Charlotte

FOOD!- Charlotte Vacation {4}

November 5, 2011

Price and I recently went on vacation in Charlotte, North Carolina. We had a fantastic time visiting the Queen City. I will do a series of blog posts recapping some of the fun things we did while down there. I hope you enjoy!

____________________

Thursday Night- Boston to Greenwich: Sonic

Friday- Greenwich to Charlotte: First we stopped by my favorite deli in the world for Bacon Egg and Chese Sandwiches to start our trip. For lunch, we stopped somewhere in VA for Arby’s. First time having Arby’s, might be my last. not high up on my list of doable fast food places. good fries though.

Friday night in Charlotte: ChowDown Uptown. (previously blogged about)

Friday night- Mac’s Speed Shop for BBQ! This place was suggested to us from one of the guys in the Gensler Charlotte Office. Great suggestion since the food was amazing. We loved the fried pickles and the platter we shared. I could not get enough sweet tea.

Saturday morning- There were signs on the highway indicating that the Charlotte Farmers’ Market was close by. I can’t resist a farmer’s market so we stopped by there before starting out fun filled day. I was in awe of everything I saw from the fresh produce to the vibrant flowers. We ended up getting a sweet potato pie form a very lovely vendor.

Saturday lunch/dinner- We went to Price’s Chicken Coop after we went to the Charlotte Motor Speedway (blogged about here). It was the first time I had hush puppies. They were very different than the ones we had on Friday, but just as good.

Sunday breakfast & lunch- We hopped into Starbucks on our way north out of the city to look around at different areas in and around Charlotte. Then we came back into Charlotte and had lunch at Nix Burgers. I loved my bloody mary from there and had an a-mazing pimento burger

Sunday night- We shared left overs from Price’s Chicken Coop and a salad from California Pizza Kitchen.

Monday drive from Charlotte to Philly- I put mint and frozen strawberries in my unsweetened ice tea 🙂

Sunday- We stayed with our friend Dawn. Price wanted a cheese steak so we went to Genos. Dawn and I shared some sushi take out from Fat Salmon. The rolls were so big and the combinations were so unique. Like the BCT had INSIDE – Bacon, Cream Cheese, Tomato, Cucumber and ON TOP – Avocado w/Spicy sauce

Tuesday morning: Our friend suggested Green Eggs Cafe (Northern Liberties) for breakfast. I wanted the Philly Style Eggs Benedict but we were so early that their order of pretzel rolls had not arrived yet. We ended up with red velvet pancakes and stuffed french toast. We only had half so we had the rest for dinner after our long drive back form Philly to Boston.

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Charlotte Motor Speedway- Charlotte Vacation {3}

October 27, 2011

____________________

While we were visiting Charlotte, we decided to head over to The Charlotte Motor Speedway. The speedway is located in Concord, NC, which is not that far from the city of Charlotte. A quick ride on I-85 and we were there to check out the track and the gift shop.

I was really under dressed for the day since it was a lot cooler than I anticipated. The wind was pretty strong so we only hung around on the grandstands for the bit. We watched one of the many race schools/driving experiences that are offered at the speedway.

After a bit of watching the racing school drivers on the track we signed up for the Speedway Tour. For just $9 a person, we had a 45 minute tour that started from the main building and took us around the track while our guide told us various things about the track. The best part of the tour is when you go out on the track to experience the feeling of the banking. Going 85 miles an hour in a van is no where near as fast as a NASCAR stock car, but it still is a lot of fun

Check out the angle in the photo!

We took a video while we were going around the track!

While going around the speedway and the track we learned history of the speedway, starting with when it was built in 1959 by O. Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner. From there the track has had an interesting history as it has hosted countless races at its track and been the setting for movies, including Talladega Nights.

The tour guide explained how the world’s largest high definition television debuted during the May race at the track. The 32-and-a-half-ton TV is 200 foot-wide, 80 foot-tall and created by Panasonic. The face of the TV is made of 158 and is illuminated by nine million LED lamps. Pretty impressive!

One of the really cool things we learned was that there are condos at the track. People thought it was foolish for Smith to build forty condos over turn 1 in 1984. However, they were so popular that another 12 luxury ones were built in 1991. Over the years there have been families that lived there and as a result school buses would have to stop at the track to pick up the kids.

The tour took a stop at the Winner’s Circle for some photos.

We had a great time at the tour. It was a fun way of learning about the race track and the history behind it. And of course I had to go back and watch clips of Talladega Nights to see the track in it. ha!

If you like NASCAR and are in the Charlotte area I suggest you swing by the Charlotte Motor Speedway so you can have a quick tour of the track to learn some cool facts about the track while you take a spin around in a van. You won’t soon forget those 24 degree turns!

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

NASCAR Hall of Fame- Charlotte Vacation {2}

October 12, 2011

____________________

I feel like you can’t not visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame when visiting Charlotte. It would be like completely skipping Fenway Park in Boston. Both are located in the city proper and essentially go hand in hand for sports in the area. Charlotte is home to NASCAR so stopping by the Hall of Fame gives you a good chance of learning about the rich history of the great sport of NASCAR.

While I really enjoy NASCAR, I think that anyone could enjoy visiting the Hall of Fame. The exhibits and design of the space are overall really pleasing for a variety of audiences.

Like old cars… it has you covered with actual cars used back in the day.

Like hands on activities… you can play with equipment and tools.

You’re a smarty pants… plenty of computer related games and quizzes. And honestly the majority involve just general logic that you could figure out without know anything about NASCAR.

Computer games have you hooked… no problem! There are racing games that simulate racing at that weeks track so it’s constantly changing.

Get my point?!?

This is a newly designed museum by the firm Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners. It opened in 2010 and was awarded the McGraw Hill Best of 2010 Award of Excellence in Architectural Design. Just looking at the building from the outside you can tell that it conveys speed. The swooping and twisting facade piece pulls from one side of the round front and detaches to become an entry awning. Once you step into the space you are greeted with shiny metal, carefully crafted details, and well lit spaces that guide you from space to space telling the story of NASCAR.

Along the track that swept up the entry hall, there were little plaques that provided information on the car featured or race tracks. As the track went up the ramp it’s banking increased so you could start out on the lowest point learning about a flat race track like Indianapolis Motor Speedway (9 degrees) and end with Bristol Motor Speedway (36 degrees in turns). They even had some piece of track so you can compare them, showing how the banking and surface effect the performance of the car.

In addition to the change in banking of the track, the cars progress in time as the track ramps us. The track starts with older cars (see 2nd photo from top) and proceeds to visually explain how the stock cars changed over time. The above photo is near the end where you see current day cars.

There are 2 sections of track that you can step on that let’s you know just how steep the banking it. The first section is not difficult to stand on, but the second portion which is at the portion of track with 33 degree banking is very hard to stand on. Feeling this makes me feel impressed for the track officials that run out when crashes occur… very tough!

This hall focused on the newly inducted Hall of Fame drivers. Obviously Dale Earnhardt was included in the inaugural year. The induction for the 2012 members occurs in January and at the time a new series of cars and displays will be in that room.

After the Hall of Honors on the 3rd Floor you walk into the NASCAR Performance Race Shop. This interactive area shows how technical the cars are and how much science, math and skill is involved in adjusting the cars to allow them to perform their best at each different track.

In addition to the Performance Race Shop area there is the Kids Zone, Transporter Simulator, Inspection, Qualifying, Pit Road, iRacing Simulator, and the Food Lion Race Week exhibit. Each of these areas give you a behind the scenes look at different aspects of racing. Many of them are hands on like the Pit Road area that has a situations testing your speed, agility, and strength for taking off tires or jacking up a car.

One really cool thing about the Hall of Fame was how it embraced new technology. This was a cart of tools and parts. Each of them had a QR Code and attached to the cart was a scanner. After you scanner an item the computer on top of the cart would refresh and give you information about that item.

One of the mini exhibits is a hauler. This provides you with a glimpse into the storage in the hauler, as well as what is stored inside. Pull out drawers and glass front cabinets showcase the equipment used. At the front of the trailer there is an area that allows for multiple computers to be set up. This allows for the crew chief to work on strategy while accessing previous race information, as well as weather, since that plays a big part in the races.

When you first enter the Hall of Fame you get a card which provides your attemtance, was well as holds your profile. You set up your info on the card so you can play along with the games at the various stations on the 3 floors. When you create your profile you pick which driver you want to be you guide to create a personalized experience. Both Price and I picked Kasey Kahne.

The 4th Floor houses collections that are even older than NASCAR itself. One such exhibit explains how auto racing began as an by product of running moon shine. From there, the various exhibits feature different events in NASCAR history as well as the people involved. For example, there are statues of the significant people involved in the start of NASCAR honoring them. One of the most interesting areas, as least to me, was Artifacts Hallway which is a long corridor that has glass cases on both sides that are filled with memorial for different drivers.

One of the biggest moments in NASCAR history is featured in the Modern Era exhibit. The 1979 Daytona 500 race is infamous being that is was the first time i the entire race was being televised lived nationally and that captured a memorable crash that resulted a fist fight on the last lap of the race. The photo on the right is on the actual cars involved in the wreck with leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison. If you happen to not be aware of the ending of the race check out this video of it.

One of my favorite parts of the day was getting to ride in the simulator that allowed you to race on the current week’s track. In this case, we raced ‘at’ Dover. It was a little confusing to start but you can quickly get the feel of it and have a lot of fun. But don’t get black flagged since your time is cut short, be sure to do those pass thru penalties!

The only thing that I was really disappointed with was the gift shop. The merchandise is really focused Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jr, and Tony Stewart. I felt that they missed the mark in providing a bit more variety. I wanted to gift something small from Clint Bowyer but the only thing I found was a hat. I would have been happy if they had just one standing display of stickers for the rest of the drivers since I could have at least gifted decals to different people.

Aside from the gift shop, I was really happy with the time we spent there. The package deal we purchased allowed us entrance into the Hall of Fame, a hot lunch (3? choices available), and a simulator ride for $28 a person. Plus they offer a children’s rate as well as military and senior discounts. It was a great value and a lot of fun.

NASCAR Hall of Fame

400 East Martin Luther King Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28202
(704) 654-4400

Open daily 10 am-6 pm, Closed Christmas

http://www.nascarhall.com

@NASCARHALL

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Chow Down Uptown- Charlotte Vacation {1}

October 7, 2011

____________________

Prior to leaving for Charlotte, I checked the Yelp website for some ideas on things to see and do while we were down there from Thursday night to when we left early Monday morning. One of the events that I saw was a food truck rally called Chow Down Uptown the was occurring night that we arrived. This was a gathering of food trucks in the central part of the city- what we commonly know as downtown. (I learned that Charlotte calls their downtown area Uptown because of the Billy Joel song “Uptown Girl”) I love the food trucks in Boston so I knew this would be a sure thing.

We arrived during rush hour, which wasn’t bad at all, at least compared to New York’s or Boston’s. We had the local NBC news on while we were settling into our hotel room. Sure enough, there was a piece on Chow Down Uptown, so I knew it some something meant to be.

The event was held at NC Music Factory. We didn’t really get to explore the venue but I thought it was a nice space. The space is in fact a series of old factories. We breezed through one space and I could see how they kept a lot of the history alive with the old pieces that were left intact. The food truck rally was held in a lot next to the amphitheater.

We missed the rush by the time that we arrived since it was on the latish side. The night was perfect for the event. We thoroughly enjoyed the weather, especially in comparison to some of the fall nights that we have in Boston.

We had a hard time choosing what to have for dinner. There were several food trucks that offered great things, such as burgers, philly cheesesteaks, BBQ, and tacos. I liked the diversity of the menus items that we had to choose from.

-some very friendly food truck vendors-

We ending up getting our dinners from Maki Taco, an Asian inspired food truck. The smells coming out of the truck were incredible. Since we arrive a bit late we missed out on some of the menu items. They ran through their current offerings and still everything sounded amazing. I got the chicken hibachi and Price got 3lettuce wrap chicken tacos with fresh sauteed veggies. The hibachi was exactly like that I have ordered at restaurants, but with 1/3 of the price tag. I’ll settle on a manageable portion without the show for great food at an amazing price. Price’s tacos were great too. We are not sure if it was because we arrived late and they modified their menu to serve more people but they were served the tacos on romaine lettuce leaves, this made it difficult to eat, we would suggest using Boston bibb lettuce instead.

-Both of us enjoyed our dinners so much-

Next up.. dessert! We decided on the Southern Cake Queen cupcake truck because the selection of desserts looked so good. Price got a Willow cupcake, I got the Turtle, and we got a Charleston Chewie to split over the weekend. Each were impressed with the cupcakes we had, really enjoying the flavors and texture of each of the cupcakes. I loved the Charleston Chewie, it reminded me of a really rich blondie.

-Willow Cupcake and a Turtle Cupcake-

It was a great night out introducing us to what Charlotte food trucks have to offer. The food was great, and the Southern hospitality really shown through as we got to talk to the vendors. Grant, the founder of Maki Taco, was eager to share with me what makes his food truck so special, it was great to hear about his passion to serve local, fresh ingredients. They considered everything from the food to the printing of the shirts, which are made in the US and printed by a local company. Plus he explained that they JUST started- really just a few weeks old- so they were so excited to attend the event! And Emma, of Southern Cake Queen, asked if I was a part of Charlotte Food Bloggers as I was busy snapping away by her food truck. I explained I was not and that we were just visiting, which prompted her into sharing some things about the city. I just loved the friendliness of everyone!

If you want to find out about more Charlotte food trucks then check out Roaming Hunger, which lists food trucks by cities.

Follow the food trucks we visited:

Maki Taco

Southern Cake Queen