Restaurant Forty Six, Kannapolis, North Carolina

A short drive northeast of Charlotte along Interstate 85 will take you to the towns of Concord and Kannapolis, North Carolina. Kannapolis was home to the former Cannon Mill Village, which has now been refurbished into a mixed use development adjacent to the North Carolina Research Campus. I recently dined at Restaurant Forty Six, which is located within Cannon Village. The atmosphere is upscale and, although the menu isn't enormous, the food is delicious. I had a wonderful three course dinner consisting of the warm goat cheese salad (field greens, diced beet, tomato and pancetta with granny smith apple slices and dressed with bacon-balsamic vinaigrette, topped with warm goat cheese); Chicken Santorini (sauteed chicken with garden vegetables in a light tomato sauce with kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese topped with parmesan shavings); and, for dessert, the lemon berry mascarpone cake.

Warm goat cheese salad

Chicken Santorini

Lemon berry mascarpone cake

For More Information: Restaurant Forty Six, 101 West Avenue, Kannapolis, NC 28081

Cafe Sienna, Charlotte, North Carolina

At Cafe Sienna, in Uptown (City Center) Charlotte, North Carolina, diners enjoy a pleasant atmosphere and upscale cuisine touted as "Mediterranean Fusion." I dined at Cafe Sienna recently during Charlotte's restaurant week. My three course meal included French onion soup to start things off; filet mignon with asparagus, polenta, and shrimp; and creme brûlée for dessert.

Filet mignon with asparagus, polenta, and shrimp

Creme Brûlée

For More Information: Cafe Sienna Trattoria E Barra

Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe, Hoover, Alabama

Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe began in Birmingham and now has multiple locations around the metropolitan area and in a few other places. The photo below is from their Hoover, Alabama location, the largest suburb in Birmingham. Taziki's offers a wide array of Greek and Mediterranean inspired fare from a variety of salads and sandwiches, gyros and wraps, to entrées and daily specials, to desserts.

Herb roasted pork tenderloin, Greek salad, roasted potatoes, asparagus, pita, sweet tea

For More Information: Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe