Don’t get Jerry Kirk wrong—he likes the new NoDa. “It’s still fun,” he says. “It’s just not an arts district.” He’s a slight, fast-talking man with a baseball cap that covers his baldness, a beard gone white, and a denim jacket with a lapel pin from Rococo Fish, a long-gone gallery that used to be a neighborhood cornerstone. “That’s been on there for years,” Kirk mutters, referring to the pin. NoDa was a rough neighborhood back in the mid-1990s. Artists would don matching hats that read “SECURITY” and, flashlights in hand, patrol the streets. But the crowds had discovered the gallery crawls a ..read more

Sam Chappelle and Yerman Carrasquero have come a long way in search of the perfect croissant. For the uninitiated (or anyone who doesn’t binge The Great British Baking Show), croissants are laminated, meaning cold butter is rolled between layers of dough, folded, rolled again, folded, and rolled again to create a buttery package that can be shaped and filled (or not). Finally, it’s baked until the heat of the oven teases the browned edges of the layers apart like pages in an ancient book, and the whole thing lifts a little closer to heaven.  “Do what you know,” Chappelle says. “That’s ou ..read more

Author image, Courtesy, Jeff Cravotta Tommy Tomlinson Dogland The glorious subtitle: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show. Tomlinson is a longtime Charlotte resident, podcast host, and beloved former newspaper columnist whose first book, The Elephant in the Room, chronicles his lifelong battle with obesity. Five years later, he enters the realm of the dog show, where he meets all of the dogs, who nuzzle, lick, and sniff him. Dogland (Simon & Schuster, $28.99) zooms out of its crate April 23.   Author image, Courtesy, Allie Marie Smith Patrice Gopo Autum ..read more

In Partnership with Charlotte Center City Partners Camden Commons returns this month and brings an “outdoor living room” back to the South End neighborhood on Camden Road, which will be closed to vehicular traffic during three Sundays through spring: April 21, May 19, and June 16. During these free Sunday outings, the street is abuzz with dozens of retail and food vendors, live music, “hangout zones,” games, and more. Camden Commons, presented by Lowe’s, is a free, family-friendly event available to all. The event’s origins go back to 2019 conversations between South End, Wilmore, and Dilwo ..read more

It’s easy to overlook Nusa, the fast-casual Indonesian restaurant that opened in the former Charlotte Café space at The Arboretum in December. It sits among a cluster of Asian eateries (Curry Junction, Sushiya Japan Ramen & Sushi Bar, and Malaya Kitchen), and the south Charlotte shopping center is home to several popular local restaurants (Vicious Biscuit, Cajun Yard Dog, Link & Pin). But don’t sleep on this one. Nusa is the first fully authentic Indonesian restaurant in North Carolina, and it’s a refreshing change when you’ve had your fill of customizable salads, bowls, and burritos ..read more

In December, as the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture prepared to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, president and CEO David Taylor announced he was retiring after 14 years. The museum board selected COO Bonita Buford—a chemical engineer and arts enthusiast in her second career—to succeed him.  The Gantt, founded in 1974 as the Afro-American Cultural Center, has grown from a small, grassroots cultural center to a regional fixture for Black art, history, and culture. Buford says she wants to expand its range. “We want to remind people that we’re not just a m ..read more

Michelle Lane, owner of Modern Cottage, worked alongside the team at Grandfather Homes to design her client’s classic Georgian in the Cramer’s Pond community in Plaza Midwood. They made the new build look old with lime-washed brick, a cedar shake roof, and boxwood hedges. The homeowner opted for a light, airy interior but had a unique request for the first-floor lounge. “She wanted it to feel dark and moody, like a departure from the rest of the house,” Lane says. “She was very into Bridgerton at the time, so she envisioned herself in there with a glass of Champagne. It’s meant to be a ladies ..read more

Incredibly, we’ve been at this business of determining what’s best in Charlotte for 25 years. We’d say it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but the truth is that, yes, it does: The city’s come a long way since 1999, outgrowing a few sets of clothes as it’s lurched into its status as a big American city. It’s been smooth at times, awkward at others, but always an exhilarating trip. So we proudly present the 2024 Best of the Best Awards, with its vegan dishes, boutique burgers, cocktail experiences, and rage rooms, as we try to imagine what’ll make the list in 2049. EAT PLAY EXPLORE LIVE S ..read more

Growing up in Puerto Rico, Giovanna Torres and her parents went to the movies often. But despite the island’s Spanish heritage, proximity to Latin America, and dual national languages, Torres says the only movies available were English-language Hollywood films. “Maybe they had Spanish subtitles,” she says, “but that was it.” It wasn’t until she attended a liberal arts college in Connecticut that she was introduced to Latin American cinema in a class. “I was mind-blown,” she says. “I was like, How have I never seen these films?” Even though film budgets in Latin America are “minuscule compared ..read more

“I paint with fire,” says encaustic artist Melissa Stutts. “It’s the easiest way to tell people what I do. And they probably think that means, like, I’m Evel Knievel. But it’s very disciplined. It’s nuanced, like sipping tea next to a crackling fire versus just painting more stuff on top of stuff.” We’re at McColl Center, in the studio she’s occupied since December. The walls are lined with Stutts’ paintings, which she creates with layers of heated wax that she manipulates and mixes with colored pigments. The floating shelves display smaller canvases and reproductions of her large-scale paint ..read more