Food & Drink Critics’ Pick Winners: Best in the Nest 2024
The best in Charlotte's food and drink as chosen by Nerve critics
For the folks who produce the fuel on which our city runs. We all gotta eat, so let’s give it up for the best spots to do it.
Winners: Download your award graphics here
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BEST RESTAURANT: L’Ostrica
Last year, we named L’Ostrica the Best New Restaurant and, in a fortuitous turn of events, it is simply the Best Restaurant in Charlotte this year. What is so refreshing about the dynamic duo of owners Cat Carter and Eric Ferguson and L’Ostrica as a whole is how they’ve shaken up the execution of highbrow tasting menus. They’ve really stripped down any garish components of white-tablecloth dining, and instead, embraced a space that is approachable — full of cookbooks and personally significant art — and service that is simple, warm and consistent.
The tasting menu dishes, ranging from 5 to 10 courses, ooze with elegance and come from the sleek open kitchen where the rhythmic coordination of slicing, setting and garnishing plates is in clear view.
The menu presents no explicit thematic throughline other than remaining blatantly loyal to sustainable farms in the area. Guests often don’t know what to expect when they enter and won’t receive a menu until the end of the service; they are led by the server’s introduction and then encouraged to trust their own palate. Is that bacon in the smoked tomato? Warm brioche in the sparkling rose? Bright ginger in a fried oyster?
Maybe the best part about it is its (relative) approachability. The themed Sunday Suppers are feel-good community dinners. The mini-market with online “chef tips” and the rotating lunch special are more wallet-friendly than the tasting menu and, at the end of the day, carve meaningful avenues to connect with curious Charlotte diners.
BEST NEW RESTAURANT: Albertine
Albertine is the upscale jewel we’ve been waiting for in Uptown Charlotte. Exquisite, grand, confident, feminine, a whole feast for the eyes. You can make a meal just out of a glass of wine and a few meze dips, but you won’t want to do the bare minimum because there is nothing bare minimum about Albertine. The food comes out on silver platters, each table has a slightly different marble seal or curved shape, wine is poured tableside, servers sport these striking cobalt blue coats. Each detail — from the menu to the bathrooms to the archways — is a jaw-dropping affair.
Touted as a Mediterranean restaurant leading up to the opening, you’ll find that Chef Joe Kindred designed a menu that also pays homage to Southern cuisine, or at least Southern ingredients like SC quail and wahoo or NC okra and flounder. The crispy charred malawach and the gamebird cappelletti demonstrate a global flair that is also clear in the sweeping wine list. This was a genuinely needed addition to Uptown; it’s a fancy fit for theater-goers, business folk, double daters, sports-watchers and convention attendees. Or really anyone who is willing to have a meal they haven’t had before in the Queen City.
BEST NEW CASUAL EATERY: Joan’s Bakery & Deli
Joan’s is part deli, part bakery, and every part delicious. It opened at the Metropolitan in Midtown at the end of 2023 and has been an instant hit, making fans question what life was like before Joan’s. Meshugganah is the Jewish deli concept inside Joan’s — initially a pop-up by Rob Clement, who worked for Jon Dressler at The Porter’s House restaurant. Think piled-high pastrami, corned beef, and chicken schnitzel sandwiches, matzo ball soup and knishes (savory pastry with filling).
The bakery serves coffee and handcrafted baked goods, many from the recipe books of Dressler’s mom, the legendary Joan Dressler and namesake of the establishment. A favorite is mom’s cheesecake, a staple dessert from Dressler’s restaurants — just like mom used to make. The hours are short — Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. — but if you can swing by, it’s worth it for a sandwich or a slice, especially on the patio overlooking the Little Sugar Creek Greenway.
BEST OLD RESTAURANT: Original Chicken ‘n Ribs
Located in the Historic West End, just across the street from the Washington Heights neighborhood, Original Chicken ‘n Ribs in west Charlotte is the only restaurant left standing from Charlotte’s original Green Book. It opened in 1953 and still remains a humble standalone joint off of Beatties Ford Road, where a loyal, generational following still order at the counter. This space has seen children become adults, become parents, become grandparents. And the owner is no exception; Jermaine Blackmon is the third-generation owner of this take-out only joint.
Original Chicken ‘n Ribs is a valued beacon of the food scene in the West End. As Blackmon’s customers show loyalty through regular purchasing, Blackmon shows his appreciation by offering free lunches to children during certain times of the year. He inherited the restaurant from his grandfather and today remains incredibly active in the restaurant’s day-to-day operations. He’s in the back frying up chicken that doesn’t have even a splotch of dryness left in it, just supple white or dark meat encased in a shattering light fry.
The menu is a mix of homestyle Southern food: the notorious Fat Boy Burger, a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, fried okra, slaw, baked beans, and basically every part of the chicken from wings to gizzards.
BEST FOOD EVENT: Lowcountry Culture Festival
Held during the Charlotte International Arts Festival in September, the fine folks at QCity Metro put on this event around the lake at Ballantyne’s Backyard to celebrate all things Lowcountry: cuisine, soulful music, vibrant art, and the craftsmanship of local makers.
Vendors came in from up and down the coasts and wetlands of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida to serve food plates, beer, cocktails and merchandise, from basket-weaving to jewelry. The food, however, was the real draw, from shrimp and grits to she-crab soup and oysters, proving that there is arguably no better region than the one right in our own backyard, culinarily speaking.
BEST FOOD EVENT OUTSIDE 485: Pie-Baking Contest at Old North Farm
Located in the rural foothills of Shelby, Old North Farm is a friendly, deeply appreciated, well-respected produce supplier to chefs in Charlotte. And one half of the Old North Farm duo, Keia Mastrianni, has been a valued voice in Charlotte food writing for years. Run by Mastrianni and her partner Jamie Swofford, Old North is more than a small farm, but a true community hub. They host events throughout the seasons, including farm dinners where folks gather from across the Carolinas to pay homage to the region’s produce, turning it into masterful meals to share.
On June 30, 100 people presented their pies during the Community Pie-Baking Contest at the farm’s anniversary party. That day, a spread of fruit pies, custard pies and baker’s choice pies lined the judges table. There was something so storybook about the whole event — a wholesome and perhaps even healing quality. It very much embodies the Slow Food movement.
BEST INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANT: Enat Ethiopian Restaurant
On June 17, Tina Tedla celebrated seven years in business at Enat Ethiopian Restaurant, which she opened in Shops at CitiSide at the corner of The Plaza and Eastway Drive in 2017. The location is still open, but she’s since expanded to Optimist Hall, where she hosts a more fast-paced version of the traditional Ethiopian dining experience.
When we spoke over the summer, Tedla explained how she’s seen interest in and demand for Ethiopian food grow in the time since she opened her restaurant.
“Tremendously, it’s growing,” she said. “Especially being at Optimist Hall, that gave us another form of exposure and a lot of traffic. I think the more the city grows, the better it’s going to get. I do think we still have a little bit more to go, but I think we became a lot better since 2017, or even since I moved here, the city itself has tremendously been growing.”
She deserves all the success, but try not to crowd the booth too much when you finally learn about one of Charlotte’s best-kept secrets.
BEST BREWERY: Town Brewing Co.
Charlotte isn’t short on breweries, but it is short on breweries that make sustainable beer. Earlier this year, Town Brewing in Wesley Heights made the list with its Renew Brew — the first beer in the Carolinas to be brewed with recycled water. First launched in February during the Queen City Brewers Festival, Renew Brew is made with water that has passed through Charlotte Water’s McDowell Wastewater Treatment Plant. It’s a pale ale with 5.2% ABV that’s described as clean, piney and crushable.
The idea behind brewing a beer with recycled water was originally borne out by Jeremy Selan with the Charlotte Beer Collective, who approached Charlotte Water and began to seek out a brewery that would make a good partner for the project. The water used in Town’s Renew Brew is cleaned using state-of-the-art carbon filtering, reverse osmosis, and advanced oxidation, and thoroughly tested for more than 150 potential contaminants.
Similar recycled water beers have been used in other areas of the country including Oregon, Kentucky, California and Arizona. Thanks to Town Brewing, now North Carolina is on the map, too. Who wouldn’t cheers to that?
BEST NEW BREWERY: Panzú Brewery
Opening the Caribbean-inspired Panzú Brewery was anything but a smooth, refreshing process for siblings Johan Marte and Rosa Marte de Pacheco. Every step from the start of the business’s conception was hard-fought, but the co-owners were determined to honor their father through a family-run business, as they had always dreamt of doing.
The name Panzú came from the nickname that Johan and Rose — and their own children after them — called their father: “Papá Panzú,” which translates to “big beer belly guy.” Panzú recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in September.
Panzú is the only brewery in Mint Hill, and one that prides itself on brewing a Caribbean-style beer that anyone can drink. The aesthetic of the location provides an oasis, a beach getaway smack in the middle of a bustling downtown area.
“We are very connected with the community,” Rosa told us in August. “Mint Hill is part of us and we are part of Mint Hill. I don’t think it’s just another brewery, [Panzú] is like Mint Hill’s clubhouse.”
BEST LOCAL PRODUCT: Redd Rose Vodka
Taylor Redd launched Redd Rose Vodka, a strawberry-lemon-flavored vodka that can be consumed on its own or with a mixer, in 2018 and sold her first bottle in 2020, making it the first and still only Black- and female-owned flavored vodka in the state of North Carolina.
“I’ve been a mixologist for 11 years,” she told Queen City Nerve. “One thing I recognize is the lack of women representation in the industry — and outside of that, even when it comes to the bar owners, the salesman, all of the places. Women dictate the cocktails, but they don’t support us.”
Redd named the product after her grandmother, Rose Redd, an entrepreneur who sold goods at flea markets and eventually expanded to operate her own flea markets, inspiring Taylor to strike out in carving her own path in a male-dominated industry. Redd said she is just getting started. With more flavors being concocted, she thinks her story will plant seeds for others to grow.
“It’s not easy being an entrepreneur,” she said. “Especially when you don’t come from wealth. But there’s a way that you can make it happen, and you have to solely focus on that. If I can help one more person become a full-time entrepreneur, I am more than willing to do that. I’m not here to say it’s easy, but I’m here to say it’s worth it.”
BEST NICHE SELECTION: The Accidental Baker
Former tennis pro and corporate banker Matt Cabana calls himself The Accidental Baker, but it’s no accident his culinary venture has taken off. In fact, the popularity of his gluten-free and sourdough baked goods have caused him to relocate more than once to keep up with demand.
Cabana opened a brick-and-mortar location at the Metropolitan in Midtown in March, just three months after launching the business from his kitchen at home. In less than six months, demand outpaced supply and Cabana moved The Accidental Baker to Oakhurst, changing his business model to online ordering instead of walk-up service.
The Accidental Baker offers sourdough loaves, sourdough English muffins, gluten- and dairy-free bagels, gluten-free cheddar and chive biscuits, gluten- and dairy-free focaccia, gluten-free croissants, and gluten- and dairy-free sandwich bread. There’s also seasonal options and sweet baked goods like gluten- and dairy-free cookies, banana breads, and custom cakes and pies.
The new kitchen allows Cabana to multiply his supply, but unlike at the Metropolitan, customers can’t just walk in and buy what’s available. It’s online only and $75 minimum — worth it for Charlotte’s best gluten-free bakery.
BEST LATE-NIGHT MENU: Bar Hermanita
Simply put, Charlotte got cooler when Bar Hermanita opened. It’s a discreet bar hidden behind an inconspicuous backdoor at El Malo Tacos in Plaza Midwood. The dark but lively atmosphere is reminiscent of a Southern California bar that is reminiscent of an urban Mexican bar.
El Malo’s menu of crushable street tacos, melty birria, and swollen burritos is available until midnight, thank God. So, even if you don’t want to drink, it’s okay to just go for the al pastor tacos, where bites of tender pork are chased by a bit of heat and a squeeze of lime. That’s how pros do it in Tijuana and San Diego.
If you do find yourself lured into more of a late-night party thanks to the live DJ and the baiting sights of salt- and tajin-rimmed cocktails floating around the space, that’s okay too. The cocktail menu leans heavily on agave spirits and has, undoubtedly, the best michelada in town, with biting lime and savory tomato juice. The mere sight of it will open the salivation waterways.
BEST COFFEE PROGRAM: Provided Coffee
In this case, “coffee program” equates to a more general caffeine beverage program. Provided Coffee started as a coffee cart and has evolved into one teensy, tiny cafe in Uptown and one large, sweeping cafe in Concord. Provided keeps coffee, matcha, etc., fun and unpretentious.
Cohen Malz and Preston Rollinz — the best-friend barista duo — are not pumping mass-produced vanilla syrup into slapdash lattes. They are instead crafting seasonal syrups from scratch and steaming oat milk like it’s a precious art. Some past specials on the menu include a banana bread latte, apricot espresso soda, key-lime matcha, strawberry mocha latte, and the seasonal favorite carrot cake latte.
While this has nothing to do with Provided’s drink quality, do note that the Concord location shares a space with a huge vintage store, which makes for a great day trip just outside of 485. Their social media is also a fun follow; it’s very playful, Gen-Z and has some serious actionable tips for future coffee shop owners or old-fashioned coffee drinkers.
BEST LOCAL ROASTERY: HEX Coffee Roasters
HEX isn’t just the best local roastery in Charlotte, it has grabbed some serious national and global recognition. In fact, it was ranked the 29th best coffee roaster in the world this year. Hello?! However, it’s clear HEX won’t let the attention go to their heads, but will keep doing HEX, recognition or not.
The coffee has always been deeply rooted in terroir, utmost quality and relationship-building with their producers in Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia and beyond. Some HEX blends are zesty, bright, and fruited, while others are spiced and dark chocolatey. Despite the differences in taste, the sourcing and production is consistent and thoughtful. Once the coffee lands in your cup, a pour and a sip feel particularly ritualistic.
The HEX team has its flagship kitchen and cafe in Camp North End, along with a spunky South End coffee oasis called Stablehand and a bubbly, little cobalt blue cafe called Fly Kid Fly in Ballantyne, which all showcase exceptional, genuinely fun, chuggable, crafted beverages not happening elsewhere in the city.
Is caffeine meant to be chugged? Probably not, but some of these iced coffees challenge that notion. At HEX in Camp North End, the Spam musubi and a Japanese curry flex on bland cafe menus. Even if you’re not in Charlotte much, you’re bound to see HEX Coffee used somewhere in the country — probably at a cafe that knows what it’s doing.
BEST HYBRID COFFEE SHOP: Grow Cafe
Stacy and Michael Baker, a married couple with children who live in the Highland Creek area, opened Grow Cafe in July, partnering with Enderly Coffee to supply beverages and baked goods. The kicker is that Grow Cafe caters to parents and children aged 0 to 6, with an innovative play space that includes fun and educational equipment.
The site also offers various activities and hosts family-friendly events in an effort to allow parents to better engage and interact with their children. Activities include Mommy and Me Yoga, arts and crafts classes, music workshops, and reading sessions featuring local children’s authors.
Stacy’s original business idea looked more like a traditional daycare, but she soon realized that route didn’t suit her vision. She put the idea on hold while she got married and had children, but just as she was ready to revisit her dream of opening a new business in 2020, COVID-19 forced another pause. Despite the unfortunate turn of events, gaining more experience as a parent eventually helped Stacy solidify her plan for a play cafe rather than your run-of-the-mill daycare.
“This is something that I’ve been trying to figure out and find out what the vision was,” Stacy told Queen City Nerve. “I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I knew it was a space that families and children could thrive.”
BEST CULINARY PROGRAMMING: The Urban Haven at The Stead
In February, The Stead at Farmington, an apartment complex in northeast Charlotte, announced a partnership with Mariah Henry to launch The Urban Haven at The Stead, a community garden with culinary programming for residents and neighbors. The only community garden within 150 acres, The Urban Haven includes raised beds featuring an edible heirloom garden, culinary workshops, “food days,” “field days” and more.
For Henry, the residency is a way to make an impact in someone’s life that can stay with them far beyond serving a dish from a menu and never engaging any further than that.
“The engagement piece, I think, is the main thing,” she told Queen City Nerve. “When you’re at farms or in restaurants, you’re always just providing a service to others, but I wanted to be a catalyst, and when I say that, it is to give them the skills so that they can take it on and maybe do something else with it or just drop a seed to get them to change a mindset and a lifestyle shift, more than anything.”
BEST FOOD TRUCK: Don’s Jamaican Kitchen
With a slogan that reads “Yaad food, yaad style” (that’s “yard” with a Jamaican accent, in case you haven’t caught on), Don’s Jamaican Kitchen serves authentic dishes from Chef Sheldon “Don” Johnson. We’re yet to try a dish we haven’t enjoyed from the truck, from oxtail to butter shrimp, but the curry and jerk dishes are the highlights, whether wings, goat or pulled chicken.
Vegetarians have plenty of great options, too, as Johnson offers up a curry vegetable plate that you won’t soon forget.
BEST DESSERTS: The Secret Chocolatier
If life is like a box of chocolates, then you better make sure it’s from The Secret Chocolatier, a Charlotte shop run by a family of chocolate artisans crafting the finest delights in the city. The Secret Chocolatier was conceived when Chef Bill Dietz found himself at a career crossroads. He called a family meeting with his wife, Karen, their daughter Robin Ciordia and her husband Andy, and the four foodies decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship.
Three years later, after building a following at local farmers markets and retailers, they opened a storefront in Providence Plaza on the corner of Providence and South Sharon Amity roads in south Charlotte.
The Secret Chocolatier offers a variety of bon bons, truffles, butter toffee, chocolate caramels, chocolate bark, boxes of chocolates, and gift baskets. They’ve won awards for their sea salt butter toffee, white chocolate honey toffee, chocolate bourbon pecan pie bites, cinnamon roll bon bons, peanut caramel cups, and plum rooibos truffle. For those who require a steady supply of chocolate, there’s a Chocolate of the Month Club that delivers a new shipment of chocolates to your door each month.
BEST ICE CREAM: Urban Sweets Co.
Despite closing its doors in November 2023, Urban Sweets Co. owner Kristen Stewart wasn’t worried about how to keep her business going. When she was faced with the reality that she could not justify renewing the lease at her brick-and-mortar shop just a year after signing it, she knew she could return to her roots: a mobile pop-up business.
Stewarts’ ice cream company, known for its Charlotte-based flavors like Belmont Banana Pudding, Plaza Midwood Peanut Butter and SouthPark Strawberry Cheesecake, began as a mobile operation from its launch.
“It was just kind of like a natural pivot, and it’s also where we were deriving the majority of our income,” Stewart told Queen City Nerve. “The store really wasn’t doing well, but the events that we were doing [with the mobile cart] paid the bills, especially in the summertime.”
Stewart hasn’t given up on the idea of occupying another storefront. She said she will give herself a year to decide what to do next in that regard. As for whether or not she’s hit her sweet spot as a business owner, she said she doesn’t believe she has.
“I’m such a big dreamer and I don’t know that I’ll ever hit my sweet spot, if truth really be told,” she said. “I just have such huge growth goals. So I don’t know — ask me that in five years.”
BEST BAKERY: Manolo’s Bakery
There are a lot of fine-tuned, beautiful bakeries in Charlotte, but there simply aren’t any with the mission-driven ethos akin to Manolo’s bakery. Manolo Betancur is a longtime baker and Manolo’s itself has been in the corner of a small shopping center down Central for over 25 years now, originally opened with his partner at the time as Las Delicias. The small business is as essential to the fabric of the city now as it ever has been. Manolo’s has a stellar collection of Latin American baked goods, known for its many iterations of tres leches cake but also offering a bright parade of Colombian pastries, breads, churros, cakes, savory empanadas and cookies.
You can’t separate this bakery from the social justice and community-centered work it has been a part of for decades. As an immigrant himself, Betancur is dedicated to human rights and immigration activism. Following the invasion of Ukraine, he traveled to the country himself and built bread ovens for locals. He started the “We Care” initiative, which raised more than $10,000 for folks displaced or harmed by the invasion. During Hurricane Helene, he created direct donation pipelines that sent money to those affected by the storm every time someone spent money at Manolo’s. It’s the type of care that comes through in the food.
THE GREG COLLIER AWARD FOR BEST CHEF: Oscar Johnson & Daryl Cooper
On Jan. 24, the co-founders of Jimmy Pearls became the only Charlotte establishment to be nominated for the coveted 2024 James Beard Awards, with founders Daryl Cooper and Oscar Johnson named as semifinalists in the Best Chef: Southeast category.
According to Cooper, it’s been about authenticity from day one, as cooking serves as a way for people to tell stories of their culture, their history, and their roots, baring their honest souls to loved ones, community members or patrons. This is a sentiment upon which Jimmy Pearls was built.
“Being recognized amongst some of the most dopest chefs in the nation lets me know that staying true to my roots will get me further in life than anything else,” he told Queen City Nerve following the nomination.
Though they didn’t ultimately win, they’re still going full tilt. Billed as “a Virginia Soul Spot in Charlotte,” Cooper and Johnson launched Jimmy Pearls to pay homage to the history of Black food in the Commonwealth they both once called home. Their “culturally dense” menu includes corn fritters, gizzards, Ma Duke’s Fish Plate, Poke Chop Sammich, and curry roti. They’ve also built a reputation for their oysters, served a number of ways at pop-ups throughout the city.
They moved out of their longtime home in The Market at 7th Street earlier this year and are still on the search for just the right brick-and-mortar location, but in the meantime you can catch them serving out of their food truck at Free Range Brewing every Friday from 5-9 p.m. and Saturday from 4-9 p.m.
BEST EMERGING CHEF: Kimmy Bazan
Kimberly “Kimmy” Bazan is a young chef breaking the mold of what a chef can be. El Veneno, her taco truck, has a palpable personality; it’s fiery, fun and bold. Her menu pays clear homage to her Mexican roots. She — in a very fun, good-hearted way — calls guests and friends “cabrones.” She does food collabs like crazy and clever little menu switch-ups on the regular.
She’s paving a new wave, a new standard of chefhood — making it more sustainable, stripped back and personal; if she and her coworkers start to feel burnt out, they take a couple weeks off. It also doesn’t hurt that she knows how to turn a straightforward taco into a melty cheese, multi-process, tender pork, snappy lime phenomenon.
BEST PASTRY CHEF: Lauren Kallenbach
Some people make their work look easy, but Lauren Kallenbach at Virtuoso Breadworks in Waxhaw makes being a pastry chef look hard. And that’s a good thing because being a pastry chef is, simply put, not easy. It’s meticulous, time-consuming, requiring those who knead the bread and laminate fine layers of pastry dough to rise in the early hours of the morning. Kallenbach owns that and takes it in stride.
As a wife, mother of two and a business owner, Kallenbach and her partner Ben possess a mesmerizing ability to freshen up the pastry case weekly and come up with clever seasonal bites like the caramel apple pull apart or the garlic dill creme fromage danish. According to Virtuoso’s Instagram, “15 items always hang around, but the other 15/20 change multiple times a week.” While one can find more experimental, whimsical desserts in town, when it comes down to the sweet simplicity of a cottage bakery, Virtuoso is the place. They’re bread bakers, too, serving clean, crusty sourdough, seasonal focaccia and a pillowy Pullman loaf, to name a few. And to top it off, Kallenbach makes the hands-down best almond croissant in town.
BEST ADVOCATE: Cheri Jzar
Having launched their family-operated urban farming business in 2019, since evolving into Deep Roots CPS Farm in northwest Charlotte, Cherie Jzar and her husband Wisdom quickly entered the small group of farmers still operating in Mecklenburg County, and an even smaller group of Black farmers in the area. Since then, the pair have worked to not only increase food access for those in the Beatties Ford Road corridor but to strengthen the network of farmers working toward their own similar missions through advocacy and education.
Cheri launched the Growers Network in 2023 following a Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners meeting in which commissioner Vilma Leake expressed surprise that there were any farmers left in the county as the board prepared to accept a $14,000 grant to be put toward a farmland preservation plan.
“I was just furious. I was like, ‘What in the world? You’re about to pass a farmland preservation plan and one of our commissioners is asking who are the farmers?’ So that’s what inspired it,” Cheri told Queen City Nerve in July.
Since the group’s formation, Jzar has continued to help local farmers who often struggle with navigating planning and zoning regulations, teaching them how to capitalize on the continued growth of the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market (CRFM), and advocating for improvements at the market, which helped lead CRFM to finally begin accepting EBT/SNAP payments in August.
BEST NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINK MENU: Counter-
One part fine dining, one part theatrical performance and many parts in between, Counter- is pushing the envelope in Charlotte on many levels. It’s known certainly for its thematic food and extensive curated wine list (the Global, Absurd or Insanity wine pairings are exactly that), but the restaurant’s spirit-free pairing is equally as global, absurd and insane.
For many establishments, non-alcoholic options are a second-thought if they are offered at all. At Counter-, the spirit-free drink pairing is priced the exact same as the global wine pair. For some, this price point may be befuddling. However, the price reflects the fact that each drink on the non-alcoholic pairing is treated with the same respect and creativity as the wine would be.
The recipes — including tinctures, shrubs, house-made teas, and sodas (still thinking about the celery cream soda) — are developed weeks, sometimes months, ahead of each new menu. Oftentimes, the drinks are highly personal for the staff, with ingredient ideas rooted in the desire to minimize food waste, like leftover orange rinds turned into a glorious syrupy sip with dessert.
BEST FOOD NONPROFIT: The Bulb
Nearly 15% of Mecklenburg County’s households are considered food insecure. The Bulb is working to address that as a free mobile market dedicated to bringing “produce to the people.” This pop-up farmers market has been around since 2016, now running two donation-based weekly markets to more than a dozen historically food-insecure Charlotte neighborhoods.
People don’t have to go out of their way to find fresh food, The Bulb comes to them. They have partnered with local grocery stores like Trader Joe’s as well as several small, sustainable North Carolina and South Carolina farms and other local organizations like Freshlist to procure batches of fresh, lively, seasonal produce and reduce barriers to access.
This approach is double-pronged; not only does it reduce food insecurity and improve health outcomes in neighborhoods, but it reduces food waste from an environmental perspective. Rooted in food sovereignty and food justice principles, plus a take-what-you-need approach, The Bulb is doing really cool, meaningful under-the-radar nonprofit work in Charlotte.
BEST CULINARY EXPANSION: The Dumpling Lady
Dumpling Lady is now in Optimist Hall, South End and Uptown at The Alley — strategic expansion at its finest. The Dumpling Lady’s silky, zinging dan dan noodles will wake anybody up and the handmade dumplings and dim sum can reinvigorate an under-stimulated palate. And the story of how they got to this point makes the food just taste all the better.
Zhang Qian moved to Charlotte from Chengdu, Sichuan in 2015 to be with her partner, John Nisbet. The two popped up at picnic tables outside bars, transitioned to a food truck in 2016, then opened their first storefront in South End, then became a staple tenant at Optimist Hall before launching their latest endeavor in The Alley at Latta Arcade. It’s clear now that the commitment to made-from-scratch, traditional Sichuan cooking is so tantalizing that The Dumpling Lady has become a household Charlotte name.
BEST BREWERY EXPANSION: Olde Mecklenburg Brewery
Charlotte’s OG brewery, OMB, moved into Ballantyne in June. This is exciting for the old dog because its Yancey location is actually the oldest standing independent brewery in the Queen City, circa 2009 (which is wild cause it’s really not that long ago). You may think it’s ridiculous to celebrate another brewery, but the legitimate joy and feelings of inclusion that the suburbanites have expressed now that The Ballantyne Bowl is up and running is truly endearing.
Let the people drink beer! Don’t gatekeep it. Even hyper-concentrated suburbia in south Charlotte, with its trends and perspectives possibly a few years behind the city center, deserves a brewery, too.
The German-style beers here are really quite tasty, but what’s more interesting is how this brewery, whether in Yancey or Ballantyne, isn’t following all the micro-brewery trends. It’s picnic tables and pints of lager. It’s local live music and themed festivals. The food — specifically anything ending in -wurst — is sneaky good, too. That Bavarian pretzel with Düsseldorf mustard and beer cheese will have the Ballantynians breaking any carb-free diets.
BEST BRUNCH: El Puro
This is no cutesy, light bite, beat-around-the bush brunch. This is a kinetic, in-your-face gorge of a brunch. In this large restaurant, pre-revolutionary 1950s Cuba touches give loud life to the space — cigar cases, glamor in each corner, murals of Cuban cultural icons. There’s a pride for family and history that runs deep here, demonstrated by the friendly service and the live Cuban, Caribbean and Brazilian music throughout the week.
Naturally, the menu is an ode to this business’ Cuban roots as well. Empanadas, tres leches pancakes, lechón asado, and a classic Cubano sandwich. If you’re into a boozy brunch, you’re in luck; the El Puro cocktails go all out. The coconut cream mojito and tamarind aperol spritz are refreshing, but whichever one you choose will be treated, shaken, stirred and served with whimsy and delight.
BEST BREAKFAST ITEM: Breakfast Burrito at Giddy Goat
The miles and miles and miles one would walk, run or bike for the Giddy Goat breakfast burrito. To be transparent, there’s no exact rhyme or reason why these burritos are so good, but when the Saturday morning craving hits, it needs to be satiated.
The tortilla wrap is folded, crisped and golden brown. The interior — whether you order the Goat, the Shaka or the Veggie — is concentrated and soft, a contrast to the bitey crunch on the wrap. All the burrito elements — egg, shredded potatoes, onions and peppers, bacon — are situated cohesively, bound by stringy cheese. The real distinguishing feature is the accompanying dipping sauce, an acidic chimichurri or harissa sauce.
If you’re interested in a Giddy Goat burrito yourself, go early and don’t cower at the line, because there will be one. The early morning runners, the couples, the hungover crowd, and the dog walkers will have already found their rightful spot. Find yours. Just be aware while making plans that this specific item is only served on weekends.
BEST INTERNATIONAL LUNCH: La Shish Kabob
La Shish Kabob is a lunch with a promising ability to get you through the work day. After operating a restaurant in Jerusalem for many years, owner Izzat Freitekh has brought Middle Eastern cuisine, specifically Lebanese, Palestinian and Jordanian options, to Charlotte. Tucked into an international shopping center off of North Sharon Amity Road, customers will follow the aromatic trail of cumin, sage and succulent lamb and find themselves ordering from a small display-case counter.
What to get? The falafel is made right there in house, with simple, fresh ingredients — chickpeas, onions and parsley. It’s fried to a deep autumn color and crackling form. There’s the textured, yet blanket-soft hummus. The Palestinian mansaf, a lamb cooked in yogurt, is tender to the bone. The lamb kebabs, the half chicken, and the shawarma are sturdy, filling staples. On a surprising, disorienting note, there is a philly cheesesteak and cheeseburger on the menu as well, because why not? Either way, the decadent rice pudding is a lovely closer to wrap your lunch break.
BEST LUNCH: Calle Sol
Colorful Calle Sol’s $10 lunch special in Plaza Midwood can’t be beat. Facing a finite lunch break, workers tunnel toward this corner restaurant on Commonwealth Avenue with urgency. They head to La Cafetería, a hot bar in the back of Calle Sol. To extract that much full, abundant flavor from one entree and two sides for a mere $10 is thievery. Not actually, but kind of. Thinking about how a vanilla latte costs as much really puts it into perspective.
As for what La Cafetería’s actually offering: a rich lechon, a decadent chicken chaufa or a savory picadillo are everyday entree options. However, guests can switch it up on the daily with rotating entree features like ropa vieja or arroz con pollo. Sides choices include rice, black beans, a seasonal veg or soup. No matter the preferred mix-and-match, the portions are unquestionably large. Calle Sol is delightfully consistent, never slipping up on alive Cuban-Peruvian flavors.
BEST DINNER: Restaurant Constance
Dinner at Restaurant Constance hits different. As a guest, it might feel disorienting at first to be one table of just 10 in the small Wesley Heights restaurant, but settle in and trust the process. Only open for dinner, a meal here involves high-touch service, is markedly personal and very much chef-driven.
Chef Sam Diminich is energized by the work farmers do. He has changed the small-ish menu upwards of 40 times since opening in January 2023. Herby labneh, maitake mushroom bourguignon, and plum wine-braised pork cheeks are a few notable menu items. He gets hype off of his friend’s foraged mushrooms and throws them in a dish for the week. He talks to tables as servers guide guests through the menu of small plates, entrees and delectable desserts to finish.
There’s not a cocktail list here, but a splendid lineup of wine and N/A beverages (an intentional reflection of chef Sam’s own sobriety journey). And maybe that’s another cool thing about Constance — a dinner without the haze of a boozy fog can be quite refreshing. The dining experience is often crystal-clear, senses are heightened, memories are made.
BEST DINNER THAT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE MADE IT AT HOME: Aqua e Vino
Do not equate “made it at home” with a slapdash 30-minute-meal or anything less than true culinary art. Think instead of the type of comfort and caretaking a homemade meal induces. Think instead of a Sunday dinner simmering on the stove all day. It’s slow food, slow dining — that’s the MO here at the hyper-intimate Aqua e Vino in Strawberry Hill.
Chef Gabriele Grigolon has garnered prestigious acclaim from his experiences in Paris, Milan, Monte Carlo … and New Jersey. This 10-year-old restaurant does Italian food the Italian way, mirroring guests’ moods and reflecting nature’s seasons. The menu is antipasti, primi, secondi style. And of course, the pasta, the bread, the just-about-everything is made from scratch. The rock shrimp risotto or Chef Gabriele Grigolon’s “nonna-style” pan-fried chicken will leave an enduring mark.
Chef Gabriele and his veteran staff have built relationships with regulars at lunch, dinner, and Saturday morning’s colazione feast. This is a small restaurant sustained by regulars — it’s tucked away, has minimal PR initiatives, and is nothing of the flashy, trendy sort. Yet still, even more so for those reasons, it remains a tenet of Charlotte’s restaurant scene.
BEST SIDE ITEM: Smoky Sweet Potato from Union Barbecue
Barbecue joints across Charlotte have made a name for themselves over the years, but these days, to uphold their names, the people in the pit are putting focus on more than meat. An eyebrow-raising side — a salty, smoky, sweet, custardy, nutty side like Union Barbecue’s smoky sweet potato — has the power to define modern barbecue.
Holden Sasser takes traditional Mexican crema, smokes it for 30 minutes and drapes it generously atop the sweet potato, then glitters it with pepitas for a bit of crunch. This side has the skin left on, and the fleshy sweet potato provides a silky, sweet and soft contrast to, you know, meat.
BEST BURGER: The Royale from Harriet’s Hamburgers
Sometimes, simple is better, and the Royale at Harriet’s Hamburgers is a testament to that. It’s somewhat minimalist, not dressed up in any fancy garb. Hugged between plump Parkerhouse buns are two smash patties blanketed in American cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato and crinkle-cut pickles. The smash technique on the smashburger makes for a succulent, crisped-on-the-edges patty that has just the right amount of fat to be melty and just the right amount of lean protein to be sturdy.
The other elements add a fun crunch, a heat up, a cool down, a zing of acid. While this burger comes with Good Good sauce, get sides of the Dilly Ranch, garlic rosemary aioli and ask for Chef Brian’s Simple Sauce to dip both the burger and fries into.
Harriet’s has cemented itself as a go-to burger joint, gaining its fame at Optimist Hall with retro, eye-catching branding and a pared down menu. Now, it’s got a large brick-and-mortar in the Ballantyne Bowl to further its reach.
BEST PIZZA: Grandma Pizza from Geno D’s
There’s a lot of fuss when it comes to pizza in Charlotte and everyone seems to have a hot take on what we need more or less of in the pizza scene around here. Set far away from all that fuss, in a little corner of The Market at 7th Street, is Geno D’s.
Geno’s does it all well (shoutout to the garlic knots), but where they really shine is the Grandma pie. If you’ve been under a rock for the past several years, Grandma pizza is a Sicilian-style semi-thin crust sheet pan pie, usually with a light tomato sauce or simply crushed tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and a generous portion of olive oil. At its best, a Grandma pizza is both crunchy and soft, chewy and crisp — and Geno’s has it all down pat.
BEST SUSHI: Yama Asian Fusion
Yama has been a Charlotte staple for a while now. It can be a casual date night, but really, it may be better off as the spot to go when you don’t want to cook, you’re starving and need a bingeable sushi platter strewn before your very eyes. And good thing the Yama family of restaurants (including SouthPark’s semi-sceney Baku) has a Yama Waverly, a Yama LoSo, and a Yama SouthPark.
Weeknight sushi is all about convenience, and Yama just so happens to have that. There are usually no significant wait times and just enough people in the restaurant to create a buzzy but not over stimulating atmosphere on weeknights. Service is speedy and casual, but still personal. Start with the miso soup and the gyoza. Then dive into the specialty rolls hovering around $15, which tracks on the more affordable side of Charlotte sushi rolls.
Hoard the Paul’s spicy tuna roll in soy paper and the spider roll with tempura soft-shell crab to yourself. Or keep it simple with fresh nigiri and a few handrolls which provide a filling, lip-smacking bang for your buck as well.
BEST PLACE NOBODY TALKS ABOUT: Rusty’s Deli & Grille
Even when it comes to old Charlotte, Rusty’s Deli & Grille is a deep cut. Tucked into a strip mall (neighbored in a past life by Eckerd Pharmacy and just a few steps down from Blockbuster Video) at the corner of Park Road and Sharon Road West, Rusty’s hasn’t changed a single iota since opening in 1983.
A Seinfeld-era color palette of burgundy and hunter green (with the polished brass honey-oak wood accents to match) unveils itself as you enter, the atmosphere conjuring memories of a simpler time. Grab a complimentary bowl of banana peppers from the jar at the counter and ponder the deli-style menu while burgers sizzle on the grill in the background. They truly offer something for everyone, with everything from cheesesteaks to chicken salad, Rusty’s Serious Chili and baked spuds — enormous twice-baked potatoes stuffed with whatever your heart desires. Every meal at Rusty’s is comforting and filling, with an aftertaste of nostalgia.
Rusty’s isn’t doing anything new, but that’s what makes it so special. In a town where it’s hard to recognize the things that used to be and the only constant is change, a visit to Rusty’s feels like coming home.
BEST VEGAN EATERY: VegGeez Plant Based Eatery
VegGeez is a quaint little sit-down eatery in Waxhaw — that also happens to be fully and completely vegan — owned by a couple with a collective background in hospitality, firefighting and vegan cooking. VegGeez isn’t serving up miniscule raw bites of collards and carrots. The food is smothered, drenched, sometimes fried, and plenty hearty. The menu is definitely a sifter, with an amalgam of cuisines. There’s the chili “cheez” burger, chick’n and waffle, a caprese salad with cashew mozzarella, Indonesian cauliflower, a bahn mi, and the best-selling mushroom reuben sandwich.
Their sweet treats also deserve a nod. The handcrafted shakes, which come in the classic flavors, are creamy desserts for the milk-averse. The homemade oatmeal raisin cookies will prove to raisin-haters that they will be okay. And how can you not try something that is titled “Sweet & Cozy Carrot Cake?”
BEST TAKEOUT: Sen Mee Noodle House
Life on the east side of Charlotte changes in a blink of an eye these days, and sometimes that means great things. With the move of several memorable shops over to the same plaza shared by Tommy’s Pub and VisArt Video, just parking your car in one spot midday can make for a whole afternoon of shopping, sipping, and memories.
With the opening of Sen Mee Noodle House in August, in the place where Sosu once stood, lovers of Thai and Vietnamese cuisine as well as those who are new to the Asian styles have a new favorite place to call home in the Queen City. Whether eating in, or taking out, all that come through the doors are greeted warmly by co-owner Jenny Zajac as she, along with co-owners Pailin Wilet, Nana Chandara and Sophia Dong, strive to bring the best qualities out of each dish. Some of the best items to try on the grab-&-go menu are the restaurant’s boat noodles, the pad Thai, and the mama pad KeeMao.
BEST STRIP MALL SPOT: Saigon Palace
Whizzing down South Boulevard, one could be forgiven if they didn’t notice Saigon Palace. The nondescript signage does little to differentiate the restaurant from others as the seemingly endless corridor of strip malls passes by. But, just stop, turn around, whatever. Go there and you won’t miss it again.
Saigon Palace has a charming entryway adorned with golden statues, which then gives way to a sea of red tablecloths and green plants speckling the dining room. The experience (and the menu) is markedly authentic. No frills or thrills, just a dizzying array of classic Vietnamese dishes like fresh spring rolls, vermicelli noodles, and pho that might just be the best in all of Charlotte. It may take a while to try all of the over one hundred items offered at Saigon Palace, but it will be a hell of a ride just to try.
BEST POP-UP: Disgruntled Ronin
Disgruntled Ronin is in its percolating phase, having popped up just a few times at Snug Harbor and Substrate this fall. But keep your eyes peeled and your stomach empty because this sandwich-centric menu is gaining steam. Expect sandwiches that are turned on their heads — those that capture the complexity and cohesion of a whole three-course tasting menu in one bite.
Eating at Disgruntled Ronin is messy; it’s sloppy, spilling out, not for the faint of heart. The Tonk features a crispy pork char-siu, shiso leaf and pear compote. The Island has a gochu-ginger mayo with mochiko chicken. The Krubbed includes spicy smoked roast beef, kimchi and pickled jalapeño, giving sad roast beef a whole new reputation. Even the buns are homemade. Get the ones with bits of green onion and thank us later.
