He's cooked at the James Beard House in New York City, churned out high quality fare from the kitchen of Andrew Blair's and brought approachable French cuisine to Charlotte via his former co-ownership of Lulu. At his most recent tenure with Halcyon, Flavors of the Earth, he used local geographic, historic and culinary inspirations to draft a unique and acclaimed menu. He's a published poet, a food writer and, along with the MAP Management team that brought the hit 5Church to Charlotte, Marc Jacksina is about to bring his seasoned cookery to South End.

Enter Nan and Byron's.

While the hype behind this coming establishment has already been mounting due to sister restaurant 5Church's success and a slew of recently released menu tasting photos, the arrival of Jacksina as chef de cuisine alongside executive chef (and MAP partner) Jamie Lynch creates a new and far deeper fold in the anticipation.

Both Lynch and Jacksina are fans of using locally-sourced, seasonal produce to construct menus, a feat resulting in a plethora of fresh, creative dishes for their patrons. Both are known to routinely browse - and occasionally, cook - at local farmers markets, and both have served time in New York as well as in the high-end Charlotte dining scene. The hype behind his joining, therefore, is justifiable - a local culinary equivalent to the collusion of Jay-Z and Kanye.

Outside, the call is ringing from Lake Norman to Steele Creek, "Let the bikini bod be damned!" Forget your vanity, diets and workout regimens and gather your hungry desires. Charlotte Restaurant Week is coming.

Restaurant Week offers a release for Charlotteans' pent-up cravings and curiosities, as participating restaurants of all types from the city and its suburbs will be offering three-course meals for the bargain price of $30 from July 19-28. At restaurants like Villa Antonio and Upstream, such a price would usually cover the cost of an entrée, but now, with Queen's Fest Charlotte Restaurant Week, diners can try multiple items at those places for that same cost.

"I think it's a good thing ultimately, and it gives people that don't usually get to eat at more expensive places the chance to try them out," said Upstream manager Hiram Ramirez.

The influx gives eateries a viable opportunity to bolster their clientele, as residents tend to cross neighborhoods, on top of pricing limitations, to eat outside of their typical (to-go) box.

"It drives a new dynamic of guests to the restaurant that maybe would not think of coming to SouthPark," said Peter Schrank, the general manager for George's Brasserie."It's just great for business."

Rob Nixon, owner of the Peculiar Rabbit, is a veteran of the Charlotte dining scene (he also owns Jackalope Jacks) well acquainted with the power of Charlotte Restaurant Week. The Rabbit had only been open for a few months when this January's Restaurant Week rolled around. Even as a fledgling participant, the restaurant picked up around a thousand new customers that week, Nixon said. George's, according to Schrank, experienced a similar boost in covers, too.

In May, we interviewed Katie Levans, founder of PlateShare, a mobile and social application that operates under the premise, "Dine Out, Do Good."

PlateShare's sole aim is to feed the hungry. The idea is micro-donations. PlateShare offers diners the opportunity to round their restaurant bill up to the nearest dollar and donates the difference to Second Harvest Metrolina to fight hunger. This past Friday, Queen City Q rolled out a point-of-sale integration and is the first partner in the U.S. to offer diners an option to donate to PlateShare directly from their receipt.

PlateShare will debut its mobile app later this month during Charlotte Restaurant Week which will held July 19-28. According to PlateShare, "spare change makes big change." We like it.

• Keia Mastrianni

Another food truck hit the streets last week, which brings the count to "holy crap that's alot of food trucks!"

Hot Box joined the fleet of mobile eateries roaming Charlotte's streets serving what chef/owner Michael Bowling calls "Next Level Street Food." Chef Bowling is the former executive chef of the now defunct 15 North Roadside Kitchen, which closed February 2012.

On its inaugural menu is a mish mash of selections from a pulled pork platter to a ramen stir-fry and corned beef hash. When I asked Chef Bowling what type of food he serves, he said, "Whatever I want." I was tipped off to try the Reuben, a meaty, melty monster of a sandwich served on rye bread made by the Local Loaf with piles of corned beef, aged swiss cheese and kraut served with homemade potato chips.

• Keia Mastrianni

• Keia Mastrianni

Chuy's (pronounced "Choo-eez"), a Tex-Mex style restaurant, opened yesterday in SouthPark inside the space formerly occupied by Zink American Kitchen. The Austin-based chain, popular throughout Texas and the Southeast, features Tex-Mex style food and wacky, eclectic decor.

• Image courtesy of Not Just Coffee

A new altar awaits the nectar of the gods inside Atherton Mill Market, and tonight, the bean worshipers will join in celebrating the newest location for The Not Just Coffee Shop. For weeks now, coffee heads have been sniffing around the custom wooden bar inside the market, driven by the smell of freshly roasted beans only to get but a sip every Saturday when the coffee bar would open for limited hours.

Tonight, Not Just Coffee celebrates the opening of its second location (the first is inside the 7th Street Public Market) with a grand opening party beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Herban Legend food truck will be on site along with the King of Pops serving popsicles. Best of all, The Not Just Coffee Shop will be serving its signature brand of slow coffee with handcrafted espresso and pour over coffee all evening long. Let's get coffee wasted!

Atherton Mill Market is located at 2104 South Blvd.

After teasing Charlotte for what feels like forever, the champagne bar Bubble Lounge finally opened this past weekend.

In addition to serving Dom Perignon by the glass, getting all mad scientist on us by steaming martinis with liquid nitrogen and creating "spherical flavor pearls" that add a "touch of color" to the drinks on the Slim List (that would be your low-calorie cocktails), Bubble will offer a "small but challenging and approachable menu," says operating partner Bourke Floyd. In the kitchen is chef Jason Kerton, an alum of the Culinary Institute of America.

"Challenging and approachable"? I'll say. On Media Day, we sampled a Caprese Napoleon, tomato, mozzarella and basil stacked like the strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream; and a Foie Gras PB&J, foie gras with Muscat grape jelly and almond butter atop toasted brioche; amongst other dishes.

• A shot of the front bar

Bubble Lounge is located on the second floor of the EpiCentre, near Suite, and is open daily at 4 p.m.

Oh, and don't be surprised to see a familiar face adorning the walls in decor.

When I think of Asheville's culture, I think of my grandmother using such eloquent phrases as, "He hasn't got a pot to piss in." It goes without saying that there are better ways to capture the best of my hometown's multiple worlds from its hippies to its country folk, and a new restaurant coming to Charlotte does just that.

According to WCNC, the popular Asheville restaurant Tupelo Honey Cafe plans to open a new store in Charlotte's South End. The restaurant will be moving into the location where Pewter Rose resided for 25 years before it closed in January.

Tupelo is straight out of the Blue Ridge Mountains and comes with a menu so much country twang and Southern hospitality that you might slip in a few "have mercy's" and "bless your hearts" before the meal is ordered. With its New South approach and mountain roots, it appears that Tupelo embraces the quintessential elements that Asheville has to offer: locally grown food, good old-fashioned Southern grease and a menu with more country clichés than even my grandmother could throw out.

And it's not an Asheville-inspired restaurant without the moonshine, and that they have (the legal kind, of course). Tupelo also offers the best from the other side of Asheville - think hippie-inspired: a menu with a range of gluten-free, soy-free and vegan options.

With six locations (Charlotte will make seven), Tupelo's "fluent in flavor" approach has garnered a lot of popularity for itself. So far, there is no date set for the open yet, other than "the near future," proprietor Steve Frabitore told NBC Charlotte a month ago.

If you're feeling particularly Southern today or just want to see what the buzz is all about, check out Tupelo's website. Just try to read it without a Southern drawl.

Sure, maybe The Palm's (6705 Phillips Place) not the first place you'd think to go to for lunch - well, it wasn't for me. But a recent press release announcing its new lunch menu captured my attention. In and out in one hour, it promised. Chicken and avocado sandwich, it teased.

So I had to check it out. Here are some photos. My companion and I chose offerings from the Three-Course Power Lunch. Sure, it sounds a little gluttonous ... who am I kidding. It was completely gluttonous.

• Soup of the day: Yum

• Chef's Fresh Fish Special of the Day: Flounder

For dessert, I chose cheesecake. Sorry, I inhaled it before remembering to take a photo.

Here's a link to the new menu.

And be on the lookout for assistant manager Fernando Rodriguez. He's a pusher. See? Gluttony at its finest.

No one was more surprised than me when I saw that Vinnie's Raw Bar had closed their doors a couple of months ago. South End is growing so fast, so it's been a huge disappointment that Charlotte staples like Vinnie's and Pewter Rose haven't been able to make it in the boom.

• Alejandro Torio
• The old Vinnie's Raw Bar

But now my restaurant-loving soul can rest a little easier because I finally know what's going to be put in Vinnie's old restaurant space.

The same guys who brought you 5Church in Uptown are developing an entirely new restaurant concept that will be housed in the space. While 5Church features new American on their menu, Nan and Byron's will be all about traditional American on their menu.