I first came to Charlotte in 1991, tagging along with a college friend to visit my uncle, who worked at a TV station downtown in one of those mirrored towers that made the skyline feel decidedly big-city. I met him at the office just before five, and we walked outside into what felt like a mass exodus—every suit and tie in Mecklenburg County fleeing to the suburbs before the sidewalks curled up for the night. Back then, you didn’t go out to eat downtown, because there wasn’t anywhere to go.

That’s not Charlotte anymore. Not even close. These days, every part of the city—from the corporate towers of Uptown to the blocks of NoDa and Plaza Midwood—thrums with life. And for someone like me, who organizes vacations and life choices around meals, it’s especially thrilling that the restaurant scene has caught up to the city’s ambitions.

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