Good New Restaurants

[kermit]

^ Agree about Church st (although crowds are highly variable). Its amazing to thing that its impressive transition has only taken about a year (trying to remember when Craft opened its doors...). Having a destination on Mint other than Unknown would really help. The Doghouse (on Mint and Morehead) is not the answer (it _blows_)  but there is now enough traffic down there to think about keeping it open outside Panthers game days.  Maybe a miracle can happen and Common Market can find a good space on Mint.

Church st would also be better if Bulldog had regular and predictable hours (every time I go its closed)

[off topic digression over]

[SgtCampsalot]

The Gold District area in general has some of the most unique old buildings left in the city. So many of them evoke a certain majesty of government and finance mixed in with the blue collar brick structures. The old brick with articulated trimming and facades, etc, is in unique supply here, it's just spread out. As long as they keep the gems it will be able to be a truly distinct part of town all the way down MInt to the corner store and church at Park Ave and Spruce St

[CLTProductions]

Don't forget the arcade bar coming on Palmer. BUt yeah the whole area is really incredible and its great to see Seoul food just crushing it. Really speaks to the explosion of S Church and what a cool area it has become

[SgtCampsalot]

This block has a really nice collection.

[Niner National]

On 3/12/2016 at 2:51 PM, Jayvee said:

Don't forget the arcade bar coming on Palmer. BUt yeah the whole area is really incredible and its great to see Seoul food just crushing it. Really speaks to the explosion of S Church and what a cool area it has become

Haven't had much of the menu at Seoul yet, but the wings are amazing.

[Miesian Corners]

Went to Kid Cashew on Saturday. Very good. Space looks great now that they've added windows to the one side. Only one complaint: it's too damn loud. I wish I understood why restaurateurs can't see (or hear) that it's not fun to have to scream across the table at your dining companions.  

[CLT2014]

1 minute ago, Miesian Corners said:

Went to Kid Cashew on Saturday. Very good. Space looks great now that they've added windows to the one side. Only one complaint: it's too damn loud. I wish I understood why restaurateurs can't see (or hear) that it's not fun to have to scream across the table at your dining companions.  

Agree. Good food (not the best in town IMO, my octopus was a bit burned for example, but good), reasonable prices for small plates, excellent decor and design, killer patio, and VERY loud.

[Crown]

Comida in Plaza Midwood is now open 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2016/03/16/restaurant-brings-modern-mexican-fare-to-plaza.html

 

 

[videtur quam contuor]

4 hours ago, Miesian Corners said:

Went to Kid Cashew on Saturday. Very good. Space looks great now that they've added windows to the one side. Only one complaint: it's too damn loud. I wish I understood why restaurateurs can't see (or hear) that it's not fun to have to scream across the table at your dining companions.  

The most hip, popular new restaurants are not for me. I learned that a few years ago. Younger people want a different experience than I and have no other reference. That said, friends recommended Co at Park Road center. The man at the host station was busy with his head down on some paper that was more important. Finally a woman came and took us to our "table". It was a tiny table with two padded pedestals, stools really. There were tables elsewhere with chairs. We sat for a few seconds and realized we could not speak and be heard because of the music volume. We went elsewhere.

Edited March 17, 2016 by tarhoosier

[Temeteron]

On March 14, 2016 at 5:54 PM, Niner National said:

Haven't had much of the menu at Seoul yet, but the wings are amazing.

I tried Seoul's wings, Mac & cheese(why is this on the menu?), and kimchi coleslaw and it was ok. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't really authentic Korean. More of a fusion. I think Charlotte has enough people who come from bigger, more International cities and/or are already familiar with ethnic cuisines enough to where we don't need to "water down" or "dumb it down" for people when a new place opens. It's all about being confident and educating the population for those who aren't familiar. I remember not too long ago nobody knew what sushi was. 

Edited March 17, 2016 by Temeteron

[CLT2014]

^ I do wish we had a Korean BBQ restaurant with the hood vents and the focus on getting you $19 AYCE bulgogi. I get tired of fusion as well.

[CLTProductions]

6 hours ago, Temeteron said:

I tried Seoul's wings, Mac & cheese(why is this on the menu?), and kimchi coleslaw and it was ok. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't really authentic Korean. More of a fusion. I think Charlotte has enough people who come from bigger, more International cities and/or are already familiar with ethnic cuisines enough to where we don't need to "water down" or "dumb it down" for people when a new place opens. It's all about being confident and educating the population for those who aren't familiar. I remember not too long ago nobody knew what sushi was. 

They've been trying hard for a long time to promote that it is not authentic Korean, they are very aware of this. They were never going for it and never trying to be. Their goal was American BBQ with Korean inspired flavorings. Their name is too clever for its own good it seems.

[Deleted.]

7 hours ago, Temeteron said:

I tried Seoul's wings, Mac & cheese(why is this on the menu?), and kimchi coleslaw and it was ok. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't really authentic Korean. More of a fusion. I think Charlotte has enough people who come from bigger, more International cities and/or are already familiar with ethnic cuisines enough to where we don't need to "water down" or "dumb it down" for people when a new place opens. It's all about being confident and educating the population for those who aren't familiar. I remember not too long ago nobody knew what sushi was. 

I feel the same way about the Big Ben- its Americanized British-style food; yes, they are some British things on the menu but not many. it also nothing like the pubs I went to, growing up, inside or out. 

 

But, did anybody go to Comida last night? It looks really good and the Agenda article makes it look like a great addition to our dining scene!

[InSouthPark]

1 hour ago, Piedmont767 said:

I feel the same way about the Big Ben- its Americanized British-style food; yes, they are some British things on the menu but not many. it also nothing like the pubs I went to, growing up, inside or out. 

 

But, did anybody go to Comida last night? It looks really good and the Agenda article makes it look like a great addition to our dining scene!

I read the Agenda every day but this quote from Mark Washburn's satire artice is pretty accurate.

Things you never hear said in Charlotte - " Charlotte Agenda sure was tough on that restaurant. "

[Miesian Corners]

RE: Comida

Because there aren't already enough Mexican restaurants in Charlotte. 

But seriously, I hope it's not going to be like Little Spoon--a place where my spoonful of lunch was delicious, but I left hungry and broke.

[Prodev]

Two different restaurants to comment on:

Seoul Food - Went there over the weekend and had heard the same thing several times which is why it took me so long to get there - "Food was really good but service was awful". This was the case on my visit as well. I'm hoping they'll fix it and most diners know there's a certain grace period where you allow them to get the kinks worked out, but there were some red flags for sure. They served us in the same was that Bakersfield serves their tacos. They put everything on one platter. This works at Bakersfield because tacos are hand held and you can just grab them and they actually put what you ordered in front of you. At SF, they just plopped everything down in no particular order, which makes it difficult and annoying if you're with more than just your significant other. There were other minor things, but this was the one that stood out above others. I also don't understand why they haven't updated their website to remove the "coming soon". I hope they get their legs b/c it definitely has potential. 

Kid Cashew - Really liked the vibe here and they did a good job with the patio. Great cocktails. I was with a big group and we give the server free range on the menu so we tried almost everything on the menu. All the meats/fish were awesome, and the mac and cheese was the stand out side for me, although there were a few other really good ones too and just one that was a definite miss - the paella, which the server said they were changing the name b/c it was not paella. He also said that's the item most people say they don't really like, so it'll probably go away soon. Will definitely be back. Highly recommend for a date spot. 

[SouthEndCLT811]

Went to Seoul tonight and didn't have the same "food was good, service was awful" experience.  Both were just awful..  I'm usually the Charlotte Agenda of food critics and seem to find something to like from the meal but unfortunately nothing stood out.  Went with a friend who lives across the street and this was his fourth time.  He said first time was awesome but each time after was worse.  Kept trying to like it due to proximity.  Just my .02

Edited March 18, 2016 by SouthEndCLT811

[ScottCLT]

I had dinner with a friend at Yama Izakaya last night. I started out with the fried oysters, which were extremely crisp - not overfried, but no chopsticks needed. These were finger foods. Delicious finger foods, that is - certainly not a light breading, but still plenty of briny oyster flavor. My friend ordered the Cumin Lamb Yakitori, and holy s#%t, that was absolutely amazing. Seriously, if you go there, spend the $7 and get the Spicy Cumin Lamb Yakitori. Best thing of the evening.

Then came the ramen. We both ordered the Tonkatsu (which is incorrectly spelled on their menu as "Tonkastu"), and the portion was overwhelming. I couldn't finish it all after the appetizers. It was good, definitely would never turn it down, but I honestly think that both Futo Buta and Co's Tonkatsu is much better. It was just...bland. I always add spice to my ramen, but it usually is a preference, not a requirement, to get the taste right. Ramen is like pizza - it's hard to ever call it bad, because it's always good to some extent. Even if it's that Manchu brick for $0.33 that you had in college or the 5 for $4 Totino's pizza. Certainly not equating Yama to Manchu or Totino's, but it just wasn't as good or creative as Futo Buta. I still loved the ramen honestly, but it just didn't live up to my high expectations of this place (which were that it was better than FB). 

My opinion is that Futo Buta is 5/5, Co is 4/5, and Yama Izakaya is 3/5 as far as ramen goes. But I would consider exploring past ramen on the menu at Yama, because the oysters and the lamb were incredibly delicious. This place has it down as far as Japanese tapas go (is that a thing?), but my vote for ramen in particular goes to Futo Buta.

[hambone931]

23 hours ago, InSouthPark said:

I read the Agenda every day but this quote from Mark Washburn's satire artice is pretty accurate.

Things you never hear said in Charlotte - " Charlotte Agenda sure was tough on that restaurant. "

I bet the local business perks you would get running the agenda are outstanding. Maybe Jayvee can confirm for us?

[CLTProductions]

I think it's a line that they just don't report on places that suck (and the ones that do that are reported on I don't agree with). As far as Seoul food goes, I really enjoyed it but I had proper expectations going in. I haven't had kid cashew yet but general opinion is it's great. Comida, I dunno but the drinks look great. 

Theres a reason there isn't an agenda article out there about Kandy Bar opening soon and calling it the best thing since sliced bread. I'd like to think the agenda is more critical of things in general than, say, the observer. But I totally get that everything's great sentiment and it's hilarious

Edited March 18, 2016 by Jayvee

[nonillogical]

53 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

Theres a reason there isn't an agenda article out there about Kandy Bar opening soon and calling it the best thing since sliced bread. I'd like to think the agenda is more critical of things in general than, say, the observer. But I totally get that everything's great sentiment and it's hilarious

I had to look up what Kandy Bar is since I hadn't heard anything. There's not much info but everything about it seems designed to only last 6 months. 

[ah59396]

1 hour ago, nonillogical said:

I had to look up what Kandy Bar is since I hadn't heard anything. There's not much info but everything about it seems designed to only last 6 months. 

Kandy Bar looks like my worst nightmare.

[SgtCampsalot]

Kid Cashew doesn't sound like a place to go if you have a nut allergy. That's a pretty scary name.

Edited March 18, 2016 by SgtCampsalot

[kermit]

OMG! Bill Spoon's has a bbq truck.

https://www.facebook.com/spoonsbarbecuetruck/

 

 

[Guest]

On March 16, 2016 at 4:43 PM, Crown said:

Comida in Plaza Midwood is now open 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2016/03/16/restaurant-brings-modern-mexican-fare-to-plaza.html