Regional Treats in Gastonia NC

And so the question was asked, what should we eat next in Charlotte? Queen City Q was probably the obvious choice, but they’re located right by the local arena, which was hosting a Hornets game that night. The next choice would be a place that I actually visited once before, Kyle Fletcher’s in Gastonia. The girlchild, her older brother, and I had lunch here while passing through on our way to Toronto in 2006 and I would love to try it again. Unfortunately, this restaurant is just insanely popular on Saturday evenings. We were lucky to find a parking place, and after milling with several other guests inside the door, concluded that the hyper three year-old couldn’t wait the 45 minutes-plus that they were quoting, so I took a picture of the sign with the nice sunset behind it and activated Plan C. Continue reading “Regional Treats in Gastonia NC” →

Midwood Smokehouse, Charlotte NC

This road trip was the first time that my daughter had been to Charlotte, and it didn’t take her long to begin pestering me for a summer visit. Trouble started when she realized they have 7-11s in this area and she could get a Slurpee in one of seven hundred and eleven flavors – including, I must add, Cheerwine, which is the greatest thing I ever heard of – and so we pulled into a 7-11 in Rock Hill to take advantage of their wonderful $1.73 gasoline and she danced out with an orange and cream Slurpee. Then we drove past Carowinds, a roller coaster-packed amusement park along I-77 and she wondered whether that really tall one might be taller than Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia. It is. Intimidator, which opened four years later, is 32 feet taller, and peaks at 80 mph, compared to Goliath’s 70. Then we drove past what appeared to be a three-story Target on the way to supper and she had her face pressed against the glass. Continue reading “Midwood Smokehouse, Charlotte NC” →

The Twin Shrimp Boats of Rock Hill, SC

After we visited the Shrimp Boat in Lancaster, we got back on track for Rock Hill. We took back roads through Chester County and – no hyperbole – they were the worst paved roads that I’ve ever driven on. For miles. Even the patches had potholes. Once we got to our next destination, I stepped out of my car and was shaking like a cartoon character. Continue reading “The Twin Shrimp Boats of Rock Hill, SC” →

Shrimp Boat, Lancaster SC

When I began researching the lost Shrimp Boats chain, my curiosity was principally driven by a interest in the 1969-74 era buildings, and the initial story in this series (links below) was built around that. If you read that story, you’ll see that in the fourth paragraph, I quickly summarized the four locations in the vicinity of Charlotte (misidentifying the Lancaster store as in Springdale) and moved on to pictures of the buildings. Continue reading “Shrimp Boat, Lancaster SC” →

Mac’s Speed Shop, Charlotte NC

Longtime readers may recall that, every January, Marie and I take a day trip into the Carolinas. It’s never a very long one, and it usually leaves me complaining about getting to the last place or two long after dark, but it’s become a tradition. I wonder, if we ever do move to Asheville, whether we’ll start a new tradition and go somewhere else every January instead. Continue reading “Mac’s Speed Shop, Charlotte NC” →

Calcutta Palate, Doraville GA (CLOSED)

A few weeks back, while Marie was working, I left the kids at home and went to join our friends Helen and Vincent, and Adam and Emily from Spatialdrift, at Calcutta Palate, an Indian restaurant that’s located right next door to the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market just outside the perimeter. I’ve often been surprised that there are not more Indian buffets along Buford Highway; while there are several dozen Indian restaurants in the Atlanta metro, this is among the least well represented among all the cuisines of the world on this particular corridor. Continue reading “Calcutta Palate, Doraville GA (CLOSED)” →