We recently returned from North Carolina where the grandkids and their parents live. This trip we all went to Charlotte, NC (a wonderful city I'm looking forward to visiting again!) for the weekend- and tried two of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: a little burger place called The Penguin (#14) and a fresh cantina called Cabo Fish Tacos (#15). DDD places are always an adventure- you never know what you're going to get (and I mean that in the best possible way!). Sometimes the places look like real dives on the outside, someplace I probably wouldn't go on my own. Other times they look fairly upscale. What I've learned in our quest to eat at as many DDD places as we can is that looks can be deceiving... but sometimes they're not.
We arrived at The Penguin about 1:00-ish and waited at least 45 minutes for a table. We were told there is often a much longer line. The outside is fairly nondescript with a diner-like appearance. The interior carries on the diner theme with a jukebox (or "juice box" as the little kids called it!) and some neon signs- but the wooden booths and tables stand in stark contrast. We tried the fried pickles (a DDD item) which were pretty good although a tad greasy. Finally our burgers arrived. They were tasty but not spectacular. Perhaps we were expecting more because of the wait... but we all agreed we probably wouldn't wait 45 minutes there again. After returning home, I checked restaurant reviews and learned that the old management (that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) sold The Penguin and opened a new place a few miles away where the food and service is outstanding. Perhaps we'll try it on a future trip!
There is a bench for waiting customers to use; we got to sit on it five minutes before our name was called!
Cabo Fish Taco was a different experience altogether. It is located in a cute revitalized area of downtown that has an urban/college feel to it. Our server was attentive and didn't seem to mind the large group with four kids. The guacamole and salsa were very good; but the tavarua (pronounced tav-a-roo) tuna tacos were to die for! The menu description- "Blackened lemon-rubbed tuna in a kiwi-pineapple fajita sauce, stuffed with lettuce, tomato, mixed cheeses and topped with our honey-wasabi sauce..." - doesn't quite do them justice. Absolutely, hands down, the best fish taco I've ever had!
It had been a cold, rainy day and as night fell, the rain turned to snow. Our table was in the little alcove to the left of the door and we watched the snow fall as we ate and talked and laughed!
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