13 - Chef Warren's (Southern Pines, NC)

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Hey there, welcome back to the Biscuits and Gravy podcast. I'm Michelle. I have a little bit of a croak in my throat. Sorry. This weather has been nuts around here lately, which we live in North Carolina, so that's kind of to be expected, but anytime the weather is like back and forth, back and forth like this, it's like 80 degree, almost 80 degrees one day and sunny. And then the next day it can be 40 degrees and cold. And.

00:30
rainy and nasty. So anyways, got a little, I feel fine. I just got a little bit of a something going on in my throat here. So I am so glad to be able to record the next couple of episodes today so that I get a little bit ahead of myself and I'm not scrambling to find time where my children are busy and I can record these podcasts for a podcast episodes for you. I really enjoy doing this.

00:58
but sometimes it is a bit of a logistical problem to get them done for you in a timely manner. So, and I've got several things coming up. I'm actually going on another excursion this week with my son. Hopefully he's deciding if he wants to go with me or not. But I'm gonna go to a restaurant this week. And then I've got some other fun things coming up soon.

01:25
a coffee shop that is near and dear to me that I would like to do a feature on and then I've got a couple of like actual stays not restaurants that I'm gonna feature And you guys when I asked you on Instagram what you'd like to see Or here on the podcast The majority wanted to hear recipes. So I hope you enjoyed the hoe cake recipe from last week

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and I've actually heard from several of you in person about that. and that you listen to the episode and that's the same way that your mother or grandmother made hoe cake. and so it was good to know like I wasn't alone in how I made hoe cake and how my grandmother made hoe cake. and I did confirm with my mom she said yes I had it right. that's the way that my grandmother made the hoe cake. but if you'll listen to that episode then you'll

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hear about the different variations of hoe cake and how people made them through the centuries really. So I'd still love to hear from you about that if you've got some thoughts or if you want to share your story about hoe cake you're welcome to do that. I'd love to hear it. And please, if you particularly like a podcast episode, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear from you on Instagram or email.

02:51
or if you'd leave us a rating and review, then I'll actually read the review in a future podcast episode. I would love that as well. And that just helps us to get more viewers, more listeners across the airwaves. So thank you so much in advance for that. Okay, so let's dive into today's episode, which is about Chef Warren's, which is a restaurant. It is...

03:19
It was designed as a turn-of-the-century French bistro, their website says, in Southern Pines, North Carolina, which has become one of my favorite little places. It's just a really, really cute small town. It's got a lot of history to it and there are a lot of really neat businesses there and shops and restaurants like Chef Warren's that's there.

03:49
Chef Warren's is owned by Marianne and Warren Lewis and they have quite a quite a menu and it's all very upscale and I mean I'm just looking right now at their menu and they've got actually like loin of kangaroo on their menu and they

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lobster and buffalo milk burrata salad which is actually something that i got some will tell you about that in a minute and um all kinds of cool stuff they've they've got some vegetarian dishes if you don't want meat but they have a lot of really good sounding meat on here so um adam and i went to chef warren's for our anniversary our

04:49
and it was our 16th anniversary. We didn't really know what we were gonna do. And to be honest, there are times, as I'm sure there are in your lives, that it just doesn't seem very convenient to have date night. This was one of those times that this didn't seem very convenient to have a date night, even though it was our anniversary, even though we felt kind of like we should be celebrating, you know.

05:17
but it just wasn't and it just worked out that way. I'm kind of glad that this was not, like Chef Warren's did not know that we were coming and that we were gonna do a podcast episode. This was not a sponsored episode or anything like that. And so I'm kind of glad for that because we were not on our A game that day. In fact, I posted something on Instagram. I think it was like the day after or something. And, you know, just

05:46
just my thoughts on marriage and how, you know, every day is not gonna be an A game day. And you have to just keep holding on to each other and keep going, you know, keep going. And so that it kind of was a perfect picture of that, I think was our date at Chef Warren's. We enjoyed it even though we were both very, very tired. We were both, it was just, it had just been a hard week, you know, it had just been one of those weeks. And so,

06:16
We were glad to have some time that was quiet. You know, the kids were with grandparents and we were able just to go and spend time with each other. But we honestly barely spoke the whole time. I had made reservations, so they have on their website and it's just chefwarrens.com. I'll put this in the show notes as well so you can check them out. But you can make a reservation through OpenTable on their website. And they will ask you,

06:47
if this is for a special occasion, so I put anniversary. I had read some reviews about Chef Warren's and some different stories from people that have said that they really do make special occasions feel very special. And a lot of times people would say they would go back to Chef Warren's every year for this certain special occasion because it's a really nice place to eat and they make you feel very special. So...

07:16
I thought that was a good place for us to go for our anniversary. So when we got there, our reservations were early because we have to get up so early and this is about an hour drive from our house. So we actually made reservations for four or five. It was whenever Chef Warren's actually opens. And so we stood outside for a minute and I just admired their little patio seating area and just the outside of their building.

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If you would like to see pictures of the outside and the inside of their building and the pictures from of the food that we actually ate there, then that will be accompanying this podcast episode on our website, biscuitsandgravypodcast.com. And you can go and check all that out together while you listen to the episode. So

08:13
We just hung out outside for just a few minutes and just people watched us, something we like to do too. And you know, all these people walking their dogs and that kind of thing and just waited for the restaurant to open. So we waited a few minutes after our reservation. Well, no, I'll take that back. I think it was right at our reservation time. Cause I was like, I want them to know that we're here. So walked in and they had been on vacation. And so they had just opened their restaurant back up for the very first time.

08:43
since being on vacation for like a week. So they were still kind of like trying to get the table set right, you know, all these white linen tablecloths and candles. It was very low lit. It was just beautiful. The inside, it was just something that I, it was a restaurant that I liked, the ambiance of a restaurant that I really liked. And, you know, Adam doesn't give a flip about stuff like that, but I love a good low lit.

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romantic restaurant. And I believe it was Marianne, one of the owners who greeted us and she asked if we had a reservation and I told her we did and it was right then at four o'clock and she said, if you'll forgive us, we have been on vacation so we're just trying to, you know, button up some loose ends here and then we'll be able to see you very quickly. And so they were still trying to...

09:41
set up and put centerpieces out and that kind of thing. And so she saw our reservation. We stood there for just a few seconds. It wasn't long at all. And she sat us down and then she started preparing the table. She said, I hear you're celebrating your anniversary. And so she sprinkled out some little like confetti, like gold confetti on the table. And

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lit some candles and so it was just neat because she she wanted our our table to look special and to be different just because we were there to celebrate something so i thought that was really a nice little touch that they do that not not a lot of restaurants would do um okay so we ordered we thought about ordering a an appetizer but we ended up

10:36
not. I was really not wanting something super heavy. I was really interested that night in like a soup and salad. So I ended up ordering the traditional French onion soup and also like I mentioned earlier the crisp North Carolina buffala milk burrata which was the salad that I ordered. And I had never had burrata before but let me tell you.

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it is amazing. And I would definitely get that again. That was probably my favorite thing that we had because I tried a little bit of Adam's dish as well, which he ordered the pan-seared Icelandic salmon. And it came with leeks and potatoes and a saffron muscle cream. And his was really good. I did try his, but I really...

11:34
really enjoyed my salad. That was my favorite part and he helped me with my salad and I think that might have been his favorite as well. So if we do go back to Chef Warren's, I know the salad is going to be on my radar. The French onion soup was good but it was not my favorite. It was actually a little bit too sweet for me. I don't know if it was that the onions were very sweet onions. They were caramelized onions. I'm not sure why but that

12:02
the soup was just not my favorite. I think I was wanting it to be a little more salty instead of sweet. And, you know, I mentioned this many times that I don't particularly love sweet things. I do have dessert every once in a while, but I don't usually eat sweets. So, Adam ended up eating most of my soup for me, but like I said, loved, loved, loved my salad.

12:32
Alright I'm pulling up my pictures right now so I can look and just so I can remember what I want to mention to you guys on this episode. The food was beautiful. I'm looking at the pictures right now. The food was just beautiful. Like I said the place setting, the restaurant itself was beautiful. It did remind me of something very old worldy. Something European.

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I think they hit the mark with that when they designed it as a French bistro. There was a lot of rich reds, burgundies, and the walls were like a yellow, like a butter yellow color. It was just super, super pretty in there. So if for the atmosphere alone you want to go to Chef Warren's, I think it would be a great place for you to try, but you will not be disappointed by the food as well.

13:32
The only thing that was a little strange, and I even hesitate to mention this because I want to have grace for people, you know, but our waitress, she just seemed very, very nervous and I don't know if she was new or if it was just the fact that they had been closed for a week and she was just getting back into the habit of talking to people again.

14:00
But I feel like that was really the only hiccup of the night was that she kind of mumbled. I couldn't really understand her. It was kind of loud in there because this restaurant is set up as an open restaurant. So they have the kitchen where you can actually watch everyone. You can watch the chefs cook while you're sitting at your table and, um, you know, people were just running about and doing things and talking and, and, um,

14:29
So it was a little bit chaotic and she, I mean, I feel like I hear pretty well, but she was really, really soft spoken. And anyways, so that was my only hitch, I think for the evening was just our waitress. And she was sweet, but yeah, I was having trouble hearing her and understanding her. And she,

14:59
You know at one point she got to talking to somebody else in the restaurant like a like a customer you can tell That this is a place where people come regularly So there was a man that came in an older gentleman and he walked over to the bar and everyone knew him They were calling him by name. They were making jokes with him and stuff. And so at some point during our meal she had kind of Plopped herself down beside of him and started talking to him

15:26
And I believe the owner even came over and like tapped her on the shoulder like it was time to attend to our table, you know, and that kind of thing. So, yeah, like I said, that was the only hitch for the night. I think everything else was wonderful because it was our anniversary. We did get a dessert. We don't typically get a dessert when we go out, but you know, we're like, hey, what the heck? So.

15:54
But we got the pecan pie, and yes I do say pecan pie, with the, I think it was homemade, I'm pretty sure it was homemade vanilla ice cream with it. And so I just said we'll share this one. And so they brought it out with a candle in the ice cream and said happy anniversary. The waitress was very kind. She would...

16:23
She repeatedly told us happy anniversary when we're leaving. She said I hope you had a great anniversary. And they actually comped our dessert. I guess because of our anniversary. So I thought that was a very nice touch for a restaurant that you know you're going to spend a little more anyways at. But when something's comped like you know your dessert then I think that's a really nice touch. So

16:52
Overall, I do not have really anything to complain about. For Chef Warren's, I do believe we would probably go back there again. And when we're celebrating something special, or maybe if me and some girlfriends want to go sometime to celebrate something that's going on in their lives or our lives or whatever.

17:15
We would probably do that. It's not somewhere that I would probably take my children just because it is a little more upscale It is low-lit There were I'm trying to think Maybe not in that restaurant. I was gonna say I was thinking there was maybe some children there, but I don't think there was We did have some people sit down beside of us who you know, we could tell they had never been there before they were very open about you know, we've never been here before and You know talking to the waitress about

17:45
you know what was good on the menu and the different wines and all that kind of stuff. And yeah there was just a just a mix of you know ages of patrons in there and that kind of thing. But yeah I don't think I would probably take the children back. First of all it's very pricey for a family to go and I would be very concerned about.

18:13
messing something up or or being too loud and ruining people's meals or whatever. So but yeah I think we would definitely try it again sometime. But like I said the the food was really really good. Onion soup, Adam really liked it. I didn't but it you know it wasn't bad or anything. It was just not my not my style. And yeah so.

18:42
That was Chef Warren's. By the time we got out, it was dark and they have really beautiful lighting outside of the restaurant and lanterns lit and it was just a really nice romantic spot and it was perfect for our anniversary, I believe. So that is my episode for this week. I hope you guys will check out Chef Warren's and if you do, you'll tell them.

19:11
that you heard about them on the Biscuits and Gravy podcast. And I look forward to hearing from you guys. Next week you will be hearing about a really, really cool place that I'm so glad I had the honor of going to called Mason's Restaurant in Aberdeen, North Carolina.

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and I'm really excited to talk to that about that one too you guys. I took my daughters with me and we all had a great time. In fact today they were asking me when could we go back to Mason. So it it definitely hit the mark for all of us and I'm really excited to share that with you in next week's episode. So I hope you'll stick around and we'll talk to you then.