Food Features
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Cook. Swap. Repeat. Ensures Recipes Aren’t Lost to Time
Within the Black community, the expression “We’re losing recipes” serves as a lament that signifies the ways in which Black people literally and figuratively have lost aspects of their culture over time. Figuratively, it could be the inability to gather loved ones for a holiday after a matriarch passes…
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Juliana Luna’s Latest Chapter Finds Her Behind the Scenes of a Coffee Powerhouse
On May 30, when Night Swim Coffee celebrates the grand opening of its seventh location inside the new Queensbridge Collective on South Tryon Street, it will mark a new beginning for patrons. Yet for the team at Night Swim, the celebration marks the end of a long planning process that…
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The Artisan’s Palate Launches New Spring Menu Following Rough Winter
When I ask Christa Csoka what drove the creation of her new spring/summer menu at The Artisan’s Palate, she starts talking before pausing mid-sentence then breaking into laughter. “This is going to sound so fucking corny,” she warns, explaining her hesitation to finish the explanation, “but the produce speaks to…
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PostScript Is One Couple’s Love Letter to Their East Charlotte Neighborhood
Unbeknownst to all but their closest friends and family, Amber Donoghue and husband Dean Orr already had a foot out of Charlotte’s door in December 2024 when Letty Ketner announced she would be closing Letty’s, her popular neighborhood restaurant on Shamrock Drive. Donoghue, who had already found an apartment a…
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Jasmine Macon’s Resilience Keeps Beyond Amazing Donuts Thriving
“Beware the ides of March.” It’s an expression inspired by the assassination of Julius Caesar to forewarn of an impending tragedy or collapse. But for Jasmine Macon, it’s the whole month of March that causes the problems. And there will be no collapse. Despite being forced out of her Montford…
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How Larry Swayne’s Wingzza Mambo Sauce Solidified a DC Staple in Charlotte
Growing up in Prince George’s County in Maryland, Larry Swayne was always surrounded by cooks — competitive cooks, at that. “We loved to cook, we loved to taste, we loved having competitions. Who can make the best mac and cheese? Who can make the best fried chicken?” said the founder…
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Rob Clement Announces Return of Meshugganah Jewish Deli and Bakery
Following years of tribulations that included tragic loss and shifting career paths, Rob Clement is getting back in the kitchen with the return of Meshugganah Jewish deli and bakery, the beloved COVID-era pop-up that will soon operate as a takeout in west Charlotte. Clement on Thursday announced he will reopen…
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Chef Hector González-Mora Starts New Chapter at The Story of Mi Cariño
Scanning the menu during a recent preview dinner at The Story of Mi Cariño, a new venture from the team behind VINYL in South End, my wife and I were both drawn to the oyster section. That’s a natural enough place to start, as we’re both fans of the mollusk…
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How Webb Custom Kitchen Helped Spark Downtown Gastonia’s Revival
When local restaurateur and real estate developer Jim Morasso received a call from a friend in 2015 suggesting he check out a prime space that had just opened up for a new restaurant in downtown Gastonia, he didn’t have much to go on. Living in Fort Mill and opening restaurants…
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Jay Davis Settles in at LuLu’s Express, Creating a Tuckaseegee Staple
Jay Davis remembers moving from Baltimore to Charlotte in 2017 and finding one big weakness in the city. “I saw a lot of opportunity in Charlotte, but I wasn’t a big fan of the food here,” Davis recalls. Having worked as a bounty hunter in Baltimore, he started a bail…
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Neek Tea Co. Relaunches With Organic Designation and New Blends
As a child growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, Monique Hibma has clear memories of sitting on the porch with her grandmother drinking peppermint tea. Though not a “real tea” as it’s not from the Camellia Sinensis and lacks caffeine, the sweet treat still brought a young Hibma to a place…
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The Improper Pig Team Wants to See People Dining In Again
When the Pizza Peel & Tap Room opened in the heart of Plaza Midwood in 2014, the garage doors of the former Woodward’s Gulf gas station opened up onto a turf lawn that would become the eatery’s defining feature. Picnic tables bordered the artificial green at the corner of Central…
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‘Fork & Hammer’ Series Chronicles Tonidandel-Brown’s Biggest Project Yet
The news broke on Dec. 6, 2021, with a scoop from Kathleen Purvis published by Axios Charlotte: “Supperland owners to buy historic Dilworth church that houses Bonterra.” Nine months later, they had a name for their new establishment they would place in the old building: Leluia Hall. “We’re looking forward…
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Pasquales’ Farm is Built on Pillars of Fresh Food, Nature and Community
To drive down Plaza Road Extension in far east Charlotte is to witness change happening in real time. In the area between Hood Road and I-485, new communities like the Cardinal Creek neighborhood already have residents moving in while construction crews are just starting construction on still newer developments across…
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Brittani Sheppard’s Oh My Ganache Is Just the Start of a Larger Vision
When much of Charlotte shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic back in March 2020, Brittani Sheppard, a Bank of America teller at the time, went home. At several months pregnant and extremely high risk, she couldn’t be face-to-face with anyone, not even her doctors. While many people were able to…
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Rob Clement Bounces Back From Tragedy To Transform Meshugganah’s Business Model
When Meshugganah owner Rob Clement’s wife, Franki, was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2022, Rob took a step back from the food industry. He had built up his name in Charlotte’s food scene, becoming a beloved chef in The Porter’s House before launching his own venture with Meshugganah. But…
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