
Weekender: 32 things to do in Charlotte this weekend including restaurant week and a Peruvian Festival
Friday, July 25
🍽️ Dine at 125-plus participating restaurants across Charlotte for prix-fixe three-course menus for Queen's Feast. | $30-$50 | Runs through Sunday | Details
🎶 See Goo Goo Dolls with Dashboard Confessional make their tour stop in Charlotte at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre. | $109+ | 7:30pm | Details
🎱 Play bingo at Sugar Creek Brewing while you enjoy a girl dinner and cocktails. | Free | 8pm | Details
🎶 Vibe to live music at Vaulted Oak Brewing and grab dinner from the Indian food truck on site. | Free | 6pm | Details
👯♀️ Take a 30 minute beginner-friendly aerial dance class at Aerial CLT. | $5 | 5-8pm | Details
🤼 See WWE wrestler Hall of Famer Sting and eight matches at Truist Field. | $55-$150 | 5-10:30pm | Details
🤭 Check out a comedy festival with shows, workshops and improv jams at Stage Door Theater. | Prices vary | Runs through Saturday | Details
🍷 Get a taste of Spain with a guided tasting of four wines at Cork & Cap in Camp North End. | $50 | 7-8pm | Details
🍾 Party into the weekend at STATS Restaurant & Bar and stay for a guest appearance from R&B singer Jacob Latimore. | $23+ | 9pm-2am | Details
🎭 Take the kids to see "The SpongeBob Musical" at Dale F. Halton Theater. | $12.53-$18.04 | Times vary | Details
🎤 See smooth jazz singer Lindsey Webster at Middle C Jazz. | $49-$60 | Times vary | Details
Saturday, July 26
🎸 Rock out to the 10th annual Outlaw Music Festival, featuring Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan at PNC Music Pavilion. | $54+ | 4pm | Details
🏟️ Catch a Charlotte FC game against Toronto FC at Bank of America Stadium. | $38+ | 7:30pm | Details
🪴Bring a plant to swap or trade at Sugar Creek Brewing and stick around for drinks and food. | Free | 12pm | Details
💪 Take your kids ages 7-18 for an outdoor workout so they can experience D1 training. | Free | 8am | Details
🎉 Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Wooden Robot Brewery at The Chamber in NoDa with beer releases, merchandise, live music and local vendors. | Free | 12pm | Details
🤣 Enjoy an evening comedy session at Charlotte Comedy Theater. | $15 | 6pm | Details
🛍️ Shop for items from local vendors at a pop-up market at Victoria Yards in Uptown and grab a bite to eat from The Market at 7th Street. | Free | 12-6pm | Details
🌇 Vibe to music at Novelty House's rooftop day party and grab dinner from a local restaurant afterward. | $0-$116 | 4-9pm | Details
🙎♀️ Meet other mothers in a mixer at Sip City Market & Bottle Shop. | $23.18 | 11am-1pm | Details
⚽️ See Charlotte Independence play Richmond Kickers at American Legion Memorial Stadium. | $13-$66 | 7pm | Details
👑 Enjoy a 90s drag brunch by The Vanity House at Catalú. | $24.86 | 11am-2pm | Details
💄 Meet fashionistas and stylists at Folia in South End and stick around for a Dior beauty bar and cocktails. | $50-$160 | 12-3pm | Details
Sunday, July 27
🇵🇪 Check out the Charlotte Peruvian Festival at Symphony Park and expect traditional, food, dances, live music, arts and crafts and a kid zone. | $10-$20 | 12pm | Details
🪩 Have Sunday funday at Blinders by vibing to house music from a list of rotating DJs and enjoy drink specials. | Free | 12pm | Details
😂 Hear jokes from student comedians at Charlotte Comedy Theater. | $10 | 7pm | Details
🍱 Get a taste of hand roll sushi restaurant Sharigato at Night Swim Optimist Park before they open and enjoy a tangerine miso matcha drink special. | $11.50 | 12pm | Details
☕️ Sip on drinks from Black Cat Coffee and enjoy brunch bites while you vibe to beats from a DJ. | Free | 11am-4pm | Details
🥂 Pull up with friends to Boileryard Brunch in Camp North End for music from a DJ and light bites. | Free | 12-4pm | Details
🧑🍳 Learn how to how to create handmade pasta at Hi-Wire Brewing. | $59 | 12:30pm | Details
🎶 Head to Folia in South End as they celebrate the launch of their daytime service with a DJ set by See Bird Go (10am-1pm) plus $2 lattes and $4 pastries. Stick around to win free lattes for a month and a $150 gift card. | Free | 8am-2pm | Details
🪓 Throw axes with friends at BATL for their open house in Lower South End and Plaza Midwood, and stick around for cocktails. | Free | 12-4pm | Details
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a few seconds ago
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The Best Dishes Eater Chicago Editors Ate This Week: July 25
The editors at Eater Chicago dine out several times a week, if not per day, which means we're always encountering standout dishes that deserve time in the limelight. Here's the very best of everything the team has eaten this week. Rasam from Thalaiva's Indian Kitchen and Bar in Park Ridge Rasam from Thalaiva's Indian Kitchen and Bar. Ashok Selvam/Eater Chicago Chicago is coming off a streak of consecutive 90-degree days. So why am I telling you to travel to the Northern Suburbs and try some soup? Because South Indian food is just so haute right now. As common with other international cuisines, Americans are realizing that first to market doesn't always tell the full story and that there's more to Indian food than butter chicken (though butter chicken allegedly is making a little bit of a come back). Americans loved tiki, so might as well give them some tropical vibes off the Malabar Coast in Southern India. Particularly Keralan cuisine, where beef and pork often shine, has seized the spotlight and Chicago is seeing more and more restaurants. Having South Indian blood, I've been skeptical about what dishes are getting attention, and I've seen some restaurants flounder despite being hailed as the next big thing. In Park Ridge, Thalaiva's Indian Kitchen and Bar soars with an ideal mix of fun items — like fish fries and an array of Indian coffees — as well as the stuff I grew up eating at home in Chicago. I feel 'homestyle' is kind of dismissive, but the rasam served hit all the right notes; it's a healing vegetarian elixir full of tamarind and tomatoes that helped power me through a number of bitter Chicago winters. We ate it with a little basmati rice mixed in. At Thaliva's, they'll bring out a small gravy boat, a ladle, and cups. You might opt to slurp it down with a spoon or sip it slow with a utensil. Remember: South India is no monolith. We like both dosa AND idily, thank you. We just love our carbs which brings me to a realization: How can you tell if an Indian restaurant is good? Just keep an ear out for the sweet sound of a glucose monitor alarm. That's our people's tell, and I heard a chorus of them at Thalaiva's. — Ashok Selvam, lead editor, Eater Midwest Shrimp lumpia from Cebu in Lincoln Square Shrimp lumpia from Cebu. Ashok Selvam/Eater Chicago There is such thing as bad lumpia. It can be soggy. The wrapper to filling ratio can go awry. The fillingcould be rancid, even when fried to a golden crisp. I write this as a reminder not to take quality lumpia for granted. Along Lincoln Avenue, Cebu has found a niche as an all-day restaurant with Filipino American flavors. The mid-afternoon menu is great on weekends for families, and the pork lumpia might be the best in the city. These aren't the bite-sized lumpia you might prefer. They're a little longer and meant to be savored. For dinner, Cebu amps its lumpia up with shrimp. 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It was worth braving the congestion around the neighborhood that coincides with a Cubs home game. — Jeffy Mai, associate editor, Eater Midwest Taiwanese beef noodle soup from Minyoli in Andersonville Minyoli is a Taiwanese restaurant offering noodle soups, popcorn chicken, and more. It's been a hot week in Chicago, so naturally I was in the mood for… noodle soup. Taiwanese restaurant Minyoli opened in Andersonville last year, giving the North Side a much-welcome spot to enjoy the East Asian country's specialties. While the chilled sesame noodles might've been more appropriate given the weather during my visit, I decided to go with what the kitchen is best known for, and also Taiwan's national dish — niu rou mian, or beef noodle soup. A bowl of eight-hour bone broth arrives teeming with bouncy, homemade noodles, pickled mustard greens, and tender beef (with the option of adding tendon as well) that's braised with black bean and spicy broad bean sauces. I added a little more heat with some chile oil, which really made the dish sing. Temps be damned, you should order this complex and wholly satisfying noodle soup year-round. — J.M.


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Filipino and Indian Flavors Merge at This ‘Top Chef' Star's New Wicker Park Cafe
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Hamilton Spectator
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Where celebrities eat in Toronto: 12 restaurants visited by stars from Blackpink to Coldplay
From fine dining to street food, Toronto's diverse culinary scene has made it a top destination for food lovers. But where do celebrities eat when they're in town? Here's a look at where musicians, actors and celebrity chefs have dined during recent visits to Toronto. A post shared by 달동네 Daldongnae BBQ (@daldongnae) Following the second Blackpink show at Rogers Stadium, at least one member of the K-pop girl group — Jennie — dropped by Daldongnae, a popular Korean BBQ spot in North York. 'BLACKPINK in our area… again!' the restaurant wrote in an Instagram post, which noted that this was the second time Jennie has visited one of the restaurant's locations. 'We're honoured and so thankful.' On social media, fans also say that two members of Blackpink were spotted leaving Huh Ga Ne, a 24-hour Korean eatery in North York. The Star was unable to confirm with the restaurant, but fans circulated videos and photos of two women who they believe were singers Rosé and Lisa, leaving the location on Finch Ave. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin performs at Toronto's new Rogers Stadium. Midway through their four-night residency at the recently inaugurated Rogers Stadium this July, three of the four members of Coldplay dined at the Michelin-starred Osteria Giulia in Yorkville , as first reported by Star contributing columnist Shinan Govani. Frontman Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland and drummer Will Champion — who has dined at Giulia in the past — were among the party of 10 that stayed late and closed the restaurant down on July 9, owner David Minicucci told the Star. 'They were wonderful and exemplary guests,' Minicucci said, adding that the group ordered pasta, grilled fish and seafood. 'They kept it very clean and light.' 'They ordered well and were great to have in the room,' he added. 'And Chris Martin was very engaging with our team.' A post shared by Daniele Corona | Chef ⭐️ (@danielecoronareal) While the rest of his band was at Osteria Giulia, Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman zipped over to DaNico , an Italian fine-dining spot on College Street that has earned a Michelin star for its refined tasting menus. 'I came to your show yesterday and it was absolutely incredible,' chef Daniele Corona wrote on Instagram . 'And today I found you at DaNico ... honoured by your presence.' American actor and director Jesse Eisenberg, whose 2024 film ' A Real Pain ' was nominated for best original screenplay at the 97th Academy Awards, stopped by Curryish Tavern earlier this month with his wife, daughter and a friend who lives in Toronto. Miheer Shete, who owns the Queen West Indian restaurant, told BlogTO that he received a call from the concierge at the Eisenberg's hotel, and was told that the actor and his group was in the mood for 'an Indian feast.' Shete told the Star while Curryish has hosted actors and comedians in the past, Eisenberg is the most famous celebrity to dine at his restaurant. He said the actor's party ordered samosa, asparagus salad, coconut stuffed branzino, green tomato butter chicken, stuffed paneer with roasted pepper korma and more. A post shared by Zezafoun Syrian Cuisine (@zezafounsyriancuisine) Elyanna — the Palestinian-Chilean pop singer who opened for Coldplay during their stint at Rogers Stadium — brought her band and a group of friends to Zezafoun Syrian Cuisine, a cosy, family-run restaurant in Davisville Village. 'Your sweet spirit lit up the place, and we truly loved having you,' the restaurant posted on Instagram. A post shared by Jeff Regular (@paitoronto) This spring, legendary hip hop drummer, producer and DJ Questlove dropped by Kiin , a high-end Thai restaurant in the entertainment district, after his band The Roots played at Rebel. According to Jeff Regular, who owns Kiin alongside his wife, Nuit Regular , told the Star that Questlove ordered the restaurant's latest tasting menu, and that he liked the wagyu and lamb courses in particular. 'That was huge,' Regular said. 'Sadly, I was in Japan at the time, but I was freaking out.' A post shared by Harlem Restaurant (@harlemrestaurant) Known for its Afro-Caribbean and soul food — it helped popularize fried chicken and waffles in Toronto, Star food reporter Karon Liu recently noted — and for hosting live music, Harlem Restaurant on Queen West re-opened its doors this spring after a closure that lasted nearly six years. Within days of reopening in May, the restaurant hosted a birthday party for Toronto hip hop mogul Kardinall Offishall, which was attended by American stand-up comic and actor Dave Chappelle. A post shared by Jeff Regular (@paitoronto) Forget potatoes , the Hobbits are into Thai food, now! Dom Monaghan (the actor who plays Merry Brandybuck in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy) has long declared PAI — a northern Thai food fixture with locations in downtown and uptown — as his favourite restaurant in the city. So when his buddy Elijah Wood (the actor who plays Frodo Baggins) was in town in May, he urged him to check it out. Woods was 'very gracious,' said owner Jeff Regular. The actor ordered extensively off the menu, but his favourite dish was miang kung : a platter of fresh ingredients (shrimp, ginger, shallots, roasted coconut, etc.) that customers wrap in fresh betel leaf. A post shared by @pearlyorkville Iconic businesswoman and lifestyle personality Martha Stewart was in town in February to film a television series, when she dropped by Pearl, an authentic Chinese restaurant in Yorkville that serves traditional Cantonese food and dim sum. According to BlogTO , Stewart ordered Peking duck, stir-fried long beans with black bean sauce, pan-fried hockey pucks, spinach and shrimp dumplings, and soup dumplings. A post shared by José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) Spanish-American celebrity chef and restaurateur José Andrés was also in town in February to shoot a television series, and among the spots he dined was Fisherman Lobster Club, the Scarborough seafood restaurant known for its gigantic platters of lobster and crab. The Jonas Brothers pose for a picture with Adrak Yorkville co-founder Ambica Jain. Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas made an unexpected visit to Adrak — a Michelin-recommended restaurant in Yorkville serving modern Indian cuisine — last January. 'All of the brothers said the food was amazing and that they really liked the Chai biscuit dessert a lot,' a representative for the restaurant told the Star. 'They were extremely friendly, kind and appreciative. No star-power attitude, and very humble.' Other high-profile stars who have dined at Adrak since it opened include Jessica Alba, Oscar Issac, Daniel Boulud and Karan Aujla. Chubby's, the vibrant Jamaican spot on Portland, has long been a magnet for celebrities (Sean Paul, Anthony Mackie) and athletes (Scottie Barnes, Penny Oleksiak, Brandon Ingram). Last November, Jamaican dancehall legend Buju Banton dropped by for a meal, and snapped a photo with general manager Daniela Chinchilla.