5Church–Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}

5Church, which opened Friday May 18, 2012, stands at the corner of North Church and 5th Street in Uptown Charlotte (formerly occupied by Molly MacPherson’s).

5church building

Inside 5Church, you’ll find an open multi-level layout with decor that is striking and visually dramatic.  Beautiful dark tufted fabrics used throughout the space are accented with punches of white and grey, light wooden tables, and clear chairs.

5church charlotte

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Ladies who lunch

I’ve often joked that my ultimate goal is to be a Lady who Lunches.

I bet you know the lady I’m talking about. Think about the last random workday you had off from your job.  If you’re anything like me, you probably headed to lunch at a local restaurant.  And if you did make this wise decision, chances are you saw some ladies who lunch.  These are the ladies who–on those workdays when EVERYONE else is monotonously moving through the daily grind–somehow manage to break away from it all to enjoy lunch and laughs (and perhaps a few cocktails) with each other.

I often wonder about these ladies.  How did they get here?  What do they do for a living (or not do for that matter) that allows them to have such decadently diverting lunches on a regular basis?  How happy they must be.

While walking home tonight, my mind drifted to my adoration for this concept, and somewhere near E 4th Street I linked it to one of my my all-time favorite TV shows.  Sex and the City.  Four women from varied backgrounds with varied careers and varied interests BUT with a few key things in common.  First, of course, they had the city.  Second, would be a shared love of experiencing that city.  The sights, the sounds, the food.  And third, would be a love of their bond.  The ladies-who-lunch-bond.

Wouldn’t it be fabulous if I had my own group of ladies to lunch with? Ladies from varied backgrounds with varied careers and varied interests. Ladies who lacked even an ounce of superficiality but instead came to the lunch table wholeheartedly and ready to just be (and also to eat of course).  Ladies who (without actively trying) keep each other grounded while simultaneously lifting each other up.

Could this idea work?  Would it work?

I guess you never know unless you give it a shot, right?

Now recruiting for the Charlotte Ladies who Lunch Club.  If interested, please email:  ferventfoodie@gmail.com

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End of Vaca

Monday morning we left Charleston and headed to Botany Bay Plantation on Edisto Island.  We got a ton of great pics.  Here are just a few:

We munched on the remnants of food we brought from home while driving through the plantation.  For more information on Edisto Island, check out  www.edistobeach.com.

Then we headed back to Charlotte.  This time, Priceline got us a room at the Double-Tree in Uptown Charlotte for only $45 a night 😀

We really liked this hotel (especially because you get free chocolate chip cookies when you check in)…

The bed was lot more comfortable than Aloft’s bed, however you really just cannot beat the Aloft location!

Here are some shots of Charlotte:

Monday night we headed to Rockbottom for some cheesy jalapeno dip (hello $5 appetizers!) and drinks:

Then to Aria for dinner.

Aria was a lot fancier/swankier than I expected, but I thought the bartenders were pretty rude :-/

We ordered a Super Tuscan Wine to start:

We’ve never tried this type of wine before and we both really liked it!

We ordered the bruschetta for the appetizer:

This was actually served cold, which I thought was odd.  Then we got the vodka penne for dinner and added grilled chicken.  The pasta was super tasty, which made up for the appetizer.  Didn’t capture a photo unfortunately.

Aria Tuscan Grill on Urbanspoon

Tuesday morning, we went to the Holiday Inn’s Cafe Siena for our favorite breakfast buffet.  Walked around the city, then hit up Fuel on our way back to Ohio.

Jarrod is obsessed with Fuel’s chicken parm calzone.  I got an Italian sub which was also quite tasty:

And that brings us back to lovely Ohio.  First thing I did was head to Acme and buy an ABUNDANCE of produce.  My body is just craving healthy eating after a week-long restaurant binge!

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