Eating in and around New Bern, NC

Places I tried while here and my thoughts:

Baker's Kitchen Restaurant & Bakery - Cute little place downtown. Great service until its check time, then they get super slow. Big crowd on Saturday morning. Food was okay. First time I had Chicken Fried Steak with scrambled eggs. Eggs were cooked well, biscuit was super moist and tasty, but chicken fried steak and gravy almost seemed frozen (even though they say nothing is) and a bit greasy. Second time I had a basic breakfast, two eggs over medium, bacon and their baker's potatoes (hashbrown casserole). Eggs were undercooked, bacon was good, casserole was ok. Overall I would say the place is average and works if you are downtown needing a bit, but I think I'll keep exploring.

El Cerro Grande - Craving mexican, decided to stop in and check 'em out. Super inexpensive. Fun decor. Really good tacos. I had the Taquira, which is the style with cilantro and onion instead of lettuce and cheese and such. The tortillas were homemade, the carne asada and el pastor seasoned well and the green sauce was tasty but not too spicy for a gringo like me! Service was fast.  You pay at the register when you are done.  I'd eat here again. Next time I want to try the Gorditas as they are hand made tortillas too. BTW they also serve cow head, tongue and tripe tacos!

Lawson's Landing Cafe - Stopped here mostly to work. Sat outside right on the water. Service was really good. Had a fantastic red table wine for $6. Just got an app, bruschetta with mozzarella added. It was very large and filled me up. Was okay. I wasn't blown away but I was happy with my food.

Morgan's Tavern & Grill - Swung by for lunch. They are located downtown. I went with a burger and salad. The burger was super tasty. They use ground steak, brisket and sirloin for their burgers and season and grill them well. The salad was good with nice ranch (I'm picky, I don't like tangy bottled junk)! Service was good, atmosphere was good.

The Deck at the Double Tree - My first night in I wanted to explore. Stopped here because it was on the water, had live DJ that night and seemed fun. I ordered a drink and burger at the bar and then sat down. The first guy I ordered from at the bar seemed like he was on vacation, luckily the bar tender was on spot. After a long while I flagged a waitress asking about my food and a drink refill. They seemed to have forgotten, Mr. On Vacation came out with my food, cold. I think it would have been tasty if it had been warm, but blue cheese on cold beef, not super good. Drink refill or water never came. Walked up to bar, asked for drink and water, mentioned cold food. The second bar tender, was also on spot and apologized, gave me both my drink and water for free and was quick. I would have liked to stay and enjoy, but a large family decided to swarm the benches surrounding me (literally one of their knees practically in my back) and then started using my table to sit and talk at. So overall, I left not wanting to return.

MJs Raw Bar - Stopped in for lunch after yoga. Great fresh crab cake sandwich.

Bay Leaf - A good little Indian restaurant with lunch buffet. Reminded me of Bay Leaf in Baton Rouge!

Paso Fino (Wilmington) - Would definitely come here again. House made items from various latin influenced countries. Super friendly owner. The Pinot Noir was actually pretty good. Shag dance lessons on Tuesday nights.