Eat My Charlotte

When Ted Karres first started up his soft serve ice cream business in 1967, it was nothing more than a single 500-square-foot room that served cones from a single window. With one ice cream machine and a hot dog roller, Karres managed to turn Mr. K’s into a full-fledge diner. Now, over 40 years later, the restaurant off South Boulevard is still a family business run by Karres’ son-in-law, George Dizes. Dizes has since expanded the menu and put his own mark on the establishment. A die-hard Panthers fan, Dizes decorates Mr. K’s with original Panther paraphernalia that adds flair to the home-grown business. Although a lot has changed at Mr. K’s over the years, its philosophy of keeping an intimate, friendly atmosphere hasn’t.

Creative Loafing: What’s your busiest time?
George Dizes: Definitely lunch time, but we’re open until nine every night of the work week. We close on Saturdays at four and we don’t open on Sunday. But our lunch crowd comes from all over, from downtown, neighborhoods, factories. You see just as many suits in here as you do construction workers. It has an appeal to everybody. As far as value is concerned, we’re just about the least expensive place to eat on South Boulevard. You can get out of here fully fed for about five, six bucks. At our competitors you’re looking from about eight to 12 dollars.

How are things different from when Mr K’s first started?
This building was erected in ‘71. After four years at the corner, Mr. K decided that he needed more space. This building was exactly as you see it since ‘71. You know, a few changes have been made. I’ve been the biggest change-maker here since I’m a die-hard Panthers fan. I’m kind of making a Panthers theme here.

What’s it like having restaurant right next to a strip joint [Leather & Lace]?
To be perfectly honest, we’ve never had a problem with it. Once in a blue moon we’ll have something happen. But it’s usually out of their control. They can’t be responsible for everyone that walks in their door. But on the whole it hasn’t been a problem.

Mr. K’s Soft Serve Ice Cream & Drive is located at 2107 South Blvd. 704-375-4318

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Red Bull recently released its latest creation to the growing energy drink market: The Red Bull Shot.

The 2 oz. concentrated version of the original looks to compete with other, new alternatives to energy drinks such as “5-Hour Energy.” The plastic bottle is around the same size, and with its lack of carbonation, contains that same syrupy, medicinal tastes.

Red Bull Energy Shot also costs more at than its original cousin. At $2.79 a pop (compared to $2 per 8oz. can), the Shot will seem hardly worth the money.

As for the lasting energy? The Shot contains 80mgs of caffeine, the exact same amount as the original. The only people who might benefit from this new marketing ploy are those who don’t have time to chug 8oz. bottle and need the 2oz. alternative.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Twenty years ago Amy Fanetty answered a want-ad in a paper put out by Berrybrook Farm, an organic health food store on East Boulevard, looking for a manager of its juice bar. When she first arrived on the scene, Berrybrook Farm was primarily a grocery store that concentrated on organic foods, with the juice bar she was asked to run was a smaller side operation. Although the on-the-shelf grocery style shopping is still the establishment’s primary focus, the juice bar located inside the store has since become a big attraction in its own right. The juice bar has since developed a regular clientele of both vegetarians and those that just enjoy healthy alternatives.  The expanded menu now includes a variety of breakfast and lunch items that span a broad range of vegetarian choices.

Creative Loafing: So what does a juice bar entail exactly?
Amy Fanetty: Well it’s morphed into a lot more than just a juice bar. I started here in ‘89, and worked here for eight years, then I left for a while after having a child. When I first came here we were just making soups and smoothies, then we started working with burgers and hot dogs, just trying to expand and get some more stuff here. The menu is strictly vegetarian, so our hotdogs and burgers are made from tofu. But we’re expanding our menu.

What does best here?
Our soups are probably the most popular. We have a featured soup of the day on our calendar on the menu. But it also depends on the time of the year. Right now in this heat smoothies are really popular. And now we’re keeping the juice bar open until six. We used to cut out at four, but demand has been so high that we stay open later.

Do you grow any of the produce? Is there an actual Berrybrook Farm somewhere?
No, no (laughs). We joke about that a lot. We go to the local farmers market when they’re in town. We have several other suppliers as well.

Berrybrook Farm is located at 1257 East Blvd.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

For 36 years Gailya Cherry has been coming to the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market every Friday and Saturday to sell her corn, squash, onions, and best of all, her tomatoes. People come from all over the area to buy her famous tomatoes, which she says are some of the only homegrown tomatoes that can be found during the summer. Although times have been rough lately, Cherry has not been deterred. Her consistency makes her a favorite at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market, and if you take a trip down that way, be sure to check out her wares.

Creative Loafing: How far you drive to get here?
Gailya Cherry: Denver, N.C. That’s where the farm’s at. We raise horses out there. About 65 of them.

What sells best out here?
Tomatoes. That’s the most popular. We sell them $1.69 a pound. We ought to charge more than that but other people have them out here and if you charge too high, people notice. People look at prices. But we’ve been coming so long that people know that we have the best homegrown tomatoes in the summer, so they’ll pay. They pay a $1.69 rather than pay $.99 and have them shipped from somewhere.

Looks like you have a lot of stuff here. Does the Farmers Market provide you with tables?
Well, most of the stuff we’re able to store since the beginning of the season. But most is our stuff. The Farmers Market only provides one table per vendor.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

For the past eight years Kelly Stegenga has been perfecting the art of baking and pastry-making. The Ohio native moved to North Carolina after completing her externship with Pinehurst Resort and has since fallen in love with the state. She chose baking and pastry-making as a profession from her love for sweets and has been the head chef at Amélie’s… a French Bakery since last May. Stegenga takes her work seriously and spins her own artistic touch on the torts, tarts and petit fours that the French bakery has become known for.

Creative Loafing: Has baking always been an interest? Or was it something that you got into after you started as a chef?
Kelly Stegenga: Well, I always enjoyed cooking and being in the kitchen, including baking. I would always help out my mom when I was younger, and I would make dinners when I got older. Then when I was in high school I decided that I wanted to go to culinary school. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be baking and pastries or the regular culinary program. But I decided on baking and pastries because I love sweets.

What makes your pastries “French”? How are they different?
They don’t have a lot of food coloring, and they are far more traditional in style. No bright-colored roses on them, they’re not like Harris Teeter or Food Lion cakes. No Disney characters or sports teams on top. And we use a lot more eggs, cream and butter. French baking is actually pretty fattening.

So you work at a French bakery; you ever been to France?
I haven’t. I’m kind of scared of flying. They’re trying to get me to go sometime, and I would love to go. I would just have to get over flying.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Four of them to be precise. That’s what the Dunkin’ Donuts Grilled Cheese Flatbread will cost you. Naturally, you’d would think that the simple household staple would have a little extra kick to it. But you’d be disappointed to find that the menu item is no more then a glorified grilled cheese sandwhich. It’s not that it was bad. I might go as far as to call it a tasty treat. But definitely not worth the dough.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Mixing traditional bar food with higher-end dining can be tricky. This is one of the challenges that Pete Tolles has encountered after becoming the kitchen manager for 1300 Southend Tavern almost three months ago. After living in Florida, Tolles has been in Charlotte for the past two years and is mastering the art of mixing tavern cuisine with a slightly more sophisticated edge, all the while incorporating a touch of traditional Southern taste into the Tavern’s menu.

Creative Loafing: How long have you been in the industry?
Pete Tolles: I’ve been in the industry for about 16 years now, as far as after school goes. I started when I was a young kid, back when I was 11 before we even had to have work papers. I started off as a dishwasher, worked my way up to a busser, then a server and finally a chef.

How does working in a tavern or bar setting affect your creativity?
Well it’s actually very new to me. Coming in, I was very used to working in country clubs, where I basically started my career. I worked at about nine different country clubs. As far as working in a tavern setting, I’ve never worked in a setting like this before; it’s a little challenging for me. Of course you have to provide regular bar food for people who come in and watch the games.  At the same time you still have to be creative so that you can appeal to people who are just coming in to dine.

Does cooking ever make you hungry?
Actually, no, it doesn’t anymore. I like to taste and everything, but I see food so much that I don’t eat much anymore. As you can see, I’m not very big.

1300 Southend Tavern is located at 1300 South Blvd.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites