Submitted by Jennifer on January 2, 2012 - 4:08pm

in News

award (1)

awards (1)

downtown Winston Salem

restaurants (4)

Mozelle's on television (1)

News (1)

recipes (1)

reviews (3)

Smitty's Notes (2)

United Way (1)

Wake Forest University (1)

January 2012 (1)

December 2011 (1)

July 2011 (1)

March 2011 (1)

September 2010 (2)

August 2010 (1)

July 2010 (1)

May 2010 (1)

March 2010 (1)

©2011 Mozelle's Fresh Southern Bistro, a downtown Winston-Salem restaurant

website design and development by Kilpatrick Design

Submitted by Megan on July 19, 2011 - 3:43pmin awards Smitty's Notes

Mozelle's won 5 BEST OF awards, 1 Runner Up, and 5 Honorable Mentions!

Smitt's Notes Best of Winston-Salem 2011 Winner in FIVEcategories!

BEST CHEF - Tommy KarathanasBEST SERVICEBEST PLACE TO TAKE A FIRST DATEBEST ROMANTIC DINNERBEST SERVER - Aaron Denton

Runner Up

BEST FINE DINING

Honorable Mention

TWITTER FEEDDESSERTFARM TO TABLEFRIED CHICKENWINE LIST

Thank you, Winston-Salem!

award (1)awards (1)downtown Winston Salemrestaurants (4)Mozelle's on television (1)News (1)recipes (1)reviews (3)Smitty's Notes (2)United Way (1)Wake Forest University (1)

January 2012 (1)December 2011 (1)July 2011 (1)March 2011 (1)September 2010 (2)August 2010 (1)July 2010 (1)May 2010 (1)March 2010 (1)

©2011 Mozelle's Fresh Southern Bistro, a downtown Winston-Salem restaurantwebsite design and development by Kilpatrick Design

Sign up for free stuff, concert and dining info & more! | Login | RegisterHome | Reach Us | About Us | Follow us:

HOME COVER NEWS VOICES TUNES FLICKS VISIONS DRAMA CHOW NIGHTLIFE CONTACT US/FEEDBACK CLASSIFIEDS EVENTS

Local DirectoryAll TopicsBankruptcyCar RentalCarpetCateringContractorCosmetic SurgeryDebt ConsolidationDentistDermatologistFlooringHome ImprovementMortgagePaintersPhotographyPlumberRoofingSpasStaffingStorageTiresMore Topics

Share

TweetTweet

3

Submit

year best road high restaurant point many out

HOME / ARTICLES / GENERAL / CHOW / 2011 BEST BITES OF THE YEAR

Wednesday, December 28,2011

2011 BEST BITES OF THEYEARBy Brian Clarey

Customers check out the goods at the CobblestoneFarmers Market in Winston-Salem. (photo by Keith T.Barber)

The culinary year in the Triad has seen some surprising highs,like the opening of Bin 33 in downtown Greensboro andexpansion of the Cobblestone Farmers Market in Winston-Salem, and some depressing lows, most of which have to dowith the continued massacre of local, independently ownedrestaurants.

But every year is a good one for a man who writes about food. Itis, in my opinion, the single best beat in journalism. I’ve been doing it for nearly20 years, and I continue to learn new things, try new dishes, meet fascinatingpeople and discover new parts of the region.

Here’s a quick rundown of the best things I found this year.

Best meal: Print Works Bistro (702 Green Valley Road; 336.379.0699;www.printworksbistro.com). We don’t get to do it very often anymore, but for our10th anniversary my wife and I stepped over to the high side and blew a big wadon a fancy dinner with all the accoutrements. Our night at the Proximity Hotel’spremiere restaurant was romantic, memorable and absolutely delicious.

Favorite new restaurant: Toshi’s Café (5710 High Point; 336.297.2288). It’spossible you disagree with me — many, many great restaurants have opened inthe Triad this year — but I have to go with my man Toshi Yoshida’s place in theAdams Farm Shopping Center just down the road from my office. We’ve lovedToshi around here since we tried to get our heads around his Coffee & Roses in2005, and when expansion on High Point Road pushed him out of his space, wewere rooting for him in the new spot. We love the sushi. We love the weirdJapanese sodas. We love the coffee. And his breakfast sandwiches make thefast-food joints look like they’re selling cat food.

Best doughnuts: Donut World (2401 Battleground Ave.; 5561 W. Market St.,Greensboro; 336.315.0202). It’s a world of doughnuts. And not just anydoughnuts. They’re the best I’ve ever tasted in my life — good enough, even, tomake me consider changing the YES! Weekly style guide to amend our officialspelling of the confection to align with their point of view.

Best reboot: Darryl’s Wood Fired Grill (3300 High Point Road; 336.294.1781;www. darrylswoodfiredgrill.com). When they closed the venerable chain andfocused on the flagship Greensboro restaurant, I was expecting another cosmeticmakeover with no real substance. I was mistaken. The new Darryl’s still has thefun, family atmosphere it always had, but it’s added outdoor fire pits and adynamic new bar. Plus the food is really great. It has become a favorite of mykids.

Best discoveries: MJ’s Steak & Seafood (620 Dolley Madison Road;336.852.4889; www.mjssteakandseafood.com) and Mozelle’s Fresh SouthernCuisine (878 W. 4th St., Winston-Salem; 336.703.5400). I probably went to 30restaurants this year, and these two stand out. My wife and I loved our meal atMJ’s, in the old restaurant district off Guilford College Road, for its creativity andquality, and we loved the French press coffee at the end. In the spring I had oneof the best dishes I’ve eaten all year at Mozelle’s, a soft-shell crab salad that I stillthink about sometimes.

There were many more fantastic experiences I had this year, and I look forwardto many more in the year to come. Until then, happy new year, all. Celebrate byeating something terrific.

RELATED CONTENTRELATED CONTENT

Greensboro NC Information

For the Massive

RELATED TO:RELATED TO:

ALSO IN CHOW:ALSO IN CHOW:

Brunch on a bun in Adams Farm

Fueling up at the Burger Stop

High Point pizza joint is full of surprises

Beyond chicken and waffles at Snack Bar

Brunch every day at the Screaming Rooster

The hibachi experience is one best shared

Ghassan’s for family fare

Homestyle goodness on a tray in K-ville

Encore American Bistro opens in Winston-Salem

A Thanksgiving story... with bivalves

ALSO FROMBRIAN CLAREY:ALSO FROMBRIAN CLAREY:

A many splendored thing

Served

Synergizing outside the box

The winter of my content

Fueling up at the Burger Stop

served

10 best things about the NC gubernatorial election

High Point pizza joint is full of surprises

10 best political conventions

All your droids are belong to us

Search on our site...

CALENDAR

FRI

10SAT

11SUN

12MON

13TUE

14WED

15THU

16MUSIC FOR A GREAT SPACEPRESENTS: PHILIDOR PERCUSSIONGROUP

ASAP ROCKY @ GREENE STREET

WUAG & CFBG RECORDS PRESENTROYAL BATHS W/ SLOWDANCE ANDPAINT FUMES

THERE FOR TOMORROW @ GREENESTREET

DALIANA AND TROUPE BELLYSIMAPRESENT "BELLY AND THE BEATS!"

UNCSA WIND ENSEMBLE

VIEW MORE EVENTS

Submit Your Calendar Event - Click Here

Find us on Facebook

Michael Matt Mike Blind Leigh

Greg Greensboro Jeffrey CenterCity Jim

YES! Weekly

2,678 people like YES! Weekly.

Like

YES! Weekly shared a link.

The YES! Weekly Blog: Thisweek in YES! Weeklyyesweeklyblog.blogspot.comfeature: A many splendoredthingbe there: Johnny Sketch &the Dirty Notesdirt: Cost ofpolice lawsuits escalates asdiscovery begins10 best: 10Best Highlights of RepublicanPrimaryvoices: My Sundance2012 experienceeditorial:Positive peer pressureflicks:The Grey a matter of life anddeath, Fassbe...

Facebook social plugin

HOME REACH US ABOUT US

YES! Weekly © 2011 5500 Adams Farm Lane, Suite 204 Greensboro, NC 27407. All Rights Reserved.

Schlosser &Pritchett

Former DistrictAttorneys Traffic

Tickets (336) 292-4076

www.greensborolawy…

yesweeklyyesweekly

Join the conversation

yesweekly Want to be featured as localtalent? Email a photo and a short bioto artdirector@yesweekly.com22 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

yesweekly UNCG and GPD aim to learnmore about how abuse survivors useservicesyesweeklyblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/uncg-a…22 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

YESRyan @realDonaldTrump Was thePunk movement in the UK more anoffshoot of Dadism or a legacy ofEdward Heath's Three-Day Weekpolicy? #TrumpQandAyesterday · reply · retweet · favorite

YESRyan Of all the spots inGreensboro, @squaddabambino and@MondreMAN at Longshanks in

Mozelle's version of comfort food a cut above

in creativity

By Laura Giovanelli | Journal Reporter

Published: November 13, 2008

To me, the narrow slice of a building on the corner of Fourth Street and

Brookstown Avenue has always looked like a waste of a fine location and a

potentially adorable storefront.

Since Camel City Cafe moved down Fourth Street in 2005, that building has

been empty more often than not. Once upon a time, it was the Toddle

House, a Winston-Salem landmark. For about two heartbeats last year,

Scooters Deli was in residence, serving such half-hearted food that it made

me wonder why the owners hadn't just opened a car wash instead.

I hoped someone would open a really good sandwich shop, the kind of

meticulous place that took pains to make its own mayonnaise and potato

chips. Or maybe a Neapolitan-style pizzeria, with thin crusts, charred and

chewy? Winston-Salem's first true tapas bar? When you're a restaurant

reviewer and a food geek, such are your fantasies.

Dreams don't always come true, but improvements come along.

Patrick and Jennifer Manner opened Mozelle's in September. They painted

the building a vivid lime green and set out shiny silver tables and chairs

capped with sunny yellow umbrellas. Inside, Jennifer Manner's

grandmother, Mozelle Smith, gazes out from a black and white photo

propped up on a shelf, watching over lunchtime crowds seated at tables

covered in yellow-green oilcloth.

First-time restaurant owners of this self-proclaimed Southern bistro, the

Manners developed a menu that wanders all over, from Cuban pork chops

and black beans to chicken and dumplings. It's a tight menu, though --

some sandwiches and salads, a soup or two, and a blue-plate special list

that rotates throughout the week.

At dinner, the menu shifts to seafood, pasta, ribs, a pork chop with

poblano pineapple chutney and a rib-eye served in a cast iron skillet --

broken-in standards tweaked here and there, but not wildly re-invented.

Mozelle's is a place to be comforted, not knocked over with clever

combinations. Candles flicker on the tables, and even the outside patio

stays cozy on a chilly fall night with heaters, candy-colored paper lanterns

and thick plastic tenting.

The cuteness might make you think the Manners' e orts have gone into

looks and not eats. You'd be wrong. Patrick Manner does much of the

cooking himself (with help from three sous chefs), and all things

considered, he's doing a good job.

Grilled cheese is grilled cheese, right? No -- here it's pimento cheese with

bacon. Comforting, gooey and crunchy, the salt of the bacon and the tang

of the cheddar ooze between good sturdy white bread. It was

overshadowed only by a cup of spicy, lush tomato bisque. Salads are

so-so, but the tomato pie is heaven, a homey slice of buttery pastry,

tomato and cheese. Corn and lima bean succotash comes on the side.

Isn't everyone who lives south of the Mason-Dixon line weary of shrimp

and grits? Delicious, but it's easy to get jaded. They're so abused with all

that cheese and cream. But here, oh, Lordy, this will restore your faith in

the dish. The shrimp are tender, the grits laced with Asiago cheese, and

the sauce is brothy more than creamy, and flecked with thin bits of country

ham. I didn't have a spoon, but I wanted one to finish the last drops.

Pan-seared duck was crispy outside, rare inside. Though a shade dry, it

came with a jumble of cranberries, orzo with sweet corn, mushrooms and a

smear of goat cheese, and roasted parsnips, squash and carrots, autumn

on a plate.

Mozelle's could be more ambitious with its appetizers. The selection's a bit

thin. A good choice is duck spring rolls. The nouveau South shows up

inside flaky pastry -- shredded duck, shiitake mushrooms, collard greens,

cabbage and bacon, three solid sauces (Thai chile, barbecue and ginger

sesame) on the side.

Many of Mozelle's dishes have the depth and soul of the best kind of

comfort food, but not everything is consistent. A kitchen that produces

such fine shrimp and grits and kicky tomato bisque should be able to

knock out meatballs and spaghetti blindfolded, and yet the meatballs were

dry and lacking oomph, the sauce watery and fettuccine a stand-in for

spaghetti. Though I respected the French dip sandwich's crusty roll, the jus

was salty, and the innermost folds of beef were cool. And artichoke and

spinach dip with blue cheese promised to be bubbling hot -- a dish of

bubbling oil, is more like it, eking little flavor from the cheese.

Dessert choices are few, but here's my order of preference, having had all

of them -- a creamy dark chocolate pudding pie (in the style of one of the

Toddle House's pies), flourless chocolate cake, bread pudding, banana

pudding thick with fruit and vanilla wafers. They're served with homemade

whipped cream, and they're nostalgic and simple ends.

On one evening, I watched Patrick Manner move between the kitchen and

the tables, checking in with friends and chatting up new customers. If they

seem a little hectic, his wait sta are similarly conscientious, switching

burned-out votives for lit ones and picking up dropped napkins. Small

gestures, but they show care.

This might be a backhanded compliment instead of a complaint: Mozelle's

lunch portions are lean. The sandwiches are smallish, and pieces of the

tomato pie, about half the size of the generous glamour shot of a slice on

the restaurant's Web site. You won't leave peckish, but don't expect to

share much of your food.

On the other hand, how many restaurants compensate for humdrum food

with huge portions?

Mozelle's will likely leave you wanting more.

Mozelle's

Location: 878 W. Fourth St.

Phone: 703-5400

Web site: www.mozelles.com

Hours: Lunch: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday; dinner: 5 to 9

p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Reservations: Taken for dinner, and for lunch, taken for parties of six or

more.

Type of cuisine: Southern-American/comfort food.

Alcohol: A handful of bottled beers, and a short but a ordable wine list,

with some interesting and value-conscious picks available by the bottle

and the glass, such as gruner veltliner, a cava and an Italian chardonnay.

No bottle is more than $26.

Smoking: Non-smoking inside and out.

Health-department rating: 92.5 percent.

Price range: Lunch: Salads, sandwiches and soup: $4-$9. Entrees: $10.

Dinner: Appetizers: $5-$11. Entrees: $14-$24. Desserts: $7.

Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.

Atmosphere: Twenty-first century nostalgic, cozy and small with

yellow-green oilcloths, wide yellow umbrellas over silver outdoor tables,

Chinese paper lanterns and clean white walls.

The wait: I've seen Mozelle's busy, but never so crowded that I had to wait

for a table.

Service: A conscientious if sometimes harried sta . Once, a waiter brought

us more co ee by bringing another cup instead of refilling the one I

already had. Yet small acts, such as replacing votive candles that burn out,

speak volumes.

Be sure to try: Grilled pimento cheese with bacon; tomato bisque; tomato

pie; spring rolls stu ed with shredded duck, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms

and collard greens; shrimp and grits; chocolate pie.

Stay away from: Blue-cheese, spinach and artichoke dip; spaghetti and

meatballs.

Vegetarian friendly? At lunch, (there's a portobello mushroom "cheese

steak," among others) but less so at dinner.

Will I go back? Yes.

KeywordsChoose Another City: GreensboroSite | News | Videos | Jobs

Search Archive

HOME NEWS SMALL BUSINESS SALES & MKTG REAL ESTATE EVENTS DIRECTORY

CAREERS TRAVEL MORE TOPICS

U.S. business news Meet Your Biz Goals Follow Us On Twitter Email Alerts Book of Lists Subscribe - 4 Free Issues

Subscribe to The Business Journal

Print Email Reprints RSS Feeds LinkedIn Share Comments

Friday, June 12, 2009

Taste of the Triad

Winston-Salem’s Mozelle’s does Southerncuisine justiceThe Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area - Contributing writer

As we lifted glasses of champagne to toast our friend’s recent recovery from an illness,the subject turned to how much Southern cuisine had improved over the years.

The setting, the open-air awning enclosing the patio at Mozelle’s in Winston-Salem, wasperfect for that conversation: brick walls, painted lime green, behind us, the hustle andbustle of Friday-night West End pedestrian traffic in front of us, paddle fans stirringcolorful paper lanterns overhead, tiny bouquets of alstroemerias on the tables.

To crown the occasion, a sudden thunderstorm tossed the treetops across Fourth Streetand pitter-patted on the canvas over our heads before rolling out a glorious rainbow.

The centerpiece, though, was the meal, beginning with our appetizer — three large springrolls ($10) overstuffed with tangy pulled pork, collard greens, cabbage and shiitakemushrooms — superb, we all agreed, as were the three sauces that were so good we askedthat they be left on the table for future dipping options.

Mozelle’s is billed as a “Fresh Southern Bistro” and that description is right on themoney: from the eclectic decor to the old-fashioned Huddle House adaptive re-use; fromthe down-home character of the menu items to the made-from-scratch dishes bristlingwith fresh ingredients; from the warm greeting you get at the door to the affable waitstaff, Mozelle’s is as fresh as a daisy.

And the dishes are anything but the same-old selections you see everywhere. Let’s startwith the signature entree: tomato pie, recommended highly by several friends. Sixteendollars is a lot to pay for a slab of pie, but my oh my, what a pie.

Take the traditional, flaky crust — as good as my grandmother used to make. Add threekinds of cheese, San Marzanno tomatoes and a generous dollop of butter along the wayto the oven, and you have something uniquely Southern — and one you’re not likely tofind anywhere else that I know of.

My wife ordered her favorite, scallops ($23 as an entree with two sides, $12 as anappetizer) “prepared in a cast-iron skillet,” the menu said. Plump, sweet and juicy,seared in butter, and served with a corn and country-ham enriched risotto, they suitedher perfectly.

My friend ordered the firecracker salmon ($19). The large portion came dressed in asassy sauce that wasn’t too sweet, my friend reported. The collards, though, were too hot

INDUSTRY WRAPUPS

Greensboro/Winston-Salem > Print Edition

sassy sauce that wasn’t too sweet, my friend reported. The collards, though, were too hotboth for my friend and my wife, so I enjoyed a double serving. And I’ll admit they werespicy; an advisory from the wait staff might be in order.

The service began well, with good descriptions of the food and the staff knowing who hadordered what dish instead of “shopping them” as in “Who gets the salmon?” Glasses wererefilled and follow-up was thorough — until it came time for dessert. For 10 minutes ormore, our formerly assiduous waiter plumb forgot that we existed. In his defense, wewere the only table he had on the patio. We finally gave up the wait and had to ask forhelp, which was promptly and cheerfully given.

The ladies ooohed and aahhed over the desserts, especially the strawberry shortcake ($7),which they said was the real deal. My friend practically inhaled her flourless chocolatetorte ($7), though I managed to try a forkful, which was textbook.

On an earlier visit at lunch, I’d tried the shrimp and grits ($10) with country ham and Iliked that the grits were coarse-ground and accompanied by a simple milk gravy ratherthan an overly rich sauce. The chocolate pie ($4) was also simple, classically Southernand old-fashioned — pudding in a pie shell rather some overpowering chocolate bomb.

My wife even approved of the sweet tea, something she can be picky about. She isn’thappy unless it tastes like real tea, and she abhors any sweetener other than sugar. Onthe downside, someone in the kitchen loves salt and it is used with abandon. My squashwas at the edge of being too salty for me and I’m an anchovy lover. Lots of salt, though, iscertainly Southern and the Southern accent throughout was genuine and not strainedoverdone, as I’ve seen elsewhere.

There are plenty of dishes I plan to go back and try: poblano pepper stuffed withpimiento cheese and chorizo; buttermilk fried chicken with spicy peach preserves; friedokra appetizer; and Southern fish taco with pimiento-cheese grits. I just hope thatMozelle’s, like many other good things in the South, improves with age.

Taste of the TriadName: Mozelle’s Fresh Southern BistroAddress: 878 W. Fourth St., Winston-SalemPhone: (336) 703-5400Hours: Lunch and dinnerService: **Food: ***Variety: ***Conducting Business: ***Appetizers: $5-$12Salads: $8-$11Entrees: $16-$25

Taste of the Triad is written by a local food critic who, in order to avoid specialtreatment, prefers to write anonymously. Send comments and suggestions totasteofthetriad@gmail.com.