USA Today came out with the restaurants of the year. And, this year, not a single Charlotte restaurant made the cut. But some very well should have.
As we’ve seen in the last month with three Charlotte food and beverage industry leaders receiving James Beard nominations, the local food scene and its ongoing “identity crisis” is shaping up to be a bit more compelling than the credit it’s been given.
Editor-in-chief of Food & Wine and North Carolina native Hunter Lewis told me at the FOOD & WINE Classic in Charleston last fall that, “Years ago … Charlotte was an afterthought … It was not an eating town.”
Now, that reality is changing. Lewis said he sees Charlotte as a promising midsize culinary city, ripe with opportunity for chefs over the next 10 years. “Charlotte is homegrown, and it’s got such a strong local population,” he said. Floods of newcomers from other industries are making it an international city, too.
This dynamic culinary shift can be attributed to a few things — an invigorated emphasis on Piedmont-area produce through local programs like Freshlist, increased diversity in both restaurants and consumers, and a more conscious, value-driven consumer base. Lewis said that when running a restaurant or a business,“transparency is a competitive edge. [They] should be leading with [their] core values.”
USA Today’s criteria for best restaurant echoes with that sentiment. According to USA Today, this roundup “isn’t just another list of hot spots with months-long waits for reservations … it’s a celebration of local flavors and stories.” A prime example is the list’s nod to all Western North Carolina restaurants, who showed up with free meals and community aid during the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
Here in Charlotte, we can see the impact that value-driven work, diversity and local produce can have on creating a kinetic dining scene with with these specific James Beard nominations — Restaurant Constance’s chef Sam Diminich, Community Matters Cafe’s chef Chayil Johnson and Supperland’s Colleen Hughes, beverage director for the Tonidandel-Brown restaurant group.
So, keeping this demand for diversity and quality of both food and dining experience top of mind, here are the 11 restaurants that should’ve been on USA Today’s Best Restaurants of the Year, Charlotte version.
Location: 1601 Elizabeth Ave, Charlotte, NC 28204
Instagram: @customshopclt
Customshop in Elizabeth seems to be on most everyone’s favorite or want-to-go list. It’s dim and moody, but so pleasantly a neighborhood spot. Sit at the bar for some crudo and a cocktail, or grab a table and make the meal a whole to-do. Chef Andres Kaifer and new chef de cuisine Matt Moore plate up the best Rohan duck in the city. The brown butter blue crab ravioli is a tough act to follow, too.
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