When you picture a weekend in Charlotte, NC what comes to mind? If you said NASCAR and BBQ you wouldn’t be wrong. This town houses the NASCAR Hall of Fame and some serious Carolina bbq joints but the Queen City has more going for it than that. From botanical gardens to world class museums this city charms it’s way into your heart.

As usual we set out for a long weekend. It’s an easily doable 5 hour drive from north Florida and we definitely wanted a car for this city. We headed out after work Thursday arriving very late at night to the Marriott City Center. With private parking on site and a location that makes the majority of uptown walkable we were impressed by this hotel. When we arrived we were greeted by a friendly front staff and given bottles of water to take to our room. Upon waking we the Famous toastery where I went for the namesake item of peanut butter and banana French toast while my husband struck gold with the shrimp and grits benedict. Typically we order one sweet, one savory dish and share but if you have to pick just one item. Get the benedict!

Ok, our bellies filled it was time to take in uptown. Uptown is actually downtown and that’s where it’s at. A beautifully walkable area, but you can rent bicycles, take the light rail or electric scooters. There are plenty of safe walking options here. We stopped along the streets to take in Murals. Like Nashville, Charlotte has plenty of great insta worthy backdrops.

March mornings are a little chilly and we found jeans and alight jacket made for the perfect outfit. After a few hours strolling we headed to our timed entry at the Mint museum. It felt like having the entire museum to ourselves! We were able to peruse the art at leisure and wonder at the effort each artist out into each design.

By now the sun had turned up a notch and we were hungry again. We hit up Mac’s speed shop for brisket and some seriously good bbq nachos. If you go to North Carolina you have to try the BBQ. Pretty sure it’s in the rule book. We did share a meal which was left us for room to enjoy an afternoon treat at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. This locale was top on my husbands list of things to do. They have a huge outdoor biergarten and a variety of ciders and beers. He chose a flight of local drafts while I went for a blackberry cider which was delightful.

All of these treats really required some walking around and given such amenable weather we headed out of uptown to a walkable mall area surrounding a lake to grab a hot brownie ice cream sandwich at Ninety’s Ice cream sandwich. With Covid you order at a stall door and choose your ice cream flavor, topping and anything else you might want. It’s fully customizable.

Our final stop of Friday was the Funny Bus located outside of the 7th street public market (perfect for picking up the libation of your choice). It’s a combination comedy show and city tour. It’s a fun way to learn about the city and our guide was both hilarious and informative. It’s a BYOB tour and gives you a great overview of town. It also stops at Amelie’s French bakery halfway through. If there’s one must eat in Charlotte it’s Amelie’s. Do yourself a favor and fully expect to take home an entire box because you won’t be able to decide. This place has a French art vibe and is known for making the pastries featured in the Hunger Games movies. Pieces as beautiful as they are delicious.

Strolling back to our hotel that evening full of good food, belly laughs and some cocktails we decided we ought to grab dinner. We hadn’t made a reservation so when we walked past Aria we found a no wait table at the bar. They have an amazing deal for happy hour apps. $5 for meal sized portions of some pretty tasty stuff. From giant meatballs, personal pizzas, to pear & prosciutto gnocchi and roasted Brussels sprouts. We ordered several items and happily shared. We had so much we had to bring leftovers back to the room. Not bad for a bill under $40.

Saturday morning begins with a trip out of uptown to Easy like Sunday. Weekend brunch here is worth the drive. It’s a cute little shop located on the bottom level of a strip mall so there’s ample parking and while we did make reservations, it looked like between the bar and outdoor seating; walk ins were quickly accommodated. We love a good coffee and the lavender latte was served piping hot with a fresh sprig of lavender on the side. Again, as beautiful to the eyes as as it was on the tongue.

The real star of the show here were the lemon blueberry ricotta pancakes. A gorgeous stack of 6 warm pancakes piled high and topped with sweet cream, blueberries and lemon zest just begging for syrup. While chatting with the owner I mentioned a lavender syrup to crank it up a notch and to my surprise they brought some out for our last few bites! It doesn’t take much but boy was it yummy.

Our savory entree was the short rib hash. If there’s a short rib brunch option on the menu that’s always the go to order and this was one of the best. The right mix of spicy, beefy goodness topped with runny eggs, loads of meat and a whole mess of sweet potato hash under the surface.

Next stop on our trip out of town is the botanical gardens. We had a few choices, but opted for theDaniel Stowe botanical gardens in Belmont.

A few hours enjoying the peaceful gardens and off we drove to our next stop… a timed entry tour at Muddy River distillery. This is North Carolina’s oldest legal distillery and they make both wonderful traditional rums as well as one of the only basil rums on the market. The tour is led by some of the original distillers who are both personable and informative. You are given your own shot glass and at each stopping point along the way you are invited to imbibe a sampling of their distinctive offerings. At the end of the tour you can make your purchases or even have a cask dedicated to you or someone special and when it’s ready they offer the option to purchase a bottle. Perhaps a great way to celebrate a special moment. If we ever return and bring the shot glasses our tours are free! How’s that for an incentive?!

Lunch time Saturday came quickly so we didn’t need a big meal. Common market fit the bill. It has the cutest outdoor patio and the sandwiches are big enough to easily share. We chose the club sandwich with a side of chips.

We had to squeeze in a little more culture before our dinner reservation at the Bechtler museum of modern art. The walk through the uptown park housing the library is worth a detour especially since nothing is very far away.

From art pieces on the walls to mixed media within; the Bechtler MoMA is a nice way to spend some time wandering in peace.

Finding ourselves with some extra time and a missed opportunity, we wandered to another area of town; NoDA. This is a funky little area that has bars, dining, alongside cute little shops that cater to a younger, more eclectic crowd. It’s a great place for a drink or more mural photos.

I’d been craving a missed opportunity to try Jeni’s ice cream and since there’s a location in NoDA we meandered through the shops to the far side of town. Let me tell you if you have problems deciding this is not the place for you. There were so many great choices. Ultimately I chose a waffle cone with brûlée bananas and my husband chose the lavender sorbet.

Perhaps we were doing things backwards, but dessert first just made sense. Especially ice cream on a warm afternoon. We sat on the benches outside enjoying our cones and the cool breeze. So, dessert taken care of, we headed to our dinner reservation at Haberdish. I had heard so many good things I was beyond excited to try. As we had made reservations we were able to pretty much walk right in and as a thank you we were gifted a plated of homemade pickled vegetables. Eating here is like going to grandma’s house. A southern grandma that is! Food is served on classic dish ware, the rose gold silverware gleams, the cut glass cups sparkle, and the food is delicious. The showstopper here is their fried chicken. I opted for a tenderloin (which was more than enough) and my husband ordered the half chicken. We split several sides including smoky mac n cheese, braised red cabbage with goat cheese and rainbow carrots. The chicken was as tasty as advertised, but the Mac n cheese was disappointing. The cabbage was pretty good, but our favorite side was the carrots. I was a little surprised.

Our foodie weekend adventure was coming to an end. We had the best time, but we had one more meal left. Sunday breakfast before driving back home and it couldn’t have been more convenient. Stoke located in the hotel lobby is top notch. I ordered a breakfast pizza with prosciutto, tomatoes and arugula expecting a personal size. Why came out was enough for a very hungry couple. Also, it on menu is the 1 pound donut! It takes a solid amount of time to make but it’s 100% worth it. If you don’t get the diplomat cone it next door at the coffee shop you need to get the donut. It’s a solid ring of fried, doughy goodness with a measurable dollop (half cup?) of real whipped cream and a generous sprinkling of crushed toffee candy. I just had to include the photo with me holding it so you can properly see the size of this beauty!