2018 Restaurant Guide

Heidi’s 2018 Restaurant Guide: Charlotte Living Magazine

From the pages of the Winter issue of Charlotte Living magazine , it is my pleasure to bring to you, my 2018 Restaurant Guide: 150+ Restaurants Worth Your While. As is always the case with my restaurant articles and reviews, this listing is not tied to advertising in any way. It has been my philosophy since the beginning, that there is not much point in spending time and space telling readers where not to go to allocate their dining dollars. These are all restaurants where I have enjoyed a dining experience and then shared the same via the pages of Charlotte Living, this blog, a television appearance or social media posts.  No good, better, best here – all are great places worth your time and attention to try. Enjoy and remember to #TellThemHeidiSentYou – Cheers!

Since the publishing of this 2018 restaurant guide, lots of new and exciting restaurants have opened in and around Charlotte; and sadly some on the 2018 list have closed or made changes. Until Charlotte Living magazine publishes the next guide in the Winter 2019 issue, you can keep up with all that is new and delicious in my “Restaurant Round-Up”  and my “What I Eight” posts by subscribing to HeidiBillottoFood.com so posts will come directly to your inbox. Or go to the blog menu at the top of the page and check for updates under the “Restaurants and Chefs” tab. As things do change, always be sure to call a restaurant before you go to make sure hours are still accurate and menu items are the same as i detailed in the guide.

You can reference and Read the 2018 Restaurant Guide here…

2018 Restaurant Guide

In addition to the 2018 Restaurant Guide, the Winter Issue of Charlotte Living includes a section on Shopping the Charlotte Regional Farmers’ Market….

This kick-off story for my “Meat Me At The Market” series of blog posts, takes a look back to the beginnings of the Charlotte Regional Farmers’ Market…read more…

I love to shop, cook and eat local and was pleased to run this series of posts all sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture in an effort to share all that is available year round at the Charlotte Regional Farmers’ Market located in Charlotte at 1801 Yorkmont Road.

My focus in these five posts in on all the local meat – beef, pork, rabbit, goat and lamb –  available at the market, introduce you to all the farmers and provide some delicious recipes to share with friends and family.

To meet all the local farmers, get the recipes and learn more about cooking with local proteins,  check out the five featured blog posts in the series:

Included among the listings in this issue’s 2018 Restaurant Guide  is the ever so charming 300 East Restaurant in Charlotte’s Dilworth Neighborhood. Read the story behind it all in The House at 300 East…

But Wait, there’s more…the 2018 Restaurant Guide isn’t all you will find in Charlotte Living magazine’s Winter Issue

It was so much fun getting to know Charlotte local Paige Gesing, owner, baker and artist at Paige’s Designer Cookies and  the subject of the culinary cover story for this annual food issue:  The Comfort of Cookies…Forget about the day-to-night pressures of getting plates on the table. Food is more than fuel; cooking and creating is the process of transforming edible ingredients into that which gives nourishment and lends comfort and joy – providing both creative and cathartic outlets. This is the spiritual side to cooking and baking…. read more

restaurant guide

In this issue you will also find my review of the wonderful collaborative cookbook written by Asheville-based Bed & Breakfast Innkeepers, all members of the Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association.  Open the Winter Issue of Charlotte Living magazine to pages 44-45 for the whole story. Order a copy of this wonderful cookbook all for yourself; and for sure,  you’ll want several for gifts… order your copy of “Morning in the Mountains” directly from the Association’s Innkeepers here!

Many of the restaurants featured in the 2018 restaurant guide support local farmers and producers, wineries, breweries and distilleries.

Its so easy for you to eat and drink local, too. On pages 40-43 of the Winter 2018 Issue of Charlotte Living magazine, I’ve detailed 8 of my favorite ways to Drink Local and have included all the where to buy info so that you might Drink Local too!

Each of these local libations featured in the magazine layout have been a part of one of my individual Eat Local Drink Local pages in this blog. You will find them under the Eat Local/Drink Local tab on the blog menu. The list for this issue includes: Uncle Scotts Root Beer from Salisbury NC; Pure Intentions Coffee in Charlotte NC; Muddy River Rum &  Paw Paw Murphy’s Moonshines – both distilled by Muddy River Distillery in Belmont NC; Durham Distillery in Durham NC, makers of Conniption Gin and Damn Fine Liqueurs; Oak City Amaretto from Raleigh NC;  the organic line up of local liquor from TOPO Distillery from Chapel Hill, NC; and  Cardinal Gin and Turning Point Rye from Southern Spirits in Kings Mountain, NC .

Cheers! #TellThemHeidiSentYou