Wu's Cajun Seafood

Ominous

Background: 
Wu's opened in Charlotte's South End neighborhood in June 2017, and is owned by the same restaurant group that owns Ink N Ivy, Oak Room, Hot Taco, Whiskey Warehouse, Brazwells, Slate, and All American Pub (where Scallionpancake met!), so they definitely know their way around the restaurant scene.

...or they should. We had a not-so-great meal at Wu's. It was our first (and likely last) visit. Maybe our experience was a fluke, but it was so off-putting to our dining companions and to us that we cannot see returning any time soon. 

Honestly, this is a bit difficult to write, as we rarely write negative reviews. However, after long and involved discussions at Scallionpancake headquarters, we decided that we want our readers to trust us, and it is difficult to trust a review blog that only publishes the glowingly positive. And, if Tom Cruise taught us anything in Vanilla Sky (and I believe he taught us so many things), it's that the sweet is never as sweet without the sour. Read on to see what went wrong at this Asian/Cajun fusion restaurant on one sultry August night, not too many moons ago. 

It was as disastrous as Blanche and Stanley, minus the sexual tension

Eat This: 
The menu is a mix of Asian and Cajun, with a healthy dose of seafood, a staple of both cuisines. We had heard good things about the seafood (specifically the boils), the gumbo ramen, and the Kung Pao cauliflower. So, we ordered these items, plus a few others. 

Fried Gator Roll

Tasso ham, cilantro, fresno chili, money sauce, green onion

Kung Pao Cauliflower

Fried, tossed, scallions, sesame, fresno chili

These two appetizers were the highlight of our experience. They came out in a reasonable amount of time, though I think it can be argued that thirty minutes on a Tuesday night in a not-at-all crowded and overstaffed restaurant is not reasonable, we were honestly not fazed at this point. We were catching up with our good friends Daniela and Jonathan, and we were having a relaxed evening. The apps were solid--we really liked the gator roll, and it was our favorite dish of the entire night. The cauliflower had a bit too much breading and not enough spice for my taste, but everyone else at the table enjoyed it. 

Raw Oysters

Kimchi cocktail sauce, white wine gochujang mignonette, lemon wedge

So, a word on what happened before these oysters coming out. Our poor waitress, who truly should shoulder very little blame in all of this, dropped her entire tray filled with our food as she tried to juggle setting up the tray stand and a ridiculously heavy tray of food. Previously, our hostess and the same waitress had dropped a fork and a menu, respectively, in this same spot. This area of the floor was clearly slippery and/or haunted. No one came by to dry it or wave some sage over it, which could have likely prevented Tray Drop 2017. 

I just want to be clear. We were not at all upset with our waitress for dropping the tray. In fact, the three of us traded stories about dropping items in our food service days (the winner was Daniela, who honest to god spilled food on an infant, making him cry). I say three of us, as Jason has led a very cushioned life where he has not had to serve food to the citizens, and for this he is very blessed. We tried to make our waitress feel better about what happened, and told her it had happened to (most of) us before. We assured her it was no big deal and told her we were not in a hurry when she said the kitchen would re-fire our food. 

What was weird, however, was that there were six tables sat in the dining room, and four tables sat outside, and our waitress was in charge of at least five of them. There were about six waitresses and a bartender on duty, and it was hard to understand why our waitress was the sole one harried and stressed out. It even took several minutes for someone to come over and help her with the tray of food on the floor. There were two waitresses standing around talking for most of the night, as we watched our waitress rushing around like mad. Team work makes the dream work, amiright?

Wish Winona was here tho

After Tray Gate, our waitress brought out the raw oysters, as those were always due to come out on a separate tray. Then, a waitress came out (she did not identify herself as a manager, so I will assume she was a waitress and likely a shift supervisor or closer) and apologized for what had happened. We assured her we were not concerned with the tray drop and that these things happen. She said she would offer us all a round of drinks on the house to make up for our delayed food. We told her that as none of us had a drink, we didn't want one, but we would love some water refills. She said she would get us that, and that she would comp our meals.

Our regular waitress came back around with water, as the other waitress straight up disappeared, and after she left we realized that the oysters had not come with plates, oyster forks, or lemons. We didn't want to further stress our clearly very overwhelmed waitress, so I asked another server for these items. She blew me off and no one brought them. Eventually, I asked our waitress for them, and she brought them, though at this point the oysters were basically gone, as we were starving (we had been at the restaurant for an hour at this point). 

Anyway, the oysters. There was no mignonette that I noticed--there was no flavor at all, not in the oysters or the "kimchi" cocktail sauce. That was 100% regular cocktail sauce. This was fine, as we like straight-up oysters and regular cocktail sauce, but it was not the dish the menu promised. We ate them all, because oysters are freaking expensive and again, starving. 

Gumbo Ramen
Gumbo base, andouille, ramen noodles, crawfish, charred cabbage, kimchi marinated soft egg

No picture due to hunger-induced delirium.

Daniela: "I thought the gumbo was more of a noodle dish since there was little to no broth. The flavors were muddied to me, and it was almost gritty in texture." 

The "Wu" Boil with Crab Legs

Seasoned with our signature Wu's seasoning and served with corn, potatoes, and sausage

Daniela: "The boil wasn't bad, although it's hard to mess up crab legs. The shrimp that was added as a peace offering was overcooked and chewy. There were two potatoes and no corn. The spiced butter on the side was pretty tasty." 

Jonathan: "The boil and the gumbo made one hell of a mess." 

Daniela & Jonathan: smiling through the pain

Chopped Kale
Peanut crusted fried goat cheese, carrot, fresno chili, red onion, crispy quinoa, miso-ginger vinaigrette

No picture because, well, at this point there was a mass of confusion and hunger. It was missing the quinoa. Decent salad, if a little overdressed/soggy. I ate it all, however. 

Buttermilk Fried Calamari

Kimchi, lemon butter, cilantro, jalapeno

Came out ten minutes after everything above, even though it's technically an app and we are not sure what took so long in a basically empty restaurant. Didn't taste bad, according to Jason. 

Cajun Fried Crab Roll

Cajun seasoning, money sauce, spicy mayo, green onion, goat cheese, cilantro, fresno chili

Anddd this came out ten more minutes after the calamari. Jason said this roll was good, but that he preferred the gator roll. 

After our meal, our waitress came and took our plates. No one came by to say anything. We waited another forty minutes. We figured this was because they had told us they would comp our meals, but it's super awkward to just leave a restaurant without having a waitress, manager, or really anyone come over and say thank you, have a good night, would you like dessert, please come see us again, etc. We didn't know what to do. Eventually, our exhaustion won out, and we got up from the table and found the waitress who told us she would comp our meals and told her we were leaving. She said, "Did your waitress bring your a check?" (cue all of us thinking: but you said you were comping us?!), and we said no, we had not been brought anything or been addressed at all in the forty minutes since we had finished our food. She said, "Well, I said I would just comp your boils, but I guess you guys can just go." Sidebar, we only got one boil, not multiples. And um, okay. Don't have to tell us twice to leave at this point. We had arrived at 8:00pm and it was 10:00pm. 

Our meal was comped, yes. However, we did not come to Wu's looking for a free meal. We came looking for good food and good service, which is what we always anticipate on a night out. We would have gladly taken the latter over the former. In the words of Jonathan: "It's annoying, because there are so many good places to eat in Charlotte, and we just wasted a night here." 

No manager in sight. No business card offered to contact anyone. We did ask for one, but we didn't use it. We decided the blog could be our comment card. Daniela & Jonathan, however, did email the manager and never heard back. Update: Wu's marketing director did reach out in September, and offered us another dinner on them. We have not taken them up on that offer, however. Daniela & Jonathan never received a response to their email. 

Dessert: 
Yeah, no. Please take me home. I want to get off this ride.

But, because you know how much we love dessert, we tried to stop at Golden Cow on the way home, but they were closed because it was freaking 10 o'clock at night. Wahhh. 

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there's gum in my hair

Drink: 
As I said above, we all had waters. Daniela and Jonathan were doing a cleanse month, and Jason and I just like to stay hydrated. The water was very good, and we enjoyed drinking it whenever our cups were not empty (which did not happen often, unfortunately). 

Oh sh*% that is fresh

Atmosphere: 
Uh, I am not going to lie. A horror show of over-the-top decor. The slow burn of a Tennessee Williams play dubbed into a Jackie Chan movie. Seppuku on the bayou. Am I beating a dead Asian-Cajun horse? 

We were served Cajun justice, and it didn't have the campy joy of an 80's movie

Confused Fusion Hospitality: 
Uh. See above. 

You know Steph, it was a little rude

Frankie's Notes: 
FYI to Wu's: Seafood is one word, not two; Frankie considers himself very patient as he worked many hard years in the service industry, but unacceptable is unacceptable, and that's right from the pug's mouth; I am not going to lie, Daniela's story of dropping food on a baby made me feel a lot better about the time I dropped lemonade on a pregnant lady at her baby shower; That's a textbook example of schadenfreude; Shoutout to Cincinnati's Bonbonnerie Tea Room and the honest-to-god favorite job I've ever held, minus the lemonade incident of Aught Four; We want to take our waitress out for a drink, because she deserves it after the night she had--girl, it's not your fault! 
 

Rating: 1 out of 5

Maido

Maido in Lima, Peru

Background: 
Maido is owned by Mitsuharu  "Micha" Tsumura and is currently number eight on the "World's Fifty Best Restaurants" list, which is published by the British magazine Restaurant. The list is updated each year, and also includes rankings by region in addition to the main list. The rankings themselves are based on a composite score from previous year's chefs and restauranteurs, as well as restaurant critics. Maido is currently ranked eighth in the world ranking and number two for top Latin American restaurants. You can read more about Maido and other restaurants on the list here. 

Main dining room ropes hanging down. When viewed from above, the ropes form the Japanese flag

Tsumura is a native Peruvian Nikkei who studied in Japan for a while before returning to Lima to open Maido, his first restaurant. Nikkei is a term that refers to Japanese emigrants, and Tsumura's menu reflects both parts of his background--his Japanese roots and his Peruvian upbringing. Tsumura is essentially a prodigy--he is easily among the youngest chefs on the top fifty list, and it's so cool that he has achieved so much success with Maido. 

Checking things out as we wait outside--eagerly early for our reservation

money money money money...MONEY

Eat This: 
The meal started with an assortment of "snacks" before leading to the larger courses. The first course of fine dining is so often my favorite, as I feel the chefs really try to wow with the early dishes, and the tiny bites pack so much flavor. Maido was no exception! 

Snacks

Seaweed tempura

sweet potato cream, squid fermented in beetroot, lime gel

Sushi rice cracker, avocado, trout belly, ponzu gel

Aji negro chawanmushi

Two of our favorite bites from the whole meal

We were instructed to eat the two bites and then drink the custard. This was a top course for both of us. Every little bite and sip was perfection. 

Poda Cebiche

Sarandaja cream, mackeral, shallots, limo pepper, chulpi corn, nikkei leche de tigre

We only had fancy ceviche like this during our trip--we ran out of time for a good old fashioned hole-in-the-wall place, but can't say we are mad about it. The ceviche at Maido was mouthwatering in its tangy savoriness.

Dim Sum

Squid and sea snail cau cau, camotillo cream, crispy white quinoa

The fifty best restaurants list notes this course as a standout dish on the Maido menu. Can't say we disagree! So many textures from the pureed fish, the squid and snail dumpling, and the crispy quinoa.

Choripan

Steamed bread, fish and octopus sausage, pickled vegetables, Japanese mustard, native potatoes

Other than dessert, this was my favorite dish! The Japanese mustard made this little fish hot dog taste like a classic ballpark dog--only about 52 million times better, obviously.

Nigiri

Catch of the day

Basically this was the best nigiri we have ever tasted.

The money shot (in food blogger terminology...not in other worlds)

Why the fish is so fresh: this is two blocks from the restaurant. Lima is so pretty!

Lapas Cebiche

Chullpi corn, lapas, avocado, aji Amarillo leche de tigre

This dish was steaming from the liquid nitrogen corn--yummy and fun to eat!

Liquid nitrogen corn!

Catacaos de Camarones

Green rice tamale, sautéed river prawns, creole sauce, chupe reduction

The chewy mochi tamale was perfect with the rich broth. Look at that tiny bouquet of veggies on the right!

Cassava Soba

Cassava soba, tenkatsu, vongole dashi

For this dish, you were instructed to eat the noodles and then drink the dashi. So savory and delicious. Lots of umami happening here.

Soup made from clam broth

Noodles made from cassava root!

Sudado

Catch of the day, sudado reduction, seaweed

The broth was poured in table-side. Loved this one!

Beef Short Rib 50 Hours

Camotillo potato cream, crispy rice, cushuro, purple corn chowder, black garlic

Yes, this meat was really cooked for fifty hours. It just fell apart when you put your fork in it. This was Jason's favorite course!

Sea Urchin Rice

Chiclayo rice, Atico sea urchins, avocado cream, wan yi, baby corn

This tasted like a risotto and all of the different textures played so well together.

Whew! There you have it! We were so full and happy. But wait--don't forget dessert!

Whew! There you have it! We were so full and happy. But wait--don't forget dessert!

Dessert: 

Reef

Tofu cheesecake ice cream, bread sand, sweet potato, appel with wakame, camu camu, taperiba, and burgundy grape tapiocas, soy milk

This was a game changer. We especially loved the crispy cocoa decoration and all of the textures. Taperiba is a Peruvian fruit--all of the fruits in Peru are ridiculously fresh and tasty, and I wish we could get all of them in the states!

Mussel

Granadilla with mandarin sorbet, mucilage foam, cacao nibs, lucuma ice ceam, raspberries

That's a little chocolate shell made to look like a cacao pod, filled with the lucuma ice cream! Wow. Lucuma is another Peruvian fruit. You can usually find it in the states in powdered form. The desserts at Maido were the best of all three restaurants from our trip that were on the top fifty list. We are still thinking about them!

The prettiest, tastiest dessert of the whole trip.

Drink: 
The signature drink of Peru is the Pisco Sour, and they are everywhere. This was our first meal of the trip, so we enjoyed our first Pisco at Maido! It definitely spoiled us for other Pisco Sours on our trip, because it was excellent. Pisco is a brandy liquor that is fermented from grapes. To the pisco, they add fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, egg whites, and bitters. It is stronnggg and super tasty--not too sweet. 

Day drinking = vacation staple

Jason enjoyed a cold-pressed juice--fresh juices are so prevalent in Peru! 

Muy fresco

Atmosphere: 
The vibe at Maido was so exciting--there was not any music playing, but the constant buzz from the kitchen and sushi bar provided its own soundtrack. We sat at the sushi bar, which is something we love to do--we got to see a lot of action. We watched one of the chefs plate maybe 50 of the egg nigiri dish--it was such a delicate process to keep the yolk from breaking. Whenever any new party enters the restaurant, all of the chefs and serves yell "Maido"--which means "welcome" in Japanese. We had constant smiles on our faces throughout our dining experience. The overall mood was elegant but not at all stuffy. 

Chefs hard at work

Close up of my view. Hi, wavy cat!!

Ropes hanging down into the dining room, viewed from above

Japanese Peruvian Hospitality: 
The staff could not have been more gracious and lovely. They provided the sort of top notch service you except in a restaurant of this caliber. 

Also, they were nice enough to let us behind the sushi bar at the end of the meal for a group shot. And guess what else? The man himself, owner Tsumura, happened to be in the restaurant during our lunch and came by to say hello! We felt so hashtag blessed, guys. 

GEEKING OUT

The Lovers Statue in El Parque del Amor, or The Love Park

Really exciting art near Maido. Can I keep him?!

Frankie's Notes: 
Frankie really wishes he could have been here for this meal, but he can't take long flights due to his dislike of airplane food; This was one of two tasting menus we ate in one day; We really do not recommend that the average person eat such a staggering amount of rich food in a twelve hour period; We, however, are professional eaters--your mileage may vary/try this at your own risk; We also ate some street meat and street fruits on this trip against doctor recommendation; Our bacterial biome is very rich and hardy now; MAIDO!

Rating: 5 out of 5 + two Michigan Pugs