The Old Fourth Street Filling Station

 

Located at 871 West Fourth Street in Winston-Salem’s West End, the Fourth Street FillingStation offers American cuisine for lunch and dinner. It is open from 11-9 Monday-Thursday, 11-10 on Saturday, and 11-3 for brunch on Sunday. Online ordering, reservations through Open Table, and outdoor seating are available.

While the name calls to mind a gas station-turned-pub, the Fourth Street Filling Station is a bit more upmarket than that. It isn’t fine dining but rather a place where you can get a steak. The worst that can be said about this place is that it isn’t terrible innovative: apps, salads, sandwiches, a few seafood and pasta dishes, and the aforementioned steaks. In the grand scheme of things, however, there are far greater culinary sins than not offering anything unique.

The Filling Station boasts a spacious patio, and even as it got busier, our group of four was able to enjoy a comfortable meal. Our server was friendly and helpfully offered drink recommendations, and the kitchen didn’t leave us waiting long for our food.

The menu boldly claims Winston’s Best Calamari, so we decided to put that to the test. While there may be a match out there somewhere, the Filling Station’s version is quite good: a generous portion, well-breaded, not overcooked, and paired with both a superb cocktail sauce and a tangy remoulade. My entrée – a jambalaya – was likewise very satisfying. I’ve had jambalayas that were disappointingly dry, and I appreciated the gravy in this one. Though it offered no heat, it was still flavorful, and the shrimp were sizeable.

 

The Filling Station isn’t cheap – most entrees in the twenties and sandwiches in the mid-teens – but given rising food costs, the prices aren’t out of line for what they offer.

If you’re looking for a “nice meal” destination with solid food and plenty of seating, the Filling Station presents an appealing option provided that you are OK with the somewhat predictable menu.  

Jerusalem Market on Elm

Located at 310 South Elm Street in Downtown Greensboro (the original retail store location remains open in the Sedgefield area), Jerusalem Market serves Middle Eastern cuisine for lunch and dinner. It is open from 11-7 Tuesday-Thursday, 11-8 Friday-Saturday, and closed Sunday and Monday. Online ordering is available, and specials change regularly.

The mantle of best Middle Eastern in Greensboro is a matter of considerable debate, but for those seeking this type of food anywhere near downtown, Jerusalem Market should be a no-brainer. Upon entry, you’ll see a drinks and dessert case and minimal seating, but don’t let that dissuade you: there’s a more spacious dining room in the back. It’s low-key but tastefully appointed.

Jerusalem Market’s menu offers platters, salads, mezze (small plates), and wraps. There are plenty of vegetarian options as well as lamb/beef/chicken options plus combination plates for those who want a little bit of everything. You order at the counter and take a number back to your table. Staff are friendly and welcoming.

I went with the Armenian wrap, which featured basterma (thinly sliced seasoned dried beef), provolone, baba ganoush, and cucumber yogurt with zaatar pita chips on the side. My wife was hoping for the Turk (similar but with sojouk sausage instead of beef) and upon finding they were out opted for the lamb burger on special instead. Given the day’s humidity, hibiscus iced tea seemed too good to pass up.

Jerusalem Market makes everything fresh, so the food understandably took a bit to arrive. However, it was well worth the wait. The basterma was salty, and the refreshing yogurt balanced it nicely. The zaatar chips were crisp and full of flavor and dangerously addictive (seriously, I could eat a bagful). My wife enjoyed the lamb burger with feta and a side salad, and we were both glad that we went with the hibiscus tea (free refills).

While they may not have the huge portions of a Nazareth Bread, Jerusalem Market’s prices aren’t unreasonable given the downtown location. The wrap was $14 or so and the burger $16.

All told, Jerusalem Market promises a healthy meal using quality ingredients and prepared with care.

Miam Breakfast House

Located at 4005 Precision Way in High Point (with another location in Winston-Salem), MiamBreakfast House serves diner fare from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Online ordering is available through DoorDash and Uber Eats. 

The name is French (it means “Yum”), the owner is Albanian, and the cuisine is largely American (with a few Mediterranean influences), but no matter what you call it, Miam has all the makings of a very solid breakfast/brunch option. It opened recently in the former Cagney’s location near the Palladium, a spacious building with plenty of seating. Paintings for sale by local artists adorn the walls, and the interior is bright and clean.

Miam has no shortage of breakfast options, including lighter and (very few) gluten free offerings. Amid the various permutations of eggs/meat/bread, you’ll find plenty that looks familiar (omeletes, waffles, benedicts, etc.) as well as a few dishes that set Miam apart such as blueberry hushpuppies. Miam is also one of the few places in the area to offer a Monte Cristo on the daily menu.

While this variety is definitely appreciated, some of Miam’s naming conventions are idiosyncratic to say the least. The Mexican omelet is called The Mixture, and while The Island calls to mind Hawaiian, here it’s corned beef…with brie in place of cheddar (?!). This was too much of a curiosity to pass up, so I went with the Island and home fries while my wife opted for Red, White, and Blue French Toast.

Both meals hit the spot. The French Toast, which gets its name from the strawberry/blueberry/banana topping, was served on thick bread with fresh fruit. The omelet – meat, caramelized onions, spinach, and tomatoes inside/melted brie on top – was cooked to an appealing golden brown. The corned beef seemed to be made in-house, thankfully (the canned stuff ranges from passable to revolting), and the brie added creaminess to each bite. The home fries were nothing fancy, but they were nice and crispy.

Though Miam was decently busy when we arrived, we didn’t have to wait for a table, nor was the wait for our food terribly long. Bishma provided attentive service throughout the meal though I did have to wait longer than expected for the check. Miam’s prices are slightly higher relative to Cagney’s (our dishes were $12 apiece), but you do get plenty of food for your money.

Every so often, “Where can I get a good breakfast?” makes its rounds in local social media groups, and while the same few reliable options that get trotted out each time shouldn’t be dropped, Miam should definitely be added to that conversation. 

The Brutalist

 

Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor, immigrates to the United States, hoping to one day reunite with his wife Erzsebet (Felicity Jones). Laszlo is taken in by his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola), a Philadelphia furniture store owner who has assimilated and married a Catholic woman, Audrey (Emily Laird). Through Attila, Laszlo meets the wealthy industrialist Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce), who becomes his patron and helps Erzsebet and their niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy) emigrate. Despite this turn in fortune, Laszlo’s uncompromising nature, the toll of the Holocaust’s suffering, and the jealousy of Van Buren’s son Harry (Joe Alwyn) threaten to be his undoing.

It would seem ironic that a movie about an architectural movement that values minimalism clocks in at three and a half hours, but The Brutalist is every bit as thoughtfully crafted – and divisive – as its inspiration. Directed by Brady Corbett (who co-wrote the script alongside his partner Mona Fastvold), The Brutalist avoids being dragged down by its length and the familiarity of its premise thanks to strong performances and impeccable design.

Taking a sledgehammer to the American Dream wouldn’t have been a fresh take thirty years ago, and it certainly isn’t one now, but the way that Corbett does so here is still resonant (as is the film’s exploration of anti-Semitism). Through Toth and Van Buren’s relationship, he casts a withering eye on America’s treatment of immigrants: happy to accept them as long as they can claim credit for supporting their successes and obsessed with the idea that they don’t forget their place in the pecking order. And while Toth has shades of The Fountainhead's Howard Roark, Corbett does not idealize him, showing him as prone to angry outbursts and self-abuse.

Brody once again scored an Oscar for portraying a tormented Holocaust survivor, and it isn’t hard to see why. He conveys not only pain but outrage and devotion, all with conviction. Jones’s role is no less challenging: an Oxford-educated journalist working below her talents as her body fails her and her husband becomes a stranger before her eyes. She’s quite good in it, and it’s a shame that she isn’t on screen longer. While high-handed antagonists are definitely in Pearce’s wheelhouse, he gives the elder Van Buren enough complexities and contradictions to make him interesting despite his veiled monstrousness. The same cannot be said for Alwyn as his son, a one-note entitled creep. And while Nivola isn’t really bad as Attila, his inconsistent accent is distracting. We’re supposed to imagine a Philadelphian who’s trying too hard to cover up his Ashkenazi roots, but instead we get what amounts to a Boston guy who occasionally remembers he’s an immigrant.

The film’s look and sound at least do no wrong. The Brutalist is filmed in old-school VistaVision (think mid-1950s Paramount films) for a retro look. It oozes style thanks to cinematographer Lol Crawley (sharp-angled shots that allow the architecture to loom godlike over the cast) and production designer Judy Becker. Daniel Blumberg’s score mixes classical with industrial to mimic construction sounds and add tension.

Given how measured much of The Brutalist is, it isn’t surprising that some critics have taken its precision for hollowness, an impression amplified by the runtime. But this is not a case of aesthetics papering over emptiness. Just like the architecture it depicts, there is meaning in the seemingly cold and impersonal for those willing to see it.

Cocoa Cinnamon

 

Located at 2013 Chapel Hill Road (with other locations on Hillsborough Road and Geer Street), Cocoa Cinnamon serves coffee drinks, teas, baked goods, and desserts. Online ordering and outdoor seating are available.

Cocoa Cinnamon is the storefront for Little Waves Coffee Roasters, and if it were just a coffee shop, it would be worth visiting on that basis alone. The roastery received international recognition, and having previously picked up a bag of their beans from a Greensboro shop, I can say that it’s well-deserved. Cocoa Cinnamon gives you a chance to experience Little Waves in everything from a cup of joe to an espresso drink to a “wonder drink” with house made syrups and infusions.

Unfortunately, I had already reached my coffee limit for the day at the time of my visit (which didn’t stop me from snagging a bag of Royal 7 to take home). Fortunately, there is another very good reason to check out Coca Cinnamon: homemade churros. You can get them by themselves, in a pack, ala mode, or dipped in chocolate. Or, you can do what my wife and I did and split a Morros de Torros. 

This insane concoction features a churro dusted with your choice of sugars topped with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate and condensed milk drizzle. Made fresh to order, it was worth every cent of its $8 price tag. Seriously, it’s hard to overstate how good this dessert was. The churro was hot, the chocolate sauce had real chocolate flavor, and the sugar blend imparted a bit of spice as well as sweet. As if you don’t already have enough reasons to visit yet, Cocoa Cinnamon also offers fast service and an interesting ambiance that reflects the owner’s Mexican roots.  

Whether you just want a cup of coffee or want to send your tastebuds on a strange and delightful trip, Cocoa Cinnamon has you covered.

Angelina Cafe

 

Located at 220 Huffman Mill Road in Burlington, Angelina Café offers European-influenced diner food for lunch and dinner. It is open from 8-9 Monday-Saturday and 9-2 on Sunday. Specials change daily, and online ordering is available.

At first glance, Angelina Café does not seem all that different from the multitude of Greek-owned Southern diners in the area. It’s situated in a large building that has seen better days, and its menu is huge. Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll find a few things that set this Burlington spot apart. There’s a selection of sweet and savory crepes, they do cocktails and coffee drinks, and there are a bunch of tasty-looking cakes on display up front.

The café was bustling when our group of three arrived, but neither the ten-minute wait for our table nor the kitchen’s turnaround time was unreasonable in light of how busy the establishment was. That our server was courteous and attentive throughout the meal added to the sense that Angelina can handle the volume it likely receives on a daily basis.

A nightmare for the indecisive, the menu offers lots and lots of choices. Breakfast is served until 2, and options include benedicts, sandwiches, waffles, pancakes, omelets, skillets, combos, and more. The lunch/dinner selections add salads, burgers, Italian dishes, house specialties, a few steaks, and the aforementioned crepes. Everything from a fried tenderloin biscuit to lobster ravioli is for the taking here.

Our group opted to do breakfast for lunch, and I went with a smoked sausage breakfast sandwich, eggs scrambled, with potatoes on the side. It made for a very satisfying bite. Avocado and tomato balanced the saltiness of the meat nicely, and the brioche bun held everything together. The potatoes didn’t lack flavor, but they were crisp to the point of nearly burned. Even in that state, they may have been a safer bet than the grits (yellow, gloppy, and decidedly unappealing) that one of our group ordered. At least the pricing ($10 for a sandwich and a side, $9 apiece for breakfast specials with eggs/meat/side/bread) left no room for complaint.

The sign out front proclaims “Scratch Kitchen & Bar,” and between that and the menu’s Euro touches, you can be forgiven for thinking Angelina is striving to be something more than a diner. By that metric, the execution lags behind the ambition. But come here with more modest expectations, and you can appreciate the variety, value (and food, when they get it right) on their own terms.

The Sub Spot

Located at 3709 Battleground Avenue in Greensboro, The Sub Spot serves sandwiches and Mediterranean fare. It is open from 10-7 Monday-Friday, 10-5 Saturday, and closed Sunday. Specials change regularly, and online ordering is available.

 

Getting a sandwich here when Giacomo’s is a few hundred feet away seems blasphemous, but hey, at least they have indoor seating. All jokes aside, Sub Spot is a good representation of a neighborhood sandwich shop, replete with a no-frills (though clean) interior and Boar’s Head meats. They may not be fancy, but they are good at what they do.

 

I walked in craving a cheesesteak but was nearly swayed by the brisket sandwich listed as a special. Had I not known what I wanted, I would have had plenty to choose from: hot and cold sandwiches, salads, wings, kebabs, and more. They will let you customize toppings a la Subway (I added peppers, onions, and chipotle sauce), and they completed my order for takeout very quickly.

 

Much like Jersey Mike’s, Sub Spot serves up a far better cheesesteak than you’d expect at first glance. The bread was soft, the cheese melty, the meat and veggies savory and satisfying (and none too greasy). If you’re accustomed to a sandwich stuffed to the gills with meat, you might be disappointed, but I didn’t find the quantity to be too paltry.

 

Given what’s nearby, Sub Spot probably wouldn’t be my first choice for lunch in the area, but it is convenient, reasonably priced, and tasty, a solid option all around.