CharlotteFive

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Where’s the best sandwich in the Charlotte area? Tell us your favorite Here’s how to nominate the sandwich shop you love the most for our latest Readers’ Choice poll.

🥪 BEST SANDWICHES: Where would you send a friend for a killer sandwich in Charlotte? We want your nominations for our next Readers' Choice poll.

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

‘Top Chef Carolinas’ kicks off with high speed at iconic Charlotte Motor Speedway Early access to the Bravo culinary competition featuring two North Carolina chefs starts today on Peacock.

🔪 IT'S 'TOP CHEF' TIME: What are you hoping to see in the Charlotte-filmed season of "Top Chef"?

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

This popular reality TV show is casting in NC. How to audition in Charlotte Here’s what producers are looking for.

💍 MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT: If you’re looking for love, you may be in luck.

That’s because a popular reality TV show has put out a casting call for singles in North Carolina. “Married at First Sight” is inviting people who want to be in serious relationships to audition in Charlotte. What to know:

Which closed Charlotte restaurants do you miss the most?

Carpe Diem, Mickey & Mooch, Futo Buta and more: Closed Charlotte restaurants you miss So many restaurants that helped shape the Charlotte food scene of today. Here’s what you miss the most about 36 of them.

We recently asked you which restaurants you miss the most — whether here for a long time or a little — and your answers sure took us on a trip down memory lane. Here are your answers: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

😢 CLOSED RESTAURANTS WE MISS: So many restaurants that helped shape the Charlotte food scene of today. Here’s what we miss the most about them.

Here’s what to expect when modern steakhouse Guard and Grace opens in South End Stunning skyline views and playful food with international flair are coming to the table at this Charlotte restaurant.

👀 EARLY LOOK: Take a sneak peek at what's to come when this Michelin-recommended steakhouse opens in South End.

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

Michelin-recommended steakhouse is coming to Charlotte. How to get an early look Expect oak-fired steaks, fresh seafood and skyline views when the restaurant opens. But you don’t have to wait long to get a taste.

🥩 MICHELIN-RECOMMENDED STEAKHOUSE OPENING: A Michelin-recommended steakhouse is moving ahead with opening in Charlotte this fall by offering foodies a few sneak peeks at what’s to come.

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

Dunkin’ giving away nearly 2 million iced coffees in Charlotte. How to get one The giveaway follows a ‘90s sitcom-inspired Super Bowl commercial.

🥤Dunkin’ giving away nearly 2 million iced coffees. How to get one in Charlotte.

The giveaway follows a ‘90s sitcom-inspired Super Bowl commercial.

🌭 BUDGET BITES: The Charlotte Hornets are launching a new Hugo’s Hive Menu with five fan-favorite concessions for $2 each: a hot dog, pretzel bites, popcorn, bottled Dasani water and any 12 oz. can of soda. The menu will debut Feb. 9 during the Hornets game against the Detroit Pistons.

How the CSO maestro escaped historic Charlotte snowfall to make Grammy history in LA Charlotte Symphony music director Kwamé Ryan was the first conductor in orchestra history to be nominated for, and win, a Grammy.

“I just can’t explain how you feel when you think this is the one weekend I don’t need a historical storm in North Carolina” — Charlotte Symphony music conductor Kwamé Ryan.

🏆 Before Ryan could make history at the Grammys in LA, he had to escape the clutches of a historic snowstorm in Charlotte.

Gone but not forgotten: Which closed Charlotte restaurants do you miss? From the Pewter Rose to Owen’s Bagels, losing a “third place” is never easy. Help us remember the local favorites that have closed their doors.

💌 SHARE YOUR MEMORIES: What Charlotte restaurant do you miss most?

Leave us your full name, when you used to visit, what you loved about it and your “usual” order or a specific remembrance.

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

A tiny space for sweet treats in NoDa is swapping doughnuts for deli sandwiches Later this spring, customers can sit outside the familiar Charlotte walk-up window with a sandwich and chips or a scoop of soft-serve ice cream.

🍩 FROM DOUGHNUTS TO DELI SANDWICHES: This NoDa walk-up window is switching things up.

Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

A slightly angled, close-up shot of an appetizer presentation featuring six individual pork belly bites, each served on a small, oval-shaped white tortilla. The succulent pieces of pork belly are glazed with a glossy, dark sauce and topped with a bright red, diced cube of watermelon, some with a sprinkle of green herbs. The appetizers are arranged in two rows of three on a rectangular white plate, which is slightly blurred towards the edges, suggesting a focus on the food. The background is dark and out of focus.

👑 QUEEN'S FEAST BEGINS: Queen’s Feast: Charlotte Restaurant Week starts Friday and runs through Sunday, Feb. 1. Who else is ready to eat?

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

Measles is spreading: Is your child’s North Carolina school vulnerable? When the number of vaccinated children drop too low in a school, the risk of infection increases there and in the wider community, experts say.

The measles is going around. Is your child's school protected? I did a ton of data cleaning and analysis to bring you answers, via @charlotteobserver.com. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...

A close-up of a seasonal Blood Orange Margarita from Taco Mama, a popular taco bar. The bright magenta-colored drink is served in a clear plastic cup with the Taco Mama logo, a salt-rimmed edge, two black straws, and a blood orange wheel garnish.

🍊 BLOOD ORANGE IS BACK: Taco Mama's seasonal blood orange margarita has returned, featuring a made-to-order approach with fruits that are sliced, muddled or squeezed daily.

📸: Courtesy of Taco Mama

Queen’s Feast is back. Here’s how you can dine at a discount around Charlotte Browse the menus, then take your pick from more than 120 restaurants across 9 counties offering prix fixe meals starting at $30.

🍽️ QUEENS FEAST IS BACK: We're already browsing menus. Where are you eating?

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

I tried one of Charlotte’s newest Mexican restaurants. Here’s what I got for $17 This locally owned spot serves up a budget lunch featuring Bad Bunny and exceptionally attentive service.

🌯 ON A BUDGET: This Mexican restaurant serves up lunch to the tunes of Bad Bunny.

🗞️: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

Old and new, these 10 food trends are coming to Charlotte in 2026 What’s cooking in Queen City restaurants in the new year? You’re likely to see budget-friendly dining, global influences and more.

🍽️ 2026 FOOD TRENDS: What are you hoping to see on dining tables this year?

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

A NoDa restaurant is struggling, and fans are stepping in to help keep it open “We humbly ask for our community’s support now and deeply appreciate the generosity of those who wish to donate or come in and dine.”

🍽️ RESTAURANT IN NEED: The Artisan's Palate is struggling. A GoFundMe has been set up, but customers are key.

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

A Southeast Asian pop up you love is finding a more permanent home in Charlotte “It’s a way of connecting simple Asian comfort food that’s not commonly seen around here and making it more accessible.”

🥣 We'll be lining up for Southeast Asian comfort food. See you there?

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

These are the best meals you ate at Charlotte restaurants in 2025 We shared our favorite meals of the year, and you returned the favor with tales of steak, pasta, crab cakes and more.

😋 GOOD EATS: What were your favorite meals of the year?

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

Charlotte lost many restaurants in 2025. Here are the ones we’ll miss the most These special restaurants offered something unique to the Queen City, and we’ll always remember the good times there.

🍽️ We're wistful for these now-closed Charlotte restaurants.

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

Is Santa for adults, too? What do Charlotte kids want for Christmas? What he told us “At least once a year, a kid asks me for a garbage truck,” Santa told CharlotteFive.

🎅 Happy holidays to all who celebrate. Do you believe in Santa?

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

Mint Museum in Charlotte plans rare Caravaggio exhibit for first time in 20 years Three years in the making, this also is the first time the museum will have an exhibit dedicated to the Baroque Italian artist.

🎨 A rare Caravaggio exhibit is coming to Charlotte.

📏 Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

I tried livermush for the first time in Charlotte — and this is what I found Just one bite revealed that the North Carolina breakfast staple was not at all what I was expecting to taste.

🍽️ Waiting to hear all of your livermush thoughts ...

📏 Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

This Charlotte-area spot was named one of the best new restaurants in the US Esquire called the eatery “a roadside restaurant that shines like a beacon.”

🍤 Charlotte-area seafood restaurant gets nod as one of the country's best new spots.

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

December events by day in Charlotte: What to do this holiday season From light displays and gingerbread showcases to holiday markets and Santa visits, you’ll have plenty of ways to celebrate this season.

🎄 THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE: Book your December calendar with our curated list of festive things to do.

🗞️ Details: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...

A second location of this new Italian restaurant is opening soon in Lake Norman Think: Fresh polenta, poured tableside, along with house-made pasta, prime steaks and a hefty wine selection.

🍝 PASTA, PLEASE: An Italian restaurant in Charlotte is opening a new location in Davidson soon.

🗞️: www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...