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Discussion
My parents are coming into town this weekend and I’d like to take them to some of Charlotte’s best places to eat.
What places would you consider a must-eat if visiting Charlotte?
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You should definitely try Fig Tree. IMHO it is the best restaurant in Queen City.
Ate there for the first time on Friday. Was not disappointed.
Kindred. Hands down some of the best food I've ever had. Yes, it's technically in Davidson and a bit far but so so worth it. The squid-ink pasta is amazing, and they usually have interesting drinks.
I'm a 50ish-year-old Charlotte native and don't know any of these places but Beef & Bottle, and at that, I've never eaten there.
I like beef and bottle solid place.
Yea I've been here about 30 years and it seems like everyone's just listing off the top hip places of the year. I've been to or heard of most of them and they're barely a step over fast casual dining or Carrabba's and hardly representative of the city. There's nothing wrong with that but not what I'd suggest as a function of a Charlotte cuisine experience.
I'm coming off like a massive food snob now but half these recommendations are the equivalent of calling OMB the best brewery in Charlotte: yea they do great beer but it's hardly exciting or interesting and there's a shop making classic German beers everywhere. Almost nothing about it says 'Charlotte'.
Bring on the downvotes, folks, but nobody ever poses a good argument about why any of these places are more than the temporary pop-up shop equivalent of food. Half of them didn't exist 15 years ago and half of those won't be around in 5 when the next food trend comes and goes. I'd hardly call something a 'Charlotte must-have' if it's more fickle than the traffic pattern on Independence.
Probably being downvoted bc you're complaining about everyone's suggestions without listing alternatives in the same post (not everyone will see you posted elsewhere). Also, Charlotte was a completely different city 15 years ago. It's very reasonable for there to be a ton of new restaurants :P Just because a place hasn't been around for decades doesnt mean it isn't representative of Charlotte in its current state. People are visiting Charlotte to see what it is like today, not 15 years ago.
I'm fine with 'Charlotte cuisine' being a floating point/abstract concept that varies alongside the city's style but, no, Charlotte hasn't changed enough in 15 years to justify half the opinions in this thread that are so far removed from the spirit of the city itself that they can be dropped almost anywhere and still fit in just fine.
It's definitely complaint on my part but totally reasonable if people are going to say a diner in Plaza, an eclectic fusion hipster tapas joint on Montford, or a taco place on North Davidson are among the best eats in the city. Nothing about that says Charlotte.
I don’t even completely disagree. I wouldn’t have picked many of those places to be Charlotte’s food representative. They are good, but not at the top of the list of places I’d want to show an out-of-towner with limited time.
But the city has changed and grown a ton and I think that’s part of why people generally think of the most recent happening/trendy places. That and the fact that there isn’t a huge established/old cuisine scene here.
I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. You are 100% correct. I have lived here my entire life and this is how it's always been. We have our staples for sure. But our food scene does stay very trendy and temporary (as they do in larger cities). So finding the staples, the hidden gems, the historical Charlotte eats, whatever you want to call them, is key. Also, thank you for saying that about OMB. They have always been very underwhelming to me and I've never understood all the hype when we have other delicious original takes on craft beer.
Thanks for the props. Pretty sure some people enjoy the masturbatory exercise of listing how many cool restaurants they know or finding who can list the most popularly obscure place than they enjoy actual food, or the point of the post every time it's asked which is 'must-visit Charlotte locales', not '2017s trendiest place'. Nothing wrong with that, but pointing it out to them definitely wasn't going to make me popular.
So what restaurants would be on your list?
Edit: I didn't read far enough down. Solid choices. Also love a nice piece of meat and a big Cab.
Thanks, I thought so too but apparently I'm in the minority here (in more ways than one- ha!).
It seems like these recommendation threads are always catered to a specific price point I don't really vibe with as 'going out to eat'. I grew up poor as hell and have been an intermediate-moderate skill home cook for about 30 years so $20 a head is 'great dinner at home' territory and not 'going out to dinner', for me. After tipping out waitstaff and a drink that's a $10-12 meal which is pretty firmly a casual dining experience- not a lot that's interesting can be had on that budget that can't be better done at your house.
If I'm going to eat out it's a function of an experience and ambiance alongside food and that'll run you a little more than picking up a meal from Viva Chicken. I don't eat dinner out a lot on my dime really, maybe once or twice a month, but when I do it's about maximizing the use of the cash whereas $20 for a couple tacos and a beer at Cabo or isn't really doing it for me and definitely doesn't reach into 'must-have Charlotte food'.
Every city South of Pennsylvania has a dozen Mexican places but Beef 'n Bottle is a piece of Charlotte history. I can get a steak at The Palm anywhere between LA and DC but having a duck l'orange like the one at Lumiere is a rarity. Fried chicken can be had in your kitchen and any number of shops across the US (except in Maine where I conspicuously didn't find any I liked) but the mussels at Georges are the best you can get between here and the ocean in any direction. I wouldn't go to California and pretend I had a quintessential Napa Valley experience at the chicken shack off Main St because The French Laundry is there and everyone knows that, so I don't think we should sit in Charlotte and pretend Cabo is anything more than a good fish taco joint when we've got places like BnB in town.
TL;DR - I'm a snob and I hate wasted money so if you're going out to dinner in Charlotte drop one or two more Jacksons per head than you would at Panera and the experience can be worthy of calling it a 'must-have' location.
My price range would be around ~$20 a plate.
I’m trying to pick places that are great representations of Charlotte.
My ideas for dinner included Midwood Smokehouse, Seoul, mac’s speedshop, etc. Nothing too fancy but not wanting to look cheap.
For lunch, I was looking for lighter plates like Viva Chicken, Dish, etc. I’m thinking about taking them to Toast for breakfast because I went to Tupleo Honey last weekend and was disappointed to see how much prices increased.
I also plan on taking them to Sycamore on Friday night to introduce them to our Brewery scene. They’re from Indianapolis so this concept is pretty foreign to them.
I'd skip Mac's and do Saucemans instead if you need BBQ in your rotation. Mac's is pretty mediocre even as chains go.
Native here. What about kings bbq on wilkinson. Thats kind of a land mark
Never been but Google pulls BBQ King on Wilkinson that I think I've swung by once or twice and I was pretty impressed with (same place?). It's a little out of the way for me to hit regularly enough to remember.
Its one of those staples that is ok for the convenience. Or if you like homely, the way charlotte used to be.. not spectacular, but reminds you of home.
That's pretty sweet- I'll swing through tomorrow for lunch then thanks for the recommendation!
It sounds oddly familiar and looks vaguely so from the photos on Google but I can't remember for the life of me if I've gone before. If it's solid you'll have done me a huge favor- I love my BBQ but the idea of a drive up to Lexington on a weekend sounds like a huge bore and setting up a smoking rig of my own is something I've yet to tackle so I've been stuck with just hitting Sauceman's when the urge for some good brisket, smoky ribs, or pulled pork strikes me which can be inconvenient at the wrong time of day since I kinda hate the South/West/East Blvd area.
Midwood has the superior BBQ, Mac's has the more unique ambiance (and frankly, more traditional BBQ style).
Toast and Viva or Dish for your other meals is great, I think you've got a solid plan already.
I might suggest Olde Mecklenburg brewery though, Sycamore is pretty great, but a proper beer garden is not something easily found ANYWHERE in the U.S.. Just be ready for a zoo at either place you go.
When I lived in Dilworth I was obessed with Mac's. One perk was I could walk there so that helped. Now that I'm in Plaza I've seen the light... Midwood Smokehouse is just straight up amazing. The wife and I grab a generic plate plus one of their salads to split once a week.
IMO Macs sides > Midwood Smokehouse sides but Midwood BBQ > Moes BBQ.
Midwood usually has WR Overachiever on draft which is one of my favorite beers but Macs has an awesome beer selection.
I love them both but if I want to have a couple beers I usually just go to Macs
Beware that food truck Friday’s are Sycamore if you aren’t looking to deal with massive crowds
I know the crowds are crazy. As a 25 year old, I wanted to show my parents what we normally do on the weekends.
Those are all good choices, another good lunch option could be The Roasting Company instead of viva chicken. It's one of my favorite lunch spots, it's also a different area of the city to explore than your other choices.
For something homely, i also suggested the soda shoppe
Definitely Midwood Smokehouse. It has become Charlotte's BBQ staple by far. And Dish is great for southern comfort food!
Hey um... so native here... want some historical place, the bbq place on wilkinson, i think its kings past the dairy queen. Its a drive in. The dq has been there forever, prices chicken coop behind the light rail near the old phat burrito (closed). Macs is a good option definitely. The soda shoppe in park road shopping center is good. Im thinking of homely places. A lot of the 20~ plate places are fine, but they arent the holes in the wall. A lot of places have been springing up.
Honestly, since theres so much mixed into charlotte, you want the places that have been around for forever.
Edit: im 27
Edit2: plaza is good for places that have been around.
Prices is awesome, but I think Bar-B-Q King kinda sucks. There are a ton of better old school BBQ places around, not even considering new stuff like Midwood and Macs
Know what, where the hell is the vinegar based bbq places? Like i need some vinegar sauce, not the sc mustard bs. Lol. Kings has just been around a while so its popular.
Know what we need, a bbq place strictly nc style to set the stage. Like all those texas joints with the pits and ovens that have been around for forever.
Bill Spoons has vinegar based sauce
Lake shore BBQ in Denver nc has vinegar based sauce. I use to work there I know.
I mean in charlotte :/ theres tons of holes in the wall outside charlotte. We just need a nice brick place in town
Good Food on Montford
This is a great answer.
Midwood Smokehouse
Dish
End of discussion, no need to look further
Heard Dish is great need to try it.
I agree with both of these (had Midwood Smokehouse cater my wedding) but I would add Diamond to the list for burgers, dogs and random other things on their menu. Best part about this list is the literal 5 minute WALK between each location.
Dish isn't bad, just a solid good. I don't mind going there but if I had my choice I'd go elsewhere.
Totally agree. Lived in PM for about 6 years now and it's the place I go the least. Known 2 cooks there - a lot of it is frozen.
Edit: That's a lie. I never eat a Zada Jane's. Went there once and NEVER AGAIN. Just - so plain.
Dish is fantastic, especially on Saturday morning when they have the breakfast menu. Why they don't serve it every morning is beyond me.
Dish is one of my favorites!
Seoul Food
Love the place, just wish they'd turn the fucking music down a few notches
Yeah, we really like this place... It is very good plus it's the closest thing we have found to give us a fix when we're craving Korean BBQ as well.
Good Food On Montford - Soul Gastropub
Soul is awesome...although if OP’s parents are like my mom, they might not want to wait a long time for a table. Going early is highly recommended!
use the NoWait app. you can get in line from your couch two hours before you want to eat.
I love tapas-styled cuisine as much as the next guy but I can't stand this place's love affair with pretentious portion to quality disparity. Lumiere does a stellar job at providing incredible concentration of quality on a small plate but for Good Food to charge what they do they need more than a Montford address to be worth the time. Add their schizophrenic wine list to the mix and general service apathy and it's really more like someone visited the Rhone and Spain and decided to build a restaurant on fusing the worst parts of both cuisines, to me.
Soul at least does the tapas part right.
Dude! Go to zacks. Its a Staple. Just homely enough
Zacks is awesome, I only discovered it about 5 years ago or so and now I'm in love- I swing through for lunch whenever I can find a reason to be in the area. If they had a couple bottles of domestic beer to choose from and maybe a bottle or two of wine behind a bar I'd be there on a daily basis just to hang out after work. Real shame but I get that it's a family place.
I basically grew up there. Owner is a friend
You know it was on the show homeland
My favorite places to eat in Charlotte that haven’t been mentioned are Alexander Mikes, String Bean (Belmont), and Futo Buto
Haberdish, Stoke, and 5Church.
Edited to add:
Tupelo Honey is a great place to take parents. Pinky’s is really fun. Pump House in Rock Hill is kinda far but has a gorgeous view.
Was not impressed with Haberdish at all. They seem to take some pride in their fried chicken and it was at the low end of mediocre. Several of their other dishes were also sub-par. That and we had made a reservation well in advance for a large party and they hadn't made any arrangements to seat us despite the fact that the weather was fine and there would have been plenty of space on the porch if all the chairs hadn't been locked up.
The only thing they had going for them was El Jimador as their well tequila.
I’ve gone twice and have really enjoyed it. Different strokes, I suppose.
Yeah. You're allowed to like it, but I wouldn't personally recommend it to anyone I actually liked. It could very well be that they just had some duds on the kitchen staff that night, although any restaurant worth its salt should take measures to prevent any such inconsistencies before they happen.
Cabo Fish Taco across the street, though, shouldn't be missed. It's always good, and the service has always been excellent.
It's possible I may be alone in not really liking this place. I'd rather go to Sabor.
Seems like we're getting a Sabor on every street corner. Really need to try the place out.
Cabo and Sabor are two completely different things for me. And I'll pick Sabor every time bc their nachos are so damn good
I prefer Krazy fish in plaza-Midwood...sooo good
I think Cabo is well below average. $13 for tacos? No fucking thanks.
For one taco?
New South Kitchen in the Arboretum really puts them to shame if you want to give it a try.
Haberdish felt a lot to me like someone went to New South or the Cotton Exchange in Savannah a couple times and then decided we needed "that" but in NoDa. Having grown up on some of that classic Southern food with a black grandma in the kitchen I just got a commercialized "Southern Kitchen" vibe from the food when I was at Haberdish. I wouldn't go back with so many other options in NoDa for eats.
I loved their sides more than the chicken. I mean the chicken was fine, but I found myself way more into their sides and drink menu.
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I just went on Saturday. I liked the food, but the service wasn’t great. It was pretty loud, too.
Pizza: Aliño's.
Hands down the best (and most authentic) Italian pizzeria in the state, maybe even the east coast.
It tastes the way climaxing feels.
Breakfast or snack time
http://www.ameliesfrenchbakery.com/
Beef 'n Bottle and Village Tavern are my two staple locales if I want great food- but I'm a steak and potatoes with a bottle of big cabernet kind of guy. Lumiere is great if you like French cuisine, their sole is awesome. Georges Brasserie has my favourite mussels from a non-coastal location. Frankly I wouldn't let someone I care about leave Charlotte without going to Beef 'n Bottle.
Usually if I'm going to dinner though it's for work so I end up at the chains like Sullivans/The Palm/Capital Grille/Chima- nothing wrong with them but you can also go to one in every major city in the world so it's not especially exciting.
I dig the atmosphere but man I think most people can cook as decent a steak as what they serve.
That's mostly my point, yeah.
I'm a big fan of pretty traditional cuisine and Charlotte doesn't do many niche/specialty cuisines that extraordinarily anyway so if I'm going to dinner it's likely because I want something I can do just fine but don't feel like putting together myself, or want the great atmosphere and locale of a restaurant. Beef does a killer job on that front- solid food with great ambience and Charlotte history. Village Tavern is a chill vibe kind of location and I end up rubbing shoulders with someone cool almost every time I go, same deal. They're 'The Palm for locals/residents' in my opinion.
There aren't a ton (or even more than a couple) of Charlotte restaurants I'd throw out as examples of stellar, mind blowing food or things you wouldn't rather prep and execute at home. Even being this close to Lexington we have like 2 BBQ places I'd recommend (one style of cuisine it's definitely easier to eat out than prepare at home). Our city also kinda lacks a defined stylistic choice for food as well, so if I have a friend in from out of state and they want a great Charlotte experience I'd hit BnB before whatever the hot niche spot of the season is.
I'm just rambling at this point.
did you know they have a location in the freaking Phillipines? and I think it was only like their fourth one
No way? Jesus... that's pretty crazy. I knew they branched out but didn't know exactly where.
it turns out their head corporate chef is Filipino, but still wild that it was one of their first franchises. pretty adventurous move for Richardson to set up shop that far from Winston Salem.
Youre talking about the "hot spots" of south charlotte. Southpark, etc. I know because im native. Granted the palm and beef n bottle, but what about the Holes in the wall. Yes those are holes, not in the bad way, but i mean something casual.
I mean Village Tavern is pretty darn casual- I don't think I've ever seen anyone in there with a graphic tee, cargo shorts, and a pair of Jordans but it's very laid-back, and I don't think it gets more casual than BnB, it's got probably the chillest most non-pretentious vibe of any steakhouse I've been to- and despite being born in Charlotte I've traveled and lived in a fairly wide swath of locations in and out of the US.
Don't worry- I'm not being intentionally thick, I get your point, but besides 21 South and Price's (arguably overrated) Chicken Coop we don't have a lot of quintessential Charlotte spots that are at the level of being 'must visit' but also 'in and out for $15, shirt and shoes optional'.
Lol, "arguably over rated" xD. Yeah, kinda wish we had some Good staples. You know, like the ones travel channel visits. But with the city taring down any significant old spot......
lol well you know what I mean, right? I've been a few times- they do some good chicken for sure but it had almost demigod status around the city for awhile by transplants from up North that moved in and heard about fried chicken for the first time or something. I had co-workers telling me 'oh my god you have to go to Price's it's amazing' I'm like... 'what the shit? have you never had fried chicken before?!'
Oh I totally agree, same here. I hate that 'NoDa/PM/hipster places that opened like 5 years ago' and 'whatever brewery is cool' seems to be the solution to this for so many people around here.
Atlanta, Miami, NYC, hell even Detroit, Birmingham, and Philadelphia all have crazy awesome food scenes in the vein that you and I are both talking about- classic old/traditional shops everyone knows that would top any 'must visit' list whether you visited today or 20 years ago. Meanwhile our best-of list in this thread is topped by whatever flavor of the month niche restaurant that opened in the last few months and got 'reviewed' well by the Charlotte Agenda- as though they've ever done a proper restaurant review that had a decent word to pictures ratio. A cumulative one paragraph of text and 40 pictures of the inside of a restaurant does not a review or a restaurant make.
For me La Unica taqueria in south blvd was great, an i felt the 100% mexican experience, northen music, soccer games, and the tower of tortillas in the kitchen, they got tripas tacos, chiken liver tacos, tongue, and the clasics, but i know there is a ton of good mexican places at the city, also the open a Venezuelan/colombian restaurant in the woodlawn arepas grill.
Also charlotte compare foods is one of the most latin supermarkets i have ever gone to, and i lived in miami.
Yeah, honestly, if we got someones grand mother in a kitchen, we could have more chicken. Honestly, with money, you can find good food anywhere. We need places that havent been torn down, or have been made by brick and have a chimney from the smoke of cranking out awesome well done food. A place people must visit. To me, i think the staple of the city is the people. Oh, and zacks.
Honestly, its the cheap places to eat that have the genuine feel. But some places that are cheap, cant keep up with property value, so they get bought, no more mom and pop
The Diamond for premium bar food and southern cooking.
I would rate Dish slightly above for southern food, but Diamond is great too.
I agree. Dish does Southern a little better. Their meatloaf, so good.
Never been impressed, but that was the burgers twice with different sides (figured first time was an off night).
What exactly is the go to item there? The burger was ok, for a greasy 'Im drunk and need a burger' fix, but nothing to write home about.
The Diamond is overrated. It's good, comforting, and hits that nostalgic greasy dive bar kind of vibe but with all the amazing and diverse Charlotte restaurants this city has to offer how it even comes up in conversation still blows my mind.
It comes up because it's not over rated. The food is great. Just because there are alot of other great options doesn't diminish how good the Diamond is. It is also fairly cheap which plays into as well.
It is great but that doesn't mean it isn't overrated. When you're making a "must eat" list you do have to rank them and to me the Diamond doesn't make the cut, not because it isn't good but because there are other great restaurants that should take priority.
It would make my "late-night meal" cut for sure, but it wouldn't be on my list of places to take an out-of-towner if they had limited time.
Price range in mind?
If you're up for italian food, Fiamma is, hands down, the best Italian food i've had IMO.
Essex Bar and Bistro, 5Church and you can't go wrong with Rusans for sushi.
Pinky's.
Waldron is having Oktoberfest this weekend.
If they were coming in on Thursday, I would say Lupies chicken and dumplings should be on the list.
For under 20, I think the best options are Los Paisas in Pineville (Columbian) and the numerous Pho and Ramen shops in town.
Brooks sandwich shop. Best burger in charlotte, great for lunch
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Sir edmond halleys
Macs Speed Shop
I don't understand everyone's fascination with Macs. To me it's mediocre food at best. (not trying to attack you).