charlotte, nc

[christinaemcc]

any killer restaurants or places i should check out?

background:

my 2 best friends and i (we're 24), as well as my 2 brothers (early 30s), are going to visit my parents in NC... they live in Mooresville, about 20 minutes north of Charlotte proper.

my parents haven't "explored" Charlotte, so we're thinking this will be a great oppurtunity to introduce them to the city and take them out for a "night on the town."

they are pretty liberal (immigrated from NY), and can enjoy a cocktail or two. my father is generally a meat & potatoes man, but he also likes italian (chicken parmigiana exclusively), mexican & chinese (as long as it involves SPICY chicken, and rice).

we want somewhere "fun", not "fancy".

any suggestions? maybe on lake norman? i dunno.....

[DigitalVelvet]

Good Food on Montford

http://www.yelp.com/biz/good-food-on-...

[bbqdawg]

Not so Good Food on Montford

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/606106

[lynnlato]

Me no likey the Good Food on Montford either.

[ickymettle]

I have to say. I went to Good Food a couple weeks ago, and it was awesome! Seriously. My girlfriend and I got four things + a dessert and everything was very good. We sat at the bar, so service wasn't an issue (the service we got at the bar was good), but it looked like the service was fine for the night all over the restaurant. We got the fried calamari with chorizo and smoked pimenton aioli, the gnochetti with house cured pancetta, brussels sprouts and piopini mushrooms, the ribeye with roasted pablano salsa, and falafel. We enjoyed it all.

[GodfatherofLunch]

Ickymettle I have to say I agree 100%. I too was very impressed with Good Food on Montford.

[good food nc and sc]

Monterry's Mexican in Mooresville

[beanryboy]

The Penguin.
Lupie's Cafe.
Galway Hooker in Cornelius, near Lake Norman.
Crepe Cellar in NoDa.

[HungryGrayCat]

A fun place not too far from Mooresville with decent food is Red Rocks Cafe in Birkdale Village. It's absolutely packed Friday and Satruday nights so call for a reservation. If the weather ever warms up, there's an outdoor patio. The menu has something for everyone, generally well prepared. Good drinks at the bar and lots of beautiful people....

http://www.redrockscafe.com/redrocks.htm

[mdatwood13]

This lengthy post on Charlotte might be a good resource: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/328070

For very good Soul Food in downtown Charlotte, check out Mert's Heart and Soul on College St.

For a fun atmosphere and very good food, check out Mac's Speedshop on South Blvd, about 5 minutes from downtown Charlotte.

For that meat and potatoes kinda meal you might be looking for, and closer to lake norman, people really like Mickey and Mooch in Huntersville. I can't speak for it personally, but it is supposed to be good.

[peetoteeto]

Is he a beer guy? I hear great things about Tim Schafer's on Lake Norman. Should be an experience!

http://www.tslkn.com/

[chickstein]

My favorite restauran tin Charlotte is BonTerra. The setting is a converted church and the food is amazing.

[lynnlato]

Hardly a fun atmosphere.