Baba Ghannouj, Wilmington, NC

In the Independence Mall in Wilmington sits a fairly typical food court, with one exceptional gem. Baba Ganoushj. From what I understand, this is not a chain, but rather a locally owned restaurant that once was someplace else.

Liz Biro from the Star News raved about this place in an article. In it she said that it wasn't typical mall food and looking at the counter, I could see what she meant. The salads in the display looked so good I just wanted to take a fork to them all.

I was still quite full from an omelet at Sweet and Savory, but I just had to try this so I decided to order light. I had the gyro meat for four bucks, two stuffed grape leaves at fifty cents each and kalamata olives for seventy-five cents. Total was six dollars for what you see in the picture.

The gyro meat was very good, cut thick, and they'd grilled it. The grape leaves were tasty and came with a very nice taziki sauce, which came in handy for the meat as I didn't order a side of it. After I finished I went from slightly full to very full, but it was worth it. Stop by and give them a try sometime.

The Reel Cafe, Wilmington, NC

We were looking for a nice place downtown that was a different, yet family friendly enough for eight adults and three children. My daughters suggested The Reel Cafe on Front Street so we walked down and looked at the menu in the window. I love it when a restaurant does this as we can decide whether they are what we are looking for or not.

In this case the menu looked good, as did the prices. Even better, kids eat free. One children's meal free with an adult meal. We went in and were seated immediately as it wasn't busy. I've been past here in the Summer and it is usually packed, especially at night.

We looked over our menus and made our choices. I have that soft spot for a burger with bacon and blue cheese, so that's what I ordered. I got the black and blue and added bacon which brought the price to ten bucks. I ordered it medium and it was closer to medium well, but still juicy and full of flavor. My son-n-law ordered the same burger, but well done. The beer special was White Wolf, an American Ale I believe, so I got one. It was okay, but for the second one I switched to a Fat Tire. That was much better.

The rest of our party ordered; a Black and Blue salad (blackened chicken over a salad with blue cheese), a fresh catch sandwich (grouper), a meatball sub, a crab sandwich, two chicken sandwiches, a kid's burger and two kid's chicken fingers. All were good and the total came to eighty bucks, plus tax and tip. The one drawback is the restrooms as they are on the second floor and were, shall we say in need of a cleaning. Definitely not handicapped accessible. Overall it was a good experience and we'll be back.

No website that I could find, but they do have a facebook page for more information, you'd have to friend them though.

Sweet and Savory, Wilmington, NC

I have a long list of places to try in Wilmington, NC. I also have a short list of places I really want to see. One of them is, or rather was, Sweet and Savory. My daughter and my grandchildren have been raving about Sweet and Savory for some time now and we were going to try them last summer, but we never got the chance. This short trip down we decided this was a must visit and we went there on Sunday for dinner. I can see what she meant, this place was great and it is now on my list of favorites.

The menu is extensive and they have plenty of specials. On Sunday one of them was all bar sandwiches for five dollars with the purchase of a drink or soup. I looked at the beer menu and noticed they had Scotch Ale from Front Street Brewery, so that was a no-brainer. I ordered a pint and got the English Burger, a very nicely done burger with grilled onions (sweet and red, I think wine was involved in the cooking), cheese and bacon on a toasted English muffin. Oh, and lettuce and tomato with chips on the side. It was excellent, tasty and fresh.

Teresa had the Carolina Burger with slaw and BBQ sauce, it looked as good as mine, and she had a seafood soup with it that tasted just fine. Mike had the Gyro, and Sarah had a wrap, both of them had black bean soup. The three kids had chicken nuggets with fries. The whole order came to fifty bucks, tax included. They are definitely family friendly with the prices.

Service was great. Taylor was attentive and caring. She apologized for the wait, but I thought everything came out fast. My youngest granddaughter dropped her pickle and one of the servers brought her two more to keep her happy. By the way, the bathrooms are clean, at least the men’s room was as that’s the only one I saw.

They have a website for more information.

Photos in order are; Gyro, Chicken nuggets, Carolina Burger and the English Burger.

We are headed back for breakfast soon to sample either an omelet or eggs benedict. I'll be posting that soon.