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!

Chicago: Beer and Snacks

Goose Island

I'm definitely not a beer drinker by any means. I don't know much about beer, except how to tell if the glass is clean enough (Thank you Bar Rescue). Actually I might be a beer snob. Lately I've been trying (and liking) craft beers. While in Chicago I tried a few craft brews from Goose Island.

At a reception held at the conference I was attending I tried Matilda. It was pretty awesome. Because everything at the conference was included I had no idea what the beer cost. While I was out and about in the city I asked if anyone had it. Most bars and restaurants didn't carry it, but the one I found that did charged $12 for the bottle. That was the moment I realized I might be a beer snob. Why is that the only beer I like is the most expensive? Apparently it's like the wine of beer.

Headquarters Beercade

Headquarters is a beer bar and arcade. Pretty cool concept. They have a variety of beers on tap so I ordered a flight. I'm kind of a beer snob so I only liked two of the five. I played Snake, Asteroids, Pacman, and Street Fighter. I felt like a kid again. Did I mention that you play for free? That's right no carrying around a pocketful of quarters for a good time! You're probably not going to beat the high score after a few drinks though!

Garrett

One of the vendors at the conference was giving out popcorn. It happened to be from the most famous place in Chicago for popcorn, Garrett. I was handed a small cup with cheese and caramel popcorn (Chicago mix). The least likely combination for me since I don't like cheese popcorn. I ate it anyway because I was starved and I'm glad I did. It was o good. Somehow they perfected the cheese so it doesn't have that weird powdery flavor that I usually loathe on my freshly popped kernels. I found the nearest Garrett shop and bought some butter, caramel, and pecan-caramel mix. Yum!

Portillo's

After trying my first Chicago dog I had to have another, so my colleague and I ventured out to  find Portillo's. You know what I ordered! It was great. It was also different from the one I got from Downtown Dogs. The hot dog itself was heartier, the relish was regular, not neon, and the pickle was more sour. All in all not disappointed.