Print Works Bistro, Greensboro NC

Hotel dining goes upscale at Print Works Bistro, in the LEED-certified Proximity Hotel. Delicious food, beautiful atmosphere.

When I began the blog 4 years ago, I didn’t quite know how far I would go with it, and it was really for me and the few friends who knew about it. Once I got near to my original goal of 100 new restaurants, I had no plans to stop. But at that point I wasn’t going any further than some more friends and family. In the past year I’ve worked very hard on social media promotion, and improving my blog. The next step? Find that person/group who wants to pay me to travel and write about food! But until that happens, it still boils down to those friends who have jumped in with the same passion to help my blog grow.

Kara and I have been friends since college and, one of the things we do best is making plans on the fly. Well, Kara is the real master planner, and I follow along. The plans aren’t quite as “on the fly” anymore, since she lives in Greensboro NC and I’m in Oklahoma. Plus, we have real life work and responsibilities. A couple of years ago Kara suggested that I come down there for a Greensboro food tour. We were both in Maryland a few weeks ago for a friend’s birthday party and, by the end of the night, had a plan that included visiting as many restaurants as possible in 48 hours.

I drove down to Greensboro Monday, and arrived in time for lunch at Hops Burger Bar. Kara’s husband Scott cooked dinner for us on Monday night, and we called it an early night so we could be refreshed and ready to hit the ground running on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning we dropped her kids off at camp, and our first stop was breakfast at the Proximity Hotel.

Proximity Hotel is the first hotel in the country to receive LEED Platinum certification. In a nutshell, Proximity Hotel is a sustainable property, including solar panels on the roof to heat the water, the bistro bar is made of salvaged solid walnut trees, most of the construction waste was recycled, and guests can use complimentary bikes to ride on the nearby 5-mile greenway.

Print Works Bistro is the hotel restaurant. There is a separate entrance to Print Works Bistro at the back of the hotel, but Kara walked me through the hotel so I could see the very cool architecture and design.

Print Works Bistro has huge walls of windows on 3 sides of the restaurant, providing lots of natural light. This is, of course, part of the sustainability of the entire property. The restaurant seats about 150, and the tables are 2-tops and 4-tops. The tall curtains can divide the space into semi-private sections for 54 people.

Yes, it kind of looks like a ladies-who-lunch country club restaurant. But the chairs are super comfortable, and once I got past the first impression, I really liked it.

There is also an outdoor patio, and of course seating in the bar area. I love the open look and feel of the bar.

Print Works Bistro is open daily, and serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, and even a late night menu. Kara raved about the Wednesday evening Mussels & Music. This weekly event features Prince Edward Mussels and live music. Kara is the event coordinator for Earlier.org, a non-profit that raises money for an earlier breast cancer test. Earlier.org has hosted several events at Print Works Bistro.

The breakfast menu includes pastries/breads/cereals, breakfast plates, and a la carte dishes. We began with coffee, of course with complimentary refills

Kara had the morning scramble, and asked for whole eggs instead of just egg whites. She also asked for fruit instead of quinoa on the side. Our server asked if she wanted the fruit on the side or all mixed in. Well, fruit mixed into an egg scramble would make absolutely no sense, and the menu states “served with quinoa”.

The scramble is really delicious. Grilled chicken with eggs may seem like an odd combination, but it works. I didn’t try any of the fruit, but it is a great combination of fruits, and a generous portion. Kara has had quite a few dishes on the menu. She said the scramble is a recent addition, and is now one of her favorites.

I got the avocado and bacon toast, with honey yogurt and berries

The avocado relish was fabulous, with a generous portion and big chunks of avocado. I typically don’t care for poached eggs, but these are perfectly cooked and delicious. I can’t say enough good about the yogurt parfait. Raw honey tastes so much better than regular, and it adds such a wonderful sweetness and silkiness to the yogurt. The yogurt did get a little heavy at the end, so once I ate all the extra stuff, I stopped.

Will I go back to Print Works Bistro? No question. I really enjoyed the food, and I would love to visit for Mussels & Music.

For reviews of more restaurants in Greensboro, click on the photos below!