The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 123

In Episode #123 proudly recorded at The Lab at Industry Hill:

Tim and Ray talk about:

  • Caitlin Weaver, former co-host on The Less Desirables podcast visits the studio and talks foodstuffs with Tim and Ray.
  • Daniel Butner and Carrabba’s is doing awesome things in the community, including the Oncology/Hematology Prom, as well as a wine dinner and this Friday, he’s feeding the road crew that’s doing the work on Old Business 40/Salem Parkway!
  • Tim will be judging a chili/stew cookoff at The Big Sip, presented by Piedmont Local Magazine/336 Events on October 5. More details including purchasing tix here.
  • Hot Dog Tasting Trolley Tour is rescheduled for October 5. You can purchase discounted tix using the code “Man5” on this link.
  • Update on Summer of Burgers Tour.
  • Food holidays and history.

Don’t forget our sponsors:

DiLisio’s Italian Family Restaurant Italian food like you’re sitting, eating in Naples. Wonderful Italian dishes from traditional spaghetti and lasagna to contemporary delights. Rich, flavorful sauces, a variety of pasta options, seafood, meat and more. Just south of Downtown and Business 40 (SOB40).

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

Bon Appetit!

The Kids In Need Foundation Partners with Carrabba’s Italian Grill to Host Back-to-School Fundraiser

This is a press release by PR Newswire. I talked with Daniel Butner, the Proprietario of the local Carrabba’s in Winston-Salem and he says that there are 14 WSFCS teachers that are in the running. Just another way that Carrabba’s is supporting local and being a “responsible chain.” Go out to Carrabba’s on August 14 to help these teachers!


The Kids In Need Foundation (KINF), a national non-profit dedicated to providing free school supplies to students most in need, will partner with Carrabba’s Italian Grill to host a Back-to-School Wine Pairing Dinner at over 200 Carrabba’s Italian Grill locations throughout the U.S on August 14.

For thirty years, Carrabba’s Italian Grill has been committed to supporting local communities. The Carrabba’s Cares program allows restaurants to raise funds for local non-profit organizations, making an impact in their immediate community. There are several ways diners can get involved to help:

  • RSVP for a Back-to-School Dinner. Carrabba’s Italian Grill will donate two dollars to KINF for every Back-to-School Wine Pairing Dinner sold and diners can reserve their seat at www.carrabbas.com/carrabbascares.  
  • Round Up Your Check. All week long from August 12 through August 18, Carrabba’s Italian Grill guests can also opt to round up their check in order to make an individual monetary donation to KINF in the amount of the nearest rounded dollar.

“The Kids In Need Foundation has donated over $1 Billion in school supplies to kids most in need around the country,” said Dave Smith, executive director of The Kids In Need Foundation. “As back to school season approaches, we are on a mission to ensure every child is prepared to learn and succeed in the classroom. We are grateful to Carrabba’s for their partnership and vison in helping us serve local communities around the country.”

The KINF Back-to-School Dinner will be hosted on a national scale, however, local kids, teachers and classrooms will benefit from the proceeds of the event. Carrabba’s Italian Grill and KINF will identify teachers with current applications on the SupplyAClassroom.org platform, who are located near Carrabba’s restaurant locations, to receive support from the event.

KINF’s SupplyAClassroom.org platform is a way for local donors to locate and directly support classrooms that are meaningful to them. Each summer, teachers from across the country can submit a personal statement and share how the classroom supplies will impact their students. Donors can search for a specific teacher, a city or state, or school district and find classrooms in a community in need of support. Donors can fund all or a portion of the school supplies, called Classroom Supply Boxes, or even fund multiple schools within a district.

“We are thrilled to partner with KINF and support its important, local work in each of our Carrabba’s Italian Grill communities,” said Mike Kappitt, President of Carrabba’s Italian Grill. “Our guests share Carrabba’s long standing mission to give to those in need and we look forward to raising much needed funds for KINF through our fundraising efforts.”

For more information about KINF’s Back-to-School Dinner and to RSVP to attend, please visit www.carrabbas.com/carrabbascares.

About The Kids In Need Foundation
The Kids In Need Foundation’s mission is to ensure that every child is prepared to learn and succeed in the classroom by providing free school supplies nationally to students most in need. The Kids In Need Foundation, a national 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1995, has distributed $1 Billion in school supplies since the Foundation’s inception; and benefitted more than 6 million students and nearly 200,000 teachers in 2018. For more information, visit KINF.org, and join us on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram: @KidsInNeed.

About Carrabba’s Italian Grill®
Offering authentic Italian cuisine passed down from our founders’ family recipes, Carrabba’s uses only the best ingredients to prepare fresh and handmade dishes cooked to order in an open chef’s kitchen. Featuring a wood-burning grill inspired by the many tastes of Italy, guests can enjoy signature dishes, including Chicken Bryan, Pollo Rosa Maria, Wood-Fire Grilled Steak and Chops, Small Plates and sautéed-to-order Italian Pasta dishes in a welcoming, contemporary atmosphere. Carrabba’s consistently ranks as a favorite in the Consumer Picks Survey by Nation’s Restaurant News. For more information, please visit www.Carrabbas.comwww.Facebook.com/Carrabbas or www.Twitter.com/Carrabbas.

The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 122

Shrimp Cocktail from Butcher & Bull

In Episode #122 proudly recorded at The Lab at Industry Hill:

Tim and Ray talk about:

  • Little Richard’s Bar-N-Que opens on Stratford.
  • Tim gives reviews of Butcher & Bull and Skrimp Shack.
  • Abbott’s Frozen Custard and The Habit Burgers to open in Clemmons.
  • Hot Dog Tasting Trolley Tour is rescheduled for October 5. You can purchase discounted tix using the code “Man5” on this link.
  • Update on Summer of Burgers Tour.
  • Food holidays and history.

Don’t forget our sponsors:

DiLisio’s Italian Family Restaurant Italian food like you’re sitting, eating in Naples. Wonderful Italian dishes from traditional spaghetti and lasagna to contemporary delights. Rich, flavorful sauces, a variety of pasta options, seafood, meat and more. Just south of Downtown and Business 40 (SOB40).

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

Bon Appetit!

Better Late Than Never – Butcher & Bull

A few months ago, when Butcher & Bull opened their doors, they had a media preview night and while I try to always get to those, I had a prior commitment that night and couldn’t make the event at the Marriott in downtown Winston-Salem. But, thanks to Chef Richard Miller and Meagan Byrne at Bolt PR, Stephanie and I finally got my tasting, so we made it a date night.

Arugula Salad

The decor is more straight-lined and gray than I expected but it was modern and welcoming. I thought it looked great in there. While there were some “standard” restaurant fixtures, they remodeled the restaurant into a destination. We liked it a lot, especially the focus on the “bull” aspect. But, other than what to expect whilst eating there, you didn’t come here for interior design lessons. You came here for the food. Let’s do that!

Bison Carpaccio

Chef Richard started us off with a salad. Yeah, a salad. This was the “Arugula Salad” and had baby kale, toasted almonds, shaved fennel, beets, feta and a brown butter miso vinaigrette. I generally do not eat beets as I feel they taste like I’m eating dirt. But, I ate every bite of this salad. I tried to get all of the feta, all of the miso dressing, the almonds, everything. To me, it had a lovely nutty/earthy quality that was very appealing and mixed with the umami miso, the peppery arugula and toasted almonds made this a savory-like salad. I really enjoyed it. Stephanie did as well. It went well with her red wine and my salty gose.

That’s when the fun really started. You know when I say fun that usually means meat! And, since this is a twist on the modern steakhouse, you’d expect meat. How about Bison Carpaccio? Very thinly sliced extra rare bison topped with a quail egg, “Everything Bagel” seasoning, more arugula and Manchego cheese. It also included caper berries which I’ve never had before. I have had, and love, capers but never one of these beauties. The bison was so thinly sliced that they wilted around the fork as I placed it on Stephanie’s and my plates. So, delicate, so tender and so delicious. Mixing the cheese and quail egg around it was tangy and semi-sweet all at the same time.

Smoked Shrimp Cocktail

Next was the Shrimp Cocktail. Boring, right? Not!!! It comes out on a plate with a glass cover and you can barely see what is inside the glass dome because it is so smokey. Cold smoke, actually. When Chef Richard removed the dome, the aroma of the smoke attacked the senses and it was amazing. These shrimps were anything but. They were rather large, drizzled with preserved lemon and sitting on a housemade cocktail sauce mixture of not ketchup like many generic cocktail sauces can be but a tomato jam with horseradish mixed in. And, if you’ve ever read my reviews before you know that Stephanie and I are both fans of pea shoots. The crunchy, earthy greens were the perfect topping for this dish. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and smoked. There was much rejoicing.

Spanish Octopus

Then came the Spanish Octopus. I love octopus. When we have sushi, I like “extra” octopus. It can be chewy, yes, but I really enjoy it. So, this came to us with crisp-yet-tender cauliflower, chorizo bits, a creamy sauce and a tangy chimichurri sauce. The octopus itself was not tough. Its texture was somewhere between a scallop and shrimp. Not mushy and not chewy. It was just right. All the flavors made a delicious plate of goodness. I had to point out the chorizo bits to my girl as she was skipping them, mistaking them for pieces of the cauliflower and octopus. Delicious.

Wagyu Shoulder Tenders

The “real meat” was on its way, next. The Wagyu Shoulder Tenders had their turn. Chunks of pure perfection. They were all done medium rare and had a crusty outer layer that was perfectly seasoned. Very earthy, salty, peppery and was like a hug for the shoulder. You could see the juices between the fibers of the meat and that made it even more appealing. Like most of Butcher & Bull’s steaks (from what I can tell), they come with blistered cherry tomatoes. These things were on the verge of popping but, man… the flavor burst when you bit into it was amazing. Because I was savoring the taste of the beef, I was neglecting the tomatoes but put a bulb on one of the last pieces of this I had and it was a party in my mouth. Acidic. Juicy. Tangy. Savory. Divine. Should I keep coming up with descriptors?

The Bone-In Dry-Aged Ribeye was the last of the big stuff. Although, Chef did ask if we

Bone-In Dry-Aged Ribeye

wanted more meat. I assured him that we had had our fill after this plate. Again, prepared medium-rare, If you’ll remember back when Chef Richard was on our podcast he talked about the dry-aged beef. Dry-aging allows for more flavor and tenderness to permeate through the meat. This plate arrived with a huge bone with the meat morsels already cut for us, more for presentation, I believe. Chef explained that usually it comes intact but he cut it up for us. So tender and being a ribeye, there was a good bit of fat on it. But, as we know, fat equals flavor. It wasn’t so much fat you couldn’t eat it. It was enough fat to make the flavors burst, plus the seasoning on it was making it even better.

Cheesecake

Finally, after we had had enough of heavenly meat, we were treated to the no-frills Cheesecake. It was “plain” (a misnomer, of course), nary a compote to be found, on a graham cracker crust and served with house-whipped cream. It was anything but plain, but it had no “toppings.” And, it didn’t need any. Truth is, we ate the cheesecake with only a bit of time paying any kind of attention to the whipped cream, and even that was delicious. I just didn’t think the cheesecake needed anything but its own volition to make my palate happy. And it did just that.

Chef Richard Miller

There’s a reason why Chef Richard Miller won the NC Competition Dining championship a few years back. That reason is that he’s that darned good. He has great culinary ideas and the culinary skills to back those ideas up. That, and he has an amazing team that he can depend on. The flavors were lightyears beyond ordinary. They were adventurous, experimental, subtle, bursting, everything rolled up in one. A true culinary delight. This is a premier location in this city and if you haven’t tried it, or you haven’t booked your own dinner there, you are doing yourself a disservice. It isn’t often that I attend a tasting where every plate is on par with the one before it. Usually, there are fluctuations, but not this time. Trust me.

Visit their website. Give them a call at 336-722-5232. Use Open Table or any other reservation apps. Just get over there. Sooner than later. Butcher & Bull is located in the Marriott downtown, 425 N. Cherry Street.

Thank you, Chef Richard, Butcher & Bull, Meagan Byrne, Bolt PR, for a most fantastic meal and evening.

The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 121

Sentinel Commons artist rendering (©Sentinel Commons)

In Episode #121 proudly recorded at The Lab at Industry Hill:

Tim and Ray talk about:

  • Nick and Cole from Linville Team Partners and Stuart from Lambert Architecture talk about plans for Sentinel Commons.
  • Adam Andrews to open Young Cardinal Cafe in Hutch & Harris dining room spot.
  • Irie Rhythms is now Sea Breeze Island Cuisine.
  • Could ABC stores in NC be a thing of the past? It could if this bill passes the NCGA!
  • Downtown Grocery Store talk quelled once again.
  • Food holidays and history.

Don’t forget our sponsors:

DiLisio’s Italian Family Restaurant Italian food like you’re sitting, eating in Naples. Wonderful Italian dishes from traditional spaghetti and lasagna to contemporary delights. Rich, flavorful sauces, a variety of pasta options, seafood, meat and more. Just south of Downtown and Business 40 (SOB40).

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

Bon Appetit!