Eaton Pub & Grille & Charlotte Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Charlotte

Where to begin? Well I went there the other night with my fiancee for a late night meal. The appetizers were really kind of bland. All except for the onion petals; those were very good. However I ordered a classic bloody Mary from the waitress. The drink arrived and the WHOLE outside of the glass was covered in red salt. So much so that I had to wipe it off with a napkin. Fine, whatever. I can deal with that. But when I went to take a drink of it I almost threw up. My fiancee knows I like my vodka and my mixed drinks. HOWEVER, this was such a heavy pour that I swore I was drinking a flavorless martini with red food coloring. I tried spicing it up with pepper but nada and I finally pushed it aside. I started watching the bartender as she made her drinks and I noticed almost right away that she was pouring a 4-5 second pour on each drink, followed by one more dunk for good measure. For those who are NOT bartenders this means a very, very heavy alcohol content. Which in turn means theft from the restaurant. A 2 second pour should be about 1 ounce. A 4-5 second pour would be about 2-3 ounces. OR almost a shot and a half extra alcohol. At the end of the night that could literally mean hundreds of dollars in lost revenue from the restaurant. Okay, moving past that. During all this time there was an older African American guy behind us who was very, very loud and obnoxious. He was heavy set with a grey beard and every other word was F this and F that. He had one of those booming voices that carried and he proceeded to talk about every damn superhero movie that has come out in the last few years. During all this time we waited and waited and waited and everytime we asked for something from the waitress it would take 5 minutes or more. This was at 10 pm at night when the place was not that busy. Anyways, eventually this booming guys audience (two young college age girls and a guy) got up to leave and he insisted on trying to get a kiss from the one girl. So much so that she threatened to slap him if he wouldn't leave her alone. He told her very loudly that if she slapped him he would humiliate her so badly in front of everyone that she would never come back. Her and her friend kept their distance from him and she even kept telling her loser guy friend that this guy wont stop trying to touch me. But he did nothing of course. So eventually after about 45 minutes of this the bartender shushed him and he threatened to call someone named Sam to get her to leave him alone. Then he left to go to the back of the bar and hang out with someone there. At this point both my fiance and I were ready to go. Our main dishes were very good and no complaints there. However when I asked for a to go box the waitress smiled and left. 11 minutes later (according to the clock at the bar) she came back and grabbed a to go box for us. Now keep in mind these boxes were in sight, were less than 15 feet from us and I was tempted to go get them from behind the service station myself.

Yeah, not a good experience at all. The wait staff was slow, the drink was unbearable, the appetizers were bland and the management did nothing about the bar theft, the loud and obnoxious clientele, and the long wait for something, anything at all. We will not be going back. We were thinking of using them to host our wedding rehearsal party but have decided against it. Good luck if...

This review is a radical departure from the norm for Sola Cepa. Today, for the first time, I'm reviewing something that is not an onion ring. "What!??," you cry out, "But this is Sola Cepa! How could you possibly review something that isn't an onion ring?"

Calm down, dear reader. Sola Cepa, after all, merely means "onion alone," not "onion RINGS alone." While onion rings are my bread and butter, there are other fried onion concoctions and variations, remarkably similar to an onion ring in all but shape, that can still be subjected to an onion (ring) standard.

That said, Sola Cepa's first review of onion petals, from the Eaton Pub and Grille, follows.

Presentation and Appearance: 3.5/5

Since I'm a busy man (ignoring the fact I devote hours of my life to reviewing onion rings,) I got these onion petals to go. As a result, the presentation isn't stellar. The petals (and the dipping sauce) are shoved into a box just barely big enough to fit them, unceremoniously heaped into a pile together.

The appearance of these onion petals is a departure from the norm (for onion rings, at least.) They resemble a classic pub style of breading and batter; irregular, varied, inconsistent, and not especially "pretty," which I don't think is a problem here.

Altogether, the petals look pretty appetizing, even if the to-go box presentation isn't the best.

Taste: 4/5

Once you get past the odd appearance, the onion petals are, essentially, just a slightly different onion ring. My first cautious bite revealed a bold onion flavor. Like many of the best onion rings, the onion was lightly sweated before being battered and fried, which helps bring out the onion flavor.

That first bite also revealed the oddly sticky taste of the petals, almost like a microscopic coating of syrup was poured over every petal. At the same time, my bites went through clean, with only the occasional slippage. In some ways, they reminded me of a zesty fry moreso than an onion ring.

Some grease was present, but it wasn't excessive. The batter itself wasn't tremendously well seasoned, but the accompanying zesty dipping sauce improved the taste dramatically, complementing the already present flavors of the onion.

Texture: 3/5

As already mentioned above, the onion petals were ever so slightly sticky. With the stickiness came a still satisfying crunch, but a bit of a softer one. It was more like eating a glazed piece of meat than a crunchy onion ring.

The breading bloomed well beyond the onion. Each of the onion pieces in the petals was probably bigger, and thicker, than the average onion ring, but it came with increase irregularity in size and shape. Moreover, the breading ballooned well beyond the onion. While the petals all seemed fairly big and thick from the outside, a lot of that size stemmed from a hollow corridor between the onion and the breading. In effect, you end up eating a lot of air with the petals.

The occasional slippage also detracted from the texture score, especially given the relatively small size of the petals compared to a standard onion ring.

Value: 2.5/5

This fairly large box of onion petals cost $6.99, a fearsome price. While they're fairly good quality in taste and texture, and massive in quantity, the steep price tag is a little daunting. In my opinion, it's worth two or three dollars less than what it...

My wife has been here years ago and liked it, so we drove the extra distance for a special date. There were several tables open, but the host attempted to seat us at the entrance to the kitchen in the pool table area. We asked for a table in the regular area and she obliged. Her attitude was unpleasant from first contact and for the remainder of the night as she was our server. She clearly had an issue with us or did not want to be there. The menu they offered had far less items than the one listed here on Google. Our main choices and backup were no longer available. We ordered a pizza which was very tasty, but the price charged didn't match their menu. We had already decided the experience was negative enough not to come back, so we just overpaid and left instead of arguing with the server. The server finalized the night by just looking at us as we got up and left. No thanks, no goodbye, no have a nice night. Watching the other wait staff, it seemed only certain people would get pleasant attitudes. Not sure why some of us weren't treated like we mattered. Maybe you have to be a local or regular to get...