charlotte’s best bites | emily’s picks

Ok Charlotte, I know we’re all in a little bit of a depressed funk because the Panthers didn’t win the Super Bowl, but the good news is we have cheddar biscuits from Sunflour Baking Company so that makes us winners in our hearts and in our stomachs. In honor of the Panthers’ tremendous season I thought now would be the best time for my dear friend, Emily, to show us around town. Emily is a rare unicorn (a Charlotte native! gasp!) and so she’s picked some really great spots for us to eat our feelings in this week’s Charlotte’s Best Bites.

Hi I’m Emily, a coworker of Chrissie’s and also somehow still her friend, despite repeatedly missing deadlines for this article. I grew up here in Charlotte, but in the age where people only came Uptown for Panthers and Hornets games. When I moved back after law school, I basically got to discover a whole new city. I couldn’t be more excited for all of the new restaurants and cocktail bars (and yes, I’m a little salty that there were no breweries or distilleries in South End when I lived there four years ago). Still, with all the exploring and experimenting that we get to do as Charlotteans these days, it’s always good to have some standbys, and these are mine.

Charlotte Institution
Lupie’s Cafe

When I moved back, this humble and seemingly run-down spot at the front of Grier Heights on Monroe was pretty much the only restaurant within two miles of Uptown that I knew of. Growing up, those squat little offices in the next lot over housed our pediatrician’s office, so Lupie’s was always our reward after a doctor’s visit. They were serving sweet tea in mason jars before it was hip y’all. These days, it’s my go-to lunch spot with my dad when he’s near Uptown (he picks me up at the courthouse drop-off circle, and I swear, it feels on those days like not much in my life has changed since elementary school). The best day to go to Lupie’s is Thursday, because Thursday is chicken and dumplings day. Straight up, these dumplings are the definition of comfort food.  Now if you can’t go on Thursday, you’ve gotta get the chili mac. Chili mac is a huge bowl of some of the five different types of chili offered (they’re all excellent, and you can have two different types in your mac) served over spaghetti or (if you’re superhuman) mac and cheese. You read that right: chili over mac and cheese. Oh and pro tip from a townie right here: Lupie’s nachos are huge, delicious, have the same rules about chili mixing, and can be ordered to go for tailgating during preseason games. You’re welcome.

Best Falafel
Kabob Grill

This little place in the Kenilworth Commons shopping center is a gem. It was just redone on the inside and it’s adorable, but the important part is, of course, the menu. I’m not a vegetarian, but when I eat Mediterranean food, I can’t get enough of the vegetarian sides. The vegetarian combo plate at Kabob Grill is just the best- all of their tastiest offerings and definitely enough to either share or take leftovers for lunch. But the real standout- lunch or dinner- is the Rocket Wrap. The Rocket Wrap will change your life. It’s got a generous helping of the BEST falafel in town, and it’s full of tahini sauce and halloum cheese. The cheese with the warm falafel is the most wonderful thing- it’s salty and chewy and just amazing. Get it with a side of hummus and your life will be complete.

Wine Night Wednesday
300 East

My first lady friend in Charlotte took me out here when I was brand new in town, and so I’ll always associate 300 East with lady dinner dates. It’s in an old, converted house right at the intersection of East and South Boulevards, and it’s wonderful. There’s a patio in the front right on the East Boulevard side, and it is the best place to post up and catch up with your girlfriends and take advantage of the massive wine list being half priced. The dip trio on the appetizer menu is the best: spicy and textured and they will bring you extra pita bread instead of olives if you ask them. The flatbreads and salads are all great (they have fantastic brunch flatbreads as well!), and my sister can’t ever get enough of the sweet potato ravioli (it’s on the appetizer menu, but can definitely serve as a main). My favorite things to order are something from the above list to share for the table, and the French onion soup for myself. Basically, this French onion soup has an equal soup-to-cheese ratio, and that is what makes it so excellent.

Best Date Night Pizza
Intermezzo

One of the most magical nights I’ve had in Charlotte was during last year’s snowpocalypse. My girlfriends and I spent an evening drinking red wine and eating pizza in the tiny, cozy dining room at Intermezzo on Central Avenue while snow buried the city around us. Now there are tons of pizza places in Charlotte and up and down Central in particular, so it’s hard to choose one based on the pizza itself, but Intermezzo is the clear winner for best date night pizza.   I may have never actually been on a date here, but man, the atmosphere is perfect for it. To repeat, the dining room is teeny tiny and quiet, and the brick walls and red booths are intimate and lovely. Intermezzo also has an expansive patio that they tent in, so it’s accessible during all but the coldest months. They have a (reportedly, per all my friends) excellent Serbian menu, but I’ve never been able to move on from the Chicken Florentine pizza. It is just outstanding. That plus a bottle of wine is all you need.

Best $4 Whiskey
Elizabeth Billiards

Once you’ve finished your pizza and wine, head over to Elizabeth Billiards for my very favorite Charlotte dive experience (you can stop back at the Thirsty Beaver to close out your night). Even though it’s quite big, the best word I can think of to describe EBs is “snug.” I mean, the place only got windows about six months ago, and it has the greatest old-fashioned booths built into the walls by the (free to play) pool tables. The recently-upgraded patio has a fantastic view of the skyline, and it’s one of the prettiest places to watch a sunset in town. There’s no fuss at the bar- no taps, limited beer and wine options- and they will sell you a strong whisky soda for four bucks. It’s incredible. No matter how terrible your hangover the next day, your bank account won’t be (too) mad at you. There’s nothing better in my book than an EBs whiskey soda consumed in a swivel chair at the bar while people-watching the pool players.

Emily is a public defender and a third generation Charlottean.  When she’s not stomping around the courthouse, she enjoys cheering on the Panthers, high fives, local beers, and reading books in the sun.  She considers it one of her most important duties to maintain the List of Movies Chrissie Hasn’t Seen, and maintains a steady second job keeping “that’s what she said” jokes relevant.