Harry's Grille and Tavern

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Harry's is exactly what Southwest Charlotte needs
• Nice variety of good solid American dishes, interesting small plates, and a groundbreaking Top Shelf Burger
• Local beers and desserts round out the menu nicely

I love my little neighborhood...but a dining mecca it is not. If you live in the Steele Creek area, you feel my pain. While there are plenty of casual options (think chain restaurants and BBQ), there's nothing great on the higher-end of the dining spectrum...until now. Harry's Grill and Tavern opened in March, and I have to say I was ecstatic to welcome them to the 'hood.

Per the website, Harry's is "reminiscent of one of New York City’s finest gastro-pubs." The menu is mostly classic American, and offers a selection of hot and chilled small plates along with a traditional full menu.

The Capital Grille "Plates" Lunch Menu

The Food Baby Bottom Line:

• The Capital Grill “Plates” lunch menu is fantastic: App, main, and side for $18 – and you’re in and out in 45 minutes.
• Each round has a clear winner, but the runner-ups were also impressive.
• The mini tenderloin sandos haunt my dreams.

Capital Grill gets the Uptown Charlotte lunch crowd. The business-ey types want it quick and delicious, and The Capital Grille “Plates” menus is just that. It changes seasonally, and The Food Babies were graciously invited in to try the newly-updated Winter spread.

Smalls Food & Spirits Opening January 12th in Elizabeth!

I was fortunate to be invited to the friends and family preview night at Smalls Food & Spirits.  Smalls is located at 1609 Elizabeth Ave – right next to the Visualite Theatre.  As a warning, they don’t have significant signage outside, so it was a bit tough to spot.

The interior is modern with pop art, interesting light fixtures and electronic menus behind the bar displaying the specialty cocktail and local craft beer offerings.  The feel is warm and intimate – I counted seating for about 80 people, including the bar area.  

New Year’s Resolutions

The Salt Lick BBQ

Happy New Year!  The Food Baby is back!  And we’ve reassessed our purpose in life and made some New Year’s resolutions.  We want to blog more frequently.  We want our posts to be more concise.  And we want to expand the blog beyond restaurant reviews.  Oh and we want to take better pictures.  There it is. 

So what is the topic du jour? Well, it is a new year, so how about the depressing aftermath of our massive holiday binges?  We aren’t special or unique – just like everyone else in the universe, the Food Babies ate and drank our way through the holidays with reckless abandon.  Simply put – we got fat and we need rehab.  See below for a sample of what I’m talking about…