Restaurant Review: The Smoke Pit

For my review comeback, I’m doing another restaurant that our friends introduced us to and we enjoyed. This particular restaurant review is for their branch in Salisbury. They closed the location we ate at and moved to 509 Faith Rd. Salisbury, NC 28146. I’m hoping it’s still the same and will give you a feedback when we head there again on our monthly run to Charlotte.

The Smoke Pit restaurant is voted the Best BBQ restaurant by Trip Advisor in 2021. When we visited the place twice, we had roughly 5-10 mins wait. The place is packed and they do both take-out and dine in. Parking is street parking so it’s a hit and miss if there is a space in front of the restaurant. Store Hours: Mondays (Closed), Tuesday-Saturday (11am-9pm), Sunday (11am-8pm).

Advertisement

Restaurant Review: Dame’s Chicken and Waffles

Chicken and waffle combination is not something that I’ve tried until I moved to North Carolina. Waffle for me is sweet and eaten for breakfast. Fried chicken is usually associated with savory taste and a dish served for lunch or dinner. So combining chicken and waffles as a meal just boggles my mind.

My husband keep praising this restaurant in downtown Greensboro which he says serves the best Chicken and Waffles. The first time I tried it was when my brother came to visit last Christmas. Since it was still COVID, the number of tables available were few. We’re lucky that we didn’t have to wait and was seated right away. When my brother tried it, he said he wanted to come back as it was so good. He ordered a waffle and 4 chicken legs. As for me, I enjoyed my food and take back what I thought that chicken and waffles is not a good combination. One thing I love about this restaurant are their shmears!!

When In.. Beijing!

For the past 10 years, I’ve called Beijing my home. I’ve eaten in a lot of restaurants, been to a lot of places and experienced life living like a local. If you plan to visit Beijing, the top 4 places to visit would be Forbidden City, Great Wall (Mutianyu section please!), Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. However, if you talk about food, I give you fast 5 of Chinese cuisine you must try in Beijing: 

1. Beijing roast duck (aka Peking Duck): a must-eat food when you visit Beijing. The duck is roasted with wood in a stone oven rubbed with spices and no oil. Best to order this dish when you reserve a seat as it take quite some time to cook. The duck will be carved right in front of you for Instagram shots!  Notable restaurants are: Quanjude (Hepingmen Branch only, don’t bother with the other branches), Da Dong, Duck De Chine, Made In China (Grand Hyatt hotel). 

2. Jianbing and soy milk: the Beijing’s version of the breakfast of the champions. You can find them at street corners near office buildings. You have the option to go vegetarian or loaded with meat.   You may think it’s not too hygienic but nobody died yet!  Pair your jianbing with a hot soy milk.  

3.  Hotpot:  there are a lot of hotpot places that you can try in Beijing.  For the budget-conscious traveler,  Xiabu Xiabu (呷哺呷哺) offers the best deal.  For mid-range, go for Haidilao (海底捞) or Dong Lai Shun (东来顺).  Haidilao offers entertainment if you ordered their handmade noodles.  Dong Lai Shun serve their hotpot in a traditional pot.  There are different soup base to choose from (clear, spicy, tom yum, tomato), meats (lamb, pork, beef, seafood), vegetables, noodles/dumplings, sauces.

4.  Dumplings (饺子):  if noodles are considered the staple of the south, dumplings are considered the staple of the north.  A must-eat dish especially during Chinese New Year.  Families prepare their own dumplings and boil them to cook.  I miss the Chinese dumpling restaurant in front of our office building which serves good dumplings.  You can opt for vegetarian, meat lovers, seafood lovers or mixed fillings.  Some dumplings are wrapped in different colors from the usual white.

5.  Lamb Skewers (羊肉串):  the days where you can find in every corner a lamb skewer vendor who grills them as you wait are slowly dying.  My friends and I sometimes just sit outside on a warm balmy day with a bottle of cold beer and just these lamb skewers for dinner.  However, as the local government wanted to ensure the cleanliness and authenticity of the skewers, they are now mostly available in restaurants.  

There you have it!  Enjoy your stay in Beijing!

Photo credits:  Vivian Tang, thebeijinger

Hooters (美国猫头鹰餐厅)

Hooters in the US is known for their beautiful, well-endowed servers.  When Hooters opened in Beijing in 2007, foreigners particularly men flocked the restaurant hoping to be served by these beautiful, well-endowed servers.   However, they were disappointed as Asians are not known to be blessed with big breasts.  Reviews at that time were focused on their servers and not their food.

In any case, I only got the chance to visit this place last month after church.  It wasn’t full as it’s a Sunday and to make up for their lack in bust size, they perform a 30 second dance routine almost every half an hour.  Service was great and the place is filled with flat screen TV tuned in to different sports channel.

Sukhothai Imperial (粟库泰泰式餐厅)

If you’re a Christian expat, you might be worshipping at BICF 21st Century.  If you’re like me, you would be one of the people who attend the 1130am worship service and thus will come out hungry afterwards.  Luckily, Lucky Street (好运街) is just beside 21st Century Hotel.

Lucky Street is a block of restaurants and bars for the hungry and night owls.  In this stretch, Sukhothai beckons to all Thai food lovers.  They have the traditional Tom Yam Kung Soup (RMB28/bowl), Som Tam Thai (Green Papaya Salad, RMB 29), Pad Thai (Rice Noodles with Shrimp and Peanuts, RMB 36) and Rung Nok (Sweet Bird’s Nest with Thai Coconut Milk, RMB 68).  The food their is tasty with a twist of Chinese to cater to the local people.  The interior of the restaurant is typically Thai and they also sell Thai jewelry and gift items.  Oh yeah.. slide the door to your right and not push when you enter the restaurant.