By LIZ WEINDRUCH
DavidsonNews.net

Unless your grocery shopping trip includes a stop at a bakery for some artisan rolls, most of the time, the rolls or buns that hold your burgers are an afterthought. But, why? Don’t your hand-crafted, perfectly-seasoned, expertly-grilled burgers deserve better than a run-of-the mill, spongey platform for flavor conveyance?

I used to be intimidated by making breads and doughs, but these rolls are pretty hard to mess up. If you’ve never tried making your own bread, or if you’re intimidated by the prospect, these are the perfect way to start. The only taxing part of the process is the kneading, but if you have a standing mixer with a dough hook, you don’t even have to use your hands. RECIPE BELOW. Read the full story

Toast Cafe chef Julio Herres and co-owner Brian Burchill are opening a second location in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood. Here they are in the Davidson restaurant. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Toast Cafe´, a mainstay of downtown Davidson’s dining scene since 2008, is getting ready to branch out – to Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood. And as it does, its owners will be taking cues from the success of their Davidson restaurant, where weekend morning lines out the door are business as usual.

Co-owner Brian Burchill said this week he has signed a lease for the former Sunset Grille at 2400 Park Road in Dilworth. He’s currently lining up building and health permits, and after renovations hopes to open by late summer, as early as the end of August.
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By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

This recipe, from my dad, was one of the first in my collection. The 4 X 6 index card on which it is written is soft and crinkled from spills and splashes, and the ink is starting to bleed – battle scars from its regular place on the front line in my kitchen. It’s the perfect go-to weeknight comfort food, full of nutrients and easy on the wallet. And a great place to use some fresh, summer produce. Recipe below. Read the full story

Should restaurants be relaxed, should they try to enforce dress codes, or is there room for both? That’s a question prompted by one reader’s recent experience at a Davidson restaurant. Also below, Campania Cafe now has a full liquor license and it’s celebrating with martini specials.  Slow Food Charlotte has a soft-shell crab dinner in the works. And don’t forget the Soul Food Festival this weekend at Rural Hill.

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Don Rosenberg

Davidson Parks & Recreation department will offer a program called “Planning Your Fall Vegetable Garden” with Instant Organic Gardener Don Rosenberg on Wednesday morning, July 13.

Mr. Rosenberg is the owner of Instant Organic Garden and author of the book, “No Green Thumb Required! Organic Family Gardening Made Easy.”

The class will help you learn how to plan, build, plant and manage a fall garden that’s so productive it can feed two adults all year long, and is so easy, that anyone can do it – with no digging, tilling or weeding. 

This class will fill up fast, so please reserve your space early. Read the full story

South Main Square’s Restaurant X has revised its menu while Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse is adding a summer special – live Maine lobsters – four days a week starting next month. Also below, a preview of the 2nd annual Soul Food Festival at Rural Hill in Huntersville, and a tantalizing note about a possible new Moroccan restaurant in Cornelius. Read the full story