GONNA HAVE MYSELF A TIME: Does anyone at the ALOTT5MA Travel & Leisure Desk have advice for places to visit and dine while in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I'll be for the next week? I'll be staying in the South Park section, for whatever that's worth.
I don't know Charlotte, but my one strong position relating to Carolina food is that North Carolina mustard/vinegar BBQ is an abomination.
ReplyDeletePump your brakes there. Mustard 'cue is South (or Baja) Carolina.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as I tweeted earlier in the week, if you happen to see me on C-SPAN dancing badly, shoot me in the head. Twice.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, DVR it and post it on Youtube. (What?)
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing I'll be doing most of my fine dining in Charlotte at the media snack bar in the convention center. So basically oily "quesadillas" and chicken wraps.
ReplyDeleteBut when I visited Charlotte in preparation for the convention, I had a very nice dinner at Luce Ristorante on North Tryon Street, which is only a few blocks away from the Time Warner Arena.
And I'm told that if you're looking for barbeque, the place to try is City Smoke, also on North Tryon. (Having gone to school in Virginia, I tend to think everything in Carolina is an abomination, including the barbeque. But when in Rome ...)
Hi, I live in Charlotte and work in South Park. Happy to assist.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte is not a great tourist destination in the sense that there is nothing to see or do. (I can't figure out why the Chamber of Commerce hasn't hired me yet.) There is the NASCAR museum, if you're interested, and there's some shopping, but the urban center is about 8 blocks long and gets quiet after business hours. Otherwise, it's mostly suburbany neighborhoods. There is the US National White Water Center, which is the national whitewater rafting training compound. There are some nice parks, Freedom Park is the prettiest. The state's biggest tourist attraction is Concord Mills, which is Franklin Mills, only in NC.
As for food, we're getting much, much better. Johnson and Wales University moved to Charlotte 5ish years ago and the dining experience has gotten much more diverse and interesting. Jim Noble has several restaurants--Nobles is high-end fine dining, but Roosters (in South Park) is its less expensive cousin. He has has The King's Kitchen uptown, which assists with feeding the poor locally (http://www.kingskitchen.org/). If you like seafood or sushi, there's Upstream in South Park. Barrington's is a great higher-end restaurant that seats about 30 people total. Great food, locally grown. There are a host of restaurants Uptown, many of them chains (Ruths Chris, McCormick and Schmick, eg). In the Plaza-Midwood section, just east of Uptown, there's Dish for diner-type Southern food like shrimp and grits, and there's Lulu, which is a nice little bistro.
Honestly, Adam, you could email me each day what you're hungry for and I can advise you. Enjoy! Welcome to the Queen City! If you need anything, let me know. I'll email the blog so you have my email address.
And vinegar is Eastern Carolina. Western Carolina BBQ is tomato-based.
ReplyDeleteYou're entitled to your wrong opinion.
ReplyDeleteHalcyon (in the Mint Museum building) is great, farm to table dining.
ReplyDeleteI thought the double tap was only for zombies? Is it for uncoordinated politicos too?
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that when one is in South Park, one absolutely must try Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls.
ReplyDeleteThe w's bachelorette dinner was at a place called Blue, which has live jazz. She liked the dinner, the jazz not so much (she's not a fan. I married her anyway).
ReplyDeleteThe party, as I understand it, was then at the Knothole Saloon, which I'm sure is also a fine establishment.
The w's bachelorette dinner was at a place called Blue, which has live jazz. She liked the dinner, the jazz not so much (she's not a fan. I married her anyway). It is at the corner of College and 5th, or at least it was four years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe party, as I understand it, was then at the Knothole Saloon, which I'm sure is also a fine establishment.
It's a bit of a drive, but the NC Zoo is spectacular. If you like minor league baseball, the Charlotte Knights aren't bad and they're in town Sunday, Monday, Friday. I was up there about a month ago was able to buy 2nd row seats 30 minutes before the game.
ReplyDeleteI'll second the Johnson & Wales area for restaurants. If you want to go old school Charlotte and you like fried fish, there's the Riverview Inn below the airport. It's exactly how I remember it from the 70s.
Man. Haters need to relax. When I hear "wrong" and "bbq" in the same sentence I just get all sad. It's a big tent. Bigger the more bbq we all eat together. Or at least, you know, down the years we'll need a bench that's longer and longer and some folks have will have to sit in the sun until we can get a tent upgrade. Whatever. Do like you do. Do I want a bite? No. I want a plate. And seconds. I'll bring beer.
ReplyDeleteAdam, the Sterns have never steered me wrong, and there seem to be an inordinate number of places reviewed on the roadfood.com site for Charlotte. Umm, and, if you have a car, one of the more famous pilgrimage type barbecues, Lexington #1 is only 49 miles away. Have eaten there. Can vouch for extreme pigginess. Sauce is vinegar and herb based. Brought home a case.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? It's like hearing east coasters complain about pizza.
ReplyDeleteAnd reasonably, ask any Chicagoans who have been to Charlotte if they can recommend something. Not that we have great BBQ here, but we're enough out of the loop in THAT fight that we have some objectivity.
ReplyDeleteI think it's safe to assume that if Adam is dancing badly, he is a zombie. Pre-re-animated, he is Fred Astaire.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but whatever you do, avoid the chili.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Azteca, a real authentic mexican restaurant near where Billy Graham Pky crosses I-77. They make the guacamole at the table.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of my South Park-area food has come from Panera or the dining room at my Mom's nursing home. But I've been following this blog, hoping to get some better fare on a future trip: http://helendining.blogspot.com.