Fire and Sticks

Fire and Sticks is a Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Restaurant in High Point, North Carolina. When you first walk in to Fire and Sticks, a friendly hostess greets you by asking how many people are in your party. To the left of the hostess stand is a waiting area and restrooms. On the right side is a bar with a wide variety of alcohol and TVs to watch. Once you enter the restaurant area, you are seated at a hibachi table with a full grill and ten seats. Your waitress greets you by asking for a drink order, a salad dressing flavor, and asking whether you would like the traditional soup or not. After you are given a generous amount of time to look over the menu, your order is taken and a hibachi chef shows up to cook your meal right in front of you. Unlike normal restaurants, you are able to watch your chef cook everything and perform tricks on the grill. The chef serves everyone a shrimp appetizer after he builds a fake volcano tower out of onions. He also shapes the fried rice into a heart and pretends to make the heart beat giving you enough time to snap a picture. After he serves you the vegetables and rice, he cooks up your entrée to your liking. The entrées range from shrimp to chicken to filet mignon. As you sit and watch the chef prepare your meal, the waitresses continue to check on you and make sure that your drinks are always refreshed and your meal is satisfying. The chefs are very engaging and enjoy making conversation with the people at their table. The atmosphere is very exciting and entertaining. It has many different hibachi grill tables that all have different groups of people sitting together. The chefs work hard to entertain their audience and create a show while cooking gourmet dinners. The servers are very attentive, the food is incredible, and the prices are very reasonable for the meal that you are getting. Overall, Fire and Sticks is a great restaurant in High Point and should be valued for their cleanliness, food, and service. 

Blue Zucchini

The other day I decided to go out of my comfort zone of Liberty and adventure to Blue Zucchini. It is a little, robins egg blue restaurant in the middle of main street High Point. I have actually mentioned this restaurant in my earlier post about its sister establishment, Blue Rock Pizza. Blue "Zucc"as the High Point Students like to call it, is far from original. 

The Atmosphere: As I just mentioned, although the restaurant is a tiny bright blue building it is hard to miss, which can really draw in the attention of customers.  When you walk through the entrance you immediately are greeted by the kitchen and the cash register, which I don't necessarily agree with design wise, but thats just me. Take a right and your in the dining area, consisting of about 15 tables, did I mention this place is TINY?!? They offer the option of having a booth or a table, which is not common in small establishments like this. Overall, I wish the place was bigger, first because they would make more money, and second because its just a little cramped for that type of business. 

The Service: I don't have much to say about the service other than how accommodating and nice they are. Every time I get seated I am greeted by a server that I have had a class with or know in passing at High Point. I think by staffing this restaurant with college kids it will defiantly encourage more students to stop by and eat. 

The Food: As for the food, it is AMAZING. I usually either get a bunch of appetizers to split with some friends or I get one of their infamous sandwiches. For example, just last week my friend Riley and I ordered their spinach and artichoke dip, egg roles, and mac n' cheese . Remember when I said this restaurant is far from being original? Well the menu selection is a prime example of why! I have never had a bad meal at this restaurant and that is hard to find no a days! 

In conclusion, Blue Zucchini is definitely worth the drive! Comment below if you have ever been before and what items are your favorite on the menu! I am always looking for new things to order! 

Apple Pie to Die for

It is that time of year again, Apple Pie season! I thought what better way to celebrate than the best apple pie recipe that I have come across in my 21 years on this earth. My mom always uses this recipe and she warned me never to share it, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her! The ingredients are as follows... 

- 6 cups of peeled and thinly sliced apples (I like granny smith or macintosh) 
- 2 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crusts
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 3/4 cups of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (makes it taste better!)
- 3/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 
- 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons of all purpose flower 
- A little cup of milk 

Now its time to put all of these yummy ingredients into a mouth watering pie ... 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees 
2. (Start building that thing!) Place on of the pie crusts in the bottom of the 9 inch pie plate (ungreased), making sure to press the crust against all sides of the pan. 
3. In a large mixing bowl, fold together the sliced granny smith or macintosh apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. 
4. Spoon the delicious mixture into the pie pan.
5. Take your butter and randomly place little slivers on top of the mixture. 
6. Lay the second pie crust on the top of the pie pan. Press all of the edges together so there is no gaps, my mom always makes a cool design on the top of it with leaves and woven patterns, but thats impossible for someone like me so do what you please! 
7. Cover the edges of the crust with either aluminum OR you can use my moms secret to the perfect crust, take one of those kitchen paint brushes and brush over a thin layer of milk so the edges do not burn! 
8. Bake the pie for 15-20 minutes and then remove the foil strip (if you decided to use it). Then continue to bake it for another 20-25 minutes until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown.
9. Make sure to not dive in head first when you remove the pie from the oven, you must let it cool before serving to your guests, that way it won't fall apart! 
10. Enjoy!! 

Hope you found this recipe easy and yummy! Let me know if you try it out!