exploring north carolina’s
best bites & beyond

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A woman in a blue dress walks across a bridge, with a city skyline and tall buildings in the background on a clear day, exploring an off the eaten path route through the city.
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Charlotte

A tall lighthouse with a black and white diamond pattern stands on a sandy, grassy hill with small trees under a partly cloudy sky, capturing the charm often found at beaches near Charlotte NC.
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North Carolina

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• Charlotte Faves •

Welcome! I’m Chrissie!

Welcome! I’m Chrissie, your go-to guide for food-filled adventures across Charlotte, North Carolina and beyond. I’m here to help you find the best bites, family-friendly getaways and hidden gems — all with a side of real-life stories, easy recipes and a whole lot of cheese (literally and figuratively speaking). Whether you’re a local or just passing through, I hope you’ll find inspiration to explore, eat well and maybe laugh a little along the way.

About Me
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  • The logo for Axios Charlotte features the word AXIOS in bold, uppercase letters above the word Charlotte in a lighter, lowercase font.
  • The logo for The Charlotte Observer, featuring the newspapers name in bold, black, Old English-style lettering on a white background.
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  • The WCNC Charlotte logo features the NBC peacock symbol on the left and bold black letters WCNC above the word CHARLOTTE in smaller, spaced-out letters.
  • Charlotte Magazine logo with the word Charlotte in bold black font and MAGAZINE in smaller, capitalized letters to the lower right.
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Three pages are shown: the center page is a book cover titled The Ultimate North Carolina Bucket List with a scenic road photo; the other two pages list off the eaten path activities with photos and text.

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151 Things to Do in North Carolina

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Explore Charlotte

Charlotte’s Best Bites

If you’re wondering what and where to eat in Charlotte, start here — it includes my go-to guides for the best restaurants, brunch spots, pizza, wings, patios, BBQ, and more — plus guest favorites from fellow locals who love eating their way through the Queen City just as much as I do. 

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North Carolina Travel

If you’re planning a quick road trip or a long, leisurely vacation to North Carolina, these travel guides will help you discover what makes the Tarheel State so special, one stop (and one great meal) at a time. From the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the sandy banks of the Atlantic coast, there is so much to do, see, eat and explore in North Carolina! 

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Browse Travel Guides

All Recipes

Off the Eaten Path is all about helping busy families create meaningful memories around food and travel. Forget aspirational perfection. Around here, you’ll find real-life enjoyment — the kind that works for people juggling careers, kids, relationships, and the general chaos of adulthood. Whether you’re building a charcuterie board, mixing up something festive, or just trying to get dinner on the table before bedtime chaos, these recipes are designed to be doable, delicious, and worth sharing.

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Browse Recipes by Course

Entertaining with Ease

I firmly believe hosting doesn’t have to be complicated to be memorable. This section is all about simple, stress-free ways to bring people together — think unfussy gatherings, make-ahead recipes, beautiful-but-doable cheese boards, and tips that let you spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your guests. Whether you’re planning a casual happy hour, a holiday get-together, board game night, or just snacks with friends, these ideas are designed to help you host confidently, without overthinking it.

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