What IS UP guys???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the excessive exclamatories, but today is my Friday 🙂

You know that feeling you get when you’re on the brink of heading out on vacation?  The excitement, and butterflies, and that never-freaking-ending list of things to do?  That’s where I’m at right now!  Granted, I’m only heading to Atlanta for the weekend–a mere 3 hour drive—but I’m still oober pumped to hit the road for a little rest and relaxation and some quality eat-my-face-off time

In all honesty, ever since moving to Charlotte it has kind of felt like I’m on a 24/7 vacation… well with the exception of those mandatory hours dedicated to work, of course.  Pretty much everything in this city is new to me, so every day provides the opportunity to get out and experience something different!

A couple weekends back, the BF and I decided to take a walk and do some exploring in The Queen City.  As we strolled uptown we stumbled upon Charlotte’s LGBT Pride Festival.  I swear there is some sort of festival every weekend here.  Barbeque, blues, nascar, gay pride and everything in between.  You name it, we’ve got it.  After elbowing our way through the crowd, we decided to head over to the EpiCentre for lunch at Mortimers courtesy of a Living Social Deal I snagged.

Baller.

The first time I went to Mortimers, I wasn’t super impressed.  But Jarrod had been there a time or two after that encounter and had raving reviews so I figured the Living Social deal was a good excuse to give it another go.  Let’s be honest.  I’m up for any excuse to use a coupon.  

The weather was perfect in Charlotte—mid 80s and gloriously sunny–so we plopped down at one of the tables outside.

Mortimers has a pretty extensive menu.  In’t it funny how that can be a very good thing (lot’s of options!) or a very bad thing (I can be slightly indecisive… can I take one of everything?!)?  Mortimers had SO MANY things on the menu that looked good.  Paninis, wraps, salads, burgers, quesadillas, chili cheese fries (*DROOL*).  Needless to say, I had a hard time deciding.

We decided on the Parthenon Pizza for our appetizer.  The menu touted this dish as pie cut grilled pita served with hummus, roasted red pepper tapenade & avocado spread.  Even with this description, I still envisioned a “PIZZZA” and was a little sad when the app arrived:

This does not say “PIZZA,”  and none of the three dips were all that great.  The pita bread however was warm from the oven and super soft in my mouth… Mmmmm I am such a sucker for all things bread.  I think I downed half the plate.  

Last time Jarrod went to Mortimers he had the Roast Beef Sliders ap and he couldn’t stop raving about them.  So next time we’ll go with the tried and true rather than venturing into the unknown.

Jarrod went with Landen’s Chicken Gyro and Coleslaw:

The Gyro was had grilled chicken, tomato, onion, some cucumber and lettuce, and a bit of tzatziki sauce:

By now Jarrod knows it’s mandatory to offer me a bite of his dish, so when he offered up a bite of the gyro I acted surprised by his sweet gesture then happily obliged 😉

The gyro was good, but my sandwich was GREAT.  Mwah hah haaaaaaaa.  I win the who-will-order-the-better-meal game again!

I got the Big Easy Wrap, complete with salsalito spiced turkey, bacon, pepper jack cheese, roasted red peppers, avocado, mixed lettuces, and Cajun-style mayo.  The wrap didn’t really remind me of any food I had when we were in New Orleans, BUT it did make my belly quite happy.

What DID remind me of New Orleans was the inside of Mortimers.  It was dim inside with dark wood covering every inch of the place.  The lights hung low from a decorative tray-tiled ceiling and made me feel like I’d stepped right into NOLA!

Overall Mortimers moved up a few notches from my last visit, and I’ll definitely head back again.

Now there’s just a few hours of work, one eyebrow wax, a trip to the dry cleaners, and a car wash between me and my mini vaca 🙂