Charlotte, NC

I haven't done one of these in a few weeks...so I'm back with one of my favorites. Charlotte is known as the Queen City and it is a lovely lady! From NASCAR to High Finance this town does business well and there's plenty of play as well. It is the 19th largest city in the country and largest in the state in both population and influence.


TO DO--If you're a NASCAR fan, there is no better place than the Charlotte area with Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord and many surrounding race shops of the various teams, as well as the nearly complete NASCAR museum and Hall of Fame. Charlotte is a very metropolitan and diverse city with plenty of shopping from the trendy shops and high fashion of SouthPark to the enormous Concord Mills with Bass Pro Shop near the Speedway. Discovery Place downtown is fun with kids under 10. The Charotte Bobcats of the NBA and Carolina Panthers of the NFL offer good pro sports options beyond the race cars, and there are even a couple minor league baseball teams in the area. Carowinds amusement park is just south of charlotte and if you are interested in American Christian History (I may have just made that up!) this is home to the former PTL, Inspiration Network, and also the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assoc....interesting stuff. If you're looking for nightlife, it's all in the city center/uptown area and it's pretty good, I'd start with BAR Charlotte and go from there.

TO EAT--For such a large and diverse city, the food is fairly un-inventive, but there are some good options. They do have all the major chains from Ruth's Chris and Morton's to McCormick and Schmick's and the Oceanaire. As you know, I'm looking for things I can't get anywhere else so I would go with Zink, Noble's, Blue, and Fig Tree are all very good and worth a trip. My favorite dish in the city is the Tchoupitoulas Chicken at Manzetti's Tavern in Southpark, I challenge anyone to offer me a better dish with chicken at the base, it is AMAZING. If you want to try some authentic Eastern NC BBQ, the best in town is at Bill Spoon's.

TO STAY--There is no shortage of nice hotels in the Uptown/Downtown/Center City of Charlotte. There is a very nice new Westin, a large Hilton, and a great smaller hotel...The Dunhill. If you want to be south, I'd recommend the Ballantyne Resort with great golf on sight. If you want to be on the north side, the place I stay most often when in the area, my favorite choice is the Embassy Suites in Concord which is less than two years old and has views of Concord Mills, Lowe's Motor Speedway, and a nice golf course! If you're looking for a romantic getaway, try the Morehead Inn or the Duke Mansion.

So there is where to start as you discover a great southern city. Of course you'll find places I have yet to discover...but isn't that half the fun!