Half-Priced Bottle of Wine Night at Loft 1523

What could be a better end to a stressful week than sitting on a fabulous patio drinking fabulous wine poured by a fabulous bartender? I can't think of any, and that's exactly what I did tonight. On Tuesdays and Fridays at Loft 1523 bottles are half off, such a great savings. Plus, the bartender, Russ, is so great that he'll make sure that you get yourself the right bottle. When I walked up to the bar to order, I told him that I wanted a red and asked him what he recommended. He then asked me all sorts of questions like what is my favorite scent and what seasonings do I like to cook with. The result was me drinking the perfect Pinot Noir. And, no one could have planned that perfect weather last night, but it was a great time to be hanging out on Loft 1523's awesome patio. For those of you reading the blog from outside of Charlotte, I'll just describe my outfit for you: jeans, short-sleeve top, flip flops. Everyone really should live in Charlotte! Such a fabulous city for so many reasons!

Girls Night Out on a Tuesday

So, of course, Charlotte Restaurant Week can mean only one thing: Girls Night Out. I went with some of my ladies tonight to Customshop where we enjoyed a fabulous meal. For their $30 prix fixe menu, you could choose from one of two wines, one of three appetizers, one of three entrees, one of two sides and one of two desserts. That's a ton of food! Here's what I ate/drank: red wine, gnocchi with shrimp, chicken with pancetta and butternut squash, amazingly delicious brussels sprouts, and chocolate pate with shortbread. The only thing that I would change about my fantastic meal is that I would order the bread pudding instead of the chocolate pate, but since my ladies were happy to let me steal a few bites, I couldn't imagine a more delicious and fun night out. I would do many things for more of that gnocchi right now.

But wait, there's more! Two of my ladies and I weren't quite ready for our evening to be over, so we headed down to Loft 1523 and were happy to discover that it was half off bottle of wine night. The vibe in there is awesome and the bartender is amazing, everything that you could want from a bar. I immediately felt like a regular and that's a great feeling. So perfect.

Great food, great drinks, great conversations, great deals. What more could you ask for in a girls night out? I can't think of much!

Back for some more free wine!

Happy Beaujolais Nouveau Day! And, just try to keep me away from the free wine! My friend Sarah and I headed to Reid's today to see what the wine tastings were all about today during free wine week. Of course, they were pouring a Beaujolais Nouveau, which was amazingly delicious. It's a holiday that I always like to take part in. We actually had every intention to go up to the Mint Museum, but we were just having so much fun tasting the wines, and the pours were quite generous. I would say we both had about two full glasses of wine. I stuck to the Reds, but Sarah was tasting both Reds and Whites. Our favorite, though, was the Bliss Merlot. Plus, to make it even better, that's an $11.99 bottle of wine! Great wine for a great price, and the tastes are free? Fantastic!

Free Wine Tasting at Reid's

Reid's Fine Foods is kicking off the holiday season right, with free wine! I headed up to Reid's tonight with my friends, Erin and Anie and we were very happy to partake. Reid's is doing free wine tastings and free appetizer tastings all week. I would say that we probably each had enough samples to equal 1- 1 and a half glasses of wine. Did I mention that I love free wine?

Challenge Day 6- Arpa

Day six of the challenge was a ton of fun. I went to Arpa in uptown Charlotte with some girlfriends. The first Wednesday of every month Arpa offers 6 wine tastings and 6 tapas tastings for $12. It was an amazing deal and we had an amazing time. I especially liked that it made me try new foods and wines that I wouldn’t normally try on your own, and the best thing yet is that the tapas and wines are different each month. I very much enjoyed the watermelon gelee and the crab salad. The sommelier who brought us the wine was super educated and super entertaining and nice. Plus, the wines are all available for purchase and at cheap prices too. The most expensive one was $19/bottle and the least expensive one was $9/bottle, pretty cheap in the wine world. All in all, seriously, we had a great time. Check it out, check it out, check it out! I’ll be there the first Wednesday of September, I guarantee it. Also did I mention the great beer specials every Wednesday night? Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Amber are $2 each. Mich Ultra Amber is one of my favorite beers. 

Oh, and if you’re not feeling Wednesday night at Arpa, check it out on a Monday. All flatbreads are half price and all draft beers are $2 each. Can’t get enough of those tapas!