What is Charlotte Cuisine?
We asked five food-and-drink veterans how our palates have evolved from old guard to New Southern—and challenged them to create their versions of a Charlotte dish
Is Charlotte cuisine a scene yet?
By the sheer number of restaurants opening, you’d think we’d have reached some kind of pinnacle by now. But to be a scene, you must be able to define what your scene is. Are we more than the sum of our charcuterie trays and chili cheeseburgers, our brunch tacos and craft beers?
To understand where we are, we need to consider where we started. We went to five longtime culinarians who’ve seen this city change and understand what it’s become, and asked them:
What is Charlotte cuisine?
The Native: Ashley Bivens Boyd
Chef and Co-owner of 300 East
She made her name as the city’s premier pastry chef before she took over the East Boulevard restaurant that her mother, Catherine Coulter, opened in 1986.
What was Charlotte cuisine when you were growing up?
“It was limited, you know? I do remember having some good meals when I started getting into the college years. Before that, I remember chains and pub food, deli food, pizza. And red-sauce Italian.”
What’s shaping Charlotte food today?
“There is no Charlotte-defining cuisine. So it’s an open possibility. Even native Charlotteans are very curious. They want to shape what defines Charlotte as far as the food culture. We’ve got eastern Carolina on one side and the mountains on the other, and those have their regional dishes. And Charlotte is this connecting point.”
What is Charlotte cuisine now?
“It’s all over the place, in a good way. We haven’t been food-focused for as long as many cities, so there’s still a lot of ground to be covered and a ways to go to get to being a culinary destination.” The best thing she sees is Charlotte embracing the farm culture that surrounds us: “We have access to everything.”
Her dish: Pan-seared steak salad with herb roasted fingerlings, mushrooms, bacon, cherry tomatoes, and green onion-goat cheese-horseradish dressing (See the recipes.)
The Deep Thinker: Marc Jacksina
Executive Chef at Little Mama’s
After coming to Charlotte in 2002, Jacksina garnered attention for his playful bistro, Lulu on Central Avenue, then moved on to Halcyon and Earl’s Grocery. He and photographer Peter Taylor also chronicle the chef-and-farmer world with their documentary series, order/fire.
What was Charlotte cuisine when you got here?
“Sparse. There was no interconnectivity whatsoever. The only thing I saw—and I still hold it to be true—Charlotte will never have its own cuisine because the only thing that ties us together is the agriculture. Asheville, Charleston—they have a food scene, they have a style.”
What happened along the way that’s shaping us today?
“I really think it was the line cooks around 2010 (after the economic crash). … That’s when Charlotte food got personal. It’s all Southern-influenced.” He credits Joe Kindred of Davidson for being one of the first to understand what Southern food could be. “At Halcyon, we were trying to force the issue of ‘Southern food.’ Do Southern because it’s hot. Joe did what Charlotte does best—we’re constantly evolving, but (chefs) don’t change Charlotte; they get swallowed up. With Joe, it didn’t feel forced.”
What is Charlotte cuisine now?
“I think Charlotte food is like the Charlotte skyline—it’s always evolving. We’re not low country; we’re not Appalachian. But the local agriculture with the Southern influence, that’s it more than anything.”
His dish: Fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese
The Chef’s Chef: Michael Bowling
Owner of Hot Box Food Group and General Manager of Carolina Farm Trust
Bowling came here from Washington, D.C., in 2010 and worked at numerous restaurants as a chef and general manager before he co-founded the Soul Food Sessions dinner series, which showcases Black culinary talent. He recently closed his small restaurant, Hot Box Next Level Kitchen, to manage the upcoming Carolina Farm Trust Market and Distribution Center.
What was Charlotte cuisine when you got here?
“It was Ruth’s Chris. It was strictly steak and potatoes. There wasn’t a lot of food innovation. It was a banking city, still. When bankers came out of the towers, they went to the steakhouses.”
What’s changed along the way?
“Diversity. When I got here, there was no diversity. And it started to change slowly. Then Greg (Collier) came around, and it started to change fast. It’s a great change that’s happening. We’ve got guys like Oscar (Johnson) and Daryl (Cooper) at Jimmy Pearl’s, who are doing amazing food. The names are plentiful now, not just in food but also in beverage.”
What’s Charlotte cuisine now?
“In flux. I think that’s a great way to say it. We’re still growing up. Even some of the best restaurants in the city are doing fried chicken. We’ve gone from steak and potatoes to New Southern cuisine. I want to say we’re still a burger town. That’s where we are, but not where we’re going to end up. I think we’re going to end up one of the food cities of the South, between Charleston and Asheville. We’re five to seven years away from being ‘young adults.’ The old guard, for the most part, still runs the town.”
His dish: Fried fish and grits
The OG: Heidi Billotto
Freelance Food and Travel Writer
She came to Charlotte in 1975 to go to Queens College and opened a kitchen store and cooking school, The Charlotte Russe, in 1982. Today, she’s a food and travel writer who contracts with the N.C. Department of Agriculture to support chef events and the NCRLA to run the NCRLA Chef Showdown.
What was Charlotte cuisine in 1975?
“You could not get a pizza delivered. There was no liquor by the drink. And the big draw was (Southern-style) meat-and-threes. Lots of family-owned restaurants.”
What’s driving outsider interest in Charlotte?
The tightness of the chef community is making Charlotte stand out, she says. “That’s the draw—it’s a chef-driven place. When people come from out of town, they’re looking for Chris Coleman and Tim Groody and Ashley (Bivens Boyd). It’s not, ‘Where can I get the best barbecue?’ anymore. It’s about the people.”
What is Charlotte cuisine now?
“It’s about the people. It’s the chefs. Charlotte is a chef-driven city, and it’s a farmer-driven city. And that’s what sets Charlotte apart. That’s what people see and talk about.”
Her dish: Carrot and ginger soup with broth made from local produce
The Mixer: Stefan Huebner
Mixologist and Co-owner of Dot Dot Dot
Before he became one of the city’s best bartenders, Huebner was a chef and even considered becoming a butcher. After spending time in Chicago, upstate New York, and Germany, he moved to Charlotte in 1996 and led the kitchen at H. Dundee’s Steakhouse.
What was Charlotte drinking in 1996?
“Bud Lights and Jägermeister, Coronas for $1. If you went out and ordered a cocktail, you wouldn’t want the cherries they were using. Vermouth wasn’t refrigerated, and it might have flies in it. That was the height of the big, buttery chardonnay. That’s what people were really drinking.”
What’s changed along the way?
“We’re still kind of a toddler. If you go by liquor by the drink (passed in 1978), we’re not even 50 years old as a drinking culture yet. We don’t have that relationship where I go to the bar where my dad went. It’s all about being shiny and new—what does your drink look like on Instagram?”
What is Charlotte’s drinking culture now?
“We have thousands of people who come in looking for something more refined and culinary-driven. (Bartenders) have the same kind of relationship that chefs have with farmers. What’s cool is every bar has its identity. Everybody is using quality ingredients. You still have that kind of feel, with everybody finding their own identity. We are a city of transplants—New York, LA, Denver, Miami. That’s shaping cocktail culture here.”
His drink: Two riffs on the old fashioned
