My first visit to Charlie's had some hiccups. The dining room/bar is warm and welcoming. The welcome soon wore off when I sat at the bar for at least 5 minutes unacknowledged. It appeared one of the bartenders was relatively new and while she glanced my way, she never engaged me. The more veteran bartender finally did and offered up the drink and food menu. The menu claims to be seasonally influenced and appears to be as the menu listed on their website was not the one offered up to me when I sat down. I appreciate that they strive to locally source their ingredients and as I wasn't that hungry, opted for the mushroom bisque and a side of frites. The bisque was very good. Perfectly seasoned and sunflower shoots help bite through the rich creaminess. The frites, however, were a miss. I like that they were handcut but they missed the mark as the lacked the crispy exterior that true frites have. Why the curried ketchup was almost chunky is also mystery.
One thing I inquired about but did not order was the cheese board. There were only two featured-a 3 yr Hooks and a Farmer John's camembert. Two cheeses is weak and there is no excuse to have a more wider selection.
They have some work to do. With that said, they have potential and I will be back to update my review.