A Perfectly Eclectic Evening

Taking two of our favorite joints and combining it into one evening may, on its surface, seem like a weird combo. I will be the first to say that it was a bit of an "eclectic evening" but why restrict yourself from enjoying the best aspects of two restaurants in one night just because the genres don't exactly jive. And besides, as you will see, there is a thread of commonality here.

In the heart of what is affectionately known by all as NODA ("North Davidson"), Cabo Fish Taco sits proudly amongst the hippie hangouts. Now getting from point A (Uptown) to point B (NODA) is a bit of a scenic adventure. The area between these two destination points is definitely ghetto-rific....not like South Bronx ghetto-rific but enough to make you ask yourself if you are going the right way. Don't worry, you are and as soon as you see people manhandling trees and singing Hare Krishna songs, you know you have arrived!

Serving up Baja-style cuisine with a Californian twist, Cabo has made it on the list of Must Tries in Charlotte. Owned by three graduates of Virginia Tech, this is a hotbed for Hokie sitings as they fly south for football season (plenty of them last night for the Tech vs. ECU game this weekend). I know what you are saying if you have never been here...why the hell would I put fish on a taco when there are plenty of other proven meats that go perfectly well with a flour tortilla....or more simply, not a big fan of fish and putting it on a taco makes it all that less appealing. Au contraire my little foodie followers. At first, I wasn't sold at the sound of this combo as well but one step into this bustling restaurant proves that this place is the real deal and the first bite of their signature Cabo Fish Tacos (beer-battered cod with cabbage slaw, avocado, cheese and a cilantro cream sauce - pictured below) will be a religious experience not soon forgotten.

All tables receive a basket of corn tortilla chips with a side of corn salsa as you peruse the menu. The chips and corn salsa are good but nothing remarkable but if you go here on a Friday or Saturday night and have to wait for a table as long as you will have to, you could put a box of Ritz Crackers in front of me and I will call it a gift from the gods. On the drink menu, Cabo offers a variety of beers including a selection of Mexican beers - Tecate, Bohemia, Pacifico and Modelo Especial to name a few. If you are in the mood for a margarita, Cabo has a nice list of margs as well but as a warning (or a strong recommendation), we got a Patron Margarita on the rocks to start and I am pretty sure that I had about the fourth of the bottle of Patron in my glass.

On the food side, my recommendations include the Cabo Fish Taco (of course), the Blackened Mahi Tacos or the Serrano Chicken Tacos. All Tacos come with your choice of 1 side which include items such as black beans & rice, mexi-slaw, baja rice and cucumber salad. One thing I really love about the tacos here is the perfectly fried flour tortillas that are slightly crispy but still pliable enough to fold like a taco. I have had people tell me that the burritos are ok but a little bland so my thought is when you come to Cabo Fish Taco, GET A TACO and save the burritos for the guy under the Wachovia building (you know, the one who hates credit card payers and is locally famous for his chicken tinga).

One of the best parts of going to Cabo is the people watching. It truly is a potpourri of patrons that you will see on any given night...from the bankers that try to blend in with their flip flops and fish belts to the locals who have piercings in areas that seem unnatural to have a hole. While the look of the customers is all over the board, the one thing they have in common and the reason you will find yourself becoming a Cabo lover is you can't get enough of those tacos! My recommendation is to go on Wednesdays as we typically do and start at Dolce Vita for half price wines (two doors down) before stumbling over to Cabo for some fantastic grub.

So from the fare of Baja / S. California, we made our way up the coast to a restaurant that feels like it was plucked right out of Napa and has quickly become one of our favorite local hangouts. Fig Tree Restaurant at the Lucas House on 7th Street is truly a special occasion destination for those searching for a place to bring someone you love (or someone who you would like to seal the deal with). Greg Zanitsch, chef/owner bring his experience from The Ritz Carlton - Maui and the highly acclaimed Auberge du Soleil in Napa to this intimate Charlotte bungalow in the Elizabeth area. And Sara Scheidler (Greg's better half and front-of-the-house manager) makes every visit feel like you are visiting old friends.

Now I will admit that we do not go here that often for dinner since this is not one of those spur-of-the-moment places you decide to go because you are just hungry. What we lack in dinner patronage we make up in wine and dessert visits and have now made Fig Tree a permanent fixture in our Friday or Saturday night routine. So, in typical Friday fashion, dinner was Cabo and afterdinner drinks and dessert was Fig Tree. On tap for dessert last night was Greg's play on coffee and donuts...warm beignets with a cinnamon creme anglaise and an espresso cup of homemade coffee ice cream...I mean seriously, if the word gets out on these, the whole Charlotte Police Dept may be lining up outside. We also had a chance to try a bunch of different wines...a Hook & Ladder Cab that was great for a wine-by-the-glass selection, a Chateau St. Jean "Cinq Cepages" that you better get in to try because it will blow any bottle of your typical Silver Oak out of the water, a few buttery whites that, considering I had a hard time remembering my name and address at this point, I can't recall the names and lastly a dessert wine by Torres (Moscatel Oro I believe) that was perfect to cap off a great evening.

When you go, the place may look small but the hospitality is huge. Mark will likely be waiting for you behind the bar and servers will periodically stop by to pick up their drinks for their other tables and naturally jump into the conversation that you will surely be having with either Mark, Sara or Greg when he peaks his head out from the kitchen. If you do decide to make a full evening out of Fig Tree (which I would highly recommend if you are in the mood to celebrate), the servers are the cream of the crop in Charlotte and are very knowledgable about the menu and the wine selection so don't be shy in asking their views on things. Also, make sure you get a bottle of wine here with dinner since it is Greg's philosphy that wine should not only be for special occasions but enjoyed with every great meal and it is apparent when you check out the lower mark-ups vs other restaurants.

In this blog, I will abstain from providing a burger rating but will leave you with this...get your ass over to Cabo for some S. Californian tacos; you will not be disappointed and we will see you at the N. Californian-inspired Fig Tree for some wine and dessert afterwards.

For the Ethnic Foodie - A Must Try

I am a big fan of ethnic cuisine and am always on the lookout for standout establishments. I would have started my ethnic adventure through the country of Thailand but the Thai food in Charlotte is pretty mediocre at best. I know some might say that Thai Taste is so authentic and wonderful and others may say that Thai Orchid is the best Thai food they have ever tasted and they are all allowed their opinion but my opinion is that the Thai food in Charlotte is just ok and that is not enough to warrant the first ethnic blog (As an aside, if you are ever down in Florida, Sarasota specifically, there are two Thai restaurants owned by the same family...Bangkok Restaurant which is the family's original restaurant and Pacific Rim Restaurant which includes both Thai cuisine and Sushi. These two restaurants are the real deal and is where my heart is when it comes to not only Thai food but the whole experience of what going out to eat should be.)
So, since Thailand will not be awarded the first ethnic blog, we will step over to the next country...India.
Now, for some reason many non-Indian restaurant goers have an aversion to Indian cuisine. Most say they attribute it to their hatred of curry but when asked what they have tried with curry, many admit they've never tried anything with curry but they just don't like the smell. Come on people, don't deprive yourself of great cuisine simply because one time you walked by this hole-in-the-wall Indian Restaurant and it smelled like shit. Do you now never go to a seafood restaurant because you had an experience where someone on the side of the road was trying to sell you some rank fish?
For those who really do like Indian food or those who are willing to give Indian food another shot with their olfactory glands, we have got one of the best Indian spots I have ever tried right here in Charlotte...Copper Modern Indian Cuisine. Located on East Blvd about a block down from South Blvd sits this old bungalow where many restaurants have tried but only one has succeeded in using the house as a perfect backdrop to an experiential evening. Owner Aparappar Singh Pannu and Chef Naveen Sadana offer both traditional Indian dishes as well as modern interpretations of classic Northern Indian fare to this very intimate location. And it also has a very well thought out wine list that has won Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence. While I am a big wine drinker typically, I tend to stick with the Kingfisher beer which is made in one of my friends hometown of Bangalor, India and is a nice light beer to go along with spicy food.
So what to eat here? The real question is what not to eat here. Since this concept of upscale Indian dining is relatively novel, we go here pretty often when family and friends come into town and so we have tried a good variety of menu items. For starters (get a Kingfisher right away) I would recommend the Tava Scallops (perfectly seared scallops with khada masala, onions, asparagus in an emulsion made with avocado) and the Potli Samosa (little fried pockets of goodness served with a sweet and sour spicy chutney). We always get the garlic naan and raita right when we sit down as well but you may not like to be in complete food comatose like we do when you leave a restaurant so you may wish to pass on this. For main dishes, we typically order a few to share around the table. This is always my idea since I can never just pick one thing and I do not want to risk the inevitable food envy I would have watching the person across from me eat something that looked just as good or better than the plate in front of me. My favorites are a side of Saag Paneer (creamed spinach with paneer which is cubed cheese with sort of a tofu-like consistency), Murgh Tikka Masala (roasted chicken in an indian spiced tomato based cream sauce - if you don't want as much sauce and want a few grilled veggies as well, the Chicken Tikka off the Modern section of the menu will suit you - both rock but I tend to like a lot of sauce to dump on the family style basmati rice the table gets), the Khoya Malai Maans (lamb in a spiced curry sauce - for those that are truly not into curry, may not be the best choice for you), the Salmon and the Eggplant Tournedos off the Modern section of the menu. For those willing to live dangerously, the Seafood Vin d' Alho is really tasty but REALLY spicy and I would warn you that the next day on the john, you may find yourself gripping the side of the sink counter in a cold sweat...I need not describe any further.
Couple of other things to mention; the hospitality is great here but the service is on the slower side (not a bad thing since it is meant for you to enjoy your experience) so I would not make this a destination if you are trying to eat and run. And by the way, I really like the music here. It's kind of like Indian house music...very NY and very cool.
I can't leave a blog without mentioning a couple of things that make my visits slightly left of perfect. First, a couple of the rooms have wall decorations that almost push me to the point of asking to move to another room. There is the front left room that is pretty outrageous and then there is the tiger print room with pictures of men with huge handlebar mustaches...Oh my god is this a fcked up choice for wall coverings but sort of adds to the charm of the place. We typically get seated in the front room (with all windows) and always comment on the fact that you feel like you're high and the room is now slanted at a 20 degree angle towards the front window...the fact is the room IS slanted towards the window so you don't have to blame it on the bong.
Spoke to the owner recently who mentioned that they were adding patio seating in the front which will be perfect as it begins to get a little cooler in the evenings. And don't forget to grab the little goodies at the host stand before you leave that look and taste like Good 'n Plenty for a hobbit...great for digestion. RATING: 3.5 and another bite because it tastes so damn good BURGERS (OUT OF A 4 BURGER SCALE)

Newcomers to Charlotte - Quit Eating the Same Damn Thing

To help those seeking advice on a new place to grab some dinner on the weekend, may I suggest one that is part of the Augusto Conte's arsenal of restaurants located in between his Uptown establishments (Coco Osteria & Luce) and his Southpark babies (Il Posto Osteria & Toscana)...A relatively new venture located in the Providence Plaza Shopping Center (Corner of Providence Rd and Sharon Amity) is MezzaNotte Brick Oven.
Since my wife's store, The Pink Hanger, is located in this same shopping center (shameless advertisement but I can't help it) we find ourselves at MezzaNotte quite often and typically snuggle up to the bar for 1 or 5 drinks before getting seated for a gluttonous evening of carb overload. We recently visited the restaurant with another couple and I figured I would give you my take on the restaurant (now, for full disclosure, I know Augusto so this is not a completely objective review but for all those that are slowly eating into their savings this year and have tighter purse strings...I still think this place is a great meal for the price).
While the food is really good and I will get into some specifics a little later, there are some shortcoming with the feel of the place unfortunately. For instance, the chosen colors, particularly the stained glass when you first walk in and some of the tile selections around the bar, reminds me of what my parents bathroom probably looked like back in 1974. And the music...now I am all about music in restaurants and the lack of music at most Charlotte restaurants is one of my biggest complaints but holy sh!t...I feel like I am in some horrible Italian discothèque ....it may be on purpose but for me this is a big miss but it's almost worth the visit just to hear what I am talking about.
When you dine here, I would highly advise you ask to sit outside since the front dining room is lacking a bit of ambiance and typically has a ton of kids playing with their food. That is of course unless you have kids and then I beg you to keep the outside sacred grounds and sit in the front dining room. If outdoor seating is full, the next best thing (I am talking about those without kids) is the bar area where there are 6 to 7 tables and seems to have a better vibe than the front room.
So back to what we ordered last Saturday and some of my recommendations for food. Like in typical gracious Italian host fashion, we received a complimentary bruschetta that was very tasty (cherry tomatoes with garlic and olive oil with a balsamic reduction drizzle). Not unlike every other time we go there, the four of us ended up ordering way to much food consisting of a family style Farfalle con Pollo which is awesome and I would highly recommend, an individual order of the Rigatoni Buttera (short tube pasta with sausage and peas in a creamy tomato sauce) which was good but I have had better at Augusto's other restaurants, a Vegetariano Panini with a side of surprisingly good french fries and a Diavola Pizza made with mozzarella, hot sopressata and hot peppers (I might even take two of these next time just to be even more of a fat ass). Other dishes that I have had in prior visits that should be on the list include the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina and the Maccheroni all Norma for pasta dishes, the Pizza Lasagna and the simple Margherita for pizzas and the Paillard di Pollo salad. The paninis are very new to the menu so have only tried the vegetarian one but based on the looks of the others, it doesn't seem like you could go wrong with any of them.
Any if you really want to make the experience complete, ask to be seated in John's section...he is the one who used to play Igon in Ghostbusters...dead ringer and I'm not kidding (and I love the hint of an Italian accent as he pronounces some of the items on the menu). Buono Appetito! RATING: 3 and a bite BURGERS (out of 4 BURGER SCALE)

Blackfinn Restaurant & Saloon

Don't worry, not every blog will be this long but this is a special occasion - the first blog about a restaurant!

So, in an effort to scope out a sports bar that will satisfy both my wife's two conditions of being able to watch sports with me in a place that is non smoking AND a location that has good bar food with plenty of TVs in all the right places, we decided to check out Blackfinn Saturday night.

First, can someone please tell me why on a Saturday night when most people might want to venture out into Uptown do the city officials insist on putting "No Parking" signs on every G-damn street.   All "no-parking" signs in Uptown lead to overcharging garage attendants confident that you will throw down extra cash just so you can spend even more money on beer and some tube. So much for free street parking on the weekends, WTF...Country K, how was that for being bitter?

Anyway, enough about the awful parking situation in Uptown, let's get down to brass tax - how is Blackfinn?  I have to say, the front bar when you first walk in on the first floor is about everything I would want out of a sports bar (except the smoking which will be a huge deterrent for coaxing a female companion into wasting her Sunday watching football).  Big plasma screens are everywhere and the bar tables each have their own TV as well (similar to ESPNzone for those familiar).  Bartenders were really friendly and the hostesses were, how could I put it, nice to look at for long spans of time?.  The problem now is that they don't serve food in that front room yet so we were escorted to another room (the "dining room").  It's almost like they spent all their great ideas on the front bar and then let the rest of the pub fall into place.  Awkward layout makes watching the projection screen or the 1 plasma TV a challenge.  NEED MORE TVs IN THE DINING ROOM.  Lesson #1: Projection screens work for large, open banquet-style rooms like Stoolies...not L-shaped rooms where half the patrons are turned completely around to try to get a glimpse of what all the people that have a premier seat are watching. The food, which is supposed to be an upscale version of typical bar food, looks the part on the menu but falls a bit short at the table.  My table had the Spinach & Artichoke Dip and the Pork Sliders to start.  The S&A dip was a little bland and needed additional seasoning (not to mention that unless the artichokes were pureed, there were none in this dip) but who does not enjoy dipping tri-color chips into a bunch of cheese.  The bbq Pork Sliders were pretty good and they give you a little slaw to throw on top as well which is a nice touch.  The bbq pork is crock pot cooked so don't get any hopes up that you are getting Mac's smokey pulled pork on mini buns.  We also tried the Blackened Chicken Sandwich (I would take one of those down again - great blackening seasoning), the Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (yes please) - (both served on really good ciabatta bread), the breaded Buffalo Chicken Tenders which we got medium spicy (pretty soggy which made the breading on the tenders a bit disappointing but thank god someone in town is making hot sauce that is meant for someone other than Sally...will like to try the hot next time but the medium was pretty spicy) AND the Seared Ahi Tuna appetizer portion (not bad tuna but WARNING: the menu may say it is served with wasabi aioli and soy ginger glaze but there was literally no sauce with it ...I actually thought about trying to rub the chicken tender on it to give it some spice).  We did try the dessert sliders (chocolate chip cookie sandwiches with a chocolate dipping sauce) that were pretty tasty but I would have liked to have the cookies come out warm and soft instead.

Servers and managers were very attentive and were quick to change the channel on the ONE plasma TV or grab a side a bleu cheese that the foodrunner had missed.

As for the upstairs and I don't really want to even talk about the upstairs which we ventured to after dinner, floors that felt like they mopped them with Elmer's glue, not enough seating to make it worthwhile for sports watching and a crowd that, if asked, I would peg for Charlotte 5 years ago.  There was a couple of parties up there that I could have done without and which I swear could have doubled as the animals at the Gastonia petting zoo (not sure if Gastonia even has a petting zoo but if they did, I am sure these animal printed princesses would be out on display).  Bottom line, the upstairs feels more like Whiskey River than a place to watch sports so not worth talking about here in a sports bar discussion.  

Blackfinn overall - while the menu looks more upscale, the food still comes out of the kitchen as pretty good bar food (I do like that a British pub is serving Haddock & Chips but would probably steer clear of the Surf & Turf special on Saturday nights in fear that what would come out of the kitchen would more closely resemble the food I get at the TGI Fridays in the Newark airport when I have missed my flight) but there are still some standouts that I would get again like the sandwiches on ciabatta bread. One notable missing item on the menu was Chicken Wings - I guess they don't eat wings in NY, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas or the Nati which is where Blackfinn's other locations are but that might be a mistake here in CLT.  I can see Blackfinns being added to the "Fried Friday" lunch tradition and an occasional football game but the "signature drink being Guiness" and the upscale "look" of the menu will not be enough to make this a regular hangout for me....yet.  Change the less than optimal ratio of seats to TVs in the dining room and add some wings to the menu with that good spicy wing sauce and  we may have something here folks...at least downstairs.  RATING: 2.5 BURGERS (out of 4 BURGER SCALE) 

The Introduction

This introductory blog I will treat more as a first date...a get-to-know-you session before the serious commitment of sharing little sweet restaurant nothings in your ear. As a banker (what a surprise, huh) living in Charlotte with not much time to cook for myself and a wife who is still mastering the art of not burning water, I have been forced into a life of the endless pursuit of the restaurant circle of trust (def'n - the restaurants that one feels comfortable adding to the list that have a low probability of disappointment both in quality of food and hospitality).

Looking back at when I first moved to the QC, I often wished that I could get restaurant recommendations from someone who had been here for a while, had a pretty good grasp of the eating scene and was willing to share their experiences (other than the stuffy food critics who either could only speak to food I had no desire to eat or wrote about restaurants that were so far away from where I lived, I would need to pack a bag lunch just to get there). It was not until recently when a few colleagues of mine suggested I start my own food blog to share my thoughts on the good, bad and ugly eating establishments in Charlotte that the concept of "The BIGeater" was born. I am pretty sure that they suggested this idea to me more as a way to shut me up from talking about where I would suggest they go to dinner that night rather than as a call for help but hey, you asked for it boys and you're going to get it...and besides, I really do have a lot to say on the subject of eating.



I have no formal training from Le Cordon Bleu, the CIA, J&W or any other culinary school for that matter but what I lack in classroom knowledge I make up for in good looks and quick wit...ok, so maybe those traits don't a good food blogger make or are even a fair desription of me but having a sincere concern for making sure people are not disappointed in their choice of dinner destination is.



For those looking for an unbiased blog that talks objectively about the restaurants in Charlotte, you came to the wrong place. The BIGeater is meant to be fun with stories about dinner experiences and views on restaurants I think you should try. Not all will agree with my assessments and even more may feel offended by some of the content so for those that feel that their opinion is the only opinion, sikdir git (from a Turkish friend), go start your own fcking blog!



Looking forward to sharing my experiences with those willing to listen and please let me know of any restaurants that you feel need a good blogging.