New meaning to "Blue" Plate Specials!

I know when I think of Blue Plate Special you think of a diner or a "dive" type of restaurant. I was extremely pleased to find out that one of our favorite "treat ourselves" restaurants had a special bar/late night menu that was super affordable and super delicious.

Blue in Uptown Charlotte has appetizers Two For $10 in the bar Monday thru Friday 5-7 and late night (although if you go on their website, it's a little confusing. Sounds like they serve these specials until 11pm or 12 am) I ordered 4 different ones and it was too much food which is a good thing! Paired with the multitude of martini's my husband and I drank (OK, mostly the Hubster. He couldn't help it. His favorite were on special, Appletini's $6 which yes, I do believe we spent more on drinks than food, whoops!) Which brings me to another great feature to these bar bites - nightly drinks specials featuring a different beer & a specialty martini Monday thru Saturday. YES, including Friday and Saturday! I'm telling you, there are great ways to eat at the nicest restaurants in Charlotte at a really good savings!

The four appetizers we had were:

Number one, Flavors of the Mediterranean - Tapenade, Baba Ghanoush, white bean and Parmigiano-Reggiano salad and traditional hummus served with a warm pita, Greek olives, roasted peppers and olive oil. I could have made a meal out of this one itself. Lots of good variety and plenty to eat. My favorite was the Tapendade, a spread made from greek black olives, capers, anchovies & olive oil. Yum yum!

My second favorite was the Crispy Calamari with Fried Olives and Peppadew Peppers. Chickpea flour crusted with a lemon-harissa dipping sauce. The unusual twist on this that made it stand out from other fried calamari dishes I have had was the fried green olives & peppadew peppers. Great bursts with the calamari.

Third choice was the Duck Sausage and Rapini Flat Bread - Crisp flatbread topped with house made duck sasage, rapini, herb goat cheese and mozzarella. They had 3 choices of pizza and even though this is listed as flatbread, it was pizza. A good twist though with the duck sausage.

Lastly, Jero's favorite of the evening the Crisp Arrancini - Risotto balls stuffed with pancetta, sweet onions and mozzarella fried crispy and topped with a tomato sauce.

Everything was wonderful. Our servers at the bar were great. Had fun sitting there and chatting. The bar area I feel is just as nice as the dining area at Blue.

Check out their entire menu and drink specials at:

www.bluecharlotte.com