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| - The fella and I live near the Fort Mill location, but we're so glad they moved to Charlotte! There's so much more room at this location, and now I can actually see the menu.
We arrived 30 minutes before our Open Table reservation to have a drink at the bar, which is long and spacious and seats about 12 people; there were also a couple of high-top tables near the front window. They had all local beers on tap, but I started with the bartender's recommendation of a Fig Manhattan (cold, bourbon-y, and yummy), and the fella went straight for a Blanton's neat. Bless the bartender's heart, you could hardly see the bourbon in his glass since the pour was so tiny... the fella was not impressed and grumbled a little bit through the beginning of dinner.
We moved onto the dining room behind the bar (there's also another one to the side of the bar), and it turns out they can curtain off any of the rooms for private parties. There's also another room upstairs for that specific reason, and there's a glassed-off chef's table that looks into the kitchen and appeared to seat about 10 people. The atmosphere of the entire restaurant/bar is dark and cozy with warm lighting and dark brown wood - perfect for a winter night. Although the atmosphere is intimate and upscale, we still felt totally comfortable in jeans, which I appreciate.
Our waitress, Esther, was incredibly knowledgeable about the menu and had definite recommendations when we'd need a judge's ruling. We started with the pork belly (delicious), and then I got the pork of the day as my entree, and the fella got the short ribs. Thankfully, the chef prepared my pork medium rare, so it was incredibly tender, but I think the fella may have won the night since his short ribs were delicious, and his mashed potatoes were "like crack."
The staff was full of nervous excitement and chattiness, and I'm guessing that'll calm down a little once they hit a groove, but I appreciated the enthusiasm... now they just need to work on their pours. Overall, a great addition to the Elizabeth food scene!
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