Three Cheers my friends! A early May trip to the Rowan County Museum in Salisbury provided my inspiration for this post written in celebration of the 100th anniversary, or the #Cheertennial, as they like to say, of Cheerwine. The legendary soft drink “born in the Carolinas and raised in a glass.”
There will most certainly be #CheerInTheAir as thousands of Cheerwine fans across the country, many members of the official fan club – the Cheerwine Authentic Soda Society – celebrate this unique cherry flavored soft drink that has been pleasing the public’s palate since its inception in 1917.
I was invited by the marketing folks at Cheerwine to take a little trip down memory lane with them and then to tell the story of this delicious native North Carolina beverage. I am pleased to partner with the company on this post and in the promotion of the big day of celebration for the centennial, scheduled in downtown Salisbury for May 20, 2017.
The Cheerwine Bottling Company, was conceived by general store owner L.D. Peeler of Salisbury, NC. in 1917. After a long search for something new in soda offerings, he invented the formula for Cheerwine. What was then a new and unique soft drink with the sweet cherry taste, is still the delicious Cheerwine beverage we know and love today,
The very building in which Cheerwine was invented still stands in Salisbury at 322 East Council Street. While it is no longer a general store, the murals on the side of the building tell the story of its heritage. The company’s headquarters are a mile or two away, but still proudly in their hometown at 1413 Jake Alexander Blvd. S., Salisbury, NC 28146.
“While much has changed around Cheerwine over the last hundred years, the taste and authenticity of Cheerwine itself will never change,” promises Cliff Ritchie, Cheerwine’s president. Ritchie is the great-grandson of the soft drink’s founder, L.D. Peeler. His children, Joy Harper and Carl Ritchie, are the family’s fifth generation and currently work for the Salisbury-based company which continues to be family owned.
The company and its many fans have been celebrating this major milestone since the first of the year, when the Rowan County Museum, located at 202 N Main St, Salisbury, NC 28144, turned over more than half of the exhibit space to display a wonderful and impressive collection – much of it on loan from private collectors – of Cheerwine memorabilia, advertising, bottles, cans and packaging.
In the largest exhibit room the museum has set up an old fashioned soda shop – for display only – with counter stools from the original Salisbury Woolworths and a 1950’s circa original vinyl covered booth as well. Its a step back in time through the 10 decades of Cheerwine’s long lived popularity. So much to look at, so much many will remember – from billboards to old newspaper advertisements. This food writer just had to slide into the historic booth for a quick photo op, to stop for a sip and take a moment to take it all in.
One of the original glass bottles with the paper Cheerwine label still intact, is on display at the Rowan County Museum in Salisbury, NC, now till the end of the year.
As was the case with the inception of many of the early soft drinks, Peeler was looking for a way to improve the taste of seltzer water. 100 years ago was still a time before glass soda bottles – which would crack under the pressure of the effervescent and decades before the concept of canned sodas or plastic bottles.
The seltzer water was a chemical concoction and until production of the bubbled water was fine tuned it took the expertise of someone with a scientific background to get the mix just right. And so it was that most early soft drinks, often called tonics or elixirs, were thought to give a healthy boost and were prepared and mixed for on-site consumption by pharmacists.
By the early 1920s the first bottled soda’s came around and I was impressed to see one of the original glass bottles complete with the paper label in the Cheerwine exhibit. The first vending machines came in the 1950’s and gave the consumer the convenience of buying a single Cheerwine on location. Prior to that Cheerwine was delivered to stores, first by horse and buggy and then by delivery trucks.
The Secret about the Cheerwine Syrup
As the mix was perfected, and the seltzer water became available on tap, soft drink service moved from pharmacies to soda shops where “soda jerks” blended the sweet Cherry flavored syrup with just the right amount of seltzer water.
Cheerwine, and other soft drinks of the day, was not only served by the glass over ice, but the syrup was served on ice cream sundaes and in ice cream floats. Each of these soda shops specials was hand crafted by a Soda Jerk. These were the craft mixologist of their day. The moniker was coined and became popular in the vernacular, as a result of the jerking action it took to pull down the tap to pour the seltzer in the glass. 
Even though soft drinks like Cheerwine had been sold to consumers in bottles as the industry developed since the 1920s; these popular soda shops and then the drive -ins with “car hops” that followed, continued to mix their own, blending soft drink syrups and seltzer together to order.
The syrup came to soda shops and restaurants in boxes shaped much like an oversized paper milk carton. The cartons were labeled “For Fountain Use” but somehow over the years, Cheerwine syrup has found its way into our kitchens where chefs and home cooks alike, opted to think outside the syrup box, and have loved blending this wonderfully sweet elixir into hundreds of different recipes.
Interestingly, the syrup is not thick and honestly not overly sweet. It definitely tastes of cherries; and while I am not privy to any trade secrets to give away, for me the “deliciously different” taste of Cheerwine, tastes more than just of cherries, there is also a unidentifiable, rooty, rich component – almost as if there is a bit of sassafras in the mix. Whatever the proprietary blend is, a breakdown doesn’t really matter – I love it, both as a beverage and as an ingredient.
A glass, bottle or can of Cheerwine, starts with the sweet syrup pictured front and center here.
The secret I am privy to share is that Cheerwine syrup is readily available to consumers at an incredible price. It is yours for the asking, ready for you to purchase to use in your own craft cocktails, cakes, ice cream concoctions, candies, and in marinades, barbecue sauces and glazes for beef, pork, chicken, duck, shrimp and other seafoods as well.
While the syrup is not sold in stores, Cheerwine’s sweet secret syrup is available at the Cheerwine corporate headquarters in Salisbury anytime during regular business hours and will also be available for sale in one of the Cheerwine booth’s at the May 20 celebration for just $3 a bottle!!
If you find yourself in need of some inspiration before you start to cook try a jar of another of my favorite Got To Be NC/Goodness Grows in North Carolina products: Cackalacky/Cheerwine Sweet Sauce. The original, and oh so fabulous, Cackalacky sauce is made from North Carolina sweet potatoes. When Cackalacky fans asked for a slightly sweeter version of this delicious slightly spicy sauce, the sauciers at Cackalacky who make the magic happen, reached out to their friends at Cheerwine. The result: a sweet ‘n savory dip / grilling sauce / marinade that you’ll want to mop on everything from shrimp on the barbie to that burger on a bun.
Join in the Cheerwine Centennial Celebration
No cheer-pressure here, but if you’d like to raise your glass in cheer and join in the May 20 Centennial Celebration in Cheerwine’s home of Salisbury, NC, you won’t be alone, so my advice is to start early. You may drive from Charlotte or make the day even more fun and take the train!!
To simplify travel to and from Cheerwine’s Centennial Celebration, the brand has partnered with Amtrak to offer a discounted transportation alternative. Trains will run from Charlotte and Raleigh to Salisbury, with stops at all stations in between. The Amtrak Salisbury Station is just steps away from the action, and Cheerwine will be served to riders while supplies last! To receive a special 15 percent discount on your pilgrimage, Cheerwine fans may book your tickets here
The City of Salisbury will be closing off two blocks of Main Street to any vehicular traffic all day on May 20, 2017. There will be stands with free Cheerwine with commemorative Koozies, free biscuits and bbq and a host of live music for everyone to enjoy from noon to 8 pm. In addition, look for Limited Edition Cheerwine merchandise available for purchase and a People’s Choice BBQ Competition from noon-2 p.m. Here a half dozen or so teams will compete. Celebration attendees can sample BBQ from each team at no cost and then vote for their favorites. After the competition plates of BBQ will also be available for sale.
Come hungry, in addition to the BBQ and plenty of Cheerwine to drink, the May 20 celebration includes food from many of Cheerwine’s partners and friends. Here is what you’ll find in store: Krispy Kreme will be serving fresh made doughnuts from their new “Hot Now Mobile Store”; Bojangles and Biscuitville will be serving free biscuits; and Select Bakery will be serving Cheerwine cake. Fatz Café will be on hand with more good eats, you can sample that famous Cackalacky sauce I told you about earlier; and King of Pops will offer a specially made Cheerwine-flavored popsicle, on my!
For adults there will be a Biergarten with NC craft beer, featuring pours from Olde Mecklenburg Brewery in Charlotte, and New Sarum Brewing Company & Morgan Ridge Railwalk Brewery, both located in Salisbury, NC.
For kids, look for the Family-Friendly Kids’ Zone, with magicians, jugglers, rock climbing wall, obstacle course, slides, bounce house, lawn games and more.
Remember the Cheerwine exhibit at the Rowan Museum I told you about? There will be free tours of museum’s multi-room exhibit celebrating Cheerwine’s 100 years. And while you are looking around at it all, keep an eye out for the historic 1927 Cheerwine Ford delivery truck – it will be making appearances during the day and will be the perfect back drop for fun #Cheertennial photos with family and friends!
Cheerwine’s $100 Centennial Can Promotion
But that’s not all – the festivities don’t end after the May 20th weekend. There is reason – actually 500 reasons – to keep celebrating Cheerwine through the end of the year. As you purchase cans of Cheerwine this year, keep your eyes out for the $100 Centennial Can promotion. There are 500 of the specially labeled cans to be distributed throughout the Cheerwine inventory this year. Find one, peel off the winning label on the back of the can and win $100!
Here is how it works. Throughout 2017, the beloved soft drink will continue rolling out new editions in its centennial can series with each of the Cheerwine labels used over the course of the past ten decades. Cheerwine fans are invited to collect all seven cans in the series, shown here, before the end of the year. My Cheerwine sources report that there are still plenty cans out there yet to be redeemed so there is still the chance to win! Check out the complete contest details here
Later this year, I will be doing another article about Cheerwine and its importance as a local North Carolina product. I will be including some recipes in that post and invite you to join in the fun. Send me your family’s favorite Cheerwine recipe. it doesn’t have to be original but if its not, be sure to credit the source; or if its an original recipe tell me a bit about the history.
My friends at Cheerwine will send coupons to everyone who submits a recipe and I’ll print three of the top recipes submitted.
Send me your recipe with your photo and contact info – Name, Street Address ( so we can send you your coupons) and email, plus a few words about why you love the recipe – Heidi Billotto – at Heidi@HeidiCooks.com. Then, stay tuned and look for that second post to come out later this fall.
Meanwhile plan to attend the Cheerwine Centennial Celebration in Salisbury Sat May 20, noon to 8 pm and have a blast! Here’s to another 100 years of cheer!
Want to know more?
Where to buy: Cheerwine is available in supermarkets, restaurants, mass merchandisers and convenience stores in select states nationwide, across the state of North Carolina and on the company’s website at cheerwine.com.
Social Speak: Follow Cheerwine on Facebook at facebook.com/cheerwine; or on Twitter and Instagram @drinkcheerwine.
Hashtags: Always look for the #TellThemHeidiSendYou and #IllHaveWhatHeidisHaving Hashtags for all of my food, drink and restaurant recommendations.
When you post your photos from the Cheerwine Centennial Celebration on your social media, be sure to tag me and Cheerwine too, and use any of the fun Cheerwine hashtags #CheerInTheAir, #Cheertennial , #Cheerwine100 , #Cheerwine & #Cheers
Want to taste or buy more after or before the May 20 celebration? Innes Street Drug Store (112 S Main St, Salisbury, NC 28144) has Cheerwine merchandise for sale and makes delicious Cheerwine floats and fudge.
In addition to the yearlong Cheerwine exhibits open all of 2017, the Rowan Museum in downtown Salisbury also has Cheerwine shirts for sale. For more information and museum hours, click here.
For more information on Cackalacky/Cheerwine Sweet Sauce, visit the Cackalacky Website here.
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More posts about culinary events, cooking classes, and restaurants you don’t want to miss coming soon.
And remember, #TellThemHeidiSentYou
Tomorrow Friday Feb 23, 2017 marks the first day of all the food flavor and fun at the SavorNC Cooking Stage at the Southern Spring Home & Garden Show at the Park Expo in Charlotte NC. The show runs for 6 full days – this weekend of Feb 23-26 and then again the weekend of March 3-5. Attendance at the SavorNc Cooking Stage is free with your ticket to the show and we will be located right by the show entrance, so you can’t miss us!
I happily play the part of host of the cooking stage and have invited over 40 restaurant chefs, private chefs, caterers, farmers and other food-centric folk to be on stage with me cooking with tons of local produce, proteins and products. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture has come on as the title sponsor of the stage, so we are the SavorNC Cooking Stage and each day we have a different local day sponsor involved in all the action.
Goodnight Brothers Country Ham from Boone North Carolina kicks off our list of day sponsors this year on Friday February 24, 2017. Throughout the day chefs will be hamming it up with Goodnight’s all natural line of thin sliced dry cured ham (I like to call it North Carolina’s answer to Italian prosciutto) as well as Goodnight’s classic Country Ham. Goodnight Brothers has sent me two HUGE boxes of sample sized packages of ham to hand out to the crowd and at 12:30 I will be on stage with Bill Goodnight of Goodnight Brothers, cooking with both varieties of this locally cured ham and talking about the history of this family owned company and how they do what they do. if you have ever eaten a ham biscuit at Bojangles, then you know how wonderful Goodnight Brothers Ham really is – take this opportunity to come to the Spring Show on Friday, to try, taste and learn more about it.
On Saturday February 25, 2017 Parla Pasta from High Point North Carolina is our day sponsor and you won’t believe all the delicious Pastabilities we’ll have on hand. Simone Drake from Parla’s parent company Drake’s Pasta will be with us all day and is bringing a wonderful pasta salad for show goers to snack on between demos as well as plenty of coupons to hand out, so everyone can go and buy their favorite variety of Parla Pasta from their grocer’s freezer case after begin inspired by the culinary action onstage. Again, chefs will be cooking with the different varieties of Parla Pasta throughout the day and at 12:30 Simone and I will take the stage together to cook and talk pasta. Parla Pasta is available at grocery stores across Charlotte – find it in the freezer section at your favorite locations of Harris Teeter, The Fresh Market, Publix, Ingles, and Lowes Foods.
On Sunday February 26, 2017, our friends Randall York and Joanne di la Rionda from Cloister Honey are in the house with their entire line of sweet and savory locally raised honey. Cloister Honey will be available to sample and purchase throughout the day right at the cooking stage. Many chefs will be incorporating the line of Cloister Honey into their recipes and in the 12:30 time slot this day, I’ll be cooking with Cloister and Randall and Joanne will join me onstage to talk about raising bees, how they came to build a hobby into a company and we might even get Joanne to share her secrets ( well some of them) on how she develops her delicious honey blends and flavor infused varieties. Cloister will be giving away samples as a part of each prize package during each of the chefs demos throughout the day – its going to be a sweet way to wind up this first weekend of fun and local flavor on the SavorNC Cooking Stage at the Southern Spring Home & Garden Show.
In addition to recipes and samples and all the fun you’ll have at the Savor NC Cooking Stage, remember to also pick up a copy of the new issue of Charlotte Living Magazine. That beautiful dish on the cover was prepared by Chef Thomas Marlow of Mimosa Grill in Uptown Charlotte.
I’ve been doing a lot of cooking this month on television and for catering jobs and cooking classes. As my regular readers know, I am all about local and cooking in the season, so this month, in particular, I have celebrated the end of the squash season with several recipes for stuffed squash blossoms. Recently I made a delicious (if I do say so myself) ham and cheese stuffed version of my baked stuffed squash blossoms, originally for a brunch I catered for the Charlotte Food Bloggers.
What I love about the ham is first is all its a local North Carolina product all the way around. Goodnight Brothers, based in Boone, NC, doesn’t raise the pigs – they just cure the meat, but they are selective in the meat they use. The Goodnight products are produced from pigs pasture-raised on North Carolina family farms. These animals were raised in an antibiotic-free environment and when the meat was cured it was done so without the use of added nitrates or nitrites except for those naturally occurring in sea salt and celery. The ham comes thin sliced in 4 oz packages and slices are separated with parchment paper to make using the ham even easier.
Cut jalapenos or small sweet peppers in half, scrape out the seeds, fill the pepper halves with the ham and cheese filling, top with a sprinkling of panko crumbs and grated Parmesan and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until brown for a great spicy or not ham and cheese popper.
For the Squash Blossoms:
1½ cups whole local milk ( I used 
Dust the stuffed blossoms lightly with flour. And then dip each stuffed squash blossom in egg, then breadcrumbs, and transfer to a wire cake rack. This is the secret – allow the breading and egg to rest for about 5 minutes before placing the breaded blossoms on a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet.
Those of you who follow this blog in particular and my cooking classes and television appearances in general already know that I am a lover of all things local.
Famers grow the grains, take them to the mill to be ground into flours and meals, send them to our local grocers shelves, where we make the purchase and take them home to feed our families. Recently I met the fine folks at Renwood Mills based in Newton, NC, loved their 80 year old history, their all-local story and their products and wanted to share it with you.
Renwood Mills flours are packaged for commercial use under the name of Southern Biscuit where they package an all purpose flour and a self rising flour and a Just-Add-Buttermilk biscuit mix called Southern Biscuit Formula L . Renwood Mill cornmeal and flour products are also packaged under the Tenda-Bake brand and include not only cornmeal and cornmeal mixes but pancake & waffle mixes as well.
I featured the cobbler on a recent edition of WBTVs Bounce Tv with hosts Delano Little and Brigida Mack and as you will see when you view the clip at the end of this post, its a winning recipe for sure. The maple chips in the MapleBurst Tenda-Bake melt down into the butter and gives it a slightly caramelized finish to the cobbler that’s lip smackin’ good – just ask Delano!
Its called Competition Dining – The GotToBeNc Competition Dining Series – to be exact. Its a series of interactive dining events held across the state of North Carolina. Think of it as what you would get if you combined the cooking and competition premise of the television shows Chopped and Iron Chef and then add in the fact that YOU get to be the judge as teams of talented area chefs create a number of courses centered around a “secret ingredient” each night of competition.
I absolutely love what I do as the face behind all the #CompDiningNC social media, newsletters etc, coordinating relationships with local, regional and national sponsors; helping to connect local farmers and chefs and in general making sure that our dinner guests have the most fun possible as we competing across North Carolina, this year with regional series in Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh, Charlotte and Wilmington.
As a dinner guest at any Competition Dining event, you and your dining companions will enjoy a six course meal, but you won’t know which team of chefs prepared which course. You’ll have fun voting on the specially designed app on your phone, voting and posting on your own social media if you would like, as you enjoy each sweet and savory forkful. In the end, your votes are tallied, the teams come out to meet the crowd, the scores are reveled and one team wins and the other goes on the cook another day.
In Charlotte all of the events will take place at 
While the chefs are cooking in the kitchen, as ticketed guests, you can get in on the action as well, savoring a full-service, six-course meal without knowing which chef prepared which plate. As you enjoy the dinner, you’ll vote on each dish using the free app, and ultimately help determine who moves on to the next round and who goes home. Guests attending the finale in each region receive a gift bag of coupons, swag and samples compliments of our Competition Dining Sponsors.
Team 3 COOKS from Waxhaw: Paul Verica, owner and chef at 
Team Radical Range Riders from Matthews: Adam Reed, owner and chef at 
Team Bistro127 from Hickory: Shawn Bank, executive chef at 
Team Vicious and Delicious from Charlotte: Ryan Forte executive chef at 
Team Luciano’s from Charlotte: John Soilis, executive chef 
Team Fahrenheit Charlotte from Charlotte: David Feimster, executive chef 
Team Heirloom from Charlotte: Clark Barlowe, chef and proprietor at 
Team Les Trois Petit Cochon from Fort Mill: Neil Bratton, executive chef at 
Putting my 
Working with our area lodging partner 
My first night in town I opted for a simple dinner at the Print Works bar – I started with what may well be my new summer cocktail for the 2016 season -a French 702- a refreshingly delicious sip of gin, St Germain, lemony simple syrup and sparkling wine, oh my!
Last night, the first night of the competition, hometown chefs Michael Harkenreader, Noah Sheets & Chris Rosato , “Team Wiley Pickle Weasels” from Undercurrent Restaurant in Greensboro took on a trio of talent found in chefs Matt Montandon, Donald Francis and Justin Neal all a part of “Team Hobnob”, the dream team from The Hobnob Restaurant and Jordan Street Cafe, both in Brevard NC. It was battle Miso and Mushrooms – an evening of umami!
The two featured “Secret Ingredients ” for this flavorful evening both have North Carolina roots. The first a product one might be surprised to be a locally produced ingredient – traditional Japanese miso! Got To Be NC organic, GMO and gluten free misos from Miso Masters Miso, produced by North Carolina’s own The American Miso Company located in the foothills of Western North Carolina in the town Rutherfordton, NC. Who’d of thunk it? But its true, in fact, for more culinary offings from Rutherfordton – check out the link at the end of this post; but, in the meantime, make no mistake, this miso is indeed the real thing, produced with care and quality beyond reproach. The American Miso Company is the largest producer of traditional miso in the world and is proud to produce high quality traditional misos, aged naturally ( sometimes for years) using traditional ingredients. Miso Masters makes 7 different varieties of traditional miso ( available to consumers – as well as chefs – at area EarthFare and Whole Foods stores.
Along with the Miso, the Undercurrent and Hobnob Competition Dining chefs also had six different varieties of locally grown wild mushrooms all from a relatively new Charlotte-based mushroom farm called Urban Gourmet Farms based in Charlotte NC. I’ve written an article on this mushrooming operation for the Summer issue of Charlotte Living Magazine, on Charlotte area newsstands and online soon, so look for more to come, but suffice to say that these mushrooms are some of the best locally grown product I have ever seen and many Charlotte area chefs agree. I was personally thrilled to be able to bring Urban Gourmet Farms into the Competition Dining series in hope that chefs across the state would be exposed to the quality and the flavor of this wonderful product.
But last night was just the beginning in Greensboro. The second preliminary battle takes place this evening – Tuesday June 21 – and tickets are still available. Another team of Greensboro locals -chefs from Sedgefield Country Club, “Team Culinary Crushers” will take on “Team The Natives” from Native Kitchen and Social Pub from Swannanoa, North Carolina. Tickets for this second preliminary battle are still available – just 
Now that I have you in the mood, humming along, no doubt; here’s the scoop on ten Charlotte area restaurants and what they are serving for New Years Eve 2015 – Take a read, make a reservation and then Eat, Drink & Celebrate as we welcome in 2016! Cheers!
300 East. located as the name suggests at 300 East Blvd., is locally owned and has been a mainstay in the Charlotte restaurant scene since 1986 capping off Charlotte’s ever developing East Blvd. restaurant row in Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood. If you are not up for a dinner out on New Years’ Eve – you might want to enjoy lunch instead and I’m happy to say that 300 East will be serving a midday meal on Thursday December 31 from 11-3:30. Dinner service on the 31st is from 5-10PM. The full dinner menu will be available, as well as an optional 3-course package for $40. Reservations are highly recommended by calling 704-332-6507 or visit 
As only the team of Chefs Chris Coleman, Matthew Krenz and Jossie Perlemutter can do it, New Years Eve guests are in for a treat at The Asbury with a special five-course tasting menu on tap for the evening. (The tasting menu is also quite nicely offered in a vegetarian version) Cost $75 per person with an additional $40 for wine pairings (plus tax and gratuity). To whet your palate while you read on The Asbury’s menu’s follow… the evening starts with Amuse, or a little bite to get your palate in the mood; gives you a pause to refresh with an Intermezzo or midway and ends with “Mignardise” small sweet tidbits to finish the evening. The Asbury is located adjacent to the Dunhill Hotel in Uptown Charlotte at 235 N Tryon Street. Parking in the deck directly behind the Dunhill and the restaurant will validate. For more info visit 
Nothing like watching the New Year’s Eve roll in on one of Charlotte’s most popular rooftops as the clock stokes midnight, you’ll have a birds eye view of the city and can step outside to raise your glasses high. Special menu with lots of mouthwatering choices – Chefs Rocco Whalen, David Feimster and the Fahrenheit Charlotte team and working their magic to make it a spectacular evening with a four course menu to beat the band. Selections include Dutch Harbor King Red Crab Bisque with winter truffles, Vietnamese Chicken Springrolls, Garlic Black Pepper Lobster, Kobe beef short ribs, Beef tenderloin and Moroccan Lamb loin, just to name a few. Wind it all up with bread pudding, cobbler, creme brulee or my personal fave: Dark Chocolate Jolt Cake served with Fruity Pebble Cremeux and Marshmallow Cotton Candy! Fruity Pebbles – you just gotta love it! 
Want to make it a farm to fork New Year’s Eve? Lots of these restaurants featured here use local product, But Chef Tim Groody, now of Fork! in Cornelius is credited with making the movement real in Charlotte when he was the first chef to ever put a famer’s name on a menu in the Queen City. You can read all about it in my culinary section of the winter issue of
Tucked away in Charlotte’s Bellhaven neighborhood, near Moutain Island Lake, Heirloom is an easy drive from Uptown, South or North Charlotte, there is plenty of parking and is a Charlotte hot spot you simply do not want to miss. Chef and owner Clark Barlow is making big waves, sourcing from local North Carolina farms and producers and won’t serve anything that wasn’t “Grown. Raised. Caught. Made.” in North Carolina. He and his incredibly talented staff celebrate each season and then can, jar and preserve the harvest for use all year round. Clark has made appearances on The Food Network’s Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay. Before opening Heirloom, Clark worked and trained at The French Laundry in California and at El Bulli in Spain, just to mention a few of his creds, and now he’s taking that same small plate philosophy and doing doing it in spades with all North Carolina local product. Heirloom offers a regular 12 plate tasting menu, but for the end of this year and the beginning of the next, he’s raising the bar. Celebrate New Year’s Eve in 16 Small Local Delicious Bites to ring in 2016.
Lumiere French Kitchen is located in the heart of Myers Park in Charlotte at 1039 Providence Road. Owned an operated by Chef Tom Condron and Matthew Pera, Lumiere brings modern French cuisine to the Queen City. To read more about chef Tom Condron’s philosophy and all he brings to the table (Pun intended) at Lumiere in the feature article I wrote in the culinary section of the new Winter issue of 
Here ‘s an option for after the clock strikes midnight and you make that New Year’s resolution to take better care of yourself in 2016. Just when you thought you were going to have to go it all alone, Charlotte’s modPALEO comes to the rescue! Chef Kris Reid and the talented team are here to help and have already come up with a plan of meals prepared with local and sustainable ingredients. All you have to do right now is register for the program Dec 26-30. modPALEO is a Carolinas-based, pre-packaged meal service that offers a modern approach to healthy eating, based on the Paleo lifestyle. They believe in maintaining balance and wellness through the power of real food, well-sourced ingredients and sustainability
My friends Jessica and Luca Annunziata and their talented team at Passion 8 are making a night of it with a New Year’s Eve Masquerade party. Two seatings at the popular Elizabeth Avenue restaurant. First at 6pm featuring 4 fabulous Courses for $85 ; and then the Second Seating at 9pm with 5 Fabulous Courses for $125 with Champagne. An hour before the stroke of midnight the photo booth opens up so you can capture the moment and there will be dancing and a live DJ. Complimentary Hors D’oeuvres & Champagne Toast at Midnight. its all happening at 1523 Elizabeth Ave. Complimentary Parking in adjacent lots. Wondering what those four or five courses will be? Here you go…. and then Call for Reservations 704.910.3161 or visit 
The annual New Year’s Eve Party at Village Tavern on 4201 Congress Street in the SouthPark area takes place from 9pm to 1am! Enjoy another masquerade themed evening with the sounds of DJ Chase Morgan, drink specials, delicious appetizers and party favors for all! $20 cover charge per person, alcohol and gratuity under separate cover. Safe transportation will be available. For more information and reservations, please call 704-552-9983 or visit 
Finally, perhaps a taste of Italian is what you’ll want to ring in the new year. Lots of great Italian options in town for sure, but one of my recent favorites is Vivace, located in the Metropolitan shopping area between Uptown and Southend at 1100 Metropolitan Ave.