Feast Food Tour: Local Flavors of NoDa

While in Charlotte Labor Day weekend my sister and I went on a food tour. We toured the neighborhood known as North Davidson. It was a little different from the one I went on in Chicago. We covered a smaller area and had less food (I was still hungry after this tour), but more beverage and just as much history and culture. 

We met at Revolution Ale House where we had pizza and tried craft beers on tap. We were able to tour the kitchen and talk to chef. The pizza was thin crust and absolutely delicious. It is named for the neighborhood, NoDa, and has pulled pork and a balsamic sauce drizzled across the top that plays well with the pork and cheese flavors. They serve a wide selection of local and craft beers. 

Revolution Ale House

The second stop on our tour was The Bodega. This place is pretty secluded. If you don't know the neighborhood you'd probably never find it. Its a small convenient store with beer, wine, and other random goodies like yellow stone ground grits (yes I bought some). It has a deli counter and you can create your own sandwich. The owners are pretty cool people too! Look it up and stop in!

Heist Brewery

Heist Pizza

Heist Brewery seemed like a really cool place. Its a brewery turned restaurant. They make all the beer right there in the restaurant where you can also sit and enjoy artfully prepared foods. The pizza was an incredibly thin crust, crisped to perfection. We had one with duck, a veggie one with eggplant, and one with bacon, tomato, and green onion that tasted like a BLT. All were very good, even the duck which I usually don't eat because of the texture (too fatty). 

Heist is the brain child of a former scientist turned craft beer maker and his friend the chef and caterer. The owner (scientist) was very friendly and we were able to have a nice conversation. I wish we could have stayed longer. I can't wait to go back!

Salud

The next stop we met a man, his wife, and their toddler at Salud. They have a wide selection of local and craft beers. I tried a watermelon and jalapeno that they had on tap. Unfortunately, I tried the watermelon after the jalapeno so I couldn't really enjoy it, but the jalapeno was great. 

FuManChu Cupcakes

In the same space we met a tattooed older gentleman serving up cupcakes made with Guinness. All of his cupcakes are made with booze and definitely unique. You won't get a plain vanilla, chocolate, or red velvet cupcake with this guy. 

The second to last stop was Smelly Cat Cafe. I'm not a coffee drinker, but it's such a cute place. The decor is nice and there's actually plenty of small tables for lingering despite the small space. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable about the products and the beans are all roasted in house. While others in my food tour tried the Colombian coffee, I tried mango iced tea. They also had really delicious no bake treats! Stop in!

Smelly Cat Cafe

The last stop was Dolce Vita, a wine bar, where we tasted multiple wines. A few whites, a couple reds. I was also able to try a South African wine, which I can best describe as exotic. It tasted like safari. In a way that a spiced wassail tastes like the holidays. The flavor was so different from all the other wines I have tasted. I loved it!