Good New Restaurants

[Temeteron]

I tried out Wolfgang Puck Pizza at Phillips Place last week and I must say it was delicious! Great atmosphere and excellent service was presented. The pizza was delciious and so was the houmus, soup, and bread that we had as an appetizer. The calamari was ok. Their desserts were absolutely amazing! I loved how our check came in a----get this---- *LEATHER* tab booklet. Thought that was kind of chic

[grodney]

Vine American Kitchen is open in Ballantyne, across 521/Johnston from the hotel, in the cursed space formerly occupied by 3 or 4 previous failures.  Went there Friday night.  Liked the restaurant - sorta 131 Main-ish, as they yelp reviews say.  The food was really good:  We had chips with blue cheese app, my wife had crabcakes which were awesome, and I had jambalaya which was good but a little light on meat.  Speed of service was a little off, as it was a little too fast -- app got there before our drinks, dinner got there before the app was gone -- hate to complain about too fast, but you know.  The other huge disappointment was only 1 Charlotte beer on tap (OMB Copper).  If you're a local restaurant (non-chain), and your website says stuff like "local" for your concept, then there's no excuse to not have more local beers.  Sam and Guinness?  Come on.  Oh, the managing partner was very present, walking around making sure everything was going well.  Overall, I give it a pretty reasonable shot at surviving.  I was going to write a Google+ review, but it's not on google yet, so I added it and am waiting for approval.  http://www.vinekitchen.com/

[Guest]

Vinnies Raw Bar is being replaced by "Nan and Byrons"

Which is another restaurant by the group who brought us 5Church, one of my favorite restaurants in the city.
 

The influence will be American Nostalgia, "food we grew up on" Chicken Pot Pie, BBQ meatloaf, Spagh'etti and Meatballs, etc.

 

The decor will be a modern take on american gothic, hopefully they will overhaul the outside of the building as well. The name actually comes from the Painting "American Gothic"

[kermit]

^ Great news! I am very excited.

 

Hopefully it will nudge the remainder of the block in the right direction (particularly the empty convenience store)

[CLTNative]

Crisp (from 7th Street) is opening in Latta Arcade. Last spot inside beside Flavors of India.

[Miesian Corners]

The former Andrew Blair space on Montford is now El Camino.  Not sure what the owners were thinking since Maverick is across the street.  Oddly, the Andrew Blair website is still active and the phone number for the new El Camino is the same as AB. 

[hambone931]

The former Andrew Blair space on Montford is now El Camino.  Not sure what the owners were thinking since Maverick is across the street.  Oddly, the Andrew Blair website is still active and the phone number for the new El Camino is the same as AB. 

They have moved the bar from the center all the way to the right and installed some glass garage doors that separate the bar area from the restaurant. Oh, they also added some sombreros on the ceiling.

[SouthEndCLT811]

The former Andrew Blair space on Montford is now El Camino.  Not sure what the owners were thinking since Maverick is across the street.  Oddly, the Andrew Blair website is still active and the phone number for the new El Camino is the same as AB. 

 

If you are on the Rockhouse Event newsletter you got a buy one entree get one free in January.  My girlfriend and I went to El Camino.  Tried three different entrees and two were inedible.  Their mole sauce was super salty and had a funny after taste.  The only positive was our service and the salsa was delicious.  I am an advocate for those who open new restaurants because I know the investment and time that goes into it, unfortunately I will not be returning here.  Especially with Maverick Rock Taco across the street.

Edited February 15, 2013 by SouthEndCLT811

[nonillogical]

There is a sign up at the Sutton House/Picassos space on East Blvd for "Longboards Tap & Taco". My kneejerk reaction was that its a little cheesy sounding and we have similar concepts elsewhere, but it would still be something different in Dilworth. If they deliver on a good enough beer list to put Tap in their name, and the tacos (and guessing some seafood) deliver, I'll probably be going a lot, but we all know how it went with the last few casual seafood joints in the now JJ's building...

[tozmervo]

Oh my god. Viva Chicken. Oh my god. This Saltado is so good I want to eat my mouth

[Mobuchu]

Went to Cowbell this past weekend with family in town.  This is the space that was formerly Nix on 5th street, which was also a burger bar.  Cowbell is associated with the group that run Mortimer's in Epicentre and Leroy Fox in Cotswold.
They expanded the bar which is probably about 3 times the length as it was in Nix.  From a business standpoint this was their best idea.  Nix had a nice atmosphere and decent food (kinda), but there was no bar scene which, lets face it, is needed in uptown for the weekend and late night crowd.

 

I took a break from my diet and got the Breakfast Burger and it was pretty incredible!  Croissant roll, fried egg, smoked bacon, honey mustard.  The burger itself was higher quality then what Nix had imo, but not sure if it will compete with some of the better burger places in Charlotte like Big Daddy's and the Diamond.  But being the only option uptown I'm happy to have it as a walkable option.  The Pan fried Corn as a side was pretty good too, plenty of spices gave it good taste.  The beer options were decent, with a couple local beers, but the drafts started at $5 and up making it a little more expensive then I'd like.

See www.eatmorecowbell.com for a look at their menu.

[HopHead]

^Actually, you also have American Roadside Burgers in the Ally building on Church St... I've only eaten there once but it was pretty good. Hard to top Bad Daddy's IMO though.

Edited April 4, 2013 by wend28

[Mobuchu]

Forgot about that place actually.  I've been there and it was ok, but it felt like a chain restaurant to me.  (is it?)

[ScottCLT]

Leroy Fox is awesome, and I like Mortitmer's too. Great sandwiches at both places. Hope this place does well.

I checked out another new restaurant, Hubee D's, on Providence Road near the Manor Theater today for lunch. Great stuff! Reminds me of Zaxby's, but good sandwiches, buffalo wings, and tenders. I like their sauces and the fries are delicious. I think this place will last. Nothing fancy by all means, but if you have a craving for some buffalo chicken of any variety, this place will satisfy it on the cheap!

[HopHead]

Forgot about that place actually.  I've been there and it was ok, but it felt like a chain restaurant to me.  (is it?)

 

Yea, I believe it's a southeast chain... They have a fairly new location in Southpark as well. 

[Niner National]

Leroy Fox is awesome, and I like Mortitmer's too. Great sandwiches at both places. Hope this place does well.

I checked out another new restaurant, Hubee D's, on Providence Road near the Manor Theater today for lunch. Great stuff! Reminds me of Zaxby's, but good sandwiches, buffalo wings, and tenders. I like their sauces and the fries are delicious. I think this place will last. Nothing fancy by all means, but if you have a craving for some buffalo chicken of any variety, this place will satisfy it on the cheap!

I'll second the endorsement of Hubee D's.

[Temeteron]

Luciano's Ristorante Italiano will be having a VIP opening this weekend (Friday & Saturday evenings) for the "big wigs" of town.  Monday April 22nd will be the grand opening!  

 

PS- for those of you not familiar with the location, it is right next to Sullivan's steakhouse on South Blvd. where La Paz used to be (1910 South Blvd.)

Edited April 18, 2013 by Temeteron

[ScottCLT]

I made reservations for Luciano's on Thursday night on Open Table only to find out Thursday afternoon that they weren't open yet. They called me and apologized and offered me a reservation for Friday where our meal would be complimentary. So we obviously were happy about that, and went there tonight instead. It was the preview night for invite-only guests, so we felt quite lucky not only to get a free dinner, but to try it before anyone else. Apparently their April 22 opening was missed, as they said that this was their first night of any service at all.

The atmosphere has been totally transformed and opened up from what it was as La Paz. It is hard to imagine that it is even the same space. Elegant, but not too stuffy. I liked it.

The food was simply incredible. I mean really, really incredible. I have eaten at so many Italian joints, from kitschy to stuffy to authentic to unknown neighborhood spots to chain restaurants. But this place really takes the cake. Everything we had was phenomenal. Nothing even just "OK." We had the wood grilled octopus and goat cheese pomodoro. Both should not be missed, but the goat cheese was just ridiculously delicious. I had a wedge salad and my wife had a Caprese salad...both very near perfection. I had the Zuppa di mare, or seafood stew, and it was packed with calamari, scallops, mussels, clams, shrimp, and white fish. I can't begin to tell you how much i enjoyed it. My wife had the Gorgonzola beef filet. She said it was only second to Del Frisco's, which is quite a compliment, especially for a non-steakhouse. We finished with a Nutella custard and Nutella filled doughnuts. God, it was so good.

The service was something I would expect at a much more expensive restaurant (even if we were paying). Our server, Christopher, addressed every need and was just the right amount of cordial and friendly with us.

Prices, if we had paid, were very reasonable...especially for the quality. Most entrees were $15-$20 and topped out at $33.

Literally zero complaints from this place. Just a perfect evening we had there. I am hoping that it wasn't just because we were there on the preview night. If they can keep up this service and quality of food, they are going to give Luce, Toscana, Villa Antonio, etc. a run for their money.

Oh, and they didn't even accept payment for alcohol tonight, or tips. It was just completely free. Unbelievable evening!

Edited April 27, 2013 by ScottCLT

[Temeteron]

I made reservations for Luciano's on Thursday night on Open Table only to find out Thursday afternoon that they weren't open yet. They called me and apologized and offered me a reservation for Friday where our meal would be complimentary. So we obviously were happy about that, and went there tonight instead. It was the preview night for invite-only guests, so we felt quite lucky not only to get a free dinner, but to try it before anyone else. Apparently their April 22 opening was missed, as they said that this was their first night of any service at all.

The atmosphere has been totally transformed and opened up from what it was as La Paz. It is hard to imagine that it is even the same space. Elegant, but not too stuffy. I liked it.

The food was simply incredible. I mean really, really incredible. I have eaten at so many Italian joints, from kitschy to stuffy to authentic to unknown neighborhood spots to chain restaurants. But this place really takes the cake. Everything we had was phenomenal. Nothing even just "OK." We had the wood grilled octopus and goat cheese pomodoro. Both should not be missed, but the goat cheese was just ridiculously delicious. I had a wedge salad and my wife had a Caprese salad...both very near perfection. I had the Zuppa di mare, or seafood stew, and it was packed with calamari, scallops, mussels, clams, shrimp, and white fish. I can't begin to tell you how much i enjoyed it. My wife had the Gorgonzola beef filet. She said it was only second to Del Frisco's, which is quite a compliment, especially for a non-steakhouse. We finished with a Nutella custard and Nutella filled doughnuts. God, it was so good.

The service was something I would expect at a much more expensive restaurant (even if we were paying). Our server, Christopher, addressed every need and was just the right amount of cordial and friendly with us.

Prices, if we had paid, were very reasonable...especially for the quality. Most entrees were $15-$20 and topped out at $33.

Literally zero complaints from this place. Just a perfect evening we had there. I am hoping that it wasn't just because we were there on the preview night. If they can keep up this service and quality of food, they are going to give Luce, Toscana, Villa Antonio, etc. a run for their money.

Oh, and they didn't even accept payment for alcohol tonight, or tips. It was just completely free. Unbelievable evening!

Indeed, their food is amazing! 

[Dale]

Being new here, I'm not sure the restaurant is new, but Shane's Rib Shack beat Spoon's for me. Spoon's hushpuppies are the best I've ever had, but Shane's portions were larger. And everything I had was qute tasty. My one wish would be to trade Shane's Texas toast for Spoon's huspuppies.

[Dale]

^Actually, you also have American Roadside Burgers in the Ally building on Church St... I've only eaten there once but it was pretty good. Hard to top Bad Daddy's IMO though.

Just comparing menus online, American Roadsixde seems quite a bit cheaper than Big Daddy's. Perhaps I'm mistaken.

[ScottCLT]

Being new here, I'm not sure the restaurant is new, but Shane's Rib Shack beat Spoon's for me. Spoon's hushpuppies are the best I've ever had, but Shane's portions were larger. And everything I had was qute tasty. My one wish would be to trade Shane's Texas toast for Spoon's huspuppies.

Oh, that is just sacrilege in NC . Shane's might have bigger portions, but Bill Spoons is amazing. I equate Shane's to the corporate barbecue of Sonny's, Famous Dave's, etc. It's not quantity, it's quality that matters. And I have to say that I have never left Bill Spoon's being hungry. They are always friendly and always fill me up to nearly my capacity of food.

Edited April 28, 2013 by ScottCLT

[ScottCLT]

Just comparing menus online, American Roadsixde seems quite a bit cheaper than Big Daddy's. Perhaps I'm mistaken.

Yes, but it is an entirely different product. Both are GREAT, but American Roadside is much more of a fast casual chain while Bad Daddy's is a sit-down restaurant.

[Dale]

Oh, that is just sacrilege in NC . Shane's might have bigger portions, but Bill Spoons is amazing. I equate Shane's to the corporate barbecue of Sonny's, Famous Dave's, etc. It's not quantity, it's quality that matters. And I have to say that I have never left Bill Spoon's being hungry. They are always friendly and always fill me up to nearly my capacity of food.

I know I've probably transgressed. But being from Florida, Sonny's can't hold a candle to either Spoon's or Shane's. And having tried all, Shane's was equally tasty but offered larger portions. Again, Spoon's were the best hushpuppies ever.

[kermit]

Oh, that is just sacrilege in NC . Shane's might have bigger portions, but Bill Spoons is amazing. I equate Shane's to the corporate barbecue of Sonny's, Famous Dave's, etc. It's not quantity, it's quality that matters. And I have to say that I have never left Bill Spoon's being hungry. They are always friendly and always fill me up to nearly my capacity of food.

What ScottCLT said!

This native North Carolinian will add that there is no such thing as good bbq from a place that calls itself a Rib Joint.