we are headed up this weekend and want to take kids out for Sat nite dinner. Nothing too fancy or expensive but not a chain. Hear are some on the side of town (Tyvola/South Park Mall area) where we'll be - opinions? other suggestions?
Moosehead Grill, Trio, Mama Ricotta, Pewter Rose????

The Pewter Rose is one of my favorites. I had lunch there two weeks ago. They have a wide, varied menu with exceptionally fresh produce. My salad was yummy. The atmosphere is funky and parking is good.

Mama Ricotta's is very good. Trio you can get whatever you want. If you want REALLY good French, try Patou--new location on East Blvd. If you like Vietnamese, try Saigon Palace on South Blvd. We go about once a week! If you want a good breakfast go to the Original Pancake House at Sharon Corners across from South Park. Excellent Chinese at Sharon Corners also--Baoding. And another (near Trio) called WanFu--very distinctive building.
For good Mexican Tres Pesos on Woodlawn Road at I77 or Garibaldi's on South Blvd.

great...thanks for the feedback...sorry for the spelling mistake in my original posting...guess I hadn't finished my coffee.

Of the ones you mentioned, Mama Ricottas would be the most family friendly. Sullivans (steak house) is also very family friendly if you want something along those lines. Moosehead is more of a bar. I like Pewter Rose as well, but it would not be my first choice for children.

Agree with above - Mama Ricotta's is the best choice on your list. Very good food and a very high energy place at dinner. You won't need to worry about whether your kids get loud - the place will be loud enough already.

Call ahead for priority seating - they are always slammed on weekends. They may have also recently started taking reservations - give them a call.

If I had to guess, I think these are grown up kids. Although they may have kids.

no, not grown up kids - teen girls - 18 & 16 and 8 yr old boy....I think that Mama Ricotta's sounds like our best bet

Perfect. And Trio would also give a lot of offerings--including brick oven pizza. I think Pewter Rose would be a bit esoteric. If you all like Chinese, try my offerings.

Are any of these places close to an interstate exit? We are going to the Charlotte area as well this weekend and will be staying near the Billy Graham Parkway area. Will have a 6 year old with us, so was also wondering about the kid friendly question.

There is a BBQ place at the Tyvola Rd. exit. The Vietnamese restaurant isn't far. There is an EXCELLent Firehouse Subs near there. The Mexican restaurant, Tres Pesos is there. There is a Chinese buffet there also.

we're not big BBQ fans and I don't care for the whole concept of a buffet so I think we will be sticking w/ Mama Ricotta's - will give feedback

My answer above was to the person who asked for things near Billy Graham Parkway.

By the way, Mama Ricotta's serves family style as well as individual dishes. Their portions are very generous. One dish I particularly love is the roasted red pepper salad.

Must you stay at the Billy Graham Parkway exit? It's a pretty nasty area.

Actually, I didn't know that. We have reservations at the Marriott Springhill Suites off I85 on Billy Graham Parkway. We're meeting our former DIL who is driving up from AL to pick up our grand daughter. We were hoping to find something close to the interstate to make it as easy for her as possible. Do you have other suggestions that would work for us?

I'm sure that hotel is fine - it's probably pretty new. It's just the area is unattractive and has some cheaper, low-class hotels nearby. And you're right on the noisy interstate. But I can't think of anywhere right on I-85 near the center of Charlotte that's nice.

One option is to stay near the old coliseum just a couple minutes south of I-85 (and the Marriott Springhill). There are a couple suite-type hotels on or just off Yorkmount Rd (Amerisuites (2), Homewood Suites by Hilton, Renaissance Suites). This is a fairly dead area, but it's much nicer and quieter and you'll have better access to the Southpark area if you decide to drive in for dinner.

The interstate hotels are just that. I think you'll be fine. The places Brian is speaking of are near I77, about 5 miles in town from I85. The Embassy Suites (right near I77) and Renaissance Suites (near the coliseum, about 3 miles in town from I85) are quite nice.

The places I listed are 3 miles from the Billy Graham Parkway exit on I-85. Billy Graham is an interstate-grade thoroughfare, so you can reach those hotels from that exit (where the Marriott is) in 3 minutes.

Thank you for your quick responses. You have been a really big help to us.