CLT Brunch: Terrace, Toast, & Cafe Monte

It's summer, and we're a young couple in our twenties in a large(ish) metropolitan city. Of course we love brunch.

We've eaten at Terrace Cafe, Toast Cafe, & Cafe Monte so here's the breakdown on these three Charlotte spots. We ranked each of the brunch spots on 1.) Atmosphere & Service 2.) Food and then averaged our scores together.

Atmosphere & Service:
Terrace: 8.5
Toast: 8.5
Cafe Monte: 8.5

Yes, we incidentally ranked these three spots the same for atmosphere, but you should know they are different vibes.

Terrace is a 'classier' spot with contemporary glasses, nice linen tables, and the South Park location has a gorgeous upstairs that overlooks the restaurant. This is more of a take your mom to mother's day brunch or honeymoon brunch. The waiters have been professional, but not overly friendly.

Toast Cafe has a casual & cute outdoors area where you can bring your dog, but they also have an inside area that's nice too (just not as upscale as Terrace). This is your more casual locale for girls' brunch or couple's brunch.

Cafe Monte is somewhere in between. It's French, and it is reminiscent of a bistro. Classy, but think more thematic in a way that isn't kitschy.

Food:
Terrace: 8
Toast: 8.5
Cafe Monte: 9.5

Don't let the 'lowest' ranking fool you. Terrace has some fantastic food. For instance, every time I go, I order the fried green tomatoes, and they are the best ever. Our friend AJ had amazing Southern biscuits & gravy. In terms of food we've ordered here, lemon waffles, s'mores waffles, omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, and steak and eggs have run the brunch spectrum. The meals themselves were consistently good and worthy of an 8, and decently priced for such a nice brunch setting in South Park or Ballantyne.

We've only gone to Toast once, but the meals we had were damn delish. Matt ordered the Avocado Omelette with avocado, tomato, bacon, and parmesan and for such a giant omelette, he nearly finished his entire plate. I ordered one of the best breakfast meals I've ever had (I know I keep saying 'the best I've ever had', but I speak the truth). This one was top 5 for sure--the Crab Benedict special--handmade crab cakes topped with poached eggs & hollandaise sauce. I never in my life thought of putting crab and eggs together, but this was the perfect combination. The huge $5 mimosa I had was an awesome deal too, compared to Terrace's $8 mimosa in a tiny glass.

Cafe Monte is crepe heaven. It is the priciest out of the three, but we used a page out of the coupon book to get a discount on our meal to make it 'worth' it. Even if we hadn't used the coupon, this still would have been worth every dollar. Matt had the Shrimp & Artichoke Crepes that had a cream sauce & spinach, and he thought it was an excellent dish. For me, hands down, this is the #1 brunch meal I've ever had: Lobster & Crab Crepes--a tomato cream sauce, with scallions, some of the best pastry crepe you've ever eaten, stuffed with fresh lobster & crab. Every penny of that $16.00. I will have dreams about that meal until I can eat it again. Both of us were so full when we finished and still wished we had more in front of us. So we may not have ordered more entrees, but we did get macarons and other desserts to go and didn't even wait to pull out of the parking lot before devouring.


Charlotte has a lot to offer, and brunch is a definite strength on the restaurant scene. Just remember--no mimosas (or any alcohol) before noon on Sundays!

Tiger World

Tiger World is not aptly named. It should be named something more like awesome carnivore rescue/place. I suppose that doesn't have as nice a ring to it as Tiger World, but I digress.

They offer a carnivore tour during the summer on Thursday evenings where they take you from cage to cage and talk about their animals as they chuck the animals' dinner over the fence. It. Was. Awesome.

As we walked through the gift shop the first thing we saw was this guy on the left laying in the window (the other side of the very thick glass but still pretty cool).

There are a lot of tigers here, but there are also wolves, wild dogs, lions, bears, baboons, bobcats, and a few other animals.

Oh, right, and there was a liger. He was the biggest cat at the conservation. Ligers apparently don't live very long, and it's not preferable to have lions and tigers mate. (I think they just didn't want us breeding them for their skills in magic.) They also suffer from a disease where they grow larger than they're organs can support. Really, ligers are tragic. Not magical.

They assured us that the fences were up to code, and that we were safe on the other side of these fences. It was still a little disconcerting as you heard a whole chicken's bones crunch as the animals devoured their meals.

You could judge this place and assume that cages meant they didn't take care of their animals because they don't have million dollar exhibits, but it couldn't be further from the truth. These keepers love their animals, have been trying to raise money and funding for years, and have slowly but surely been building better habitats for each of the animals. Most of the animals are rescues from zoos that have closed or people who thought they could really manage having a tiger as a pet and then really couldn't do it. One thing is for certain--there is no doubt in my mind that Tiger World is doing good by these animals.

This place makes a short, fun trip, but the best way to see this facility is to take this Carnivore Tour on Thursday nights and learn the backstory about the animals and watch them go nuts on some raw meat.

Riverbanks Zoo and Garden

For my birthday this year, my family gave me something that truly showed how well they know me.

They gave me a membership to the zoo.

If anyone knows me, they will know about my love for animals. When I lived in Philadelphia, we would visit the zoo atleast once a month, and I had a membership for every year that I was there. I was excited to try out the zoos near Charlotte (which unfortunately are not that close to home), and my birthday membership to Riverbanks allowed me to experience this.

My membership allows me to bring one guest with me for free every time I go so I, of course, brought Matthew along for another day of looking at animals. I saw on the Riverbanks website that you can do an animal adventure tour and choose from Galapagos tortoises (some of my favorites!), the grizzly bear, the elephants, the flamingos, and more. The amazing thing is that these encounters are only $27 for guests and $22 for members. Most zoos in the country charge atleast $100/person for these!

We chose the penguin encounter which was being offered that day, bought tickets on the website, and showed up at the zoo that morning excited to meet some little guys.

First thing to note--this zoo is not very big, but it is very interactive. There are birds to feed nectar, giraffes to feed lettuce, kangaroo habitats to WALK THROUGH, and bird shows to attend. We loved feeding the animals, watching the grizzly bears roll on their backs and play, and I even got to see a koala in person for the first time in my life.

The penguin experience was incredible. It's one hour long, but the first twenty minutes are spent on a behind the scenes tour of the food preparation area, which wasn't exciting but was informative. For the penguin part, you actually walk right behind the door that opens to the exhibit itself, and when the keeper opens the door, the penguins can waddle in and out as they please. Atleast five or six of them came in to greet us right away! We got incredible close-up pictures and were allowed to pet one especially friendly penguin named Scout and take pictures with him.

To wrap-up:

This is a really fantastic zoo, and while it is not the largest, it is one of the most educational and interactive.

Get a souvenir cup. They are large & you get $1.00 refills all day on it.

If you're driving all the way out from Charlotte, you should absolutely spend the $27 on one of the adventure tours.

Heist Brunch

When Holly Whittle and other sorority sisters of mine came into town to celebrate the Guffey/Barbee marriage, we knew it was the perfect opportunity to get together and do what all trendy people in their 20s like to do on Sunday mornings—go get brunch.

I had heard from friends that a new-ish brewery in NoDa—Heist—had an amazing brunch deal for $15 brunch buffet and $10 bottomless mimosas. That’s right. Unlimited champagne and orange juice heaven.

I knew there would be a wait so we decided to show up early to try to get space. I told everyone else to meet up at 12:00PM because in North Carolina you CAN’T SERVE ALCOHOL until noon on Sundays. 

Before noon is God’s time, and then it can be booze time the rest of the day.

It turns out for a table of 20 people, you’re going to have to wait over 2 hours. I noticed for others coming in with 2-6 people, it was taking anywhere between 30 minutes-1 hour so that’s not too bad.

But the wait was so worth it.

Our waiter had a mustache—typical NoDa.

The food—oh my gosh—the food. The whole back bar area is food buffets that include breakfast foods like eggs, sausage, and bacon, but also rum-soaked pineapple, flatbread breakfast pizza and more. The lunch stations had BBQ chicken legs, amazing mashed potatoes, & steak & veggie kebobs. Let’s not forget the oyster bar [which I heard was good but I couldn’t bring myself to try] and a waffle bar which was heaven on a plate.

And yes, as you can tell from our smiling and laughing faces, they kept those mimosas flowing for us the whole time. Six mimosas later, I definitely felt like I got way more than my $10 worth. Adrienne got the bloody mary, and ay caramba, my taste of it was delicious. I didn’t even know I liked bloody marys until I tried this one.

As a side note—I’ve also been here for late night drinks. Their beer cocktails are phenomenal [beer with liquor, liquer, or other mix-ins], and I’ve heard their late night small plates are even better, although we didn’t try them.

To round it out: I love the building, I love this brewery, and I love this brunch.

COWFISH

I'll start out by saying: Cowfish is an awesome restaurant. Danielle and I have eaten there prior to the birth of the CLT Passport, but because of its awesome food it has made it into our blog. For those of you who don't know, The Cowfish is a burger/sushi place. The establishment has a contemporary feel, but the half-cow-half-fish theme decorates all of the walls--including signs for the restroom.

Cam Newton is also quoted as saying this is his favorite restaurant in Charlotte.

So, what can you expect from your visit at Cowfish? Awesome food. We started out with their Crab Rangoon Dip which was by far my favorite part of the meal. It was a creamy parmesan and fresh crab meat dip served with wonton crisps and sweet chili sauce. If you are entertaining the idea of going, get this starter. Danielle and I agreed that this was one of the best dips we've ever had anywhere.

Cowfish is known for its Burgushi creations--burgushi being the mix between sushi & burgers. Think sushi with burger ingredients or vice versa. Danielle enjoyed the Taste Explosion Roll which is a burgushi roll that includes ground beef, bacon, jalapenos, and cream sauce topped with a roma tomato and pepper jack cheese.

I had the half pound Thundering Herd Bison Burger topped with white cheddar, guac, and a chipotle aioli. You may also notice that I opted out of the regular fries, and in to the sweet potato fries, which was the perfect choice. After eating the Crab Rangoon dip for the appetizer I did regret not just getting sushi to stay on the lighter side, but I did my best to finish the burger and most of the fries.

Tips:

Make a reservation or call ahead because even on a Tuesday evening you're looking at a minimum half-hour wait. Danielle and I were able to find seats at the bar for no wait so if you don't mind dining on barstools this is an option, too.

The reason for long waits is that the food is awesome; make sure you bring an appetite!

Pinky's

From the beginning of this experience, I've been looking forward to trying Pinky's. I loved The Penguin's fried pickles, and as one of the previous owners moved over to Pinky's, I was excited to try this well-known Charlotte restaurant. But to be honest, I was completely underwhelmed, and I don't know that I have a good reason for it. It really was just okay.

Let me try to explain. It's your typical Charlotte biker bar/restaurant, but it didn't have its own 'feel' that I was looking for in what I thought was going to be something different. The car on the top of the restaurant is a nice touch, but as far as decor and restaurant set-up goes, that's about where it stops. Everything else is packed in with an awkward restaurant layout.

I can't say the service wasn't good. We were seated promptly, and we were asked if we had questions about the menu. Again, just no extra touch.

The highlight of my Pinky's visit was the starters. The fried pickles and crab puppies (hush puppies made with crab meat) were the amazing appetizers that I was expecting. The White Trash burger on the other hand was just okay. The burger meat was fresh, but the bun was greasy without being satisfying, and the fried pickles and fried onions were just thrown on there. It didn't feel like the cohesive burger creation that I was expecting.

It may have just been the overcast day, or maybe Pinky's was just too hyped up for me, but I felt that it was good without being great, and it left me wanting more of an experience from something so widely talked about in Charlotte.

Cutting Image

My hair has always been a sore spot in my life.

It's curly without being ringlets, it's thin which means breakage and tangles, and when it's colored blonde, it always goes brassy.

When I looked on Yelp for a salon in the Charlotte area, I saw that Cutting Image was rated well and decided to give it a shot. When I called to set up my appointment, I was asked some preliminary questions and then asked which level of stylist I wanted. This salon does its pricing in three levels--Junior Stylist, Senior Stylist, and Master Stylist, and I felt comfortable going for the mid-level senior. I was assigned to Sarah for Thursday at 6:00PM.

When I showed up at the salon, I was immediately offered a drink and was asked if I'd like wine, beer, water, etc. I opted for water since I'm going for six-pack summer, but I love that they immediately wanted me to feel comfortable and welcome in their salon. I only waited about 2 or 3 minutes before Sarah was ready for me and went back to her chair for my consultation.

If I can be honest, this is not the nicest looking salon I've ever been in. The products looked good, but the decor is lacking and the chairs and shampoo stations are packed in tightly. It had less of a "spa" feel and more of a local cuttery.

But that really is my only "complaint" about this place. From the second I walked in the door to my consultation with Sarah, to seeing the finished product, I felt that this was one of the best salon experiences I've ever had. Let me rave about Sarah for a second.

Sarah is a stylist who has been living in North Carolina and working for Cutting Image Salon for years, but she's from New York and is 0% fake bull-shit. If she was concerned about a certain product, she mentioned it and then consulted with a master stylist, who kept checking in with me also to see how I was doing. Sarah was honest and invested in how I felt as a client and was less concerned with being a fake-friendly stylist just to get a better tip. She asked me multiple times throughout the appointment how I was doing after I mentioned that I have a sensitive scalp, and she took all precautions. She stayed late to finish my hair, which took longer so she could match the color perfectly, and she did an amazing job. She really blended my hair into a perfect light blonde and somehow made my roots match the rest of my hair. She really is the amazing stylist that everyone mentioned on Yelp so I was happy to give her a 30% tip.

Because I know pricing is important, I'll share that color is around $70, but mine was an extra $10 for needing a longer first session, and I opted for the $10 deep conditioning treatment. She did a blow-dry on my hair without an extra charge so my total came to $90. Not bad for a great experience and perfect color. You can also find the pricing on their website.

I know this was a really long review, but I highly recommend Cutting Image, and Sarah, to anyone looking for a new stylist who is willing to pay a little more to have an amazing experience and a great end-product.

Metrolina Expo

For thrift shop fans and garage-salers, Metrolina Expo Marketplace weekend is the Mecca of all that is junk and antique.

The girls and I met at my apartment at the crack of dawn on a Saturday (the equivalent of 9:30AM) to drive down in my mom’s van, prepared for a day of sifting and bargaining. We paid the adorable old lady the $5 admit fee at the door and started in the outdoor section, where right away I was berated by a lady selling electric candles. But we did find a few treasures. I found this guy to paint white:

And Michelle found this old English tea canister:

Basically, it’s one huge flea market. Bring your purell and be prepared for the stamina of looking through endless piles of junk for your treasure.

Around 12:00, I could not look at one more “antique” glass coke bottle or over-priced side table. It was time to eat lunch, and we found the highlight of my day—a taco truck that had FREE guacamole with your purchase. Free guac is hard to come by, and the street tacos with all the fixins’ did not disappoint for $6.

When we moved to the inside vendors, I needed some refreshment to give me my second wind. Glass bottles of soda, including Cheerwine, are $2.50 and the splurge was worth it. After running into an old friend from high school who was selling guns from World War II, we made our way through the rest of the buildings, where Emily found a hand-made terrarium.

So was it worth it? Well, you really could find the best treasure of your life. Or you really could just get annoyed with the rocks, the vendors, and the heaps of garage sale knick-knacks. I could see myself going back again in a few months—but probably not right away.

A few tips:

Make it a date day. This place has the potential to be really adorable if you and your boo like looking at all of the random trinkets, particularly because they also sell beer that you can walk around with, and you can bring your furry friend! Dogs are welcome, and the vendors and shoppers alike bring them to Metro Expo. It can get hot outside so be sure to bring water for yourself and your pet.

Bring cash. This place is pretty much cash only. Very few vendors accept credit cards or personal checks so bring cash—depending on what you’re looking for, I’d bring atleast $200. Metrolina Expo Marketplace weekend is the first weekend of every month and is located 10-15 minutes from Uptown.


Pictures by: Michelle Parker, Emily Hole, & Danielle DeVizia

Crowders Mountain State Park - Camping Near Charlotte

Growing up, I spent many weekends and summer weeks camping. More recently, I have had the pleasure of backpacking through different trails in Pennsylvania. This is something I wanted to continue when I arrived in Charlotte so I decided to recruit Danielle's brothers, David and Andrew, to become my new backpacking group in North Carolina.

I searched for the perfect place for a beginner backpacking experience and found Crowders Mountain. This is a great little spot for someone that wants to try backpacking. There is a short hike in (1 mile) before you arrive at the campsite so there are NO CARS. Hiking in gives you the basic idea of having to carry everything you need to camp.

The amenities at the campsite, however, make this a very artificial backpacking experience. Each campsite has a metal fire ring with a concrete base and a grill for cooking, there are 2 flat pads designated for setting up your tents, and a picnic table. The greatest amenity that this campground offers is free, already-cut firewood. Also, thanks to that hot NC sun, all of the wood and kindling was extremely dry and provided easily-built, quick-lighting fires.

There are a few trails around the mountain. We hiked the Pinnacle Trail to Kings Pinnacle. The trail was described as strenuous and was a little steep towards the end, but since it's only approximately 2 miles long and the top of the trail yields some amazing sights, it is totally worth the hike. From one side, as you can hazily see in the picture below, there is a distant view of the Charlotte skyline. The trail was a little crowed on Saturday, but everyone on the trail was ready to greet fellow hikers with a smile and hello.

Final word: If you're looking to do a day-hike only a short drive from Charlotte, or an intro to backpacking before hiking miles into the woods, Crowders Mountain is the perfect place.

Kickstand

Driving through the streets of Charlotte you find yourself dodging the usual obstacles when driving-- road work and crazy drivers -- but the thing that separates Charlotte from other cities is that you also have to be extremely careful of hitting runners and CYCLISTS. This entire city seems to be obsessed with fitness and cycling, and this restaurant embraces the obsession.

Kickstand is a bar/restaurant that is decorated with different bicycles in addition to the normal beer signs. The menu includes a large selection from local breweries, heavenly sweet potato tots, and a decent selection of gourmet burgers. The walls are covered in cycling decor and televisions with a guarantee to supply you with any sports entertainment you desire.

When the food came to the table, it looked and smelled so good that I could not wait to start digging in! The half eaten picture above is a result of not waiting for after the picture. The sweet potato tots dipped in the Maple Brown Sugar syrup are an absolute must. I ordered their Cross-Country burger which is basted with a citrus bbq sauce and topped with guacamole, pepper jack, and a jalapeño cilantro spread. I would definitely recommend this burger.

Danielle enjoyed a burger called the Booty Burger. This charitable burger is the kind that gives back to society in more ways than just being delicious. $1 from every booty burger sold supports the 24 Hour of Booty charities. 24 hours of booty is a 24 hour charity cycling event where participants raise money to fight cancer by cycling the booty loop as many laps as they can. The charity collaborated with Kickstand to make this turkey burger topped with pimento cheese, fresh avocado and a mild jalapeño cilantro spread.

Final word: If you're looking for the perfect place to enjoy a gourmet burger with a local brew and your favorite team on the TV, Kickstand is the place you're looking for.

Price's Chicken Coop

It was the first place we tried out of our CLT passport together to sample some local cuisine, but honestly, walking into Price's felt like home in Philadelphia. The food, on the other hand, was Southern perfection.

This family-owned home-style cooking is located in South End/Dilworth near Uptown Charlotte. It's a mom-and-pop owned establishment, owned by the Price family, and it always has a line--a cluttered mess of people inside and a line out the door.

But there's good reason for that. This is the best fried chicken I have ever had. It's juicy and seasoned all the way through. And the food doesn't stop with the chicken. You're going to get the best sides, the best hush puppies, and the best biscuits you've tasted in Charlotte. Get you some sweet potato pie for dessert too.

The rushed feel and small, family-owned atmosphere of Price's reminds me of the wonderful small, local businesses that are so essential to the Philadelphia economy. The food, on the other hand, was Southern goodness, and I would recommend this local eatery a thousand times to anyone looking for some goooood ol' fried chicken.

A few tips:

Know what you want. Much like a Steve's cheesesteak, you need to know what you want before you get to the counter, and you need to say it quickly. There are people waiting in line behind you and all around you, and there are hundreds of chickens to fry so even that Southern hospitality has its limits. Order and move aside.

Cash only. Price's is so reasonably...priced...that you won't need to stop for cash before heading over. You probably already have the money on you.

No seating. Your meal is going to come in the Price's traditional cardboard to-go box, and unless you want to eat on top of some yard sale junk from the store next to it, you're better off getting in the car and finding a place to eat. We chose a park bench at Freedom Park right by the water, which was less than 10 minutes away from Price's.

Fries are tater tots. It's not a mistake, and they're so good you won't care.

Enjoy!

I Didn't Know JACK.

When we decided to move to Charlotte together a few months ago, I was so excited for the opportunity to share my city with Matt. I realized, though, that I didn't feel like I had much to share. I didn't have a favorite place to eat, a favorite bar to drink, and a favorite hang-out on a Saturday afternoon in perfect 75 degree weather.

I did grow up in Charlotte, but I could hear the speedway in Concord in my backyard and suburban life and schooling kept me interested in hang-outs at Applebees and sleepovers at friends' houses. It was a treat to head out to Ballantyne and go to Carolina Place Mall or maybe catch a movie at Regal in Stonecrest.

I went to Wingate for college, where Tokyo Bistro and Hilltop Bar were our nights out, and then I graduated, turned 21, and moved to Philadelphia for the next four years of my life. I was one of the first to say that Charlotte was a boring city with no history to offer, no gourmet food, and no fun to be had.

Basically, I didn't know JACK about Charlotte.

When I told people at home that we were relocating back to Charlotte in May, I got an overwhelming amount of recommendations--try Cabo Fish Taco, get drinks at Dog Bar [even if you don't have a dog], spend a day at the White Water Center, shop the first weekend of Metrolina Expo, and countless other recommendations. We started to write them down, and the CLT Passport was born.

We created a book for these recommendations, which includes the type of food, what to order, the pricing, and we plan on expanding to activities and bars as well. From there, a blog and an instagram account were born. If I used to think that Charlotte was just a 'nice' city with nothing to do, maybe other people still feel the same. Hopefully, this blog will go to show that Charlotte has so much to offer.

On the right side of the blog, feel free to take our poll to help us choose the next restaurant we try, sign up for email to get alerts when we post a blog, and look at all posts if you're interested in trying a place and want to see what we had to say about it. We hope you'll be interactive and give feedback as we embark on our journey to see all that Charlotte has to offer.