Last Sunday, a bakery employee at Harris Teeter sliced up her samples of La Brea and the grocery store’s Artisan breads. Usually, the condiments consist of Italian tapenade or a pesto of some sort. This night the bakery was serving CIBO Naturals’ chipotle lime dip. The woman in front of me and the man behind me both asked for a container of the CIBO dip, but the employee said the store had sold 50 of them since they started the sampling that day and were out.
Everyone likes free food — there’s no argument there. But in this case, the preferred flavor was dramatically Latino — creamy yet smoky with a kick. At this sampling station, customers were dunking not corn chips but Italian ciabatta into CIBO’s chipotle lime dip.
Has Charlotte’s palate become fluent in Spanish? When I first moved to Charlotte from the southwest in the 1980s, the only Mexican restaurant in town was Dos Hermanos on Independence Boulevard. The Teeter did not carry fresh tortillas, fresh salsa, habanero chilies or tomatilos. I’m sure others who moved here from the west, where the Latino influence has been strong for decades, missed the Latino influence in restaurants and on the grocery store shelves.
In the 1980s, the Latino population in Charlotte and all of North Carolina was small or invisible. Today, North Carolina has one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the US. Most of these new residents are Mexicans.
Mexican grocery stores, bakeries and taquerias spring up almost overnight along South and Central boulevards. Taqueria food trucks station themselves near construction sites at lunchtime. In other parts of the city or in residential areas, where only a single crew of Latino workers are performing jobs, hot plates appear and lunchtime tacos are made on site. Typically, and in stark contrast to native-born workers, these workers eat communally.
Fresh cuts of meat are part of Latin cuisines so butcher shops are usually part of the markets. Ironically, Mexican butchers are arriving in town just as Charlotte’s major supermarket chains have eliminated meat cutting and grinding in their stores, offering instead prepackaged meat that is ground or cut off-site.
As Charlotte’s neighborhoods change complexion, retail restaurant spaces will change as well. One of the most remarkable transitions has occurred on the corner of Independence and Sharon Amity. The Knife and Fork, one of Charlotte’s original mainstays, an all-day, late-night eatery once owned and operated by Greek immigrants (Charlotte’s original ethnic restaurateurs), has become a bellwether in the city’s changing ethnic scene. Today, the old Knife and Fork sign is there, but directly underneath is another sign: Cuchillo y Tenedor.
In fact, the Knife and Fork is continuing its metamorphosis under new ownership. Last week, the Latino chef under the former ownership become the sole owner. Currently, the menu, which was Latino during the winter, offers typical Americana: burgers, club sandwiches and fries. Trying to convert a restaurant with an established reputation is tough. Customers who came to the Knife and Fork last winter were dismayed to see the Latino dishes. Now with the sign Cuchillo y Tenedor, customers expect to find Latino dishes, but do not. This flux is, perhaps, a metaphor for the Charlotte culinary community.
Traditionally, North Carolinians have absorbed different cultural palates into their own. After all, mayo on sushi has become one standard here. Will mayo on tacos become a standard as well?
In parts of the US where the immigrant population surged, the culinary effects were pronounced. Charlotte relos from the northeast seek the ethnic heritage foods of their birthplaces. Ellis Island in New York City became the portal through which immigrants came to the US. Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million immigrants arrived. Many moved to the northeast, following either the industrialization or family. By World War I, the flow of immigrants into the northeast became a flood and some cities had immigrant populations surpassing native-born.
Few of those immigrants moved south. North Carolina — and Charlotte — then dominated by agriculture and textiles — was not one of the popular choices for immigrants. Consequently, the flavor of these immigrant cultures — Italian and Polish meat shops, Portuguese and German bakeries, French restaurants — were not established here. Instead, white bread and sweet tea flourished. Barbecue was — and still is — the state food.
Only now has Charlotte encountered a huge influx of immigrants, one large enough to influence the established culture. Grocery stores have not made the decision to stock Latino produce and groceries because of a change in the palate of Charlotteans. Instead, they are trying to capture part of the growing and profitable Latino market. As more independent grocers spring up — some in areas abandoned by mainline grocery stores — the competition will become accelerated.
Upscale restaurants, too, are realizing that the typical Charlottean’s palate has changed. Just as Charlotteans have learned that not all Latino cuisine consists of refried beans and burritos, independent restaurateurs have made a go of upscale Latin. Latorre’s Latin Inspired Cuisine forged this path. In Dilworth, Cantina 1511 opened to offer Oaxacan dishes. More recently, grilled Cuban sandwiches are served at lunch on the Bank of America’s plaza on the Square at Sonoma Modern American, and Argentinean chimichurri sauce has become a ubiquitously sauce on chef’s specials across the city.
While the debate continues about how the Latino population should get here, the fact is the Latino population has become a significant part of Charlotte’s demographics and has already invigorated the native palate.
To contact Tricia regarding tips, compliments, or complaints or to send notice of a food or wine event (at least 12 days in advance, please), opening, closing, or menu change, fax Eaters’ Digest at 704-944-3605, leave voice mail at 704-522-8334, ext. 136, or e-mail tricia.childress@creativeloafing.com.
This article appears in May 10-16, 2006.
