Monday, May 30, 2011

HeroesCon 2011: Where to Eat

The all important decision of where to eat during a comic convention can be difficult if you're not from the area.  Luckily, we have home field advantage on this one to share some personal recommendations about eating in Charlotte. 

Walking Distance:
King's Kitchen: Southern food for a good cause.  All the proceeds from this restaurant go back into the community to help those in need and the Brown Sugar Poundcake is fabulous! I can't speak to the fried chicken, but diners do seem to enjoy it. 
Amelie's (Uptown): Three words: Salted Caramel Brownie.  Amelie's has soups, sandwiches and other meals, but let's be honest, we're going there for the desserts! V
Taste: Run by Johnson and Wales students, this place has a wide ranging menu from soups and sandwiches to various hot bars and cupcakes that are out of this world.  V
BluPrint: One of uptown's newest additions, this place gets a weekly visit from me.  The food is super yummy and the owners and staff are super friendly.  They serve breakfast until 3pm so if you're craving pancakes at lunch this is the place for you! V
Fujo Bistro: Good sushi, Good entrees and reasonable prices.  I have had dinner here at least once each weekend since I starting going to HeroesCon.  Works for the vegan, vegetarian and meal eaters alike. V

Frozen Isle: Charlotte's very own entry into the frozen yogurt craze.  There's a rotating cast of flavors and toppings and in June, anything cold is a winner. 
Fuel Pizza: Location of the Drink and Draw on Friday night.  This local pizza place right across from the Convention Center is veggie friendly and has recently added a Gluten-Free Crust. V

Dean & Deluca: I know, sounds completely fancy, right? However, this place has some of the best salads downtown and even though many of the other items do tend into the pricey range, their salads run from $6.99-$8.99 and kick ass.  The Tryon location isn't far from the convention center. V

Gluten-Free Recommendations:
Jason's Deli at the Epi-Center: Yes, it's a chain, but a very good one with a wide ranging menu and a large salad bar. 

In the Heroes Neighborhood:
The Diamond: A vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurant that also features an appetizer known as "Pig Wings" will please the entire crowd. V


Worth the Drive:

Sunday Options:
Admittedly, uptown Charlotte can leave a bit to be desired when it comes to restaurants open on Sunday for breakfast/brunch in a price friendly range.  Many of the hotels, the Westin included, have a breakfast buffet, but those can tend to be on the expensive side of things. 


This, of course, isn't an exclusive list of places to eat uptown.  If you venture towards the intersection of Trade and Tryon, you will find the Epi-Center and the Bank of America building, diagonally across from each other full of lots of chain restaurants like Qdoba, Just Fresh, Smoothie King, Chick-fil-a, and Showmars. 

There's also the Delish Food Court in the Convention Center for those who prefer not to leave for food runs, that has Bojangles, Einstein Bagels and Buoncibo. 

For those needing a caffeine fix, there's a Starbucks in the convention center as well as a number scattered around uptown along with several Caribou Coffees. 

Heather's Note: It's been a long hard week for both Seth and me.  Those of you who don't know us personally won't be aware that my mother passed away last week.  I didn't get a chance to really finish this post, but still wanted to share all the links I had compiled before everything happened.  We'll both still be at HeroesCon.  I'm so thankful for my Heroes family and friends, especially at a time like this. 

Green "V" indicates Vegeterian Friendly

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for putting this list together. I'm sure it will be useful.

    ReplyDelete