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.