Stumbled upon this on social media and felt like if I didn't share, I'd be doing Charlotte a disservice.
Tonight at Salud in NoDa, the geniuses there are pairing BEER and Girl Scout Cookies. Here's the list. It's a limited flight pairing, so you need to get there before 7 p.m.
May all your Thin Mint dreams come true as we close out this faux snow day.
Do you want to help make an impact in the Charlotte community? Do you like farming and agriculture? Want to be around individuals who care about the same things you do? Like to have fun, drink beer, eat great food and watch people win some cash?
This Sunday, Feb. 6, Triple C Brewing Co. will host the second annual Farm Hands event from 6-8 p.m. The goal is to help raise money for, and awareness of, Carolina farmers needing financial support to help grow their businesses. Keia Mastrianni, event organizer, says last year’s event sold more than 100 tickets and raised more than $1,500 for the local farming region.
Farm Hands, previously called Funds to Farm, is a community-centered micro-funding program for beginning farmers dedicated to supporting the growth and vitality of Charlotte’s agricultural community. It is a collaborative concept aimed at creating opportunities for Charlotte area farmers while fostering community and building awareness of the challenges that our farmers face.
If we weren't cool before, we're definitely cool now — Wilson of WCCB's Wilson's World likes us!
This morning, CL sales manager Amy Mularski joined our event partners (at Bang Bang Burgers) to talk about our upcoming Moo and Brew Fest. Moo and Brew is our inaugural burgers and craft beer festival, happening April 11 at the N.C. Music Factory festival grounds, benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank. We're hella excited about it. Attendees will indulge — or overindulge? — in samplings from 40 breweries, as well as tastes from local restaurants vying for the title of "Creative Loafing’s Best Burger." Entertainment will be courtesy of — drum roll, please — Langhorne Slim, Ancient Cities and DJ Overcash.
Here's the clip from WCCB. (Note to self: If you're hungry, the first few minutes will make you hungrier.)
You know you wanna come hang out with us. Get your tickets at mooandbrew.com.
Twice a year, Charlotte-area restaurants go completely crazy and start giving away food. Ok, not really, but the semiannual Restaurant Week, running Jan. 16-25, offers diners the opportunity to get a three-course meal for $30 at more than 100 different restaurants, some of them among the city's best. That's a steep discount at places that may normally charge that much for a single, luxurious entrée.
For many, Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to try out prominent local restaurants that may normally stretch the budget. But thinking strategically will help you make the most out of what can be a frenetic week in the Charlotte food scene.
As the year comes to an end, people across the globe light up the night sky with blazes of cacophonous fireworks. Cultures around the world have long used candles and bonfires to brighten the depths of winter. Yet one of Charlotte's first food events of 2015 invites to you step into the dark side for a night of adventure.
On Jan. 10, Good Eats and Meets of Charlotte presents Dining in the Dark, "a journey of taste, sound and touch" at Ballantyne Hotel. Centered on a multicourse meal by Executive Banquet Chef Michael Rayfield, the evening seeks to raise funds and awareness for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, by giving guests a taste of the darkness familiar to the visually impaired.
Usually I'd try to tempt you to a meal like this by dropping some ingredients or dish descriptions right about here. But diners will even be kept in the dark about the menu until after the last plate is cleared. Never fear though, Rayfield's team is unlikely to toss sheep eyeballs your way. "I'm giving them free rein," says Richard Gruica, the event's organizer, "but we try to keep ingredients pretty commonplace."
If chewing on some beer-infused baked goods and downing a glass of Wake 'N' Bake sounds like the perfect way to help a good cause, stop in at Salud Beer Shop this Sunday, Dec. 7. Terrapin Beer is teaming up with Salud and Pure Intentions coffee to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Terrapin's Wake 'N' Bakecoffee oatmeal stout, while raising money for Changed Choices.
Supporting women currently in or transitioning out of incarceration, Changed Choices offers inmates guidance and support to make positive life decisions. The bake-off proceeds will be used to help provide their children happier holidays. "It's not necessarily going for toys," says Terrapin's Jennifer Davis. "It may mean food for their children or just keeping their houses warm."
Last night, the Mint Museum hosted Allure of Flowers After Hours, a fancy foodie fundraising event that incorporated flowers into, well, everything: from the garnish on the craft cocktails to the table decor to the appetizers to even dessert. The event included a tour of Allure of Flowers: Botanical Motifs in Craft, Design & Fashion (my favorite was the bold Nick Cave piece) and a five-course dinner. Here are some (low-quality, iPhone-quick) photos.
Recently, I attended a Taste of the Mint event, during which a group of cultured - or, in my case, pseudo-cultured - people sampled foods and wine from e2 Emeril's Eatery and Halcyon before taking a guided tour of the Mint Museum's Women of Vision exhibit. To say it was a pleasant evening is an understatement. The conversation was easy, the samples filling and the exhibit was stellar. (Interesting tidbit: One photographer's work inspired the movie Frozen. Cue "Let It Go" in your head.)
So, basically, you missed out.
Luckily for you, the Mint's next foodie event, Allure of Flowers After Hours, happens June 16. You'll enjoy cocktails, a taste of an edible flower garden, a tour of Allure of Flowers: Botanical Motifs in Craft, Design & Fashion and a five-course dinner. Five chefs and mixologists are bringing their talents to the menu: James Stouffer of Halcyon, Flavors from the Earth; Drew Trepanier of Fern, Flavors from the Garden; David Clarke and Megan Goldman of Something Classic; and Maggie Ruppert of The Mother Earth Group. Call 704-337-2011 or visit here to register or for more information. $105-$120. June 16, 6 p.m. Mint Museum, 500 S. Tryon St. www.mintmuseum.org.
The Southeast Asian Coalition hosts its first fundraiser to benefit its youth program, and organizers are aiming for our bellies. The Southeast Asian Street Food Festival will offer plenty of tasty home-cooked dishes - literally, as food will be provided by families involved in the organization. Available dishes include Hmong braised pork over rice; purple sticky rice with pork sausage; Bunong Thai eggplant soup; papaya salad and more.
If you fancy yourself a pho-natic, partake in the pho-eating contest courtesy of Pho Daravan Restaurant. Wash all that down with some Vietnamese coffee or Thai iced tea.
While there's no cost to attend the festival, attendees will need to purchase food tickets, ranging from $3 to $5. Free admission. May 31, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Midwood International & Cultural Center, 1817 Central Ave. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/SoutheastAsianCoalition.
When free food becomes a tool to raise awareness about an international problem, y'all.
Chef Kevin Winston II and nDemand Consulting are sponsoring a "Bring Back Our Girls" rally on Thursday, May 15, to stir up support for the approximately 276 school girls who were kidnapped in Nigeria. The rally takes place in Uptown at Marshall Park, 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m., offering free food, guest speakers and more.
"Our goal in organizing the 'Bring Back Our Girls' Charlotte City Rally is to make more people in Charlotte aware of this tragedy," said Winston in a press release. "The Chibok kidnapping occurred nearly a month ago, and the local government has done very little to facilitate the children's return to their parents. We hope that, by raising our voice, more people will listen and force the Nigerian government into action."
Winston owns Elite Culinary Concepts, which offers personal chef and catering services, cooking classes and more.
If you're planning to attend, make sure you wear red.