The Loyalist

 It was my friend Diane's Birthday last week and we wanted to celebrate by going out for lunch.  The question was where.  She has lived in this area for a long time, I have not, therefore, it was only sensible for her to pick out the restaurant.  Besides which it was her birthday. 

She chose The Loyalist Market a small specialty cheese and charcuterie restaurant. They also happen to make great sandwiches that pair well with the wines they sell.  It is small with limited seating but hey, we are semi-retired and can go on an off day during the week.  Even so the restaurant was fairly crowded.  Ordinarily there is additional seating in the courtyard, but it was overcast and a little chilly.  We decided to eat indoors and order a bottle of wine to keep us warm.

I am decent at picking wine, but our friend Kathi is our resident expert, and she chose the wine, Saldo. Saldo is produced by the Prisoner Wine Company in California.  They started off making Prisoner, a red blend and then branched off.  This Zin was really smooth with notes of black licorice, black pepper, cherry and baking spice and a hint of chocolate.  The wine bottle was interesting.  In today's very crowded wine market, many wineries tend to go all out on their wine label design to grab the consumer's attention.  Not this wine.  It simple states its name.  No label, none needed. Just delicious.

It was a great choice and paired well with all our sandwiches. Kathi and I chose this grilled cheese sandwich that was truly magical. The Grilled cheese was prepared with a mix of Ashe County cheddar and gouda topped off with a berry bacon jam on brioche bread. Our birthday girl had a corned beef Rueben, and our friend Claudia rounded off the table with a freshly prepared cream of broccoli and cheese soup with a salad.

It was a foodie delight. If you are in or around Matthews, NC, give it a try.  It is located at 435 N Trade Street