| rev:text
| - Pinky's Westside Grill opened a little over a year ago just outside of Uptown Charlotte. This is a fun and casual bar and grill that occupies the former space of a Volkswagen garage on the corner of Freedom and Morehead. The old "Triple 'G' Automotive" sign remains outside and the owners left an old school VW Beetle on the roof of the building. The Beetle has been painted over with a design of the American flag.
Pinky's serves bar food (hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, sandwiches, etc.) with a creative flair. For example, you can order a burger "Ding Dong Style" with crunchy peanut butter, honey-cilantro slaw, and spicy Sriracha sauce. They've also got "Crab Puppies" (like hush puppies, except made out of crab) and a falafel wrap, so there's some variety. Prices are very reasonable here with most entrees under $8 each.
I tried one of Pinky's most popular burgers, the White Trash Burger ($4.50). It comes with a 5 oz. patty topped with provolone cheese, fried pickles, onion rings, and spicy ranch. While the burger is not ginormous, it is pretty satisfying. I noticed the server didn't ask me how I'd like my burger cooked, just like my experience at Kickstand earlier this year. I guess it's a Charlotte thing. Regardless, the beef is good. The bun is flat and small.
The waffle fries, onion rings, and sweet potato fries are Pinky's most popular sides. I tried an order of their onion rings plus an order of their honey-cilantro slaw. The rings and slaw are served in BBQ take-out-style paper trays. The onion rings are long and stringy. The batter is a little inconsistent throughout (both crisp and soggy). When you get to the end of the tray, it's mostly large crumbs of batter.
The honey-cilantro slaw is very good. While there isn't as much cilantro as I like (I *love* cilantro), the slaw is fresh and crisp. The lettuce, onion, etc. are cut shredded into several long strands and the honey-mayo (or whatever sauce they use) is applied in just the right amount so the side isn't too strong. I'd like to try this with a hot dog next time.
While I haven't had them, my friends really like the crab puppies, falafel wrap, and "Stray Dog" (vegetarian hot dog), so those are other dishes that have a seal of approval.
Inside the restaurant, many tall windows give you a nice view of the Uptown skyline. The decor is an entertaining mishmash of all sorts of things including a Ms. Pac-Man arcade cabinet.
The servers are cool, the food comes out fast, and service is great. When the check comes, they have no problems separating the bill between couples and singles.
There is limited parking available in front of the restaurant. Your best bet is to park in the free lot across Morehead St.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)