Food
Food. Just a minor detail that cannot go without being mentioned. It's a big part of every culture, and Charlotte food is as diverse as its population. From international supermarkets to international restaurants, the Queen City has the ability to complement everyone's taste buds!
Food Bazaar, International Supermarket and Compare Foods, among others, are large food stores that cater to international cuisine. Compare Foods, a chain that has "transplanted" itself from the Northern US, noticed that the growing Hispanic population in Charlotte would need a place to find the ingredients for their favorite recipes. Compare Foods has various stores around Charlotte and one in Statesville, a city in a neighboring county to the north. These supermarkets sell many Latin American and Caribbean foods that are not typically found in larger, popular grocery store chains like Harris-Teeter and Food Lion, which cater more to North American tastes.
For dining out, Charlotte offers a great variety of food choices as well. For sampling our "home-grown" cuisine, there are restaurants that offer traditional Soul and Southern food. Although both styles of cooking offer many of the same foods, the difference between Soul food and Southern food is the history. They are very similar, but Soul Food is typically associated with African American cuisine from the Southern states. During the mid-1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement was just beginning, the term "soul," which was used to describe African American culture, naturally also started to describe African American food. The list of foods to choose from is plentiful: fried chicken, collard greens, mashed potatoes, corn bread and sweetened iced tea, just to name a few. If a satisfying Southern meal interests the palate, visit one of Charlotte's Soul Food restaurants.
Want more great American food choices? Many Charlotteans will tell you that the best Southern fried chicken in the world is found in the Queen City at Price's Chicken Coop.
And our favorite local "hamburger joints" such as Zach's and Mr. K's have been serving other American specialties & hamburgers, hotdogs and soft serve ice-cream for more than 20 years in the same diner-like locations, even though modern condos are popping up all around them.
For a sampling of Charlotte tastes, below is a partial list of local and international restaurants organized by type.
Click on each food type to read more or click to hide all and show all food information.
Chinese
Baoding Chinese Restaurant
Named after our Sister City in the People's Republic of China, this restaurant features unique Chinese cuisine that draws upon the best in traditional dishes from China with an added touch of fresh ideas from today.
Eclectic
Cosmo's Cafe
Cosmo's Cafe is one of Charlotte's better known martini bars. Their eclectic menu offers everything from sushi to tapas to pizza. And stay a while. It has been rated as one of the best bars for after-work cocktails. "I come here every Thursday. My friends and I get together for a nice- yet-fun dinner, and we stay for cocktails and dancing," said Hugo. He mentioned that he never misses Thursdays at Cosmo's because his friends from all over Latin America enjoy a great meal and great Latin music until 2 AM.
Barbeque
Art's Barbecue
Southern barbecue, better know as BBQ, carries a tradition in the South. Almost every Southern state offers its own variation of this style of cooking pork (and sometimes beef or chicken) and the BBQ sauce used to dress the meat. Other foods that usually complement a good plate of pulled pork, which is pork that has been grilled and then shredded, are coleslaw (cabbage salad, often dressed with vinegar or mayonnaise base dressing) and baked beans.
British
Big Ben's Pub
If British food is your "cup of tea," then Big Ben's Pub is perfect for you. Enjoy a Sunday chicken or beef roast or the famous Haddock & Chips (battered and deep-fried fish with French fries) with a cold glass of Newcastle beer.
"I feel it's very important to make the dining experience TRULY BRITISH," mentioned Paula, co-owner of the pub. They pride themselves because "everyone will tell you 'That was the most authentic and and delicious British food I have had outside of the UK,' " added the Gov'na, which is the word governor pronounced with a British accent.
That's the Gov'na on the far left with wife Paula.
Cajun
Boudreaux's Louisiana Kitchen
Enjoy a nice bowl of Gumbo, a soup with meats and spices, or a plate of Jambalaya (rice-based meal that includes sausages and spices).
Caribbean
Golden Krust
Caribbean foods are a blend of African, Native American, French, Indian and Spanish cuisine. Ox tail, curry foods and rum cakes are common in Caribbean diets.
French
Carpe Diem Restaurant and Bar
"Le dîner" often consists of three courses: hors d'oeuvre or entrée, the appetizer (sometimes a soup); "plat principal," the main course; and a cheese course or dessert, sometimes with a salad. Often yogurt may replace the cheese course, while a normal dessert would be fresh fruit. In the dining room of Carpe Diem you can see a mix of Euro-hipsters, businesspeople and traditional "Myers Parkies," or residents from the Myers Park neighborhood.
Greek
Big Bitez
"Hello, Heleni," welcomes John Saravelis as one of his customers who comes in regularly, usually referred to as a "regular," comes in to enjoy a gyro ( a kind of meat roasted on a vertical rotisserie) and chocolate milkshake. The restaurant's menu offers everything from a cheeseburger "all the way" (chili, coleslaw, mustard and onions) to a fresh Greek salad, famous for the homemade Greek dressing. This restaurant hosts many of the same customers every day. Many of them met each other here and now meet daily. John and Helen Saravelis have been in the United States for more than twenty years. This is the second Greek restaurant they have owned, and currently you can see Sammy and Demetri, their two sons, taking orders and running food at lunchtime on a busy Saturday.
Indian
Suruchi's
Keeping the traditional Indian styles, meals are eaten while seated on the floor or on very low stools or cushions. Instead of diners using forks and knives, the food is eaten with the fingers of the right hand. Due to Westernization, tables and chairs, along with forks and knives, are no longer out of the ordinary when eating at an Indian restaurant.
Italian
Little Italy
"Hey, Tony!" welcomes the cook from the back as one of Little Italy's regular customers comes in for his lasagna. Tony has been eating at Little Italy since he moved from Brooklyn, New York, last year. Little Italy offers great pastas and calzones at reasonable prices, while keeping the "home-cooked" taste as their first priority. The employees like to have the patrons feel like they are in their home when dining at Little Italy.
Mexican
La Paz
"It's the food, amigos!" is a phrase commonly heard at La Paz SouthEnd. Charlotteans have been enjoying authentic Mexican food since La Paz opened 20 years ago in Charlotte. Many enjoy the steak fajita and the honey salmon salad.
Japanese/Sushi
Ru San's
This place stays packed! The one-dollar menu allows fresh, quality sushi to fit in everyone's budget. The dining room had to be expanded after so many Charlotteans continually visited Ru San's Sushi bar. The menu includes a wide variety of makizushi (rolled seafood and vegetables with rice on the outside) and and nigirizushi (fresh seafood or vegetables over a clump of rice). "This is where my girlfriends and I catch up. We have made Thursdays at Ru San's our official girls' night out place for dinner," said Barbara. Barbara is originally from Chile and has been in the United States for over six years. She likes to eat at different international restaurants to learn about new cultures.
Vietnamese
Pho Real Vietnamese Restaurant & Bar
The extremely diverse cuisine at this restaurant is often divided into three main categories, each pertaining to Vietnam's three main regions (north, central and south). Most food choices are mainly based on rice, soy sauce and fish sauce. The cuisine's characteristic flavors are sweet (sugar), spicy (Serrano peppers) and flavored by a variety of mints. One of the house's specialties is the Pho bowl. The menu allows customers to choose their own broth, then noodles and then their choice of meat to make a Pho bowl distinctly theirs to taste. The presentation of the food on the plate is even more inviting because of the complimentary bowl of spices, limes and leaves you receive to give your Pho bowl any extra spice you might desire.
Want more great American food choices? Many Charlotteans will tell you that the best Southern fried chicken in the world is found in the Queen City at Price's Chicken Coop.
And our favorite local "hamburger joints" such as Zach's and Mr. K's have been serving other American specialties & hamburgers, hotdogs and soft serve ice-cream for more than 20 years in the same diner-like locations, even though modern condos are popping up all around them.
