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I’m thinking about doing some restaurant spotlights here and there on Tuesdays. I have a whole page on my blog devoted to restaurants on my bucket list that I’ve tried and would recommend, and I’m just not sure what to do with it or where I want to go with it. But to be candid, I love eating out, and I think it’s totally possible to still maintain a healthy lifestyle while enjoying the occasional meals out.

What inspired my blog, “Bucket List Tummy” was my desire to eat allll the food at the amazing restaurants in Portland, but it has also transcended to Charlotte (and basically, everywhere I go). For readers in and around the Charlotte area, hopefully these reviews will help introduce you to a new restaurant, or if you ever travel to Charlotte, serve as a resource for where to go eat!

Charlotte Restaurant Spotlight – The Summit Room

Last week, Ed and I checked out the Summit Room, which I’ve heard a lot about. It’s attached to Mayobird (amazing chicken salad varieties!) and across from Kid Cashew, where we ate a month or so ago. The Summit Room and is a haven for delicious and unique cocktails, if that’s your scene (which that is my scene).

As far as first impressions, it is a quaint space that they use well. The front patio is lively and the spot to be on a warm spring/summer night. All the seats were taken and there was a wait for the patio, so Ed and I grabbed a table inside.

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They have an amazing, boastful cocktail list that is fun and intriguing – with names after different mountains, you get in a fun mindset about choosing your drink. I started with the Mt Vinson with titos vodka, vanilla bean syrup, ginger beer and a cinnamon sugar orange wheel. I actually would have liked more of a vanilla bean flavor, but it was still a delicious drink. They also offer various local craft beers from Charlotte breweries, which is always a plus.

When looking at the menu, there was nothing that seemed outrageously original that I was immediately drawn to. They definitely have a “comfort” food niche here – cornbread, mac n cheese, grits, collards, and things of the like. They do change their menu seasonally, which is a huge plus.

We decided to start with the sweet potato and mushroom flatbread and added pork belly. What was served wasn’t exactly the flatbread that I pictured. It was a lot more doughy than your typical thin and crispy flatbread, which was what we had in mind. It was pretty salty, and I was also hoping for more of a sweet potato taste. The gouda cheese was delicious though, because who doesn’t love a cheesy piece of dough? But that was probably the highlight of that dish for me. I probably wouldn’t order this again.

We also tried the shrimp bahn mi sliders, which may have been my favorite plate of the night. They are served on a baguette sliced into smaller slider portions, with a shrimp pattie (DELICIOUS), topped with some pork belly. The jalapeno relish really gives that zing of spice that takes over your taste buds, but it’s a nice accompaniment to the sliders. I actually think the flavor combinations were very good.

We then went with the Mac n Cheese, which is a huge serving size. It could be a full meal, and sort of put a stop to us needing to order any other food. It comes with bacon (yum) and layers and layers of cheese. It comes served in a skillet so the cheese just melts throughout the dish. It is definitely very comforting, creamy and cheesy – all that you would want in a mac ‘n cheese dish.

The desserts did sound appetizing – if I were to come back, I’d go for the skillet cookie pie, the creme brulee (it changes weekly or monthly) or the banana pudding!

Do you like craft cocktails? Trying new restaurants?