We Give Thanks for Simple Fare and Noble Causes

By: Helen Schwab/Restaurant Writer

I come to praise Caesar salads, not to bury them, and with them as our Day of Thanks approaches – other such simple fare as has been made noble by our circumstances.

In other words, it’s nothing short of Shakespearean, this collision of economic peril and growing appreciation of simpler (often local!) foods in Charlotte. We few, we happy few who notice burger joints and pizza parlors burgeoning just in time of our dwindling coins, must revel in the opportunities.

We should be thankful – which we of taste and feeling are – for:

• Fat burgers topped with everything from herb goat cheese spread to fried egg with ham. Big Daddy’s Burger Bar in Dilworth and The Counter new SouthPark show you can go gourmet in a burgerish way. The upcoming uptown NIX Burger & Brew from Nick LaVecchia is hot on their heels, slated to open next Friday at 201 N. Tryon St.
• Pizza in several incarnations. This classic concoction took lots of interesting twists, from the Pizza Peel’s whole wheat or white crust options in a cozy tap room atmosphere, to MezzaNotte’s more full-menu-Italian approach, to Pie Town’s edgier toppings: house-cured guanciale (a kind of bacon) and black truffle oil – though you can also get one with just cheese and basil. Let’s also note the aggressive expansion by the home town Brixx chain, which just announced plans to open more than 50 restaurants throughout the South in the next five years, including at least 18 by the end of ’09.