CLT Eats – A Charlotte Restaurant Review

Main Dining Area

Last night I was trying to come up with a good place to go for dinner and since it was Restaurant Week I thought it’d be a good idea to take advantage of the $30 3 course meal option somewhere. I trekked on over to the Queen’s Feast Restaurant Week web site to see if I could find a list of participants. Not only was there a list but it was broken down by area of town. I was going to be on the south side so after looking at that section I noticed New South Kitchen – a place I’d never heard of before but was reasonably nearby. Destination found! I called them up and made a reservation.

New South Kitchen is located at the Arboretum Shopping Center. We arrived a bit early but getting seated wasn’t a problem. Turns out the reservations weren’t necessary but I didn’t want to chance having to wait. The interior is very nice but casual. Not particularly fancy but adequately tasteful. The bar was fairly packed and there was a gentleman with a guitar to one side covering artists like Tracey Chapman and James Taylor. Fortunately for me we were seated as far away from him as possible. I’m not a big fan of live music while I’m eating. I usually find it’s far too loud to carry on a conversation. Despite this not being a large restaurant I could barely hear his playing from where I was seated which made me happy.

I’d briefly looked over the Queen’s Feast menu on the Restaurant Week web site and saw several things I’d wanted to check out. After reviewing it again I settled on the Redneck Cheese Board appetizer, Spinach Salad, Shrimp & Grits Entree and Butterscotch Bread Pudding for dessert. Not only was I very impressed with the options available to choose from but despite the requirements for participating in Restaurant Week being only 3 courses for $30, New South Kitchen kicked in a extra course!

Appetizers came out promptly and the Redneck Cheese Board was killer. It wasn’t Redneck at all and I could find no board but it was mighty fine. Next up was the Spinach Salad and I have to admit that it blew me away. There were toasted pistachios in it which really made it special. The dressing wasn’t too heavy either. It’s easy to over do the dressing to make up for a less than interesting salad. That wasn’t going on here at all. The Shrimp & Grits were also stellar. This is one of those meals that I order from time to time because it sounds good but I frequently don’t care for it when I get it. Tonight was a significant exception. This was probably the best Shrimp & Grits I’d ever had. Lots of well prepared shrimp with some browned ground sausage and perfect grits. Halfway through the entree I should’ve stopped eating. I was beginning to nod off like a heroin junkie after a fix but I soldiered on. Last up was the Butterscotch Bread Pudding. Again, a truly awesome dessert. Really good stuff. The entire meal was amazing, well prepared, well presented, well paced and at $30 an amazing value. Service was also spot on as well.

I honestly can find nothing to complain about. I had a perfect experience that rivals that of my favorite restaurant, Barrington’s. On top of that, this is a cheaper place to dine than Barrington’s, which itself I thought was reasonable for the quality. I’m grateful to Charlotte Restaurant Week for putting on this event and introducing me to this rock’n little restaurant. I’ll definitely be back.

Pros

• Excellent Food
• Excellent Value
• Excellent Service
• Casual Atmosphere

Cons

• None

Rating: Recommended