¡THE QC LOCAL!

Charlotte’s a busy place. Here’s the best of it.

🎢 After 22 years of freeloading off my parents and grandparents, I finally had to do it. For this year’s Friendsgiving, I decided to brave the task of the fully immersive turkey making experience. This past Friday, if you needed a turkey prepped, cooked or carved, I was the man for the job, with the help of at least 10 separate calls to my Mom and the extensive use of ChatGPT.

Anyway, I hope everyone has had a great week and spending much-deserved time with friends and family this weekend. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on this, and I think that my favorite Thanksgiving side is Brussels Sprouts and Bacon. Not sure how traditional this is, but my family has been doing them for years, and it never misses.

🌹ROSE

• At our aforementioned Friendsgiving, I have to shout out my friends Juli and Ellie Grace, who executed Tik Tok Star Tini’s viral Mac and Cheese Recipe to perfection. I’m still thinking about how good it was. Highly recommend giving it a try, since it’s Thanksgiving and you deserve it.

🪷BUD

• THE CAROLINA PANTHERS

  • Did Bryce Young read the newsletter last week? I’m thinking he may have caught wind of it.

  • Despite the loss, Bryce threw for his career-high in passing yards and looked the best he has yet. Even the incompletions were on the money. The defense needs a bit of help, and we could use some receiver development, but overall, we’re taking steps in the right direction and that’s all you can really ask for.

  • The Panthers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6) at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday 12/1 at 4:05 P.M. EST. You can get tickets here.

(No thorns this week, only the turkey I cooked)

DEAL OF THE WEEK

🌮 Who doesn't love a good taco?

Sabor's $1.49 Tacos Auténticos, and $2 Tacos Americanos on Tuesdays are sure to do the trick. Cheap and delicious, it’s hard to beat 5-6 tacos for less than $10 during the week.

THANKSGIVING WATCH LIST

‼️Although I could talk about all of the phenomenal Friends episodes in detail, or the tons of other TV episodes and movies to get you in the Thanksgiving spirit, there isn’t that much time in the day, so here are my three favorites if you choose to skip out on Thanksgiving Football:

1. Mad About You, Season 3, Episode 8 - “Giblets for Murray”

   • Our family watches this one every year, it’s an absolute classic.

   • “I panicked!”

2. Planes, Trains and Automobiles

   • “Please, have mercy. I’ve been wearing the same underwear since Tuesday.”

3. Friends, Season 6, Episode 9 - “The One where Ross got High”

   • “Rachel, no you weren’t supposed to put beef in the trifle. It did not taste good.”

WEEKLY BUZZ 🐝

Like a phoenix from the ashes, the rise of the Run Club has been nothing short of meteoric, and the small businesses of Charlotte have gone to great lengths to capitalize on this trend. As a mediocre runner myself, I’ve gone to several of them over the past several months, so here are my five favorites, in no particular order:

• Sycamore Run Club, Wednesday nights @ 6:30 P.M.

  • This is by far the largest in terms of quantity of people. I don’t have an exact number, but I’d say that I’ve seen upwards of 500 people gather at 6:30 on Wednesday nights, and always a friendly crowd.

  • A free half beer waits for you at Sycamore if you say you’re with the Run Club.

• Barn Burners at Trolley Barn, Monday nights @ 6:30 P.M.

  • Great energy from this one. A lot of the runners bring their own speakers, creative running lights or costumes to accompany them. They occasionally do themes as well! For example, this past Monday was “Baked Good Bonanza,” where most runner brought a baked good for everyone to share.

• Morning Miles at Backyard Brew, Thursday mornings @ 6:00 A.M.

  • For the early risers among us! I’ve only gone once, but there is a great crowd that shows up to this one.

• Olde Meck Brewery Run at OMB, Tuesday nights @ 6:30 P.M.

  • A smaller crowd than the previous three, but comes with a free beer afterwards!

• Wooden Robot Run Club, Tuesday nights @ 6:30 P.M.

  • Great vibes, and very central in Southend!

One of My Favorite Restaurants Right Now

Although I’m not in college anymore, most of my peers and I are still balling on a budget ($8 Mountain Candies don’t help). While we all love to splurge every now and then, who doesn’t love getting a great, budget-friendly meal. Since I moved into Southend, that’s been a particular problem that I’ve found, since restaurants in the area are taking advantage of their premiere location.

However, PIE.ZAA differs from the crowd. Opening in Asheville in 2020, PIE.ZAA quickly expanded to Charlotte not only for their massive slices, but also an overall great vibe in the shop. Their Charlotte location sits between Vinyl and Charlotte’s newest speakeasy, Folia, at the intersection where Camden and S. Tryon meet.

• For under $9, you can get a delicious NY Style slice the size of your thigh and a side of ranch, which is to die for.

• I tend to go with the “Roni” slice, but the rotating featured slice always piques my interest.

• PIE.ZAA is open until 2 A.M. Friday through Saturday and 1 A.M. every other night of the week. Lines tend to extend around the corner during the weekend twilight hours.

UNDERRATED IN THE 704 🍓

Since I could walk, I’ve been going to Carolina Smoothies.

My family has probably gone through over 50 of their punch cards over the years. My Mom loves the Dilworth smoothie joint so much that she spent the entire 2 years that we lived in California trying to recreate her favorite smoothie, The Floridays. She always says that she “never quite got it right.” At this point, the owner, Anna, knows her by name.

Tucked in their cozy storefront next to the Dilworth Fresh Market, Carolina Smoothies has been serving locals for decades. Without a website or an Instagram, this is the perfect example of a hidden gem. My favorite is the “Detox”, but my brother, Grant, swears by the “Orange Buzz”, which he upgrades from a kid size.

other goings on 🔥

• “Shop Small Saturday” is tomorrow, Saturday, November 30th, from 11 A.M. -5 P.M. Over 120 vendors will be on Camden Rd, eagerly waiting your arrival! Great for Christmas gift shopping.

• SupperClub is hosting a “Bad Santa” Pop-Up Party from 1-5 P.M. tomorrow, November 30th. You can expect Christmas cocktails and live music!

• I previously mentioned Charlotte’s newest speakeasy, Folia, which recently opened in the heart of Southend. Disguised as a plant store, the new Charlotte joint is a “Miami inspired Cocktail Lounge,” perfect for a date night!

Let me know of anything you hear about or wanna hear about!

Hit me up at [email protected] for any q’s or debates you may have.

— A Chill Guy who just writes a newsletter