Restaurant Reviews By Chef Paul

March 4, 2010

Josh’s

Josh’s restaurant, on Union Square in down town Hickory, has become a popular dining destination. We were amazed at the transformation of the dining room. The décor is modern, with colorful walls and great photos of Hickory adorning the walls, which gives the place local charm. The kitchen is open, which enables the guests to watch their meals being prepared by the chef.

The menu is full of exciting choices, and making the decision is difficult. The wait staff took care of our every need and explained the choices to us. My first choice was the chopped salad. The salad was fresh, and consisted of fresh greens, blue cheese and bacon crumbles. My wife, Jenn, enjoyed the house salad, which also looked amazingly fresh.

At Josh’s the customer chooses their entrée and the chef chooses the side dishes, which are served family style. I thought it was a neat idea since the sides really accent the main dish. We chose the beef tenderloin, and it was fantastic. The medium rare steak had a great brown sauce with fried onions on top. Chef Josh paired the beef with the grilled asparagus, roasted red potatoes, and sage fried corn.

We enjoyed both the meal and the service, but could not go home until we tried the blueberry cheese cake. The cake was creamy and full of flavor. I believe Josh’s will be here for a long time because of the great food and service.

Windy City Grill

Since most “Fork in the Road” articles have been about new comers, I thought why not go to a local land mark for lunch? Located on Hwy 127 North, Windy City Grill has been around longer than many folks have. The current location is the second in the history of the restaurant. The menu is full of classic café choices, and it is a great place to catch up on the latest news around town.

Truly a locals type of place, Windy City Grill fills up early in the morning with patrons wanting their fried livermush and coffee. I decided to swing by at lunch and chose the double cheeseburger, all the way. For everyone new to our area, that means chili, slaw, mustard and onions. The sandwich was made fresh right in front of me, not one that had been under a heat lamp, like some other places.

I decided some onion rings and a cold soda would be the best sides. And, as usual, the onion rings were crispy and hot. Well, I have to hit the road to scout out my next restaurant to visit. But, my lunch at the Windy City Grill hit the spot.