Never been, there for work at the end of the month. Anything of note?
I fear I’m too late. Honestly, stunningly weird city, lol.
Leah & Louise is solid and a good option for food you ain’t finding in LA. The interior leaves a lot to be desired, and it’s not cheap.
HEX which is in the same center as Leah and Louise is very solid 3rd wave coffee plus natty wine.
The massive food hall is worth a visit.
It’s a bad eating town my friend. As my brother says, Charlotte has no personality if its own and is at least 8 years behind legitimate cities in terms of food trends.
God speed
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Thank you sir! Just about to leave and man, what a fucking weird, weird place. Actually had really solid Dominican food for the first time since moving from NYC so that was a big plus, but otherwise, never again shall I darken this door!
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It’s one of the weirdest, most soulless spots I’ve ever been. I usually love mid-sized cities in small doses. Loved Tulsa, for instance. Charlotte was dire!
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Walked about 40m each way to dine at CustomShop last night. I didn’t really have much else to do so I didn’t mind the walk, but I’ll agree with @set0312 that the city lacks any charm.
I was hoping to start with the beef tartare, but they were out of it so I went with the golden beets. It was a very good beet dish with nice textural contrast between the soft beets and the crunchy dukkah. The carmelized onion yogurt dip was delicious.
The saffron buccatini was an awesome pasta dish. The pasta was cooked correctly and the saffron and chorizo combined nicely as a sauce. The shrimp were ever so slightly overcooked, but not so bad that it ruined the dish.
The pork loin I received was absolutely hammered so this was a complete miss for me. They comped my dessert as an apology.
Dessert was the peach cake which was delicious though lacking any peach flavor. The thyme ice cream was a nice component without being overpowering. I didn’t taste much bourbon in the caramel but it was moderately dark and appropriately seasoned.
I’d go back if I was in the area, but would not walk 40m to get to it.
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So…I’m guessing nobody has any Charlotte or Blacksburg recommendations?
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Eating at one Charlotte restaurant doesn’t give me a lot of knowledge of the Charlotte food scene. But I did a fair bit of research trying to find something decent and healthy on the NW (airport) side of town. I ended up at Azul Tacos. It was actually quite good. Homemade blue corn tortillas, tasty marinated chicken, and memorably delicious duck fat refried beans. Salsas were on point too. It seemed deservedly popular around lunch time. I would put it in the upper echelon of LA taco places, well above Guisados for me.
p.s.: Blacksburg, VA sucks; worst college town I’ve ever been to and depressing when compared to UVA and William and Mary. Avoid staying there even if you need to go there.
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I was out there for about a week 3 years ago and everything pretty much sucked. Hoped to never return, but looks like work is sending me back in a few months. Only places I enjoyed were Idlewild, a no-menu cocktail bar (cocktails created based on customers preference/taste a la og Varnish) and Brooks Sandwich House, an old school cash only walk-up dirty burger/chili dog place.
I did try a “chefs choice” order at one restaurant I don’t recall the name of, which was insanely portioned. Like 5 entree-sized dishes plus dessert. I guess good quantity price ratio, not quality. A fair microcosm of the scene out there (at least at the time)
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