Charlotte, NC Restaurants

[corinnesweeney]

Traveling to downtown (Uptown) Charlotte, North Carolina next month and looking for recommendations for outstanding food and wine..... need not be fancy (though that is okay), but must be good...

C

[kpurvis]

Welcome, Corinne. Charlotte is a jumping town for food. I answered a reply like this one a few months back that you could probably locate if you use a search. And since I'm a food writer at the local paper, it's not really fair of me to weigh in on the pros/cons of different places. But I can certainly give you a primer:

Uptown (it's called uptown here, not downtown): Mimosa Grill, chef'ed by Tom Condron (Upstream, also chef'ed by Tom, has gotten some national coverage); Sonoma Grill, where Tim Groody specializes in California-style with great locally grown produce; Mert's Heart and Soul is a little funky/a little uptown; Aquavina, new, very hot and on a great location next to a beautiful new park; Bijoux for upscale French (great zinc bar, upstairs seafood bar); Mortons/Capitol Grill/Bistro 100 for upscale chains. For slightly funkier at lunch, look for Tic-Toc Diner, Gus's Sir Beef in the Latta Arcade and a few blocks toward the edge, the remade Presto Grille. For brewery/bistro with good food, Ri-Ra (check out the facade on the Transamerica Plaza) and Red Rocks. Also look for Carpe Diem.

[hjshorter]

As I posted on another thread, I am heading to Charlotte next week with my 1-year-old. These look like great suggestions, Kathi - are any of them kid-friendly? I don't need a kid's menu (I don't feed my kids that stuff) but a high chair and no dirty looks would be a plus.

[kpurvis]

All the places from Mert's through the rest of the list would be. In addition, for kid-friendly, Ethans is a really nice, white-tablecloth place that I'd still be comfortable taking a kid to. Mark Martin named it after his own son, Ethan. It's in an old house in Elizabeth. Also fun/funky places to go with kids: The Penguin, one of my favorite places (former dive diner that was remade just enough to be cleaner and get a fun menu, but not enough to lose its style), and Fuel Pizza. There are Fuels all over town now, but my favorite is still the original one, in an old A-shaped gas station on Central Avenue in Plaza-Midwood (right around the corner from Penguin). There's also AnnTony's, the Caribbean place in Elizabeth, and the Roasting Company is very popular with families. The food is good (I have a think for their Tico sauce) but the atmosphere is nothing to speak off -- counter service and booths.

[hjshorter]

Thanks loads! I'm driving down Tuesday eve and staying through Sunday, so I can probably get a few meals in with my family down there.

Here's hoping that Charlotte has a good fireworks display. I'm kinda sad to be missing the DC show.

[kpurvis]

What area of town are you staying in? I could probably streamline the suggestions if I know you were in Ballantyne vs. Fourth Ward.

Also, if you're going to be uptown, there is a Saturday morning farmers market across from Reid's in Seventh Street Station that has a lot of kid-friendly activities. Not a big market, but they usually have enough crafts and vegetables to make it worthwhile, and they usually have a special activity every week. Also, Seventh St. is also a fun place to take a kid -- it's an interactive parking deck. It plays music, and it has clues scattered around the building that you can use to make it really light up and play music. It's close to Discovery Place, the Museum of the New South and the Mint Museum of Craft and Design, if you're doing the full-out visitor thing.

[hjshorter]

What area of town are you staying in? I could probably streamline the suggestions if I know you were in Ballantyne vs. Fourth Ward.

My mom and sister live close to Southpark Mall, near Sharon Road, Tyvola, etc. Not downtown, but not too far away either.

We usually go to Discovery Place, so I know that downtown area pretty well. There's a nice brewpub nearby that I've eaten at a couple of times.

[ErinB]

I'm in Charlotte for the next 3 days from CT. I've looked up the indian place, Jaipur and can't seem to find it listed? Anyone know anything about this?

[kpurvis]

I'm sorry, I was out of town and didn't see your question until today. The phone number is 704-643-1421 and the address is 5909 South Blvd., if that helps.