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| - Disclaimer--This review is clearly biased because my fiance proposed to me here (I accepted!). Also, we visited first week of May, so this review is several weeks overdue.
I've been hearing about Charlotte's burgeoning local food scene for a while, so when I had the opportunity to visit the city, i was super excited to try out a few restaurants. Thanks to Yelp!, I decided on 5Church for dinner on one of the nights.
We started off with a bottle of malbec, the truffled mushroom pierogies, and the romaine wedge. The malbec, Twigs Reserva, was a recommendation from our server, Brandon. It was a good showcase of what an excellent malbec can be--luscious, full of flavor, but still delicate and silky. As for the appetizers, both were stellar. I would definitely order the pierogies again. What's not to love about delicious, pillowy dough and savory mushrooms? Also, the peperoncini in the wedge salad (are they housemade?) were surprisingly tart and delightful. I love well-prepared little flourishes.
For the main course we split the seared sea scallops (slightly different preparation than the one on the menu right now) and mac and cheese. I am a huge scallop snob and 5Church's won me over right away because they were excellently seared. However, the mac and cheese (no longer on the menu) was a disappointment. Though it looked deliciously creamy with a nice crunchy topping of (panko?) breadcrumbs, the first bite was oily with a curiously metallic after taste. As soon as we told Brandon, he whisked it off and took it off our check--what great service! He also asked us exactly why we didn't like it so he could tell the chef.
We ended the meal with a decadent chocolate trifle with marshmallow sauce. Very sweet and rich but so unique! And the portion was large enough to take some back to the hotel for a late-night snack. Around the same time, my fiance proposed and I have to mention how wonderful the staff was. Not only did Brandon bring out a bottle of prosecco for us to enjoy, the manager came by to congratulate us. Thanks 5Church, for not only a memorable meal but also exemplary service. We will be sure to visit the next time we are in town!
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