5 Things to Eat in Charlotte

A trip to any southern state is a food trip, as far as I'm concerned. Sweet tea, grits, biscuits, and other fried selections are a must.  If you ever get to Charlotte, NC, here's a few things to try.

Shrimp and grits. This southern tradition is one of my favorites. Its a basic concept - a serving of grits and a serving of saucy shrimp on top.  And from there - it can go all kinds of ways. Every coastal and even not-so-coastal city seems to have their own favorite recipe and "best" variation.  Charlotte's no exception. I had a bowl at Mert's Heart & Soul, a soul food restaurant in downtown Charlotte, a few blocks and a short walk from the Convention Center. Mert's recipe is a brown sauce for the shrimp (I've usually had a red tomato sauce.) Its flavored with tomatoes, peppers, green onions, and a kick of hot-ness. The spiciness is a crucial ingredient for me, without it, there's a blandness to the whole thing. The grits were smooth and creamy.

Shrimp & Grits, Collard Greens at Mert's 

Biscuits & cornbread. You just can't go south and not get some fresh baked bread.  At Mert's, they serve hot mini-loaves of cornbread. Not hot as in warm to the touch, but hot as in steaming when you cut it open and slather it with sweet whipped butter.  We had biscuits at Tupelo Honey Cafe, served with honey and blueberry compote.  I don't usually put honey on my food, but this was a delicious combination.

Biscuits with honey & blueberry

Krispy Kreme. This is a North Carolina tradition and favorite, founded in Winston-Salem. Now, the signature "lights on" causes drooling for hot doughnuts in many cities outside of the Carolinas. Even still, it feels like a requirement to get a box of donuts when crossing the state line.

More grits and other toppings. Can we go back to the grits? Tupelo Honey Cafe, located a couple miles outside of downtown, in SouthEnd, offers a couple variations on the shrimp and grits, and then also a Veggie Bowl. Don't be confused because, for some reason it's listed under Salads on the menu and is served hot. This is essentially the "everything but the kitchen sink" of grits dishes. The base is a serving of smooth, goat cheese grits. It is then topped with black eyed peas (peppery), salsa, sautéed greens (the server said spinach, but I think it was actually kale), and fried okra. Yes - all of that in one big ole bowl. And I had them add shrimp, but really, everything else was more than enough. At first, it's worth it to taste each item to get the full individual flavor. And then, it's got to be eaten all together - the creamy grits, the sharp greens, the spicy black eyed peas, and the crunchy okra.  Delicious.

Then, wash it all down with moonshine or sweet tea - your choice.
Moonshine is a potent liquor, heralding from the days of Prohibition and apparently, one of the reasons NASCAR came to be. (You find out all kinds of things at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.) I had a tasting of Midnight Moon (gotta love the mason jars, right?) The strawberry and apple pie were pretty good. But it's not for the weak. Proceed with caution.

Try a shot of moonshine to complete your trip!

Sweet tea. Any southern state, you can find sweet tea almost easier than water. If you are a native northerner, you may not even understand fully what "sweet" means in this context. Trust me, it does not mean Splenda or any other artificial sweetener. Don't pass it up, whether at a local restaurant or Bojangles. Just be sure you get yourself a glass.

Mert's Heart & Soul

Tupelo Honey Cafe

Eat & enjoy Charlotte!

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Travel to Charlotte & Become a NASCAR Fan

If I had a not-bucket-list, one of the places on it would be the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  Actually, it probably wouldn’t be on it, because it’s not even been in my radar that it existed. But now, I’m convinced, it is a don’t-miss museum if you’re every Charlotte. And you don’t even have to like racing cars.

I was in Charlotte for my sorority’s national conference with two of my friends who are as equally prissy, not-race-car fans as I am. With a couple hours to kill between events, we decided to check out the Hall of Fame, particularly because we heard there were racing car simulators in there.  The website advised that visitors should allot two hours; we figured we’d be in and out in an hour. We were there for almost three.

Tickets are $20 for adults, plus an additional $5 for the simulator drive.  The visit begins with a movie about the history of NASCAR. Did you know that the sport of racing cars began with moonshiners trying to outrun police back in the days of Prohibition?

There’s an exhibit of historical race-cars and information about the many racetracks across the country along Glory Road, a slanting and upwardly sloping path around the lobby, taking you to the second floor.  On the road is the actual Hudson Hornet (exciting in a mom of a Cars! fan kindof way!) On the next floor are exhibits about famous drivers and the stages of getting the race-car ready for race-day.  I’m going to admit that car maintenance is not at all part of my skill set and these info stations may have raised my level of respect for guys in the pit crew. Tire pressure, weather forecasts, measurements, plastics vs. metal, weight, mechanics – it’s a lot to know and understand. And that’s before the driver even gets in the car.

Driving practice

Many of the exhibits have a hands-on activity in which you earn points for how well you complete the tasks.  And here’s where I learned something about my friends – I knew they liked to be really good at what they do (and in their professional lives, they both are) but I never knew how competitive they were until we examined each other’s scores after each activity. 

Two of our favorites were the driving practice and the pit crew simulation.  The driving practice was much like an arcade video game, but with a clutch, brakes and gears, as well as the steering wheel.  In the pit crew, there were three tasks – jack up the car, change the tire, and refuel – to be done as the clock ticks, because in a race, every second counts.  This was much more fun than girls in skirts and pearls could imagine.

The Pink & Green Pit Crew

We were there until the “we are closing in fifteen-minutes” warning and then rushed around to see the last of the exhibits and to check our scorecards.  And I can proudly say, I ranked as the #3 visitor in points scored.  If I had more time, who knows, I think I could’ve been number one. Not that it’s a race or anything.

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