Jul 25 – Aug 1, 2006

Jul 25 - Aug 1, 2006 / Vol. 20 / No. 21

Best Place Still Open After 2AM

Actually, it’s open 24 hours, so it doesn’t matter how close to 2am you get there. Since 1960, owner Jimmy Kakavitsas has been welcoming Charlotte’s late-night crowd with diner-style favorites and breakfast anytime. Really, what could be better than chasing those last-call Red Bull Shooters with some liver mush and eggs? (Although we recommend the…

Best Hardware Store

Lowe’s barely lost in this category last year (a vote behind the eventual winner), so it’s only fitting that it takes the top honor this time around. The tagline is: “Improving Home Improvement,” and they sure are. Forget the bare-bones “warehouse” feel, with stacks of boxes and pallets in the aisles. Lowe’s knows that members…

Best Southern Country/Soul Restaurant

We have gracious plenty contenders in this category, but James and Renee Bazelle’s spot always steals our hearts for their good food at low prices right in the center of downtown.

Best French Fries

OK, it’s a chain, but these potatoes, with their Idaho birth place announced at the fry line, are hand cut, fried in peanut oil, and served two ways: regular or with Cajun spice. The surrounding brown paper bag is dotted with hot grease. These fries, the outer ones (with skin), are cooked to perfection.

Local Issue You’re Sick Of

Just because they’re from McCleansville or Rochingsham or Fartbutt, NC, doesn’t mean we care. North Carolina’s Idols might have other similarities with us (two eyes, own leaf blowers, harbor strong hatred of reality TV), but that doesn’t make something front-page news. Too bad every day can’t yield a major terrorist attack or Panthers playoff game…

View From The Couch

ASYLUM (1972) / AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS! (1973) / THE BEAST MUST DIE (1974). Beginning in the late 1950s and winding down in the mid-1970s, Hammer Films cornered the market on color-drenched horror flicks featuring blood, bosoms and sturdy genre players like Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Yet the outfit wasn’t the only one…

Matt Brunson

Best Beer Selection

Germany, Holland, Mexico, the Czech Republic — no, we’re not talking World Cup soccer, we’re talking beer at the Mellow Mushroom’s three Charlotte locations. After a brief hiatus, the ‘Shroom zooms back to the top of the Best list, thanks to a huge assortment of ales, porters, stouts, “high gravity” beers and bocks. Detailed descriptions…

Best Gourmet/Specialty Food Store

Not only is owner Tommy George one of the nicest guys in town but he owns an outstanding shop filled with homemade pastas, freshly made mozzarella, Italian wines, breads, groceries and an addictive artichoke gorgonzola spread. What we love the most about P&P, though, is the old-fashioned screen door, which evokes a small-town grocery store…

Best Fried Chicken

Price’s is the annual winner of this award (is there enough room on the wall for all the certificates?) and has also been cited as a great spot for cardiologists to scout for patients. The chicken dinners (seafood and barbecue, too) are packaged in cardboard boxes that are almost as famous as their contents. Price’s…

Dressing for Dogma

Once you’ve picked your dogma, what will you wear? I think some of the nun clothes and Islamic bathing suits are kinda sexy, and I used to be hot for Hasidim. See what happens when you forbid something?  The Khalsa www.sikhs.org/khalsa.htm Milanese Ecclesiastical www.bianchetti.it Buddhist Nuns www2.hawaii.edu/~tsomo/robes.html Islamic Swimwear www.hasema.com/en C.R. Jew www.nationallampoon.com/MoDstyles/wwwaste/crjew/crjew.asp

Little Shiva

Best Health Food Store

Yes, Earth Fare’s a chain, but it’s kinda local, since it originated in Asheville. We especially go for its raw milk cheeses and flours. It also has a good organic wine and beer selection. The Home Economist (three locations) is headquartered in Charlotte and offers the amazing Amish Select chicken, which is free range and…

Best Hamburger

Native Charlotteans use this spot to meet and chow down on these old-timey burgers topped with onions, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

Savoring The Subtext

Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis may well continue to make movies deep into the 2020s or even 2030s, but for many moviegoers (myself included), they will always be first and foremost remembered for their 1980s output. The ’80s may be disparaged in some quarters for giving us eight Friday the 13th installments and the notion…

Matt Brunson

Best Art Gallery

Or, more precisely, the three floors of the McColl Center for Visual Art. Never a dull moment at this place: AfroCubans, environmentalists, zombies, messengers from the Apocalypse, pantheists, abstractionists and a mess of damn good painters. This is the one place sporting the visual arts in Charlotte where you can go to feel welcomed, wary,…

Old Hickory House

A repeat winner. The Carter family, and ‘cue lovers across the state, suffered a loss this year with the death of patriarch Gene Carter, but the clan continues its operation with a grandfathered pit — one of the last left in this part of the state. You can enjoy real Southern barbecue near the pit…

Cheap Thrills

HAPPY RE-BIRTHDAY It’s been thirty years since the Hezekiah Alexander Homesite was given a little help for aesthetics’ sake. In honor of this magnanimous occasion, a Museum By Moonlight event with costumed docents, a birthday cake and a cash bar is scheduled for Thursday, July 27, from 5-9pm. Guests will also be led on a…

Branna Calloway

Best Art Exhibit

This show provided Charlotte with a not-ready-for-prime-time view of man’s inhumanity to man, from Kosovo to Iraq. From laser guided bombs to children’s collateral damaged corpses, we were given a tour of death and destruction around the world. War is seen through photographs, installations and illustrations of terrorized Hutu refugees, Baghdad “safety” routes‚ and armor-piercing…

Best New Store (Opened in the Last 12 Months)

Finally! For years, we’ve had to get our NoFo “fix” at Raleigh’s NoFo at the Pig. Featuring a café, food market and gift shop, NoFo on Liz is the kind of place where you can (and should) linger for hours … let’s see, first have lunch (grilled Thai chicken wrap!), then nibble on chocolates while…

Best Coffeehouse

First of all, it’s in a great location, nestled toward the quiet end of East Boulevard, which means you don’t have to fight for parking. This Caribou is spacious and cozy at the same time, with patio seating overlooking East. Great for people-watching and plain ol’ daydreaming. It’s a less pretentious atmosphere than some other…

Best Ice Cream

You can have your cake and lick it, too, with their house-made tiramisu and cheesecake gelato. Or get the affogato — two scoops of gelato in espresso topped with whipped cream.

Best Radio Station

This hot AC station from Wilkesboro gets the props for mixing it up. Take the Cure, Jack Johnson, O.M.D., Green Day, Aerosmith and Eagle Eye Cherry. Now play them in the same hour. That’s a decent mix, and no Charlotte Top 40 station mixes it up that much. You can catch the signal pretty much…

Remembering Stuart

You know Stuart Grasberg’s voice. For years, Stuart, a senior producer and director at WTVI, did most of the voice-over announcements for the station. His smooth tones were neither too deep nor too “boomy” — it was a voice you would trust. What you might not know is that as an award-winning documentary filmmaker, Stuart…

Ann Wicker

Best Curator

Every city deserves a secular conscience in the arts. Independent curator June Lambla assembles shows that address social issues from fresh, unexpected and eccentric perspectives. Her collaborative assemblies engage without preaching, and instruct without scolding. Two shows at the McColl Center — Contemporary Landscapes … Crossing Boundaries and Stereotypes: Confronting Clichés — made environmental concerns…

Best Clothing Store

A repeat winner from years gone by (and a runner-up last year), Value Village again takes the top spot. This thrift shop is the be-all, end-all of thrift shopping, where you can find name-brand items — from household necessities, to furniture, to clothing — for a fraction of the original price.

Best Takeout

Thai cuisine relies on the eye and palate of the cook rather than a step-by-step recipe, and Chef Tony Kwok has a first-rate palate. Those who loved Phim and Tony at their now-closed restaurant The King and I rejoiced when the couple opened a takeout-only Thai shop in Dilworth this year. Their fragrant Gaeng Panang…

Best Wings

Taking wings to a level beyond the hot and spicy Buffalo variety.

Best Radio Personality

OK, so we admit to being a little biased here simply because for anyone who has spent as many years plugging and supporting local music in this town the way this fine fella has, well, we feel almost obligated to take full advantage of any circumstance in which we can give him a much deserved…

In the Space Age

This ain’t your elder rock-snob brother’s Esquivel; it’s 21st century space rock that will take your midsummer chill-out mode stratospheric: the longest meow (Bloodshot), recorded in a marathon session during the spring, shows Nashville singer-songwriter Bobby Bare Jr. at the top of his game. Ensconced amongst the elite of true Americana artists, at least since…

Kandia Crazy Horse

Best Theatre Company

Blowing the competition away, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte reached new heights from the moment it nestled into its new ImaginOn facility on 7th Street. Upstairs at the 570-seat McColl Family Theatre, it dazzled with the fantastic spectacle of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the inspired staging of The Shakespeare Stealer. Downstairs in…

Best Concert Venue

The grand, oversized beams holding up the roof may seem a tad hokey in the Queen City. But ya know, so what? It’s what’s inside the venue that matters. Halton Theater on the Central campus of CPCC is a perfect midsize venue. It’s a tad bigger than Spirit Square, the seating layout is just right…

Best Hair Salon

For two years in a row, Bang Bang rockets into first place, thanks to a funky interior, fun furnishings and, more importantly, stylists who truly listen when you tell them what you want. And if what you want is to get rid of some hair, you can do that, too: Eyebrow and bikini waxes are…

Best Sidewalk Stand

The people who work in the BOA operations center in the Gateway (as well as Johnson & Wales University faculty, staff and students) love Roger. He’s known for his witty repartee as well as the chili on his dogs. Roger’s cart, near the Gold Rusher turnaround in front of the DoubleTree Hotel .

Best Sandwich

It’s hard to select other lunch items at Lulu when this sandwich is still on the menu. This superb item comes on a crusty baguette slathered with creamy goat cheese and filled with spicy lamb sausage and sweet pepperonata.

Best Drive-Time Radio Show

There comes a point — it’s called adulthood — when you realize you need a more nutritious breakfast than Pop-Tarts. Around the same time, you similarly find yourself aching for something beyond the typical morning radio sidekick shows. Thank heavens for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, which provides the latest news updates each half-hour (with…

The Sound Of Summer

If concerts are the essence of summertime, then Verizon Wireless Amphitheater is completely essential. Or is it? Just last week Verizon housed the Black Crowes, Chicago, Journey, Mary J. Blige and 3 Doors Down. Although the random line-up adhered to diverse musical tastes, it didn’t seem to translate into ticket sales. Last week the Neighborhood…

A Buyer’s Market

Anna Lefoy, 28, thought it would be easy. She would just call up a real estate agent, and after a couple months of looking, she’d buy a house near downtown. Not a 600-square-foot condo like all her friends were buying, but a real house with a yard, shiny hardwoods and those big, chunky baseboards they…

Local Hero

“In my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of [the] leadership in Washington. And I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and grace to be ashamed of yourself.” Those are classic words from Harry Taylor, a Charlotte commercial real estate broker who in a rare unscripted Bush moment civilly…

Best Local Comedians

When you think comedian, the first image that comes to mind is stand-up. But Charlotte’s two best comedians are masters of both the improv and sketch comedy scenes. Nikki Frank and Rodney Guillory have been cracking up audiences for the past few years with their sharp wit and impeccable comedic timing. It’s just a matter…

Best Music Event of Past 12 Months

When it looked like U2 was going to be the first rock band to play at our swanky new downtown arena, we thought, OK, that’s pretty cool. But when it was later announced that the friggin’ Rolling Stones, the granddaddy of rock bands (except to you Beatles fans, of course), would be the ones to…

Best Tattoo Parlor

Many tattoo parlors in the city operate with a too-cool-for-school attitude. Some even make fun of their clientele while they tattoo them. The new kid on the block has a more welcoming approach. And that doesn’t mean you’ll lose anything with quality. For less money than you’d pay to certain self-promoting tattoo artists, William Wolf…

Best Pizza

A repeat winner. Luisa set the bar high when she introduced her brick oven baked Italian pizza 15 years ago. It’s still hard to beat.

Best Bakery

This Italian bakery offers many treats, including sfogliatelle, Italian cookies (including apricot shortbread), Italian cheesecakes, tiramisu, a two-layer almond butter cream cake, and the Duomo, a dome-shaped caked filled with strawberry, chocolate, amaretto or peanut butter mousse. Mama Mia — I mean Nona (grandmother) Mia.

Best TV Newcast

It’s been a little over a year since longtime anchor Bill Walker retired, but since his departure, WSOC has managed to more than maintain traction: Pound for pound, it’s the place to go to get your evening fix of what’s happening around Charlotte and the Carolinas.

The rise of Butch Walker

Butch Walker’s third solo album, The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker & the Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites, was recorded in two weeks. As one of the busiest producers in rock, he doesn’t have much time to play his own music. Over the past several months, he’s been in the studio with Avril Lavigne, Hot Hot Heat, the…

Mosi Reeves

Best Local Charity

Charlotte has so many good charities (Urban Ministry Center, the Shelter for Battered Women, etc.) that this was a hard winner to choose. But we ended up going with Crisis Assistance Ministry, whose volunteers and paid staff do the Lord’s work on a daily basis. Simply put, they keep the babies fed, the old people…

Best Film Series

The Main Library’s annual summer film series has taken this honor several times in the past, but perhaps never more deservedly than this time. That’s because a change in viewing venue (from the library to ImaginOn) has taken this venerable series to a new level. Plus, who can resist a schedule of great musicals ranging…

Best Club for Music

Whether hosting an intimate acoustic gig or full-blown rawk show, the versatility of midtown’s Visulite Theatre makes it a favorite with many bands and fans. The bills offer an eclectic mix of national and local acts, and the multi-tiered room has a little bit of everything — a dance floor/mosh pit, plenty of seating and…

Best Piercing Parlor

Besides having perhaps the coolest storefront in Plaza-Midwood, Corinna and Co. also boast the largest selection of body jewelry in North Carolina. Perhaps the most immaculate piercing studio on the East Coast, the staff are also trained in CPR, first aid, and blood borne pathogens, and follow OSHA regulations to the T while also training…

Best Deli

Common only in name (‘cuz it’s on Commonwealth Avenue), this place defines the very concept of a neighborhood market. Grab a beer, hang out for a bit, check out the community bulletin board — and then leave happy, with a gourmet sandwich or two from the deli. With so many sandwich and soup choices from…

Best TV Anchor

In the competitive rat race that is TV news, Mercer emerges as the swan: graceful, poised, confident and intelligent. And she doesn’t stutter. She’s a weekend anchor now, but we’re rooting for her to land an 11pm weekday slot. Call Channel 14 and petition.

Charlie Whitehead

There’s a reason why pop’s one-hit wonders and coulda-been contenders don’t inspire the same level of fervor as their soul equivalents. It’s in the very nature of the term “soul,” which prompts emotionally weighted terms: “passionate,” “gritty,” “authentic,” etc. (Try applying those to have-a-nice-day pop merchants like Gilbert O’Sullivan or Edison Lighthouse.) Virginia’s Charlie Whitehead…

Fred Mills

Best Member of Local Government

Smart and helpful, first-term county commissioner Jennifer Roberts gets things done and doesn’t pander to the prejudices of the local “ignorati.” Those points alone separate her from most of the other area politicos.

Best Video/DVD Rental Selection

A repeat winner, again and again. A movie lover’s paradise (and still a secret to the masses, as evidenced by Blockbuster’s umpteenth win in this category over on the Readers’ side), this heaven-sent haven stocks close to 30,000 DVD and video titles, everything ranging from film noir to Japanese cinema to offbeat and experimental flicks…

Best Club for Dancing

The closest thing Charlotte has to a true NYC-style dance club is also the best thing Charlotte has in terms of dancing. With four different bar areas and two massive dance floors, it’s the spot for gays, straights and gender benders to shake it like a Polaroid picture every Sunday night (the dance night) to…

Best Health Club

With 40,000 square feet, this YMCA branch is larger than some big-box retail stores, but with much more happening. Yeah, it has all the usual cardio equipment, but you’ll also find special programs such as QuickFit and Buddy-Up to make fitness fun. (We love love love the “retro games” day idea — dodgeball, here we…

Best Asian

At long last, an upscale Indian restaurant in Charlotte. Copper is 100 percent Indian in a modern way. Restaurateur Pannu Singh offers a three-tiered menu: “Traditional,” “Modern” and “For the Gourmands.” Along with this unique menu comes a well chosen wine list, with the wine served in Reidel glasses. Impressive.

Best TV Meteorologist

A repeat winner. Forget the perfect hair, forget his history as the Ty-D-Bowl man. What our critics remember, and like best, about Sprinkle — yes, it’s his real name — is his laid-back approach to the weather. It doesn’t need to be incredibly complicated, it doesn’t have to resonate with whiz-bang technology … just give…

Food for the Spirit

Grits may be the biggest hip-hop group you’ve never heard of. The Nashville duo moved more than 100,000 copies of its most popular album, 2002’s The Art of Translation, and landed songs in films like Big Momma’s House 2 (“Ooh Aah”), Something’s Gotta Give (“Here We Go”) and The Perfect Man (“Make Room”). “We’re cats…

Mosi Reeves

Bigots of the Year

Myrick practically salivates every time she hears of an illegal immigrant doing anything wrong — all the better to propose another repressive law. And McCrory, acting contrary to established policies nearly everywhere else, wants Charlotte police to determine whether immigrants who are crime victims are here illegally. Way to make the crime rate go up,…

Best Independent Bookstore

Years ago, there was a scare when the former owner advertised that he was selling the business because he couldn’t compete with mega-giant-big-box booksellers such as the Media Play retailer that lurked around the corner. Oh, the irony — and the beauty — that, as of a few months ago, Media Play is no longer…

Best Place for a First Date

Let’s face it: You can learn only so much during a date of dinner and drinks. To determine the key factors of a relationship — like, does your date know how to manipulate a cue ball with proper English? — you need to hang out someplace real, like EB’s. The atmosphere is laid-back, and the…

Best Audio/Video Store

One of our critics purchased a $30 DVD player here after Christmas, and sure felt like it was a “best buy.” And that’s a far cry from the whole-room home theater systems that you can get here; who knew there was such as thing as a “digital sound projector”? Well, the folks at Best Buy,…

Best European

Some go for the beer and camaraderie, but CIA-trained chef-owner Thomas Meier makes outstanding German food, including his schweine lendchen mit jägersosse. The apple strudel’s not too shabby, either.

Best TV Sports Anchor

Like Larry Sprinkle, Little posts his second consecutive victory in this category. With his baby face and nice-guy delivery, Little, WBTV’s sports director, hardly seems old enough to have been with the station since 1989 (anyone remember when Paul Cameron was the sports anchor?), yet his on-target reporting reveals his experience and street cred. On…

Sex on the Beach

Check for yourself. The next time you’re walking along the shore, discreetly note how many people you see reading books. I bet you’ll see a lot more women than men lost in a book while basking in the sun. That simple test goes a long way toward confirming something that book lovers have long accepted…

I Let my Mind Wander

I let my mind wander, and what did it do? It just kept right on going, Until it got back to you. − Willie Nelson, “I Let My Mind Wander,” (ca. 1960) On his new release, You Don’t Know Me: The Songs Of Cindy Walker (Lost Highway), Willie Nelson starts out with “Bubbles In My…

Don Allred

Biggest Waste of Tax Money

The brand new, much heralded, $40 million Charlotte trolley — which the city initially said would cost less than $20 million to build — ran for less than two years before the city tore up major parts of the line to make way for light rail. Since the new South Boulevard light rail line and…

Best Chain Bookstore

Open for just a little more than a year, the Charlotte location of this five-store chain has written a new chapter in retailing, hosting four book clubs, offering seemingly nonstop author events and kids’ story times … even promoting local musicians during June’s “Music & Movie Celebration.” And — hello! — who wouldn’t love Brontë,…

Best Pool Hall

A little bit dark, a little bit smoky (OK, maybe more than a little), and quite a lot of billiards makes EB’s a repeat winner. It ain’t fancy — just 8-ball, 9-ball and serious dart-throwing — and that suits us perfectly. This Central Avenue hangout stands the test of time. A true neighborhood treasure.

Best Computer Store

Have you seen the Apple commercials with the two guys — the Windows user wearing glasses and an ill-fitting suit, and the Mac user in jeans and a zip-up hoodie? They start talking about the wacky crazy things they can do; the Mac guy can create movies, and the Windows guy can create some rockin’…

Best Latino

If you’ve never tried Colombian food, Delicias is a treat. The empanadas are outstanding and the entrées are enormous and inexpensive. Plus, they have a bakery and takeout section; in fact, they were last year’s winner for Best Takeout.

Best TV News Reporter

Crump, a longtime veteran of WBTV, is that rare breed of TV journalist: one who takes his job, and his responsibility to the news profession, seriously. He goes beyond the daily news grind to create documentaries for WTVI that explore issues he thinks are not only newsworthy, but important — often focusing on racism, and…

The Blotter

I DID WHAT?: A scuffle broke out at Amos’ Southend between a patron and bouncer. According to the bouncer, the wasted patron was asked to leave after climbing onto the stage during a performance. The patron resisted the escort out of Amos’, spinning around to try to free himself of the bouncer. He grabbed the…

Jared Neumark

See & Do

Friday, July 28 Driving to work a couple years ago, I heard NPR play a track from the newly released Willie Nelson disc Crazy: The Demo Sessions, a collection of early demos Willie Nelson cut in the ’60s. “I Just Destroyed the World (I’m Living In)” pulled me over to the side of the road…

Local Boy or Girl Made Bad

Born in Charlotte and raised in Waxhaw, Martin got involved in politics early, as student body president of UNC during his undergraduate years. Fast forward to 2000 and he’s technology advisor to the Bush-Cheney Transition Team. Sworn-in to the Federal Communications Commission in 2001, President Bush tapped him to be chairman in March 2005. Pundits…

Best Used Bookstore

Is there anyone else? It seems that, year after year, we simply rely on Book Buyers to delight us with new (old) finds — from textbooks to classics to “how-to’s.” Part of the fun lies in discovering an unusual book that someone has dusted-off from their attic; the rest comes from knowing that you’re making…

Best Bowling Alley

Is there any other? For years, Park Lanes has gotten our vote for its retro feel, Strike-Mor Pro Shop and high-quality crap food, including world-famous onion rings. If you’re looking for a place to host a fun gathering, check out Park Lanes, which offers special group rates for birthdays and other social functions. You’ll be…

Best Place to Buy CDs

Central Avenue’s Lunchbox Records, run by former Manifest manager Scott Wishart, is one of those great High Fidelity-style independent record shops that not only stock the hard-to-find, endlessly of-the-moment, so-obscure-it-hurts sort of stuff, but also a solid selection of jazz, world, electronic, soul and vinyl. Oh, the vinyl! If you get the same meditative thrill…

Best Ethnic (Not Specified Above)

Choosing best ethnic (other) is like choosing among our children. However, we’ve been sending friends and readers to Meskerem since it opened. Favorites include tib wat, a darkly tempting beef chili stew, and miser alecha. Dishes are filling, inexpensive and served communally.

Best Print Reporter

Associated Press correspondents’ bylines are often omitted or overlooked, but the news collective’s reporters, including local Tim Whitmire, are some of the hardest-working newshounds in the business. When they get a scoop, the local daily often ignores the story for a day while their own reporters rehash the item.

Stargazer

LEO The Lion (July 22 — Aug. 22) You have considered a new beginning for the past year. It is almost upon you, probably near the middle of August. This week you can sense a shift in attitude, from pause to readiness at the starting gate. This is only the beginning of many changes and…

Vivian Carol

Pumping the Catwalk

The devil may wear Prada, but his wife is rockin’ Manolos. There are those that admire a woman in a pair of stilettos. After all, there isn’t another shoe in the world with half the reputation of this small piece of leather bonded to a wooden heel and adorned with elaborate straps to securely and…

Best New Band (Formed in Last 12 Months)

If you have yet to see these guys live, you’re definitely missing out. Soulganic’s sound isn’t easily labeled. It’s jazzy but not strictly so, thanks to that pounding beat laid out by Cory McClure and Lucas Torres. However, it isn’t just Latin rhythms, either. You feel it; it’s organic, growing moment by moment with aural…

Best Neighborhood Bar

It feels like the heart of the neighborhood, with a joyful noise and happy vibe emanating from its doors almost every night. This family-owned place is rather simple: exposed brick and wood floors, four-top tables, pool tables and a stretch of bar. And it’s truly a place where “everybody knows your name”; every time we’ve…

Best Place to Find a Present for Someone

Not even close. PS was a runaway winner, thanks to its incredible variety. Sure, you can get a picture frame for Mom, and a book on architectural styling for Dad, and treats for Kitty — but there’s also neat things like the Jesus candles to ward off spells, wacky toothbrush holders and those cute boxing…

Best Closed Restaurant (Closed in Last 12 Months)

Two chef-owners will be missed. Like so many others, I enjoyed chef Mark Martin’s easy style at Ethan’s and Chris Zion’s precise dishes at the Meeting House. Now students at the Art Institute will benefit from Martin’s skill. With regret, gentlemen: auf wiedersehen.

Best Steak House

New to Charlotte this year, this expensive steakhouse has Charlotteans waiting in line and drinking mojitos. Ruth’s offers thickly cut steaks and chops, cooked with precision, oozing with fatty, rich flavor — even if sitting in a pool of sizzling butter. Ah, the renowned Ruth’s Chris sizzle.

Best Local Columnist

Humor seems a scarce commodity in this city lately, but when you want to read an irreverent columnist who doesn’t take himself or the world too seriously, look to the Loaf’s own pages for Grooms. Yes, we know picking him smacks of nepotism, but sheesh … where else can one turn locally for a laugh?

Karma Cleanser

Dear Karma Cleanser: On the subject of karma, is it the action itself that’s considered significant or the residual effect of the action? I ask this question regarding a disconcerting incident that took place the other night. While out arrogantly celebrating the growth of my personality, I looted a penniless man on the side of…

Best Emerging Band

The self-titled debut from the Wadesboro Four is already climbing the charts at influential radio stations like Seattle’s KEXP. Full of three-minute burners that run the stylistic gamut from the Ramones to post-punk, New Wave to Skynyrd, the Sammies’ unbridled enthusiasm and unpretentious approach reminds us why we fell so hard for rock & roll…

Best Sports Bar

Take a look at the numbers: 21 taps of beer, three big-screen TVs and 17 regular-ol’ TVs (27 at the University location), $2 Bud Light drafts, three Charlotte-area bars. No wonder die-hard sports fans declare it #1; they love to roost here.

Best Bike Shop

Forget luck; you can tell that a lot of hard work goes into keeping this South End shop in top gear. GT Bicycles, Schwinn and Del Sol are just some of the brand names you’ll recognize. You’ll find all the accessories you need, from head protection to toe clips, plus professional bike repair to keep…

Best Late-Night Restaurant

Whether it be for a foot-long dog, fried pickles and a martini, or sweet potato fries and a burger after hours, the Penguin has become the old standby for grazing in the dark.

Best Restaurant for Vegetarians

Clean, herbaceous flavors are the hallmarks of Vietnamese cuisine, and Ngan Nguyen (who used to cook for her daughter at Lang Van and now cooks for her youngest son here) prepares traditional dishes that are competent and delicious. The menu offers dozens of vegetarian choices.

Local Columnist You’re Sick Of

It was sooooo tempting to pick Tom Ashcraft, the George Will wannabe whose smarmy mug disgraces the pages of the Charlotte Observer on Saturdays. But this year’s award has to go to Thames, even though he’s an editor, not a columnist, and by all accounts a nice guy. Before the McClatchy company offered the Observer…

Letters

Dan The Man Charlotte loves Savage Love. That’s the only conclusion we could draw from the responses we received in reply to the question posed in last week’s “Sex In the Summer” cover package. Running a few sample letters from Savage Love, the nationally syndicated sex column by Dan Savage, we then asked readers to…

Best Strip Club

Taking a page from the wholesome folks in Las Vegas, the marketers at Uptown Cabaret promise that “what happens here, stays here.” And what happens here? As far as we can tell, men pay big bucks to have good-looking women tease them. But hey, whatever floats your boat. As Charlotte’s premier gentlemen’s club, Uptown Cabaret…

Best Lawn & Garden Shop

This shop is a full-service seven-acre nursery on Park South Drive, featuring upscale necessities such as Foxgloves gardening gloves, landscape lighting kits, and stylish arbors. Oh, and tons of shrubs, flowers, trees and hanging plants. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t immediately decide what’s best for your home; just ask the horticulturist on staff. Your…

Best Sushi

Owner and Itatame Joanna Nix produces irresistible, deftly cleaved rolls that taste sparkling fresh at her SouthEnd location.

Local Issue That Needs More Attention

It’s forecasted that by 2020, nearly a million more people will move to this region. Some of them will locate inside the county and some in the surrounding counties. Then, every weekday morning, many of them will get into their cars and attempt to drive to their jobs in Charlotte (or surrounding Mecklenburg County burgs)…

Film Clips

New Releases CLERKS II Even as the lone wolf reviewer who considers Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back a guilty pleasure of the most shameless order, it saddens me that I can’t offer Kevin Smith’s latest Jersey hurl similar props. The sequel to the 1994 film that placed Smith on the indie map in the…

Matt Brunson

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