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I made it over to Noble Smoke this weekend and it lived up to the billing.

BBQ: Excellent. I'm not one to make fine distinctions among great BBQ but if anybody wanted to call this the best in Charlotte I wouldn't argue.

Brisket: Excellent. I actually enjoyed it more than the BBQ and that's not usually the case.

Sauces: Deserve recognition--outstanding  and unique flavor profiles for all three.

Mac & Cheese: Solid, nothing out of the ordinary.

Green beans: Very good.

Fries: Very good.

Hushpuppies: Okay... Actually kind of disappointing given how good everything else was. Though that may be because they're more peppery and less sweet than what I like in a hushpuppy.

Edited by Vitamin_N
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Help, please.

I have friends flying in Monday evening and they are staying at an airport hotel prior to departure by rental car Tuesday morning for points west. They want to meet for dinner Monday evening. Their hotel does not have a dinner restaurant. Rather than taking an hour of precious time driving into and out of the city is there ANY place worth our time on the west side?  Even Noble Smoke and Pinky's will take a chunk of the evening to commute. Belmont is too far the other way. Any ideas?

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Miguel's is probably one of the few sit down restaurants, other than Cracker Barrel, that is right at the entrance to the airport. It isn't fancy though so it depends on how comfortable your friends are with a hole in the wall. http://miguelscharlotte.com/

Noble Smoke and Pinky's are only about 9 minutes away from the airport. 

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53 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

Help, please.

I have friends flying in Monday evening and they are staying at an airport hotel prior to departure by rental car Tuesday morning for points west. They want to meet for dinner Monday evening. Their hotel does not have a dinner restaurant. Rather than taking an hour of precious time driving into and out of the city is there ANY place worth our time on the west side?  Even Noble Smoke and Pinky's will take a chunk of the evening to commute. Belmont is too far the other way. Any ideas?

There's a few places around Yorkmont and Tyvola like Kosta's and Nana's, but that's probably the same drive from the airport (10-12 minutes) as Pinky's. 

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12 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

Help, please.

I have friends flying in Monday evening and they are staying at an airport hotel prior to departure by rental car Tuesday morning for points west. They want to meet for dinner Monday evening. Their hotel does not have a dinner restaurant. Rather than taking an hour of precious time driving into and out of the city is there ANY place worth our time on the west side?  Even Noble Smoke and Pinky's will take a chunk of the evening to commute. Belmont is too far the other way. Any ideas?

Nobles is really not that far and I-85 northbound and down freedom drive even at rush hour from the airport is no big deal really.  

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22 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

Help, please.

I have friends flying in Monday evening and they are staying at an airport hotel prior to departure by rental car Tuesday morning for points west. They want to meet for dinner Monday evening. Their hotel does not have a dinner restaurant. Rather than taking an hour of precious time driving into and out of the city is there ANY place worth our time on the west side?  Even Noble Smoke and Pinky's will take a chunk of the evening to commute. Belmont is too far the other way. Any ideas?

Google Maps says from CLT passenger pickup  is 12 min to Noble Smoke and 11 min to OMB and 9 to Kosta's.  Of course that depends on what lights you hit.

Edited by grodney
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Cracker Barrel. It is walking distance from their hotel and it maximizes face to face time, limits driving, parking, way finding etc. for them. I gave him the choice of Pinkys/Smoke and he chose Cracker. Thanks for the ideas. I appreciate it.

The answer to my original question is No. There is nothing of interest, local owned, dining focussed + quality on the west county. Maybe River District will address that.

Edited by tarhoosier
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7 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

The answer to my original question is No. There is nothing of interest, local owned, dining focussed + quality on the west county. Maybe River District will address that.

Zip 28208 has a median income of $31,264 around the airport, with 28% of the overall population below the poverty line and 43% of children in the zip living under the poverty line.  Spending $25 per person on a locally sourced meal with a $10 cocktail is hard when you are barely getting by. 

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On 10/19/2019 at 9:10 AM, tarhoosier said:

The answer to my original question is No. There is nothing of interest, local owned, dining focussed + quality within 2.7 minutes of a major airport.

You can get to Uptown in 15 minutes from CLT. What were you looking for a Michelin star within walking distance?? lol 

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My out of town guest would be driving his rental car and using satellite directions. You may know the details of Pinky's off-site parking, for example, he does not. This would be after dark. The west county is not the only part of the county with more limited dining options compared to the near-downtown and affluent areas of our city. 

Just last week I put a visitor in a room at my expense and learned the guest tax (or whatever) is equal to the sales tax. Point being, my experience is far different than one who is arriving here anew.

Cracker Barrel does what Cracker Barrel does. I offered him the choice and he decided on Cracker. 

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Superica will open its 2nd location in early summer at Strawberry Hill at Providence and Fairview.   It was originally supposed to be open in winter.  Oh well I can wait and I do agree with the VP of Culinary's comments.

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2019/10/24/what-s-the-latest-on-this-tex-mex-restaurant-in.html

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This is good news for me personally but I went  to some of my regional restaurant chains .   Which regional chains would you like to see in the area that we are missing?   I got to visit 3 of my out of town not located in Charlotte favorites on my vacation.  One Louisiana based Raising Canes is all over the south including 1 location in eastern NC but none in this area. https://www.raisingcanes.com/

another favorite that I was surprised to see in Dallas Ft Worth was California based El Pollo Loco which is described as LA Mex as opposed to Tex Mex.  https://www.elpolloloco.com/

Then of course I stopped at another California favorite In N Out Burger http://www.in-n-out.com/

when in Florida I like Pollo Tropical https://www.pollotropical.com/

what places that are regional chains would you like here in Charlotte?   Our 2 best are Bojangles and Cook Out.

 

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1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

This is good news for me personally but I went  to some of my regional restaurant chains .   Which regional chains would you like to see in the area that we are missing?   I got to visit 3 of my out of town not located in Charlotte favorites on my vacation.  One Louisiana based Raising Canes is all over the south including 1 location in eastern NC but none in this area. https://www.raisingcanes.com/

another favorite that I was surprised to see in Dallas Ft Worth was California based El Pollo Loco which is described as LA Mex as opposed to Tex Mex.  https://www.elpolloloco.com/

Then of course I stopped at another California favorite In N Out Burger http://www.in-n-out.com/

when in Florida I like Pollo Tropical https://www.pollotropical.com/

what places that are regional chains would you like here in Charlotte?   Our 2 best are Bojangles and Cook Out.

 

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Id love a Krystals or White Castle. Their greasy greasy goodness hits the spot after the bar, club or recreational green herbage:whistling:

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13 hours ago, KJHburg said:

what places that are regional chains would you like here in Charlotte?   

Runza: https://www.runza.com/  85 locations in Nebr, Iowa,  Kansas, and Colorado --- and --- Taco John's: https://tacojohns.com/ 425 locations with the closest being near Bristol

I never fail to hit those two when I visit family in Nebraska.  There are Husker watch bars here that order Runzas delivered in dry ice.  (12 runzas for $120 delivered: https://www.runza.com/shop/product-detail?object=11393)

 

And from my trips to Texas, the best craptastic fast-food tacos and salsa bar are at Taco Cabana: https://www.tacocabana.com/ 166 locations

I used to long for a Chuy's in town, but once we got one, you really realize there's nothing quite like going to the one on Barton Springs Rd in Austin.  Elvis Presley Memorial Platters all around!

 

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16 hours ago, KJHburg said:

This is good news for me personally but I went  to some of my regional restaurant chains .   Which regional chains would you like to see in the area that we are missing?   I got to visit 3 of my out of town not located in Charlotte favorites on my vacation.  One Louisiana based Raising Canes is all over the south including 1 location in eastern NC but none in this area. https://www.raisingcanes.com/

another favorite that I was surprised to see in Dallas Ft Worth was California based El Pollo Loco which is described as LA Mex as opposed to Tex Mex.  https://www.elpolloloco.com/

Then of course I stopped at another California favorite In N Out Burger http://www.in-n-out.com/

when in Florida I like Pollo Tropical https://www.pollotropical.com/

what places that are regional chains would you like here in Charlotte?   Our 2 best are Bojangles and Cook Out.

 

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I would love for us to have California Dreaming here.  I remember when Frank Manzetti’s was at Specialty Shops (next to SouthPark Mall).  They had almost the same menu but closed a while back.  They are most famous for their salads that have a honey butter croissant, steaks, burgers, chops and their fries are to die for.  They have locations in Columbia (it’s from there), Greenville, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Atlanta.  

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On 10/24/2019 at 5:27 PM, KJHburg said:

This is good news for me personally but I went  to some of my regional restaurant chains .   Which regional chains would you like to see in the area that we are missing?   I got to visit 3 of my out of town not located in Charlotte favorites on my vacation.  One Louisiana based Raising Canes is all over the south including 1 location in eastern NC but none in this area. https://www.raisingcanes.com/

another favorite that I was surprised to see in Dallas Ft Worth was California based El Pollo Loco which is described as LA Mex as opposed to Tex Mex.  https://www.elpolloloco.com/

Then of course I stopped at another California favorite In N Out Burger http://www.in-n-out.com/

when in Florida I like Pollo Tropical https://www.pollotropical.com/

what places that are regional chains would you like here in Charlotte?   Our 2 best are Bojangles and Cook Out.

 

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IMG_4530.JPG

IMG_6059.JPG

Without a doubt, In-N-Out!!!! So Cali. My first experience was in San Diego and all I can say is they have one heck of a burger. My wife is a SoCal native and she swears by them to. 

On a side note, Freddy’s off of Hwy 16 was pretty dang awesome! Absolutely unhealthy, but they have a mean Burger and a heck of a frozen custard. Kind of reminded me a wee bit of a steak and shake and an In-in-Out.

lastly, I’m not sure you’ve ventured to Alabama, but one place they have that I grew up on in Birmingham was Milos. Just typing about it makes me crave one! They have marketed their sweet tea all over, but I’m just not sure how far North they tread. 

If you haven’t had one, do yourself a flavor and try one when your travels take you into Bama. Their special sauce is liquid gold!

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Edited by A2.
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