I still have a pen-and-ink sketch of the cafe created by a local artist to ease the pain of distraught regulars. It was such a home-away-from-the-dorm for me that I even wrote a term paper in the comfort of one of its great wooden booths. It was where my fellow Queens College students and I would meet for beer and burgers. * Even though it has been close to 10 years since Kenilworth Cafe served its last beer, regulars still bemoan the demise of the cozy corner bar at the intersection of Kenilworth and East Boulevard. One of their specialties was Chateaubriand. It was a formal old white-tablecloth place that served mostly classic dishes (mango chutney being unknown in those days). Back around 1970, when Charlotte was still more like a big Spartanburg than a little Atlanta, the Red Carpet was one of a handful of places (the Epicurean on East Boulevard was another) that you'd go to celebrate a birthday or a wedding anniversary. * I miss D'Arcy's, where they made the Caesar salad at your table (complete with a raw egg, which would undoubtedly turn the Health Department blue these days), and it was the best I have ever eaten. And the leek and basil soup? Always sopped up the bowl with the crusty country bread. They excelled at classic, sophisticated French food. At lunch, the wait staff was Danielle Quillec, who owned the place with her husband, Daniel. The balding man with the glass of red wine was always at the round table in the corner. * Chez Daniel: Charlotte's best restaurant was in a bitty house in the back of a shopping center parking lot off East Boulevard. In 1999, the Observer asked readers which closed restaurants did they miss the most - the list is a great look back in the past.which ones do you recall?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |