I'm an easy mark for laid-back spots with solid beer selections, and Dandelion Market features both: lots of NC brews represented within, and this place was a welcome respite from a day that saw the Charlotte area awash in temperamental weather. Fortunately I had the good sense to come in out of the rain for once.
Dandelion makes an interesting first impression: the wall to your immediate right boasts a wall of shoe trees -- enough of them that I asked the bartender if there was some significance to the art installation. Nope, he said, they were pretty much just a wall of shoe trees.
Hmm. Okay.
That said, upstairs plays differently from the more traditional Irish style pub on the first floor: dark, ambient, warm by virtue of its heavy wooden overtones, the acoustic act playing guitar when I stopped in seemed appropriate to the pervading vibe of the room. If I were around more often, it's pretty safe to suggest that upstairs at Dandelion Market might become a regular hang. As it is, I'll look forward to popping back in next time I'm in.