Charlotte – A Few of Our Favorite Places to Eat

On returning to Charlotte for a visit, I knew I had to take advantage of eating at some of my favorite places. Who knows when we will be back. Since most of his meals were provided by the conference Daniel was limited on how many meals he would be able to share with me in the Queen City. Following are a list of the places we ate at and then I will finish out with a list of places I wish we had had time for.

We arrived in Charlotte on Sunday with just enough time to check in to our hotel, drop off our luggage and get Sophie settled in before running across town to Cotswold to meet old friends at Salsaritas Fresh Cantina.

Salsaritas is a franchise found in a good portion of the U.S. It would have been nice to go somewhere a little more local, but it is a great place to meet with friends when there are a ton of kids in tow – I think between all of us there were 8 children {18 people total}. Since most of the kiddos were over the age of 4, they ate in two booths while the adults and babies commandeered a long row of tables so that we could visit. It wasn't too loud, the food was fast, cheap and good. We even managed to get a picture of the adults before we parted for the evening. We are finding that  Jack does pretty well with Cantina food. He had rice and black beans and was pretty happy.

Monday morning, I walked to Dean & Deluca for breakfast. It was about a mile {round trip} from our hotel to the uptown location of this cafe. Again, this is a chain, but in my opinion they brew the best coffee. When we lived in South Charlotte and I worked next to Phillips Place, I would get a coffee and a bagel there EVERY MORNING on my way in to work. It cost me about $3 per day and probably contributed to me putting on some weight at the time, but it was so good. I still love their coffee.

Monday for lunch, I drove to CookOut on Freedom Drive. You can find CookOut's throughout North Carolina and I believe there are a handful in South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. CookOut has the best value in that you can purchase a combo that includes a burger, two sides and a giant sweet tea for about $5. CookOut is the only place I know of that considers chicken nuggets and corndogs to be sides {along with more traditional fries, onion rings, hush puppies, chili and slaw}. One combo can easily feed two people. They also have ridiculously good shakes.

Monday for dinner I resorted to eating at the restaurant in the lobby of the Westin – The Ember Grille and Terrace. Daniel had a social event to attend and the thought of trying to go somewhere with just Jack seemed like too much of a pain. Initially I thought we would take advantage of eating outdoors, but the entire time we were in Charlotte the humidity was ridiculously high. Also smoking was permitted on the terrace and I didn't want to expose Jack. 

The restaurant had a special of 7 appetizers between the time of 5-7pm for $7. I chose the Barbeque Chicken Flatbread. It was good, but I was a bit disappointed in the size. It was rather small, especially if you purchased it at it's regular price. I shared part of the flatbread and chicken with Jack. This dish had jalapeños on it {which I didn't immediately realize}. Based on Jack's expression at one point during the meal, I am pretty sure that he got a small dose of jalapeño flavor that must have been lingering on a bit of chicken. This restaurant was good in terms of convenience, but I wouldn't necessarily go back.

Tuesday for breakfast, I met a client of mine for coffee from the Starbucks in the lobby of the Westin. After working with them for the last year+, it was nice to finally meet some of the team from the Council for Children's Rights in person.

Tuesday lunch – I grabbed a quick bite at Chick-fil-A in the University area before heading over to IKEA for some shopping.

For dinner Tuesday, we went out with a group of Daniel's colleagues from TVA. After much discussion, it was decided that we would eat at McCormick and Schmicks. We enjoyed the walk to the restaurant, but later got caught in a monsoon. Due to lack of a good nap, Jack was extra fussy during the meal and Daniel and I had to take turns sitting with him outside so we would not completely disrupt dinner.

I have no idea why Daniel and I never ate here before. We really enjoyed the food. We split appetizers with the group, including Shrimp Kisses {you can't go wrong with anything that is wrapped in bacon}, crab cake and Margherita Flat Bread. I had the clam chowder followed by the Ultimate Mixed Grill. The scallops were to die for. Daniel tried the Almond Crusted Rainbow Trout. It was all delicious. We will definitely be visiting McCormick and Schmicks in the future.

Wednesday morning I stuck with Starbucks for breakfast again. On this trip I really struggled with my ability to get Jack naps and my desire to get out and shop/do something fun/eat good food. Staying in a hotel with a baby and dog was definitely a challenging experience.

Wednesday for lunch, I went to Amelie's French Bakery in NoDa where I indulged in the Sandwich au Jambon and a Caramel Salted Brownie. Both were amazing. I also picked up some French Macaroons to take to my old co-workers {I saved a few for me and Daniel}. I wish I had known about Amelie's when we lived in Charlotte, I would have gone there. All.The.Time.

Wednesday dinner, we met friends at the Brixx Wood Fired Pizza at Foxcroft in South Charlotte. Brixx was one of the very first restaurants we went to when Daniel was interviewing for his job in Charlotte. We split our favorite: Chicken Florentine Pizza.

After saying goodbye to friends, we headed over to the Dairy Queen in Cotswold. For YEARS, this particular DQ had a guy that worked there who made the best blizzards. EVER. He would add tons of toppings. He was so good that if you saw him behind the counter, you would purposefully wait in line until you could be sure he was going to make your blizzard. Sadly he wasn't behind the counter when we stopped by.

Thursday breakfast was Starbucks again. 

Thanks to Jack napping through lunch, I ended up having a late lunch/early dinner of Cobb Salad from Dean & Deluca.

Friday morning I met a friend at the Original Pancake House in Midtown for brunch. Daniel and I used to go to OPH once a week. We loved it that much. 

Friday dinner, Daniel and I went to Wolfman Pizza in Cotswold. This was a staple for us when we lived in South Charlotte. 

So much so that at the time the servers knew us by name. We would always have the Led Zeppelin or the Big Bad Wolf. We had good pizza on this visit, but sadly, the service was seriously lacking –– no drink refills, they barely cleared our table and we had to request the check.

After dinner, we indulged in a Peanut Butter Fudge Shake from Cookout in Matthews. If you live near a CookOut and have never tried their shakes, go do it. Now.

Saturday morning, we packed up and made a last stop at the Original Pancake House so that Daniel could have a taste of our favorite breakfast foods before we hit the road.

If we had had more time, we would have been sure to visit Rock Bottom Brewery, 131 Main, Cabo Fish Taco, Big Daddy's Burger Bar {which is evidently now called Bad Daddy's}, Al Mikes, Phat Burrito and maybe Cantina 1511, Price's Chicken Coop and Pike's Old Fashioned Soda Shop.

We were spoiled with so many good places to eat when we lived in Charlotte.

Jack is Nine Months

Jack turning 9-months old seems extra special. It took 9 months in my womb for him to be ready to enter this world and now that we have reached the 9-month mark on earth, it all seems very surreal. Those first weeks when his life was taking form, we were completely unaware that this little guy would enter our lives or that he would change us in such a profound way. It took 9 months to grow him and for the past 9 months we have felt like scientists who have been given front-row seats to observe the awesomeness of an infant growing into a child. It fills us with wonder and amazement every day...

At the beginning of the month, Jack got his first tooth. One of his bottom front teeth. It was a tough couple of days, but thankfully we all survived. Within a week, his second bottom tooth had broken through.

His newest food experiences include: Chicken, Grilled Cheese, Peaches, Ham, Rice, Quinoa, Mashed Potatoes, Black Beans, Green Peppers, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Grapes, Noodles, Blueberry Puffs, Yogurt Bites, Bagel, Strawberries, Olives, BBQ Pork, Pancakes and Oranges. Our little munchkin loves to eat.

Jack continues to make a variety of sounds. This month he picked up the "fa" and "goo" sounds. He seems to latch onto a sound and will say it repeatedly for days. So far he consistently says, "ma ma ma, da da da, fa fa fa" and "goo goo goo." He also started to make gurgling noises and has really been chatting up a storm, trying his best to talk. There are some other random babbles he makes that combine different sounds, but ma, da, fa and goo are the most common.

Jack is officially a crawler.

Another milestone is that he learned how to sit up from a laying down position. A few days after he started crawling, I went into his nursery when he was supposed to be napping and found him sitting up in his crib. It still takes me by surprise when I see him sit himself up. He is also pulling up like crazy on everything, using whatever he can get ahold of.

Separation anxiety was a new thing at the beginning of the month. I have a feeling it was connected to teething. Thankfully he doesn't have it all of the time -- we can leave him in Bible class at church and he is fine. But occasionally we have experiences where he just wants Daniel or me to hold him. The funniest experience to date was at Target: Daniel was pushing Jack in a stroller and whenever Jack could see me {i.e. if I walked in front of the stroller} he would cry and fuss. But if I stayed out of sight, he would be fine, even though he could still hear my voice.

This month we saw many of our relatives. Grandpa Moore continues to come and visit us every other weekend. 

We made a special trip to middle Tennessee to visit Jack's Great Grandmother and her husband, Mr. Ralph as well as {surrogate} Great Aunt Thula and Uncle Bubba. 

We also saw Jack's Nana, Great Aunt Trine, Aunt Amy and Aunt Emily.

Grammy and Grandpa Voyles came to visit us in Alabama and then we went to visit Uncle Mark, Uncle Robert and Aunt Angela and cousins, Izzy and Levi, in Nashville. 

We continue to feel tremendously blessed that we live close to both of our families.

Jack got to go on his first swim when we visited cousins. Sadly Daniel missed out on this.

The last week of the this month, we went to Charlotte, NC so that Daniel could attend a conference for work. Having a baby {and dog} in a hotel room for a week was quite the challenge, but we all survived. 

Jack has a thing about sticking his little tongue out. He has done this since he was born – early on it indicated hunger, but now it accompanies his grins and smirks. It is a little pointed at the end and so sweet, especially when he appears to be concentrating on something.

Jack is proving to be quite the little flirt. He will smile at anyone and will typically grin and bury his head in my shoulder when girls smile at him. Perfect strangers talk to us all of the time because of this sweet little trait. He will also let just about anyone hold him. On our visit to Charlotte, he went right to many of our old friends. He also likes to play the game where he lets one person hold him for about 10 seconds and then he wants to be passed back and forth between two people.

Jack finally figured out how to wave to people. He loves to wave at everyone. People love to wave back to him. Anywhere, everywhere, Jack now waves. 

One thing we are discovering is that Jack is truly a people person. Daniel and I often discuss whether or not this is a trait inherent to babies or if Jack is truly a social butterfly in the making. Daniel and I have a tendency to go about our lives, generally ignoring the world, in an effort to accomplish the tasks at hand. Jack forces us to slow down and interact with perfect strangers on a daily basis. We are learning that engaging with people, even strangers, is a good thing. We are trying to get better at it.

End of month stats:

Height: Don't have numbers but he is getting really long.

Weight: As of today and he is 22 lbs.

Clothes: He comfortably wears size 12 month clothes {and some 18 month stuff} and has been using size 3 diapers for awhile now {whenever we use disposable}

Foods: We continue to introduce lots of different foods.

Words: He continues to make lots of different sounds.

Movement: He is definitely crawling now. Baby proofing is our top priority.

Teeth: Two bottom ones have broken through.

*I will be writing monthly updates of Jack with pictures of Jack and the Tonka truck on the 11th of each month. One Month Old. Two Months Old. Three Months Old. Four Months Old. Five Months Old. Six Months Old. Seven Months Old. Eight Months Old.

Charlotte – What It's Like to Come Back

So after two years, what's it like to come back? In a lot of ways it's the same but it is also different. Our very first trip to Charlotte was for Daniel's second job interview. We stayed in a hotel uptown and I spent our visit wandering around on foot. 

This time we are here for Daniel to attend a conference for work and once again we are staying in a hotel uptown. Again I find myself left to my own devices, wandering the streets on foot.

In 2004, I discovered that I was essentially alone on the city streets, with few places to go to... just tall buildings filled with banking professionals. I remember visiting the Mint Museum of Craft and Design and getting a coffee at the lone Starbucks located uptown. I barely saw a soul except during the noon-time hour and the occasional group of people taking coffee breaks. 

These days center city is a bustle of activity – apparently all day long. There were less suits and more moms. I have always been drawn to the green spaces and abundance of fountains in uptown Charlotte – this is still one of my favorite things about the Queen city.

Once again I visited the Mint Museum, but at it's new location. Eight years have passed and now I have a 9-month-old in tow. Some mornings I had Starbucks for breakfast, other days I grabbed my favorite coffee at Dean & Deluca. I also indulged in Amelie's French Bakery.

 

On this trip, we were familiar with the city and had no trouble buzzing around the city, visiting our old haunts and seeing old friends.

I took the opportunity to stop by one of the company's I used to work at to visit old colleagues. Many were still there. Many have moved on. The building itself was different: walls have come down, teams have traded areas in the building. Like the city, it was the same, but different.

Charlotte – How We First Came to the Queen City

Charlotte, North Carolina is a special place for Daniel and I. It is the first big city we lived in and really our first time to feel like we were on our own and truly grown up, not just two kids playing house.

We initially came to the Queen City when Daniel received a job offer from a landscape architecture firm as a civil engineer. It was February of 2004 and the economy was doing great. We didn't know a soul and our closest family members were 7 hours away. We were still newlyweds, married just over two years at the time. We didn't really know what to expect. I left a good job in Cookeville, TN and we threw ourselves into the task of becoming adults...

We rented an apartment uptown, two blocks from Daniel's firm. At the time, there was very little happening uptown after the hours of 5pm. The banking community would have a mass exodus from center city as employees fled the downtown area. It was actually kind of bizarre to live where we lived. It was great for Daniel in terms of proximity to work, but at the time, we didn't really feel like we lived in a city. 

After 9 months of listening to the trains rumble by our apartment in 4th Ward, we finally took the plunge and bought our first house... a fixer upper in South Charlotte. It took us 5 years to renovate that house. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it. Also a lot of love. 

During the course of our time in Charlotte, I worked as a graphic designer for a real estate company and a product development company; I also freelanced from home and taught at a local community college. Our years were full and we generally felt blessed.

We found friends and community in the form of a small group from our church. We didn't always feel connected at church itself, but the weekly meals and bible study in our friend's homes made us feel like we had a place.

In 2009, with the collapse of the economy and the housing market, Daniel experienced a layoff. It was not unexpected, but a layoff is hard nonetheless, even when you know it is a real possibility. Our last year in Charlotte was a difficult one, but after 12 months of nose-to-the grindstone searching, Daniel found a job in a new industry in a new state and we left the city that helped us become "grown ups." This was also when we got Sophie – our beloved dog that has changed our lives forever.

This week, we have come back for our first visit {together} in more than two years. A lot has changed –for one, we now have a wonderful little guy who has brought us abundant joy– but a lot is still the same.