Started from the bottom now…….. we’re seniors??

I remember being in the eighth grade and thinking that I was the big man on campus. And now eight years later, I’ve somehow found myself in the same situation now that I’m officially a senior. Classes at Wake started this past Tuesday and I moved into my apartment last weekend, which is so crazy because it feels like I just moved in for my freshman year.

 

The night before we made the drive up to Winston-Salem, my dad and I ate dinner at the Beach Club on the island. They’ve totally redone the menu since the last time I ate in the restaurant (probably about a year ago) but the food was just as delicious.

We split a bottle of red wine as we perused the menu before ordering an appetizer of calamari to share. While I liked the calamari, it was a bit too salty for my taste and neither of us were fighting for the last piece, if you catch my drift.

While I’m not exactly sure what kind of wine it was, the brand was Pirouette and I would definitely recommend it. I’m relatively new to the red wine scene, so I still find the flavor overwhelming at times but this bottle was quite pleasant to drink.

For my entrée, I ordered the lobster pappardelle while my dad ordered the half chicken breast with seasonal vegetables. Both dishes were fantastic and I proud to say that I was an official member of the clean plate club!

Dessert is obviously the most important meal of the day, so we ordered a trio of ice cream scoops to share. We ordered Tahitian vanilla ice cream, Almond Joy ice cream and blueberry coconut sorbet. I skipped the Almond Joy because it had chunks of chocolate in it, but my favorite was definitely the blueberry coconut sorbet.

We headed out on the road around noon the next day, stopping for a short lunch break at Chick-Fil-A. I rarely eat fast food but I was happy to make an exception for waffle fries.

After moving in (my room’s still a mess so no pictures yet!), the three of us got dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Winston–Mozelle’s Fresh Southern Bistro. On the corner of the main street that runs right through the heart of the downtown area, Mozelle’s has indoor/outdoor seating and, true to claim, the atmosphere is lively and always packed with both students and families.

Dad and I shared another bottle of wine as we chatted about my plans for the following days and what we were going to do for breakfast the next morning. I started out dinner with the tomato bisque while both mom and dad ordered salads.

Because you can never go wrong with mac ‘n cheese, we ordered a side of it to share before our entrées came out. Cheese and carbs are always a big hit with the Lang family.

I ordered the appetizer-sized scallops because I knew I wouldn’t be super hungry by the time the entrées came out after everything else we had to eat. The scallops were paired with a butternut squash purée and a snap pea risotto, and it was so so so good. I’ve eaten at Mozelle’s several times over the past three years but it was the first time I’d ordered the scallops and they’re definitely now my favorite dish on the menu.

Mom ordered one of the daily specials, tile fish, while dad ordered a dish that Mozelle’s is known for–bacon wrapped meatloaf. I didn’t manage to get a picture of his meal but I think more restaurants should be jumping on that bandwagon.

The next night, a group of friends and I went out to dinner at a restaurant right down the road from Wake. Fratellis opened my sophomore year at Wake but we’ve never adventured inside before this past Sunday. We were a large party and although my pasta was delicious, the service was achingly slow and the waiters were on the weird side. But when you’re surrounded by friends it’s hard to be “hangry” especially when you’re laughing so hard your sides are splitting.