Charlotte, NC questions

Old Feb 9th, 2008, 10:16 AM
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Charlotte, NC questions

A group of us will be attending a conference at the Charlotte Convention Center in May and we have a few questions. Our lodging is in the same area as the conference (Hilton or Westin)and wondered what there was to do in the general vicinity in addition to restaurant recommendations. Information on all restaurants and price ranges in the area is appreciated. We will not have a car, so transportation information is also needed. Thanks for your help!!!
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Old Feb 10th, 2008, 04:03 PM
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Anyone out there have any input for me??
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Old Feb 10th, 2008, 04:22 PM
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We were in Charlotte a few months ago and loved it. The downtown area is very walkable. I'm sorry I don't remember the specific names of restaurants, but can tell you there are many to choose from.

The trolley's are free, and we took the east/west trolly and the north/south trolley the entire route. A great way to see the downtown area.

We went to the Levine Museum of The New South and really enjoyed it. If you walk up College, it's at the corner of 7th I think. Very worthwhile.
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Old Feb 11th, 2008, 09:44 AM
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There are (literally) tons of CLT pots already on here. Please do a search & if you have specific questions, we would be happy yo help. Also www.charlotte.com is a good place to start.
 
Old Feb 11th, 2008, 04:39 PM
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Hi japw82!

I am from Charlotte and will try to help you. If you are staying at the Westin or the Hilton downtown (close to the convention center), there is alot to do. Downton is hopping at night. There are plenty of night clubs - Dixie Tavern, Have a Nice day, Cosmos Cafe and more.

In addition to the Museum of the New South, there is also the Children Theatre, Blumenthal Center for Performing Arts, Discovery Place. Tiny shops in Latta Arcade, as well as a few shops in Overstreet Mall (open during business hours only).

If you will be here in May - that is the big Racing Month when there will be a race at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and every year they have Tryon Street (main drag) blocked off for "Speed Week" with food and other vendors. I think it's around the 3rd week of May, but I am not a big race fan so others can probably keep me honest here if I have mis-spoken.

Welcome to our Queen City! I hope you enjoy yourself while visiting!
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Old Feb 26th, 2008, 09:41 AM
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I'm not exactly sure where the convention center is anymore (I think it's a new one?), but I can tell you where we enjoy eating downtown, and it's all pretty much walkable. We love an Italian restaurant Luce. Pastas probably run high teens, and other items in the $20-30 range or so. Fantastic food. We also like Blue; if nothing else their bar has live music at least on the week-ends...do a little research on that, i don't want to steer you wrong. ALso, Luce has several bars in the area that seem to be popular. We also enjoy Arpas, which has a fun bar area as well as a resataurant, but it's all tapas. Great wine, sangria, and food. With tapas, you can pretty easily control how much you spend. Hope that helps! Oh, also, we haven't eaten there but if you're not from the area, you might enjoy Savannah Red. It's a southern menu with a little gourmet kick. The menu looked really good; sort of pricey though if I remember correctly. I hope you enjoy your time here!
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Old Feb 29th, 2008, 09:24 AM
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Thanks for all the replies. Please send more. In addition to Italian, we are looking for a good steak place, great burgers and American fare, and places to shop. Is the convention center near a mall? If not, which is the closest and can it be accessed on public transit.
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Old Mar 24th, 2008, 09:21 AM
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tons of steak places uptown - morton's, ruth chris etc.. second recommendation for luce and blue. we have a train system too so you could take that or a cab (cheap). alexander michaels is walkable and in the 4th ward, a great area. they have great burgers.
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Old Mar 24th, 2008, 10:09 AM
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We were just there last month. Downtown is very nice and easy to navigate. Ask your concierge about the tram to the Southpark Mall. It's amazing! We had a wonderful meal at Cafe Mimosa. Loved the service, atmosphere and yummy seafood. Savannah Red was in our hotel...looked good, but it was $$$. Also, Charlotte only has a few non-smoking places, so that was a huge issue for us. Marriott is 100% smoke free. Very nice.
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Old Mar 24th, 2008, 10:55 AM
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HI Japw82! Welcome to Charlotte! Of the steakhouses uptown, I'd recommend Capital Grille (pricey)- great bar area (Paulie, the bartender is fabulous)... as for Burgers, Alexander Michael's (inexpensive) in 4th Ward makes some of the best around. There is also "The Penguin" (Inexpensive) inside of Alley Cat. The original Penguin is in a funky little neighborhood right outside of uptown called Plaza Midwood- they've opened a second location inside of Alley Cat (on College b/w 6th and 7th). I would highly recommend Blue (moderate to pricey)- as someone mentioned, they have live jazz several nights a week in the bar area. Arpa (moderate) is also a very cool little spot- it is Tapas, but they have an extensive wine list and great Sangria. For great Southern Fried Chicken, hop on the light rail and head into the southend. Stop at Price's Chicken Coop (inexpensive)- they only have take away, but at lunch time you'll see lots of patrons sitting on benches or in their cars eating the delicious chicken and hushpuppies. Also, at the bland street station stop off the light rail is Tavern on the Tracks (inexpensive)- great American hole-in-the-wall... Tavern on the Tracks may be a "bar", but they have some of the best food around. The beef-on-weck is excellent as are their salads. Very affordable option- and great outside seating in May. Someone mentioned speedweek- The Charlotte NASCAR races are memorial day weekend. For several days leading up to the race, Tryon will be closed... speed week isn't really my thing, but the street vendors usually have decent food and the people watching is very unique to say the least. Also, each Thursday throughout the summer (April-September really) there is Center City Alive After 5... in front of Wachovia 2 (corner of Tryon and 2nd, which is now MLK drive) they have live music (and plenty of drinks to purchase) from 6-9. For some more insight into the goings on around uptown check out http://www.charlottecentercity.org/home.cfm
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Old Mar 27th, 2008, 02:37 PM
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Thanks for all the great information. We are looking forward to our trip. Can we take the light rail to Southpark Mall? Also, any pizza and mexican recommendations are also needed. Which is the best steak place that has great food but not over the top expensive($25-$30 per person). When going with a group, it is nice to have suggestions for various cuisines. It makes decision making less of a challenge.
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Old Mar 27th, 2008, 02:56 PM
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Hi J
SouthPark Mall is not on the Light Rail (sadly)...but there is a bus stop at the mall, so if you want to catch the bus uptown at the transit center it's an option (although it might be just as easy to squeeze into a cab and split the cost).

You can take the Light Rail to the SouthEnd area and eat at La Paz Mexican www.lapaz.com (great Mexican food) or Fuel Pizza www.fuelpizza.com
Also at that stop is Pike's Soda Shop (1930 Camden Rd)which has comfort food and GREAT desserts/soda fountain stuff (like Coke Floats, fresh-squeezed Orange-ade, etc.). If the weather is nice Pewter Rose www.pewterrose.com is a great little bistro in SouthEnd that has a front porch which is great in the evenings (you might have to split into two tables depending on how large your group is).
Enjoy your trip!
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Old Mar 28th, 2008, 05:28 AM
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I second La Paz for Mexican food (and the light rail will take you right to it); if you want a quicker version of Mexican, Phat Burritto is a funky little place on Camden. For pizza, I would recommend Brixx- on 6th (right off of College). All the steak houses will probably be more expensive than your given price-range. For a more affordable option, Tavern-on-the-tracks (Southend-bland street stop) has a good steak (I think the NY Strip is around $18.00 and includes sides- they also have a Prime Rib that is good- not sure how much that costs). I really like Tavern and all of our friends we take there from out of town are usually very happy with it. Also, at the Bland Street Station is THe Greek Isles- good greek food. I believe (and Charlotte people correct me if I'm wrong), that the same family who owns Greek Isles owns a restaurant called French Quarter in Latta Arcade (Church St, b/w 2nd and 3rd). French Quarter is a great lunch spot (very affordable)- excellent sandwiches, salads, rice and beans etc- and very popular for 5 oclock drinks; that said, they close early (9ish) on weeknights and aren't open on weekends.

As for the mall, you can take a bus from the uptown transportation center. Buses are easy and relatively clean, but depending on how many of you are going-a cab would be inexpensive if you all split it. While in the Southpark area, you may want to do lunch at Village Tavern- it's across Barclay Downs from the mall- great patio area.
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Old Mar 28th, 2008, 09:11 AM
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Unless you are comfortable in urban settings, I would agree that cabbing it to Southpark Mall is better than the bus. And the uptown bus station will intimidate all but the bravest of urban explorers.
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Old Mar 28th, 2008, 09:41 AM
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For a few dollars more, you can get the Lincoln Town cars. We found them to be extremely professional and informative, giving us a little "history" and neighborhood information along the way. When we paged them for a pickup, it only took a couple minutes
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Old Apr 2nd, 2009, 07:45 AM
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ttt for chgeeb
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