slowing down, haha. LOVE your outfit with the blue top and black high waisted number. So cute!
Cody and I are the same exact way! We talk, talk, talk, and then we get our food, and it’s like silence. We always joke that if someone else were to just see us eating, they’d think we really don’t like one another because we eat so fast and don’t say much between bites. Haha! It’s something I’ve gotten better at, but when I’m hungry and excited about what I’m about to eat, don’t get in my way! 😉 P.S. Love your cropped top and skirt! You rock it well!
That herbed jalepeno butter sounds like something I want to bathe in, haha! So good. Your outfit is adorable, by the way….I need to find a good crop top like that!
Well I wouldn’t say I was freaking out by catfish until now….lol 😉
cute date night outfit 🙂
I am such a fast eater! I blame my family, we are all terribly fast. I try to really think about putting my utensil down between bites!
Put your fork down after each bite and take a sip of water! It hasn’t become habit yet, but this super speedy eater is learning to take her time 🙂
The tofu looks amazing! I’m going to have to try to replicate it.
Loving your outfit… it is super cute! That tofu dish looks really tasty as well.
Those macaroons look amazing!! I’m definitely a fast eater and I don’t like it. I’m making a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy my meals.
I absolutely inhale my meals. Love the looks of that crop and maxi!
I HATE Catfish too!
Bottom feeders, like the garbage cans of the water.
Apparently they are super hard to kill (another don’t Google moment)
Never, ever EVER will I eat one. haha
Totally off topic, but wanted to let you know that I finally used the NTC app this morning! I took a spin class and then did one of the 15 minute core workouts since I feel like I haven’t been working my core as much as I’d like to lately. I really loved it and can’t wait to use the app more! Have a great day 🙂
I am such a fast eater and my best friend is the world’s slowest eater.. so I end up eating some of her food. I’m the worst.