Jump to content

Good New Restaurants


Recommended Posts


Ate at a number of restaurants over the days I was here. Roosters was as good as always, as was Heist, E2 and others. However I did go to a new restaurant, we went to Dogwood Southern in southpark for dinner on Friday, and it was pretty spectacular. Great southern fine dining. Had a crazy appetizer called the Carolina dumplings. It was basically like Giant gnocchi served in a white sauce (possibly gravy) with apples and country ham in it. Spectacular. Great specialty cocktails and a decent wine list. For entres we had pork loin, which was cooked perfectly but slightly under seasoned, and my wife had scallops, which was excellent as well. The highlight of the evening was meeting Ron Rivera, I talked to him for a solid 15 minutes and he was really a nice guy.

Edited by Guest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://themandrakeclt.com/

The restaurant At the bottom of the Trademark has rebranded (again). It's a shame nothing can stay put in that location. This concept is similar to all the others that failed, so I guess it's only a matter of time before this one does too.

How about a common market vibe here that is very casual? Nothing really like it in uptown. I still liked Press better than anything that's been through. I agree, same concept, same fate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife and I used to go to Press pretty regularly when it opened. They had a nice wine selection and the sushi was really good (before uptown had 25 other sushi joints to choose from). Bummed that nothing has done well there since Press changed names/concepts. 

I just don't get the "hey that failed, let me try the EXACT same thing....again....and again." 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2014/12/12/eatery-7th-now-open-in-charlottes-first-ward-pho.html

 

Hopefully this place can stay open long enough to take advantage of what will soon be a prime time location in 1st ward. I think the name is decent but the branding is amazing and the decor isnt bad. This is the place replacing Villa Francesca.

We ordered from @7th on Foodie Call tonight. Got a large pepperoni pizza. It might seem plain, I know, but dammit, I love pepperoni pizza. We were astonished with the size of the large pizza - it was huge compared to Fuel or Libretto's. And as soon as we took that first bite, we were in NYC-style pizza heaven. I love Libretto's, and have thought it to be the best NYC-style pizza in Charlotte, but @7th is right there with them. I honestly would have to do a blind taste test side by side to decide which is better. Can't speak for the atmosphere or service since it was delivery, but if you want a damned good pie, don't hesitate to get one from @7th.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Going downtown for a Hornets game tomorrow and was considering trying a new restaurant (normally go to ENZO in the epicentre) and was considering Fahrenheit restaurant.

 

Would this be an quicker choice, or is it more of a longer sit down meal?  

 

Any other suggestions?  It is has to be within reasonable walking distance of the arena and it can't be fast food.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Going downtown for a Hornets game tomorrow and was considering trying a new restaurant (normally go to ENZO in the epicentre) and was considering Fahrenheit restaurant.

Would this be an quicker choice, or is it more of a longer sit down meal?

Any other suggestions? It is has to be within reasonable walking distance of the arena and it can't be fast food.

Definitely sit down. Get their king crab and bacon ramen, expensive but amazing.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's going a little off topic but... IMO, the best pre-game deal is Queen City Q. If you drive there, they validate your parking. Have ~40 taps, mostly local NC beers. On Fridays all NC beers are $3. Oh and their food is great (if you like BBQ like me). Lots of Hornets fans head there before the game.

Edited by wend28
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's going a little off topic but... IMO, the best pre-game deal is Queen City Q. If you drive there, they validate your parking. Have ~40 taps, mostly local NC beers. On Fridays all NC beers are $3. Oh and their food is great (if you like BBQ like me). Lots of Hornets fans head there before the game.

 

The night we went to a game (and I assume every game night), it's 10% off your food purchase if you show them your tickets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Tried Passion8 last night.  Food was good, ambiance and restaurant design suck.  If I'm going to pay a lot for dinner, I feel like the space should offer more than curtains and a curtain rod purchased from Bed Bath and Beyond.  

Could not agree more. I was so hyped to try it because of the reviews of the old location. I am glad I went there during restaurant week because if I paid full price I would be very upset. Hopefully they remodel when they make back some money from moving in the first place and are back in the black.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its not new but.....

 

I stopped at City Smoke tonight for the first time (I am generally dubious of the neo-bbq joints in town but I 1) needed beer and food; 2) was burnt out on QCQ and 3)  and I didn't want to go to the epicenter).

 

The good:

  • Cornbread instead of hushpuppies (but the cornbread was average)
  • Better (more flavorful) collards than Macs or QCQ
  • Very good brunswick stew (but it was more soupy than stewy). Much better than QCQ or Macs.
  • The best fried okra in town (honestly, even better than roosters, the previous title holder IMO)

The bad:

  • The beer selection was kinda limited (only 8 taps, one was wasted with budlight)
  • Beer was expensive! Small 'pints' of NoDa (Coco, Jam Session) were $6

The indifferent:

  • The menu included pork, brisket and chicken -- this makes me very suspicious.
  • I didn't actually get any pork so I lack sufficient information to make sound judgements about the place.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that I've moved to Cotswald, decided to check out The Improper Pig tonight. I just opened in December. My dad and his wife, my wife, and even my 14-month old son were amazed at the quality of the food. They had 6 sauces to choose from (well, one was Frank's Red Hot, so I guess 5). Mustard, Eastern NC, Western NC, Spicy Hoisin, and Thai. This place touts itself as an Asian inspired BBQ joint, and does well at just that without pulling too far away from the roots of NC BBQ (and other states, too). I had, and I must recommend if you go there, the Improper Charcuterie. It's basically a sampler plate. You get pulled pork, andouille sausage, beef brisket, St. Louis style ribs, house made salt and vinegar chips with pimento cheese to dip, a tiny cornbread muffin, and slaw. It's hard for me to pick a favorite meat because everything was phenomenal. And the sauces...oh, the sauces! The NC Eastern was a bit sweeter than I'm used to, but still had enough spice and a prefect pairing to the pulled pork. The NC Western had a nice spicy kick, more like hot Memphis sauce actually, and went perfectly with the ribs. The mustard was great (though I didn't really have a great pairing for it meat-wise), the spicy hoisin was a perfect pairing to the beef brisket, and the Thai sauce was awesome on the southern egg roll, which was made with sweet potatoes inside. I was skeptical about a sweet potato egg roll, mainly because I'm not crazy about sweet potatoes, but it was only $2.50, so I couldn't resist and it was worth it. And it was pretty big - 7 or 8 bites at least. I don't think I'll ever come back here without getting one.

I was really hoping for a good barbecue joint in my new 'hood, and I hit the jackpot tonight. This place is great!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally made it to to The MayoBird yesterday, after a strong recommendation from my barber. Holy s#!t, this place is amazing. I got the "colonel mustard" chicken salad as a toasted cheddar melt and a cup of tomato bisque. The chicken salad was the best I have ever had. And so was the tomato bisque - I was digging with my spoon for every last drop of that stuff. I liked it so much, in fact, that I went back there today and ordered a bowl of the tomato bisque and an egg salad sandwich for lunch. Plus two pounds of a variety of chicken salads (all of which are ridiculously good), two more bowls of tomato bisque, and house made pita chips to take home. The place was packed - obviously a neighborhood favorite already. Several people were doing the same thing as me - grabbing lunch there and also bringing some home. I can't begin to describe how frickin' good this chicken salad is. You just have to go there and try it, then you will understand. And the tomato bisque...God, I could eat a gallon of it. Such a unique flavor compared to anything else I have ever had. I want to give more thumbs up to this place than I have thumbs. Maybe 6? Do you guys have four thumbs I could borrow?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not a big chicken salad guy but I do like MayoBird once in a while, it is just an all around great neighborhood spot. I mostly go there for a breakfast "hashbrown cup" and coffee though.

 

On a related note, I tried Summit Room last night and was very very impressed. They seat people inside the Mayobird side at night apparently. Anyway the green tomato plate is a must order. I think the whole summit/various mountaintops theme to the name and drink menu is forced, while the real theme seems to be rustic southern while kind of elevating the occasional low-brow ingredient. Things like grape jelly, waffles, potato chips, etc are used in really unexpected ways in some classy dishes. The only thing that came up short to me were a few of the mixed drinks we tried that just lacked a bit of balance, where the sweet or spicy or sour component trumped everything else. Overall awesome addition and I can't wait to go back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.