Seoul Food Meat Co. is a BBQ restaurant with Korean inspired cuisine. The restaurant is located in Charlotte's Southend neighborhood near the Wooden Robot Brewery. Walking into Seoul Food, you may notice televisions playing K-pop (Korean Pop) music videos. While Seoul Food has a full bar and table seating for customers, they also offer karaoke rooms to rent by the hour. There are four different themed karaoke rooms that can hold anywhere from 7 to 30 people. For my birthday this year, Ashley rented the Rock Star room that will hold close to 30 individuals. Charlotte Five published an article that has more specific information about each karaoke room available. The Rock Star room at Seoul Food contains a karaoke machine with two microphones. The software on the system is Korean based. You can change the language to English (your room server should do this for you). Songs are found via a large code book or by searching the system with a remote control. You can play songs instantly or queue them for later. While not all songs we searched were in the system, there are plenty available to enjoy singing for hours. The room also contains three televisions where song lyrics are displayed along with various Korean music videos. While the videos did not match up well with songs we selected, they were entertaining and interesting to watch. I liked having multiple televisions because anyone could sing while sitting in their seat or at the stage. If you are interested in renting a room, I recommend calling to reserve one in advance. Seoul Food does not require a deposit, but they will let your room go if you are late for the scheduled time. Once a room is reserved, you can stay in it as long as you want. I also recommend not inviting more people that the room occupancy. We had about 23 people in the Rock Star room with a maximum occupancy of 27. The room was very crowded with over 20 people. There is a form that must be signed outlining the terms and conditions for renting a karaoke room. One point worth mentioning is that your server will charge a mandatory gratuity on top of the room rental price. When we received the bill for our rental, this policy added $63.00 in additional gratuity to the bill.
Beyond the additional gratuity charge, we had an amazing time at Seoul Food. Everyone in attendance agreed that they would do it again for a birthday or special occasion. Their meat platters and wings were excellent choices and easier to share among the group. Our server did a wonderful job keeping track of separate orders and billing. I recommend the karaoke experience at Seoul Food for anyone interested in singing the night away. Yume Sushi Ramen & Bar is located in Charlotte's South End neighborhood at 1508 S Mint Street. The restaurant location opened in August, 2018. Yume offers Japanese style ramen, sushi, and street food options. You can visit Yume for lunch and dinner, except on Tuesdays. There is a full service bar, table seating, and additional seats at the sushi counter. Specials are available on drinks and food during happy hour and late night dining. Ashley and I went to Yume to try their sushi rolls and Japanese street food options. During a previous trip to Japan, one of our favorite street foods was takoyaki. The takoyaki dish at Yume was equally great to what you can find in Osaka, Japan. In fact, I believe Yume uses better ingredients than what we ate in Osaka. Next time I visit Yume, I would like to try the karaage and saba tatsuta-age. Outside of street food, there are other appetizers I have enjoyed at Yume. I recommend trying the gyoza, Yume tuna tower, and tempura shrimp. When ordering sushi, we try to choose more traditional styled rolls. The Sakura roll (front in photo) with salmon and tuna stood out to us as a winner. I particularly enjoy tobiko on top of my rolls as well. We tried the Mystery roll (top left in photo) which was a combination of eel, tuna, and cream cheese. My personal favorite was the Hoshi roll featuring soft shell crab, eel, crab salad, and avocado (middle of photo). This was the best soft shell crab roll I have eaten in Charlotte, NC. I recommend trying Yume for sushi if you have not done so already.
Our dining experience covered only a small sampling of the food options at Yume. I have not had an opportunity to try their ramen, katsu don, or Japanese curry dishes. Ashley and I are looking forward to trying more dishes while reminiscing about past trips to Japan. If you enjoy multiple varieties of Japanese cuisine, you should give Yume a try. I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting a panel at the 2019 Queen City Anime Convention in Charlotte, NC. My panel on traveling to Japan is scheduled for Saturday, August 10th at 11:00 a.m. in Panel Room 2. You can visit the convention website for more information regarding guests, panel scheduling, and other weekend activities.
Cost Plus World Market is a retail store that sells items across multiple categories including furniture, gifts, decor, food, and wine. One of the many draws to World Market is their wine and beer offerings. Unlike other wine retailers, World Market offers a discount when purchasing a minimum of four or more bottles of wine. This deal can include any bottles in the store or a specific style of wine such as rosé. Typically, the discount is 20% off the current price of a bottle. A few times a year, World Market will offer up to 30% a case of wine. On July 7th, 2019, Ashley and I visited World Market and bought a couple bottles of wine with a 20% discount. Some of the bottles we got were on sale as well. The pricing on the receipt made the deal appear too good to miss. However, I wanted to compare the final price per bottle against a low-cost competitor. The large retail wine competitor in my city is Total Wine. They carry a large variety of wine bottles from all over the world. I like Total Wine because they almost always have what I am looking for or carry an applicable substitute. The only time I have issues at Total Wine is when I walk in without a plan and get lost roaming the endless aisles. While not all wines carried at one store can be found in another, I was able to find pricing for three bottles purchased at World Market. These bottles were Line 39 Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, Santa Julia Reserva Malbec 2017, and Masciarelli Montepulciano 2016. We have had the Line 39 and Santa Julia before, but the Masciarelli was one Ashley wanted to try. Price Comparisons
The Line 39 Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 at World Market was on sale for $11.74. After applying the 20% discount, the final price came to $8.99. According to Total Wine's website, this wine is available at my local store for $7.99. The total savings would have been $1.00 at Total Wine. The Santa Julia Reserva Malbec 2017 had a price of $13.99 at World Market. With the 20% discount, the final price came to $11.19. Total Wine sells this bottle for $10.99. However, my local Total Wine did not have it in stock. The potential savings at Total Wine would have been $0.20 cents. The Masciarelli Montepulciano 2016 was on sale at World Market for $12.49. The final price after applying the 20% discount was $9.99. My local Total Wine sells this bottle for $8.99. I would have saved $1.00 if I went to Total Wine to purchase this wine instead of World Market. Conclusion If I had visited Total Wine to purchase these bottles, I could have potentially saved $2.20. While one bottle was not in stock at Total Wine, I would have easily found something else at the same price point. World Market offers a small selection of wines by varietal and region compared to Total Wine. Ashley and I typically have few other options when searching for a specific varietal and price point at World Market. Due to the large selection at Total Wine, we likely would have purchased one or none of the same bottles from World Market. This is because we do not always purchase bottles that we already enjoy. We like to try new regions and brands on occasion. I believe the biggest takeaway is that World Market's wine discounts are not as favorable as they appear. The prices for each bottle of wine at Total Wine were lower. While Total Wine may not carry every brand or bottle, they offer plenty of options at multiple price points. However, there are still a few reasons I would continue to buy wine at World Market. If my local World Market is more conveniently located, I would continue to shop there. In addition, saving $2.00 is not always worthwhile when time is a factor. I also would continue shopping at World Market if they carried a bottle I enjoyed that was not available at Total Wine. The ability to re-buy something you enjoy is important. Going forward, I will pay more attention to wine prices and where I can purchase my favorite bottles. |
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