Weekend Getaway to Charlotte — The Cravings Queen

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to travel more. I don’t need lavish international vacations. Instead, a day trip or weekend road trip is enough to satisfy my wanderlust. This past weekend, I headed south to Charlotte, North Carolina for a few days of sights and bites.

If there’s one thing you should know about me it’s that I am a meticulous planner. I decided to go to Charlotte on Monday and booked my hotel that morning. By Tuesday, I had my gas and food stops planned out, several pins of restaurants on my Google Maps and a food tour scheduled. I’ve actually been to Charlotte for a weekend wedding back in 2018, but this trip, I wanted to really sink my teeth into the city and explore.

Pit Stop in Suffolk

I took half a day off work and hit the road at about 1 p.m. The first stop on my road trip was about 40 miles away from Virginia Beach to Suffolk. I wanted to have lunch at The General Public, a Black-owned restaurant located downtown.

The menu includes staples like wings, sandwiches, burgers and bowls. Knowing that I’d have to sit in the car for several hours, I resisted the urge to over order and stuck with a meal I knew would keep me full for my journey south. The BBQ Stout burger featured all of my favorite toppings: bacon, cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce.

This juicy burger was also topped with crispy onion straws, and the barbecue sauce is made with a beer stout for a more robust flavor. I also ordered a side of crispy waffle fries, seasoned with garlic parmesan, a recommendation from my very friendly server.

I spent longer than I intended at The General Public, savoring every bite of my burger and “doing dots” (as my best friend Elyse and I call it) with the little pieces of parmesan. At about 3 p.m., I strolled back to my car and settled in for the five-hour drive to Charlotte.

Optimist Hall

My drive down to North Carolina was easy. After a few podcast episodes of Watch What Crappens, I was seeing the Charlotte city skyline right at sunset. Knowing I’d be famished by the time I arrived, I made Optimist Hall my first stop in the Queen City.

Optimist Hall is a massive food hall in the Optimist Park area. The space is filled with eateries, retailers, bars and ample seating. The food hall was rocking on that Friday evening, so it took a few minutes to find parking.

Both outside and inside, it was sensory overload. So much to eat, drink, shop and see. I did a lap around the food stalls before deciding to go with The Dumpling Lady. If I hadn’t been so tired, I would’ve grabbed a drink and found some seating to really take in the full experience of Optimist Hall.

Despite the line for The Dumpling Lady, my food was ready for pick up in less than 10 minutes. I grabbed the bag with my Sweet Pork Belly dumplings and headed back to the car to check into my hotel. As I waited in line to check in, the smell of the Sichuan chili oil wafted from the bag. My stomach was on E, and I was ready to feast.

My hotel room had two double beds, so naturally I made one bed for eating and one for sleeping. I struggled trying to use chopsticks for a few minutes before I started stabbing the soft steamed dumplings. While I didn’t get a lot of pork belly flavor, the spicy chili oil was next level. The spice was just enough to leave a tingle, when eaten slowly. After inhaling my first few dumplings, I had to take a water break. There’s even a warning at The Dumpling Lady’s stall that a less-spicy chili oil is available for those who can’t brave the heat.

Along with my dumplings, I also got a side of the Sichuan Smashed Cucumbers. These cucumbers, drowning in chili oil are the same texture as a pickle. You get a little crunch with each bite, with that same dynamite spice from the chili oil.

Supporting Local Businesses in Charlotte

Saturday morning, I woke up at my usual disrespectful hour. Even on vacation, my body refuses to let me sleep past 8 a.m. I didn’t mind though because I had plenty to see and do. I got dressed for the 95-degree weather and took a walk to The Market at 7th Street.

I later learned on my food tour that The Market at 7th Street is a food hall and retail space for small-business vendors, who might not otherwise be able to afford to open up shop Uptown. Because it was so early, most of the vendors weren’t open. I grabbed an iced vanilla latte from Not Just Coffee, a recommendation from my friend (and a former Charlotte resident) Maggie, to fuel my adventures for the day.

Coffee in hand, I followed the Charlotte Rail Trail, a pedestrian pathway that follows along the LYNX Blue Line, to the Uptown Farmers Market. I love going to farmers markets when I travel to get a feel for the local community. I circled the space and saw a number of Black vendors and farmers, which I love to see. While I couldn’t buy any produce, I did get a quiche from Milk Glass Pie, a small-batch bakery, to have for breakfast.

I typically don’t like quiche because of how bready it is, but this roasted garlic and ricotta quiche had a perfect flaky, buttery crust. Dripping in sweat from the heat, I headed back to my hotel room to sit in the air conditioning. I decided to take my exploration mobile and drive around the city.

Charlotte’s Uptown is divided into four wards, and just outside of that area are diverse neighborhoods with no shortage of restaurants and shops. Each area offers something different, from the vibrant arts and entertainment district at NoDa to lush and historic Dilworth. I drove around for a few hours (acting like gas isn’t over $4/gallon) until I got hungry again. I pulled out my handy, dandy Google Maps app to see what nearby eatery I had saved.

The site of a former Ford factory and U.S. Army Quartermaster Depot is now home to Camp North End, another space for dining, shopping, art and events. The warehouses at Camp North End are filled with history that you can read about as you walk throughout the space. I barely scratched the surface of everything located within Camp North End’s 76 acres.

With so many food options to choose from, I was torn. Realizing how long it’s been since I last had tacos, I ordered from La Caseta. La Caseta dishes out Latin American cuisine. While the whole menu looked amazing, I kept things simple and ordered an Al Pastor and an Asada taco. Both the juicy pork and beef were seasoned perfectly and nestled between a folded handmade corn tortilla. The Taco de Asada was topped with an avocado salsa that I would put on literally anything.

At this point in the afternoon, the heat and humidity were trying to kill me and my curls. I got back in the car, boosted the air and decided I needed something to cool myself down. Before I even started planning my trip, I saw an Instagram post for a Charlotte-based frosé business. It was all I could think about when the temperatures reached close to 100 degrees.

Crown Town Frose has a brick and mortar in a shopping center on South Boulevard. I walked into the modest space and was immediately greeted by one of the owners. She let me sample the peach frosé which was reminiscent of champagne slushies, an Athens, Ohio favorite. I ended up going with the strawberry frosé since it is strawberry season. Between the refreshing flavors and 14% ABV, this frosé would definitely be a must-have for a pool party or any warm-weather day drinking.

Taste Carolina Food Tour

If you’re a foodie, I highly recommend booking a food tour during your travels. As much as I plan every meal, a food tour is a great way to sightsee and get a taste of the local flavor from multiple restaurants.

I read about Taste Carolina on the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority website. The company hosts different tours across the Tar Heel state. At the time, I thought I was just booking a standard dinner tour. Turns out, this tour used to be called the “spirit of Charlotte” (not to be confused with any ghost tours) because each stop on the tour features a cocktail.

I’ll break down every stop along the Uptown Evening Tour in a separate blog post. The tour covered two restaurants, a bar, and vendors at The Market at 7th Street across three of Uptown’s four wards. My tour guide Johnny was great about engaging with us on the tour and sharing local history and facts. I’ll definitely book the brunch tour next time I’m in town.

Farewell Charlotte

The next morning, I decided to walk and grab breakfast from a nearby diner. Redeye Diner is located in a space known as the Epicentre. It took me a minute to realize that I partied at the Epicentre last time I was in Charlotte. Unfortunately, this massive space was foreclosed on back in March and its current fate is up in the air. I digress. Whatever happens to the Epicentre, I hope the 24/7 Redeye Diner, along with the other shops and restaurants, are able to stay open. There’s something so comforting about diner food. I took my omelet, hash browns and corned beef hash to-go to enjoy in my eating bed before heading back to Virginia Beach.

Charlotte has the energy of a big city without being as overwhelming as Atlanta or D.C. This was the perfect weekend getaway for a solo adventure. You can certainly expect to see The Cravings Queen in the Queen City again soon.