2009 March at CLT Eats – A Charlotte Restaurant Review

Archive for March, 2009

Fenwick’s

Main Seating Area

Somehow over the years I’d managed to never go to Fenwick’s. I’ve driven by hundreds of times, heard people talk about it, hung out at the Ben & Jerry’s next to it and thought about going there several times but just never did. I’d built an idea of it up in my mind and it was now time to see what this older Charlotte restaurant was actually like.

The moment I walked in I knew this wasn’t even remotely close to what I expected. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but I do have to admit that my expectations were of a place far more classy than what I walked in on. What I saw was a teeny tiny little restaurant with a bar and pretty far from what I would call classy. It’s more “cozy diner” than classy. The clientele were a few generations beyond mine and I’m not as young as I used to be. The short description is well-worn Cajun diner.

We were seated in the far back in a booth which, if I remember correctly was one of only three. Service was prompt and courteous even if lacking a tiny bit in sincerity but that nuance played well with the diner-like character of the place. It actually made it feel like a darn classy diner, working its way back up toward my original expectation. It never really dug out of that hole though. I probably shouldn’t phrase it that way. I don’t mean to paint this place in a negative light because it didn’t live up to my mental image of it.

When we were seated I immediately ordered a sweet tea, just like I do everywhere else in town. Oddly, this long standing Charlotte restaurant doesn’t serve sweet tea but they do have liquid sweetener on hand which is pretty much the only thing that is a reasonable substitute. I was surprised but I the sweetener placated me. I decided to order what I was told was one of the most popular meals, the fried flounder. At $16.95 I figured this has to be a winner, especially a restaurant that’s managed to survive in Charlotte’s Myers Park/Elizabeth neighborhood for so many years. Besides, I love fish and if you fry anything you only make it better, so I felt pretty safe in my choice. We were both kind of hungry and looking over the appetizers and keyed in on the French Fry appetizer with a “dipping sauce”. This piqued my curiosity and again seemed like a safe bet being that I love French food and if you fry anything you only make it better! Plus there was this mysterious sauce. Maybe this was the secret to Fenwick’s success. Some truly special Cajun concoction I was sure.

After a short wait, the French Fry appetizer arrived complete with the “dipping sauce”, which turned out to be ketchup. When quizzed about the special dipping sauce we were informed that we could get any one of the salad dressings in place of the ketchup if we wanted. That was a dirty trick but I let it slide. I had fried fish on the way after all. Two of my favorite things!

My entree arrived and looked pretty good. It was two large flounder fillets and two sides – rice and corn casserole. The fish was decent. Not special but fairly good. I’m not much of a rice fan so I won’t comment on that but the casserole was killer. I’m a southerner which means I was raised on casseroles of all kinds and it’s rare to find one that I don’t like but that being said, this was rates pretty high.

Overall I didn’t dislike Fenwick’s but I can’t go as far as to say I liked it. On top of that the prices seemed out of line with the quality and service. It is a nice and quiet place to get a reasonably good meal and is quite convenient if you’re one of the well-heeled locals that live in the surrounding neighborhoods.