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.