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| - There's a neon sign labeled "Eat" outside. I don't need anymore directions than that at Mert's, which might be my favorite place in the Uptown Charlotte area.
This is where I take my out-of-town friends, especially ones who have never experienced what a brick of cornbread looks like, especially one that comes with housemade honey butter. The tea ninjas (or wait-staff) make sure our cups never runneth empty and might tell us some jokes here and there. We'd always eat our vegetables if they were like the ones here: macaroni and cheese (I know, not a vegetable), collard greens (got a little pico de gallo), and the okra stew are some of the best. The Daily Fixin's have some classic choices like fried chicken and catfish, but I really love the salmon cakes, which come with sauce that'd be great on burgers. You'll be fuller than a piggy bank on pay day, but some banana puddin'(g) is a spectacular dessert.
I love the album cover decorations and the music that comes from them-all Motown and Stax classics. Soul music is where a lot of the "Soul" comes from; the rest is from the quirky decor and the buzzing of conversation from families out to dinner or couples before/after a play. The whole place has old theatre posters and sepia photographs, not because it's "cool," but because Mert's is a beloved part of Charlotte. The bankers across the street even banded together to keep it afloat during a rough financial period. Say what you will about their handling of the economic crisis, but fiscal cliffs have got nothing on Mert's.
It owns my heart, soul, and if I ever have children, maybe even my first-born.
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