Charlotte, NC
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Go to Asheville instead.
Lol, I actually own some property in between Asheville and Charlotte in near a small town called Shelby, but when I visit my relatives and property, my wife and I usually go to Asheville, Cherokee or Gatlinburg/Pigeon's Forge for fun. As a matter of fact my wife hasn't even been with me to Charlotte other than the airport, although in a couple of months we're planning on doing the new coaster at Carowinds (a Cedar Park theme park near Charlotte) that is the tallest and fastest "regular" coaster in 'Muricuh.
To me, Charlotte is always a generic large city with no real character like an even more generic Atlanta. Asheville on the other hand is one of my favorite places to visit in the country.
That's a long way of saying....sorry to hear you're in Charlotte, I really can't help you. I would have said Cowfish is a cool unusual place but they've got one in CityWalk in Orlando now.
Lol, I actually own some property in between Asheville and Charlotte in near a small town called Shelby, but when I visit my relatives and property, my wife and I usually go to Asheville, Cherokee or Gatlinburg/Pigeon's Forge for fun. As a matter of fact my wife hasn't even been with me to Charlotte other than the airport, although in a couple of months we're planning on doing the new coaster at Carowinds (a Cedar Park theme park near Charlotte) that is the tallest and fastest "regular" coaster in 'Muricuh.
To me, Charlotte is always a generic large city with no real character like an even more generic Atlanta. Asheville on the other hand is one of my favorite places to visit in the country.
That's a long way of saying....sorry to hear you're in Charlotte, I really can't help you. I would have said Cowfish is a cool unusual place but they've got one in CityWalk in Orlando now.
So I went on Tripadvisor to see if there was anything mindblowing I'd forgotten about, but outside of Carowinds and the Whitewater National Center there's nothing really awesome or unique about the area unless you're into NASCAR (if you are there's lots to do). So when I head back up in a couple months we're probably just going to do those two things plus a tasting at Old Mecklenburg Brewery.
As far as food, most of the best Charlotte restaurants are the typical foodie fusion places you can find in any decent sized city. There's not much in the way of a true local or ethnic cuisine like other places in NC, Savannah, Charleston, etc... And the bbq is almost universally awful. If you want to make a small side trip, you can take the 40 mile trip to Shelby and get bbq from the restaurant that just won the online poll hosted by Garden and Gun magazine for best BBQ in the country. It's called Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge (my extended family who live there prefer Alston Bridges BBQ which is also in Shelby to his brothers larger place, but I like them equally). Grab a pork sandwich (ask for extra "brown") with red slaw on top, a banana pudding and a Cheerwine in the bottle and you will be in heaven. It's the best pulled pork on the planet in quite a few (including mine) eyes.
As far as food, most of the best Charlotte restaurants are the typical foodie fusion places you can find in any decent sized city. There's not much in the way of a true local or ethnic cuisine like other places in NC, Savannah, Charleston, etc... And the bbq is almost universally awful. If you want to make a small side trip, you can take the 40 mile trip to Shelby and get bbq from the restaurant that just won the online poll hosted by Garden and Gun magazine for best BBQ in the country. It's called Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge (my extended family who live there prefer Alston Bridges BBQ which is also in Shelby to his brothers larger place, but I like them equally). Grab a pork sandwich (ask for extra "brown") with red slaw on top, a banana pudding and a Cheerwine in the bottle and you will be in heaven. It's the best pulled pork on the planet in quite a few (including mine) eyes.
I mostly agree with Tribe...I lived in Charlotte for several years...it didn't have much to it as far as I'm concerned.
Back when I lived there, they used to have something where you could drive your car around Charlotte motor speedway a couple times for a small fee. It was in a line led by a cop, and you didn't go very fast, but that was a neat and memorable experience, probably the standout Charlotte thing we did while we were there, and we did it the first weekend we moved there. It really gives quite a perspective on the size of the whole thing.
I've been gone over ten years, but given the reputation of North Carolina barbecue, I will generally agree that Charlotte is pretty bad. However, if you want some decent barbecue without going all the way to Shelby, Kyle Fletcher's in Gastonia is very good. It opened while we were there, and it was by far the best we'd had there. I just googled it and it's still open, so it must be doing something right. Lancaster's BBQ in Mooresville was probably the next best and only other memorable BBQ we had.
If you want to take a day trip, the Boone/Blowing Rock area is kind of nice. There just wasn't much there of note when we were there. They had an above average flea market scene, I'll say that. That's probably the only other positive memory I have off the top of my head.
Back when I lived there, they used to have something where you could drive your car around Charlotte motor speedway a couple times for a small fee. It was in a line led by a cop, and you didn't go very fast, but that was a neat and memorable experience, probably the standout Charlotte thing we did while we were there, and we did it the first weekend we moved there. It really gives quite a perspective on the size of the whole thing.
I've been gone over ten years, but given the reputation of North Carolina barbecue, I will generally agree that Charlotte is pretty bad. However, if you want some decent barbecue without going all the way to Shelby, Kyle Fletcher's in Gastonia is very good. It opened while we were there, and it was by far the best we'd had there. I just googled it and it's still open, so it must be doing something right. Lancaster's BBQ in Mooresville was probably the next best and only other memorable BBQ we had.
If you want to take a day trip, the Boone/Blowing Rock area is kind of nice. There just wasn't much there of note when we were there. They had an above average flea market scene, I'll say that. That's probably the only other positive memory I have off the top of my head.
Shelby is fine if you're going to go to that one restaurant...otherwise, there's nothing really there. If you're going to take a side trip, I'd look at the mountains, which are pretty nice. Boone and Blowing Rock for a slightly more touristy feel, or Grandfather Mountain, the tallest point in the Blue Ridge. They've got a pretty awesome 80ft swinging bridge that is pretty neat (somewhat scary) experience. Some animal displays as well if I remember right.
Shelby is fine if you're going to go to that one restaurant...otherwise, there's nothing really there. If you're going to take a side trip, I'd look at the mountains, which are pretty nice. Boone and Blowing Rock for a slightly more touristy feel, or Grandfather Mountain, the tallest point in the Blue Ridge. They've got a pretty awesome 80ft swinging bridge that is pretty neat (somewhat scary) experience. Some animal displays as well if I remember right.
My thought is that if you're sending him two hours away, he might as well go all the way to Asheville. Boone and Asheville are literally maybe minutes in difference of travel time. I assume that the OP wouldnt be up for a 2 hour one way side trip BUT if he is then definitely Asheville, Cherokee, Boone, and Chimney Rock are all going to be more fun and memorable than Charlotte.
And I do agree there's nothing much to do in Shelby unless you're there for the Livermush Festival but he could keep driving after eating in Shelby and do Lake Lure and Chimney Rock along the same road, two closer spots than all the way to Grandfather Mountain, Asheville and Cherokee.
I don't disagree with any of that. Asheville as well. Except I would NOT do Cherokee, unless it's improved a lot in recent years. Although the Indian village museum type place they had there was kind of neat.
Lake Norman north of Charlotte is beautiful, but not a lot of public access. You could hire someone to take you striper fishing, and there's a lot of NASCAR stuff up there too.
Lake Norman is probably the nicest thing to see in the area. You could search for stuff in the Lake Norman area. A close friend of mine captained a dinner cruise for many years that was pleasant, the Catawba Queen I think.
Did some jobs in Charlotte and have been there for the ACC championship. Overall it is a poor version of Atlanta IMO.
If you're near University center hit Sushi 101. have a big kahuna then ask the chef to make something off menu. There is a nice specialty wine and beer bar by there as well as a decent seafood place and a southern party bar, all within 50 yards or so. If you are farther north, Lake Norman is nice and there is a cool bar/restaurant at the lake Norman hotel.
If you're near University center hit Sushi 101. have a big kahuna then ask the chef to make something off menu. There is a nice specialty wine and beer bar by there as well as a decent seafood place and a southern party bar, all within 50 yards or so. If you are farther north, Lake Norman is nice and there is a cool bar/restaurant at the lake Norman hotel.
I love asheville and the mountains, but before you drive up there, consider some areas of the city itself that FSUTribe76 skipped: NC Music Factory, a newish entertainment area that includes some cool bars, a comedy club, and a Fillmore for concerts, all within walking distance: http://ncmusicfactory.com/events/.
Downtown Charlotte itself is great for walking from bar to bar and grabbing a bite. Unfortunately the minor league Knights aren't playing this weekend, new stadium is right downtown and pretty awesome. Weekend downtown scene is pretty good regardless. There's also NoDa and Plaza-Midwood, nice walkable urban areas with bars and restaurants everywhere.
Once you get out of the city center area, I agree that Lake Norman has some good eating/drinking spots. I would avoid University area, but that's just me. If you're into music/craft beer festivals, there's a good one in Huntersville (getting towards Lake Norman), the Rural Hill NC Brewers and Music Festival: http://www.ncbrewsmusic.com/.
And the previously mentioned Carowinds is awesome as roller coaster theme parks go. I'm not a NASCAR fan but the museum is not bad if you're into that.
You can't go wrong with a trip to the mountains and asheville, but if you're not into the drive, there's plenty in Charlotte to keep you busy for the weekend.
It depends on what you mean by not being there in several years, but in the past five years or so the Harrah's in Cherokee has been built out substantially and now it's a resort casino better than any in Atlantic City, Tunica, Biloxi or in Florida. It's not as awesome as probably the top 20 or so Vegas places, but I haven't been anywhere east of the Mississippi that's better (I haven't been to the Mohegan Sun yet but I am going in a month) just equivalent. I like it at least on par with the Beau Rivage and Hard Rock in Biloxi.
The Cherokee museum has also been upgraded relatively recently and I liked it better than the Smithsonian branch dedicated to Native tribes. The large outdoor native "play"/dance ceremony Unto These Hills has also been revamped to be more authentic yet also newer styles of music so it's no longer the insensitive Hollywood Indian stereotype. Plus Cherokee is a great base to explore the Great Smoky National Park with large elk herds right at the nearest visitor center. My only complaint is that the food in Cherokee is still pretty poor. They did thankfully boot Paula Dean from the Harrah's, but the best food in the area is still inside the Harrah's at the Ruth's Chris, Pizzaria Uno and Brio. But there's a lot to do in Cherokee now even without golfing, going fishing in the tribes stocked trout creeks, visiting the Ocaluftee village or hiking around the waterfalls I'm between Cherokee and the National Park.
That's good to hear about Cherokee. I was driving through about 12 years ago from a trip and stopped at the Cherokee museum and really was impressed with it. Didn't even find out about the casino until later. So a couple years after that, so maybe about 10 years ago, we decided to make it a rare date weekend. The casino at that time was pretty awful, although the hotel was ok. We made the mistake of not staying/eating in the hotel, and everything about it was a bust. There was literally nowhere outside the hotel to find anything edible, and I'm not a food snob. The "riverfront hotel" we stayed at was a disaster, and after getting bored of video poker, we really didn't have anything to do. It's now a punchline in our family.
I do think the museum is worth a stop for that alone, I am always interested in native American exhibits, and that is one of the better things I've seen. Glad to hear it's continuing to get nicer. The casino was not a resort when we went there, it was basically a South Carolina video poker dump attached to a Country Inn and Suites. I would consider going again now, but I'll never get my wife back, LOL.
Moved to Charlotte from NYC exactly ten years ago and must say it was an adjustment b/c aren't a million things to do like in Manhattan. As a person who works in Uptown it is nice not dealing with tourist crowds, working in Rockefeller Center was quite annoying during holiday season. Charlotte is great for raising a family in an affordable & safe environment. The quality of life here compared to NYC or Long Island is night & day. Upon deciding to move, family & friends said I'd back in NY within 2 years. Most of them have now relocated to Charlotte due to quality of life. Beatiful new homes, good schools, low taxes, NFL franchise, NBA franchise, NCAA Tourney, ACC CG, Triple A baseball, big time college sports & Hilton Head all within manageable drive. The nightlife has certainly improved for the twenty somethings over the years.
For me Charlotte is perfect!
For me Charlotte is perfect!
I'd post pics but the new system doesn't seem to work well with the iPhone. I can't get it to paste urls into the insert picture button. But you can just Google image search the word Harrah's and Cherokee. It's at least as big as the Harrah's in New Orleans (sidenote just wiki'd them both and Harrah's in New Orleans has 450 rooms with an 115,000 ft casino and Harrah's in Cherokee has 1,108 rooms including 107 luxury suites with a 150,000 ft casino). Apparently the new casino resort was completed in 2012 so it's even newer than I thought. It is definitely bigger and better than the Silverton I stayed at in Vegas a couple of weeks ago but not as big and nice as Ceasar's Palace, Paris, the Venetian, Mandalay Bay or anyplace I've stayed at on the Strip. It IS better than any of the downtown/"Fremont Street" casinos.
And yeah, I've yet to find any decent food outside of the casino in Cherokee. They're missing out by not having a quality Native American restaurant there. I've eaten at several amazing places in Arizona (especially), Canada and Washington state and even the restaurant outside of the Miccosukee reservation in Florida isn't horrible. Meanwhile in Cherokee there's nothing. A couple of the diners offer really horrible versions of the reservation system food "Indian tacos" (which the Eastern Band wasnt really a part of, that's food developed in Oklahoma when random tribes were squashed together in basically deserts and given little but flour and butter plus rotten meat by the federal government).
I'm sure it's a perfectly nice place to live in and I might even end up moving there depending upon where my wife finds her actuarial job. I'm just of the opinion it's a noninteresting place to visit. Too many transients (subtly pointing at you) and not enough actual local culture. It's just a generic city with all the generic chain stores and restaurants and even the local restaurants are just generic "foodie" places not anything reflecting local food traditions. So nice place to live, boring place to visit.
Definitely a boring place to visit but unfortunately chain stores & restaurants is a nationwide epidemic. Long Island has become a lot like Charlotte b/c it's so expensive to open a privately owned restaurant.
It does look pretty good now. This is what it looked like when I was there:
In fact, back when I went, they weren't even allowed to have actual games...everything was video. They made a big deal about having digital versions of things like blackjack and roulette, but in practice, there was like one machine of each, rarely staffed, and the dealers didn't really know how to use them. It was primarily a video poker parlor.
Sounds like a legit casino experience now. I'm not enough of a casino guy to go just for that, given relatively slim pickings outside the casino, but it looks pretty amazing compared to how it was.
It does look pretty good now. This is what it looked like when I was there:
In fact, back when I went, they weren't even allowed to have actual games...everything was video. They made a big deal about having digital versions of things like blackjack and roulette, but in practice, there was like one machine of each, rarely staffed, and the dealers didn't really know how to use them. It was primarily a video poker parlor.
Sounds like a legit casino experience now. I'm not enough of a casino guy to go just for that, given relatively slim pickings outside the casino, but it looks pretty amazing compared to how it was.
That does sound awful. That's why I've never gone to whatever the small casino about an hour from Tallahassee is called. I think the only thing "missing" is a fully live craps table but I'm ok with it because they have the automated mechanical "bubble trouble" craps game which has lower minimums so I can spread my tiny bets around better. So given a choice I seldom play the live tables either. I'm very much a small time better. If I lose more than $200 in the day my night is done. So that's why I don't have any "I won $100000000000 in Vegas" stories. My biggest take was probably around $800 on a cruise. Usually I'm right at even or up s couple hundo.
No it's not. Not ever. It's a cool beer bar, but it's never mentioned as America's best.
Wicked Weed is great. You're right about that. I suggest skipping the main location and spending time at the Funkatorium on the South Slope.
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