The Mrs. and I have gotten into the habit of eating out far too much recently. That being said, we have found two restaurants that, we hope, will live past the dreaded 3 year curse that plagues the Charlotte dinning scene. First off is a brand new venture in the cursed South End Brewery location called "Icehouse". I had been here with the lads for a footy match and decided that we should go back and try dinner. The menu is typical American pub fair, burgers, chicken, salads, etc. We both ordered the French Dip and were pleasantly surprised. The meat was tender with a modest amount of fat and the amount of cheese was spot on. The bread, however, was something different. This roll was the best I've had in quite some time; soft and fluffy, not chewy and it soaked up the au jus as if it wanted to jump in and swim around in the salty brown goodness. The fries were good with a nice, crisp outside and a soft warm center. Our waitress was decent and that's about as good as it gets, in Charlotte, these days. Overall, I would suggest that you give it shot. It's not out standing but it's far better than the Liberty.
Our second dinning adventure, this past weekend, was at Big Daddy's. This is a burger joint on East Blvd that opened a year or so ago. We had been meaning to give it a shot but for some reason or another never quite made it over. Maybe it was the long lines that always seem to be snaking out of the building. We went on Friday with the thought that most people were either out of town or stuck entertaining in-laws. We were correct. We got there around 6:30 and were seated immediately. Then the line started. The interior is a hodgepodge of beer signs, diamond plate wainscoting, laminate tables, HD tv's and Dilworth hipsters galore. It's kind of like the Penguin without the body art, which it could really use. The Mrs. ordered the Chili Burger and had to eat it with a fork! It looked amazing. I ordered the Buffalo Burger, with fried onion strings and sweet potato fires. I usually like me meat on the rare side, but in NC this is not really an option. Our server asked how I would like burger cooked and I replied "medium rare, if you an". The response to this was "we can only do medium". I took the medium. It has been my experience that "medium" means slightly pink on the inside, not here. "Medium" at BD's means gray through and through. I was pleased that the meat was still juicy and tender. A solid 8 on the burger scale. Here, again, the service was decent. The beer selection here cannot touch Icehouse but that's alright, sometimes a Highland Gaelic is all that is called for. We will definitely be going back as they have a burger that is topped with jalapeno bacon and apple-wood smoked bacon!! www.bigdaddysburgerbar.com/Home/?load=1
Cheers!
