There is a hot restaurant in Charlotte that won several awards in 2018 called 5 Church. I was looking forward to having dinner there on my recent visit to the Queen City.
When I walked through the door I was blown away by the décor. There was a big tree at the hostess stand that lead you over to the bar. Hanging above the bar were feather lights that seemed to be floating in midair.
There were interesting light fixtures throughout, as well as a beautiful carved wood wall.
We started off with drinks for the table. After looking over the menu, everyone wanted to try the Rose flight. They brought out 4 different Rose wines on a slate tray. They were laid out driest to sweetest.
- Venve Devienne Brut Rose (bubbly)
- Twelfth Night Rose (Pinot Noir)
- Dornier Rose (Merlot)
- Whispering Angel Rose (Garnache/Syrah)
It was fun to drink these and see what everyone thought about the taste. Everyone had their own favorite. It id not seem like anyone could agree.
We ordered several appetizers to share around the table. The homemade black bean hummus was the first thing brought out. It had a creamy texture and went well with the fresh made crackers that came on the side.
The crispy calamari were out next. They were breaded and lightly fried. These were a different type of calamari that I usually find on the West Coast. These were in strips and were thick, but extremely tender. A lemon aioli, a sriracha cocktail sauce, and a sweet chili sauce were drizzled on the plate. This allowed each piece of calamari to have a little of each sauce. There were also some sweet mini peppers tossed with the calamari for added interest.
The last appetizer was everyone’s favorite – the Yellowfin Tuna Sushi Tots. They took sushi rice and shaped it into the size of a tater tot. Then they lightly breaded them with panko breadcrumbs and fried them up. Then on top they placed yellowfin tuna drizzled with sriracha mayo, unagi, nori, and toasted sesame seeds.
These did taste like sushi that was just sitting on crunchy rice. The flavor was fantastic. They could be eaten in just one bite. I could have eaten an entire plate of these all by myself.
For my dinner, I ordered the pan seared salmon. The salmon came with a charred scallion chimichurri on top. It was almost like a pesto sauce. The salmon was cooked great. It was moist and flakey. On the side there were roasted broccoli and a corn & lobster succotash. The corn was sweet, but I did not see enough lobster. They finished off the presentation by dusting the plate with black trumpet mushroom dust.
The sides all came a la cart. So, a couple were ordered for everyone to share. The braised collard greens came chopped up into nice small pieces, which made them easier to eat. They cooked the greens with smoky bacon, which tasted wonderful with the slight bitterness of the greens.
The mac and cheese could not be passed up. This was a white truffle mac and cheese with cheddar cheese. I could smell the earthy aroma from the truffles as soon as the dish was placed on the table. The truffles paired so well with the saltiness from the cheese. It was also extremely creamy.
The final side was the southern street corn. The corn was roasted so it had a slight hint of smokiness, but it was the corns natural sweetness that shined through. They sprinkled a little parmesan cheese over the corn. However, the fun element was the crunchy onions that they placed on top. It did add nice crunch and the saltiness of the onions complemented the sweet corn.
Now no dinner would be complete without sharing a few desserts around the table. The Pretzel Bar was something unique. This was constructed with a layer of crushed up pretzels to create the base. Then there were layers of caramel and milk chocolate and then topped off with dark chocolate. This really tasted like a candy bar. The pretzel was a little tough to cut through, but we managed. It was the perfect blend of sweet and salty. Plus, they served a homemade vanilla gelato on the side, which to me was a bonus dessert.
The second dessert was the Lemon Brule Tart. The tart shell was filled with a lemon curd and custard. It was topped with a blueberry Greek yogurt mousse and a chocolate disk for presentation. They also added a blueberry compote on the side. The compote was sweet and went well with the tartness from the lemon in the custard. The mousse was also sweet and creamy which also was another perfect complement to the lemon.
I had a fantastic meal at 5 Church. Every dish I tried was prepared perfectly. I would visit again the next time I am in Charlotte. It was a great experience and the staff was wonderful. They all really seemed to enjoy working there.
Check out their menu at www.5church.com
Enjoy!
T
