The Charlotte Spoon is a one-girl (and, okay, sometimes her boyfriend) mission to visit and blog the diverse array of Charlotte, NC restaurants. Julie eats her way from hole-in-the-wall to haute and provides you with the relevant details — cost, atmosphere, service, and most importantly TASTE.
One girl's brave journey through Charlotte dining.
The Charlotte Spoon 
check out zada janes in plaza midwood.
http://www.zadajanes.com/
Hey Emily! Thanks for reading!
I love Zada Janes; it’s one of several restaurants I have photographs and opinions of but haven’t gotten a chance to put on the blog yet. I definitely prefer their breakfast (more cost effective and tastes better) but their dinner was really good as well!
I’ll have to get a review up soon. What dishes did you try?
Well, I’ve actually tried most of the dishes, because I work there on weekends. But of all of them, I prefer the Beaureguard omlette, the Pinckney pancakes, and the chicken salad wrap. Their salads are also delicious, made with free range hormone free chicken, which makes all the difference in the world tastewise.
Thanks for the recommendations, Emily! Can’t wait to go back and try them!
I just got my ZJ’s review up, finally, and would love to hear your thoughts.
Has no one tried Maestro’s Bar & Bistro? I visited this restaurant last night and was absolutely wowed! The food was fantastic, and of course, the service was perfect (given that my girlfriend and I were the only two people there). It’s a must try!
Hi Peter! I haven’t heard of it, but just visited their website and the menu looks very promising! I’ll have to give it a try! Thanks for the recommendation.
What dishes did you try?
Hey thanks for doing this blog! I just moved here and haven’t found that many restaurants I like yet, so these are great ideas I need to try.
Hi Dena! Welcome to Charlotte! Let me know if there’s a particular type of food you have a hankering for and I can try to steer you to a good restaurant option.
An interesting place is United Nations on South Boulevard (where Hugo’s Diner used to be), just north of Seneca.
The menu is a composite of entrees from various countries (Central/South American, Caribbean, European), hence the name.
Whoa, thanks Doug! That sounds like an exciting place to try.
Hey Julie, you’re on the Creative Loafing website! http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/theclog/2008/08/28/calling-all-foodies/
Have you ever used open table to make reservations? we found it useful when looking for new dinner ideas. love your site!
Hi UKGirl! Thanks for reading!
We actually just used OpenTable for the first time when we went to Mama Ricotta’s and loved it — it’s a very easy interface and you can “invite” your dinner partners via email.
Hi Julie,
I found a couple of comments you had made on another site and was trying to see if I could contact you. In my search, I stumbled onto your blog and was very pleasantly surprised. I am a foodie, too, and moved to Charlotte in December. I’ve been to Salara and need to get to Mama Ricotta’s. Great job!! Back to my original reason for being here…Aug 18th comment–can I email you?
Hi Sue! Thanks for reading! You’ll love Mama Ricotta’s — so delicious. How are you liking Charlotte so far?
I sent you an email — feel free to respond there!
Thanks, Priscilla! I was excited to see the post about The Spoon on Creative Loafing 🙂
Can you suggest an Authentic Thai restaurant? I’m in the Steelecreek area, I’ve tried Siam Garden, but it just didn’t cut it.
Hi K,
Mike and I have enjoyed a couple of different Thai restaurants on the opposite sides of town! One we loved was in Cornelius: it’s called Thai Marlai and service can be kind of slow, but the food is great. It’s on exit 28 off of i-77. The other is Thai Orchid, and it’s tucked into the Fresh Market/Red Rocks shopping center at Providence and Fairview.
Both have delicious food. I love the fresh rolls and the pad thai. Let me know if you try either one and what you think!
Thanks! I will travel for great Thai!!
As soon as I find some Premium gas on my side of town ;0) I’ll try them both and let you know.
Hi there — love this blog! I’m from NYC and have been here 4 years and it just thrills me to see the Charlotte food scene continuing to grow. I love hearing about anything new so thanks for pulling this info together.
I have a question about new restaurants, is there a way I can email you direct?
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for reading! Glad you’re enjoying it so far. So I have to ask (and open the proverbial worm can), have you found any Charlotte pizza you like yet? 🙂
I sent you an email that you can reply to with your question.
That’s a really good question!! I know everyone has different tastes when it comes to pizza. I lived in Manhattan for six years and then moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn for four so I’ve been fortunate enough to have lived close to some great pizza havens.
For my personal taste, a pie has to have the right balance of perfectly made crust, sauce and cheese. The crust cannot be too thick and doughy and should have a slight crisp to the bottom (so when you fold it in half, you hear it crack a bit), sauce needs to be tangy and fresh, almost as if you can taste some bits of ripe tomatoes and see the freshly torn basil. And the cheese..fresh mozz is my personal fave which is hard to come by down here on pizzas.
As for one of the best we’ve had so far, try Brooklyn Pizza at Rea and Colony. They even make a “grandmas” pie — some places down here have no idea what that is.
Hi Julie!
Have you tried out Cosmos Cafe yet?? The menu is superb!
Hello, I just found this blog and it appears that there have not been any updates yet for 2009. My husband and I come to Charlotte a couple of times each year. We spend most of our time in the Lake Norman area, and always looking for good food with some atmosphere. So far, finding really good food has been pretty much a hit & miss proposition.
Our next trip is towards the end of March, 2009 and hoping to find a good restaurant for good homemade soup & salad that is also moderately priced. Any ideas?
Regards,
Michele
Hi Michele,
Honestly, soup and salad doesn’t ring any bells with me! I always go to McAlister’s, Jason’s Deli, or my kitchen for that kind of fare, but those are chains (besides my kitchen, that is). Sorry I couldn’t be more help, but perhaps some readers will know of a good spot.
I do have to say you know food!
I love the concept! It’s so nice to read restaurant reviews that focus on the truly important stuff. I also love the simplicity of your blog layout, and that you write in the first person singular when appropriate, rather than trying to shoehorn every self-reference as a royal “we”. (It’s a pet peeve… 😉 )
My only question: Where’s the RSS feed link? This is a blog that’s got to go into my daily reading list!
Thanks, Cat! I’m glad you like it!!
You know, I have to admit I’m fuzzy on the whole RSS feed with WordPress blogs. I’m going to hunt around. In the meantime, does this link help: feed://charlottespoon.wordpress.com/feed/?
Hello!
Fantastic site, thanks for highlighting the local scene! Also, we have started an Uptown Restaurant Week happening from September 18-27. 19 restaurants, 3 courses for $35. There are even 2 spots, Therapy and Zink which offer 3 courses for 2 people for $35.. Obviously just in Uptown.
Hope you can visit one of the spots! Room 112 and Enso are two great new non-chain sushi spots that are both worth a try!
Thanks
Is this blog still live?
Hi Kim,
While I may update this blog here and there with a quick review, I’m actually focused on a different sort of foodblogging. My main project (and the place I post regularly) is my food blog, Willow Bird Baking, located at http://willowbirdbaking.wordpress.com. I hope the reviews here on the Spoon will still be helpful to some folks and, as I mentioned, I may update here and there in the future as I feel compelled. Thanks for visiting!