Monday, September 26, 2011

Giveaway! Zink, American Kitchen

I really love promoting restaurant events.  It supports local business, everyone gets to eat good food, etc.  So when I heard that Zink, I restaurant I've been meaning to go visit anyway, was doing a Facebook fan drive I was, naturally, excited by the news.  If they reach 750 fans by September 30, they will have a special celebration for said fans on October 5.

But, I don’t like to talk about restaurants I haven’t yet tried (I don’t mind putting the news out there in our current events column, but I don’t blog about it).  So, I tried to go to lunch using a handy Living Social deal I've had tucked away.  Unfortunately, my various attempts at taking people out to lunch failed (seriously, who DOESN’T want a free lunch!).  However, fate intervened and the lovely folks at Zink stepped in and invited me to dine.  So, please note my review may be a bit biased. 

When I got to the restaurant (15 minutes late, thanks to some car issues), I wasn’t sure how hungry I was going to be, but as I stepped in, the lovely scent of the kitchen began to convince me I could probably eat.  We sat down at the inviting booth, and began our lunch.  I looked over the menu, and couldn’t quite make up my mind, so my dining companion suggested the flatbread.  I started with a shrimp and local squash flatbread with sweet (caramelized) onions and goat cheese.  Some people may object to the amount of onion on the flatbread, however, I could eat solely caramelized onions for a meal and be quite content, so it wasn’t a problem for me.  The summer squash was perfect, and the shrimp and goat cheese added the perfect flavor.  It was sweet, smoky and delicious.

As I go back to the menu, I can’t imagine how I settled on the crab cakes.  I don’t know why I didn’t try the lobster club, or the fish tacos, or the duck leg (which my dining companion had, and it looked amazing, with a generous side of rich and creamy mac ‘n cheese).  Why didn’t we get the truffle-parmesean housemade fries, or the blue cheese potato chips, or any of the “Five and Dime” $10 entrees.  The menu is full of terrific sounding items that could take a while to go through.  The menu items average around $12, a perfect price for lunch.  The portions are perfect, with enough to take home if you want to, but not so much that you will be useless for the rest of the day if you eat it all.

Back to the crab cakes.  They were amazing.  The two cakes were on a bed of baby greens, peaches, and pickled onions.  The dressing wasn’t my favorite, but the peaches were terrific, the crab cakes were delightful, and the pickled onions added the right amount of zing. 

Unfortunately, I had to run out before we could take on the idea of dessert (to pick up my son at school), but I will be back (I still have that Living Social deal, which runs out later this week, so I’ll be back very soon!). 

Most importantly, you, too, can be treated to a meal at Zink, as they are partnering with Charlotte Food Talk to bring you $50 to spend at Zink.  To enter this giveaway, you must be a fan of Charlotte Food Talk on Facebook and be a fan of Zink on Facebook.  You can have an optional second entry if you sign up to follow Charlotte Food Talk on Twitter.  To enter, fill out the form below, and be sure to include your email address and phone number so we can contact you.  The contest will end on October 2 at noon.  We will announce the winner (chosen, as usual, by random.org) on October 3.

Giveaway Closed

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