Have four days in Charlotte and will have time in the evenings to test out some restaurants. What are the local bests? 1. Upscale fine dining; 2. ethnic (which kinds of ethnic restaurants is Charlotte strong in? What are best places?); 3. local "gems". Thanks.

For a local gem try Anderson's diner, famous for pecan pie. It's at 1617 Elizabeth Ave (704) 333-3491. It's uptown where the streets go crazy. Watch out for street name changes.

For a city famous for auto racing, we sure do have some bad roads!

For upscale there is Morton's of Chicago. Not exactly an "only in Charlotte experience" but it is upscale. It's at 227 Trade St (704) 333-2602.

Charlotte "ethnic" is redneck yuppie. Lots of banking executives but a surprising lack of non-chain restaurants. Best bet is uptown for something different. I hardly every go uptown so I can't provide the best answers. Enjoy your stay.

And before I'm bashed for being a travel agent, I got the addresses and phone numbers from my Charlotte phone book.

Excellent upscale place with large wine list is Lamplighter in downtown Charlotte. For a local treat just no'th of town try Bubba's for lipsmacking good Carolina-style BBQ. And if you really know how to kick back and enjoy local color and specialties, try the fried whole catfish, of course not filleted, at Laneys FishCamp outside Moorestown, about 20 mi north of Charlotte. What a treat BUT be sure to call first because they're fussy about what days and hours they are open.
Big Daddys catfish used to be great but a change in ownership spoiled it all. Happy Eating.

Dined at Epicurean several years ago-very nice,white linen tablecloths,ect.Can't remember address or phone number,look in yellow pages,you won't be disappointed!

To Ed: It's Mooresville, not Moorestown. And there isn't a decent restaurant to be found in Mooresville except for Kudzu's. Big Daddys? A joke of a seafood restaurant for people who's tastebuds have been ruined by smoking.

To Tracy: Try "Mickey and Mooch" in Huntersville

Mickey & Mooch had some of the best seafood I've tried. You must make reservations to avoid waiting. I enjoy Vietnamese food in Charlotte. Bubba's has nice BBQ food.

The best dining I've found in the Charlotte area is actually in a little town south of Charlotte called Waxhaw, at a lovely little restaurant called Dearstyne's. They don't take reservations, so you may have to wait, but the food is FANTASTIC and the service is very good also. Nice wine list too. I highly recommend it. Everything from barbecue and burgers up to filet mignon. Casual/upscale.

For Cajun food in Charlotte I like the Cajun Queen and the Bayou Kitchen which are near each other in the neighborhood called Elizabeth. Bayou Kitchen is more casual and is more of a bar/restaurant and occasionally has live music. In the same neighborhood is one of my FAVORITE local gems called Anntony's Caribbean Chicken -- very inexpensive, casual, delicious (I always get a bottle of their special sauce to go so I can try to make it at home).

I also enjoy the Pewter Rose.

For lunch, downtown, I like the Pine Room which has a great vegetable plate.
There is also Bistro 100 downtown which is popular for business lunches/dinners. I've had some pretty good meals there but not great.

There is a nice neighborhood downtown called Fourth Ward that has a good casual pub/restaurant whose name is escaping me -- it's something like Michael David's or David Michael's or two men's names -- anyone out there remember the one I'm talking about?

The Pewter Rose is lovely. One of my favorites is Dakotas in the Arboretum shopping center. This is out Providence road near Matthews. It is a locals restaurant and has wonderful food and wine. It is not open on Mondays, and on other days, it can be pretty popular. I agree with the suggestion of the Lamplighter. It is upscale and worth it. Enjoy Charlotte!