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Come Meet a Few Hot Spots for the Second Annual Small Plate Crawl; Char Restaurant and Vidalia in Boone

by Madison V. Fisler 

Aug. 29, 2013. Now in its second year, the Small Plate Crawl, hosted by Boone Independent Restaurants, will give folks of the High Country an opportunity to taste a little something from all of their favorite restaurants, and maybe a few they haven’t discovered yet.

Each day this week, we will be profiling a few of the restaurants that are participating, in order to give customers a chance to be introduced to their new favorite restaurants before their big date.

rsz_1bar_dining_1Char Modern American Restaurant, located on Howard Street in Boone, is well known in the High Country for their commitment to utilizing local ingredients as much as possible and taking an interesting approach to their modern American dishes. The restaurant prides itself on being “upscale casual dining in a cosmopolitan setting.” 

For the Small Plate Crawl, Char will be utilizing the crawl menu alongside their regular menu, and will have staff dedicated to the small plate crawlers. 

“We are creating a lot of new things for the crawl,” said Colton Lenz, the general manager of the restaurant. 

“We are a more upscale restaurant, and we like to make upscale accessible to everyone.

Plate selections include grilled watermelon salad, tacos such as moroccan salmon, malasian and wild mushroom and a nutella cheesecake stuffed egg roll for dessert. There will also be drink specials for the crawl with items like a chipotle margarita, an elder flower sour and hibiscus and ginger. Most of the items for the crawl are gluten free, or can be made gluten free upon request. 

IMG_10Vidalia Restaurant and Wine Bar, located on King Street in Boone, is  known for their expert pairings of delicious wines with their locally oriented dishes. 

Vidalia, owned by manager Alyce Rachford and chef Sam Rachford, will be serving up many of their options for the Small Plate Crawl with a local wine pairing suggestion that goes perfectly with each dish.

Plate options for the crawl include items like pork belly tacos, steak and fries, poached beet salad and a vanilla churro for dessert. 

“Sam’s philosophy is that he wants to be fun and interesting, and not something you would see everyday,” said Alyce Rachford. 

“It’s not everyday that we can sell steak and fries for dinner. It’s definitely an opportunity to be creative.”

In keeping with their general philosophy, Vidalia is working hard to use as much “farm to table” as possible. 

Perfect for college kids on a budget, savvy restaurant lovers who want a little taste of everything, or someone just looking for an excuse to hit all the best spots in town, the Small Plate Crawl has something for everyone. 

The event will go on rain or shine, so come hungry and remember to bring your passport. To be eligible for the prize drawings, you must have 5 completed passport validations to show that you have been to five restaurants during the crawl. Including a restaurant outside of Boone and Blowing Rock in your count of five completed restaurants will double your chances of winning a prize in the drawing. 

New participating restaurants will be added up until the week of the crawl, so keep checking back to see if your favorite has been added, or maybe a restaurant that you’ve always wanted to sink your teeth into. 

For more information, click here, or stay tuned for more information about the restaurants and what they will offer during this year’s second annual Small Plate Crawl.