Shopping near uptown of all places

Twice in the last week I have been to the Target and Home Depot Expo Design Center in the new Metropolitan development near uptown. The stores opened last fall. But last week was my first time over there and I was impressed. Aside from New York, I've never lived anywhere that has this kind of retail so close to the center city.

Metropolitan is a $225 million, 16-acre project replacing Midtown Square between Kings Drive and Kenilworth Avenue.

Best Buy, Marshalls and Staples are opening there soon. And Trader Joe's -- what I really can't wait for -- is slated to open a store in the second half of this year.

Have you been? What do you think?

And what stores do you wish were close to uptown?

Sneezing in Charlotte?

I am happy to report that so far this year my allergies are the most under control they have ever been since I moved here nearly five years ago. This is major. Usually I am sneezing my head off all the time.

Medical writer Karen Garloch says the rain has been tamping down the pollen. So aside from the drought, that's another reason to be thankful for the Spring showers.

Are your allergies better or worse since moving to the Charlotte area? Let me know by posting here.

And email your responses to Karen -- kgarloch@charlotteobserver.com -- too. She's working on a story. Be sure to include your name and daytime phone number when you email her. Thanks!

Nothing to do here?

Can't find anything to do around here? Head to Charlotte.com. That's what Editor Rick Thames advises in a message on today's front page.

New on Charlotte.com: A searchable calendar of nearly 15,000 happenings along with maps, directions and nearby restaurants. I checked it out and found an event I happened to be searching for yesterday -- Art & Soul on South End -- at the top of the page as the "Best Bet."

Check it out yourself on Charlotte.com or go to events.charlotte.com (no www).

No good barbecue? What?!

Now everyone stay calm.

A reader, Ty Caston, e-mailed me to say that after a year in Charlotte he's yet to find "a decent place for barbecue."

"I am from Georgia, where there is a BBQ shack on every corner, but in Charlotte I can't even find a place that knows what Brunswick stew is. Any suggestions?"

Oh boy, Ty, you certainly have opened a can of baked beans. People here have very strong opinions about their barbecue.

Let me share my two favorites: Bill Spoon's -- Eastern style -- and Mac's Speedshop -- upscale biker bar. Both on South Boulevard.

I prefer pulled pork to beef brisket. Ribs aren't my thing but I once thoroughly enjoyed them at the famous Dreamland in Tuscaloosa, Ala. I like vinegar sauce if it's not too tart and red sauce so long as it's not cloyingly sweet. And I like to put the slaw on top of the meat.

I asked some colleagues to weigh in. Some did. And some wouldn't -- they are plain tired of the barbecue battle.

Tommy Tomlinson, who's also from Georgia, called Spoon's and Mac's the best in town but "he best in the WORLD is about an hour away to the west (Bridges' in Shelby) and the east (Lexington #1 in Lexington)."

Mark Price shared this:
"Being from Memphis, which is a big pork barbecue place, I've taken much grief over this issue. In Memphis, they had barbecue places all over, like they have hamburger joints in Charlotte. When I first moved to N.C., I lived in Fayetteville, in the eastern part of N.C. and they served this vinegar-soaked slop called barbecue. Tasted more like the innards of a well-roasted scrub pine.
When I criticized the alleged barbecue, I was told that people from Memphis like 'ketchup on their barbecue,' which alluded to the fact that we like sauce you can see and taste, rather than the vinegar-kerosene mixture preferred in Eastern N.C.
Anyway, I find that the barbecue is a little more edible in Charlotte, and I prefer Mac's on South Boulevard to most places. In Lexington, I go to the Bar-b-que Center, where the barbecue is pretty darn good. They also have this red colored slaw, which something we never had in Memphis.
One more big complaint: Here, "baked beans" are warmed over Van Camp's Pork & Beans that settle on your plate like brown sludge. In Memphis, baked beans have barbecue sauce, along with onions, spices and chips of fresh cooked pork. I don't even order beans in this state any more, because it's like something from a Chef Boyardee can."

OK, people, bring it on. What are your barbecue suggestions?

Left Ohio and looking for friends

I got an e-mail today from Kristen Montgomery, who moved to Charlotte a month ago from Cleveland. Kristen, 26, and husband Jesse, 29, are looking for newcomer groups to join.

"I've heard there are some active 'New to Charlotte' groups here, but I've been having a hard time figuring out where to find them or how to join. Could you help me with that? I was able to find the Charlotte Young Professionals group you mentioned in one of your previous articles, but we're looking for ones that are specifically for newbies like us."

No problem, Kristen.

Meetup.com is a good place to turn to find groups by interest. For example, I found the Charlotte Singles, Nightlife, and New In Town Meetup Group. There are lots of fun-sounding groups on Meetup but this is the only one I found with "new" in the name.

If you have a church, you might check to see if it has fellowship for newcomers. Several area churches -- St. Matthew Catholic Church in Ballantyne and Christ Covenant Church in Matthews come to mind -- offer a program called Moving On After Moving In.

Keep in mind, though, that many young professionals groups here are going to have plenty of new-to-town members. That's just Charlotte. I suggest these:

Kiwanis Uptown. Unlike traditional, older Kiwanis clubs, this one caters to young professionals 21 to 35. I went to a recent meeting and found that many of the members are new to Charlotte. For more on Kiwanis Uptown, check out my upcoming Sunday column.

Charlotte Jaycees. Another volunteer and networking group for 20- and 30-somethings.

Young Affiliates of the Mint. Professionals ages 21-45 to get involved in the Mint museums through educational and social events.

Any other groups Kristen and Jesse should know about? Post them here.

What do you really think about Living Here?

I want to hear your ideas for the annual Living Here magazine. Producing it is a big part of my job.

Please let me here how to make the magazine more useful and relevant to your life. E-mail your suggestions to me at abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com. Include your name and telephone because I'm raffling off a prize. For more details, click here.

Even McDonald's is upscale in SouthPark

It's funny what strikes people when they visit a new place.

Take Bonnie from East Rochester, N.H., who e-mailed me today about her recent Charlotte stay. It was her first. She was visitng her son.

"He took me to all the sights that you mentioned (in previous posts), PLUS we also went to see the Calvary church, which looks like a big pink tiara. It thoroughly impressed my five-year-old granddaughter. And we saw the Duke Mansion, went to SouthPark mall and to the McDonald's there, which has balconies on the second floor and a grand piano and a chandelier in the lobby! Again, my granddaughter thought it was stupendous. I also found it interesting just to drive around and see the area as the mostly brick homes are a contrast to our New England wood-frame houses. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the area on my next visit."

Bonnie, I love that you mention that McDonald's. I was also struck by that when I moved here in 2003. I can say with confidence there aren't any grand pianos in McDonald's in New York City, where I lived before moving here. Along the same lines, I will never forget stepping into a grocery store (the Harris Teeter on East Boulevard) for the first time to see a huge display of Pellegrino sparkling water. Quite a change from where I shopped in New York -- Key Food in Astoria, Queens and Pathmark in Long Island City, Queens.

Your favorite bars

Hey, readers, do you play pub trivia? I'm looking for your favorite bars for trivia nights. You know where you answer Trivial Pursuit-style questions for pitchers of Coors Light or pints of Guinness. Please let me know.

If you post here and send a copy of it to my e-mail I'll put your name in a raffle for a prize drawing. Thanks!

Pushy neighbors?

A colleague of mine, Alisha, and her husband recently bought their first house. They aren't new to Charlotte but they are new to their neighborhood. Alisha wants to know the proper way to meet the neighbors. Her e-mail to me goes like this:

"Is it appropriate to go up to our neighbors' doors and introduce ourselves? Do we try to hold a small BBQ or something and leave 'invitations' for
people we've never met before? Is the best way to meet them through the
neighborhood association meetings? We want to be friendly, but we
don't want to be pushy."

My husband and I have gotten to know our neighbors but not through any overt or planned efforts. One neighbor -- who turns out I went to high school with back in Ohio -- brought over a bottle of wine. Other neighbors we met when everyone was outside doing yardwork or while dog walking. We've BBQ'd with neighbors once we've gotten to know them.

My advice: Chat up your neighbors when you happen to see them around. Let these relationships build kind of naturally. Maybe offer to get someone's newspapers if you know they're leaving town and perhaps they'll be likely to return the favor. Just be .. well .. neighborly.

What has or hasn't worked for you?

Can't wait to get out of here? Or, never want to move again?

I have lived in Charlotte for four and a half years, longer than I've lived anywhere since graduating college.

How long will I stay?

I don't know.

But I will tell you this, my column today makes staying put sound pretty good. It's about a family's arduous cross-country move from Park City, Utah to Charlotte. I challenge you to come up with a better moving tale of woe. Got one? Let me hear it. Post it hear and send me a copy at abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com.

Oh, and how long do you plan to be in Charlotte? Tell me that too. Thanks!

Excuse me, what's your name?

I'm loosely defining a newcomer as someone who has lived in the Charlotte area two years or less.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t talk if you have been here three years or 30 years.

By that two-year standard, I’m an old-timer. In fact, some people joke if you’ve lived here five years - and come November I will have - you are a native. On the other hand, some natives feel like newbies because of all the changes Charlotte has gone through - i.e. condos and restaurants and cultural venues uptown and light rail, to name a few.

Still, I don’t feel completely settled in Charlotte. Sure, I’ve figured out the various Queens roads, but still rely heavily on Mapquest for getting around. And I have a hairstylist I love, but finding her took four years.
I can tell you what made me start to feel less new to town: when my husband and I bought our house, making Charlotte the first and only city we’ve owned a home. That was in our first year here.

Then, in our second year, we adopted our dog, Loretta Lynn - talk about a great way to get to know your neighbors. Last summer, the four of us - oh, yeah, we had a baby too - went on nightly walks around our ‘hood. We met a woman with a baby bulldog and a talked a lot with a young couple whose dog looks like Fozzie Bear. We checked in on our favorite two standard poodles. We waved to people we didn’t know and to others we knew only by the names of their pets or kids. And Charlotte began to feel even more like home.

Got a settling in story to share? Please do.

You're a bunch of show-offs

In my column Monday, I asked readers to share how they show off Charlotte to visitors -- where they take them, what sights they show them.

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed their suggestions. Here's what the Charlotte show-offs had to suggest.

"I wanted to comment on the Billy Graham Library. It seems many people already know about it, but it still would be nice to remind our community of its presence. Many of our senior citizen friends who grew up watching Billy on black and white TVS, enjoyed the tour," said Elaine Pennington. She also recommended Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. "The South is known for its beautiful flowers and plants."

Katherine McAdams wrote, "I like to show the history of the area." On her list: President James K. Polk State Historic Site in Pineville, Hezikah Alexander Homesite and Historic Brattonsville in York County.

Michele and Wes Nichols offered up a long list. Some highlights:
"We drive by the Panthers (stadium) statues for visitor to look at the blue eyes. And then show them the four statues at Trade and Tryon and tell them abou the history of Charlotte's progress displayed by the statues."
They also suggested Wing Haven Gardens & Bird Sanctuary, Mint Museum of Craft + Design and the Levine Museum of the New South.

Shawn Byrd said, "I show people mainly the downtown skyline."

Donna Murphy likes to take visitors on a ride of the Blue Line from I-485 to uptown and then walk to a restaurant for lunch or dinner. She also does the "obligatory drive through Myers Park" and "maybe a walk through Freedom Park."

More ideas? Post them here.

Looking for a job?

My story yesterday about people moving to the Charlotte area without jobs sparked some discussion. Readers called and emailed to share their job-hunting stories.

I also got a call from Linda Kappauf at South Piedmont Community College, telling me about the Union County Career Fair. The fair will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 16 at SPCC's campus in Monroe. It is free to all job seekers and employers.

Last year's fair brought in about 600 job seekers and 80 employers, said Kappauf, director of human resource development. This year, with the slumping economy, she expects to see more people looking for work. So far more than 50 employers have signed up.

"It is a pretty good mixture of companies. It is not just your Burger Kings," she said. "We have three hospitals, Time Warner Cable, Union County local government, city of Monroe, the school system. We have a good mix and we are still adding to it."

For more info: http://www.spcc.edu/.

Got a job-seeking tip to share? Post it here.

Sew cool

If you like to sew, here's a place you need to know about: Mary Jo's Cloth Store in Gastonia.

I went there Saturday with my mom, who was visiting from Ohio. She was teaching me to sew, because it was raining and we couldn't do my outdoor plans.

Anyhow, we took a break from the sewing lessons to check out Mary Jo's, a Gaston Mall fixture for 22 years and fabric central for budding and experienced seamstresses. Mom wanted a certain material for her next sewing project and hadn't been able to find it anywhere. I told her from what I'd heard about Mary Jo's -- a warehouse of all kinds of fabric -- she'd find it there. And she did.

Mary Jo's draws customers from across the country. According to a 1998 Southern Living article on the shop's Web site, customers have included Dolly Parton's seamstress and Disney costume makers.

Now that Mom is back in Ohio, I'm looking for sewing help. If you know a good sewing class or sewing group, let me know about it.

Frugal fun around town

In today's Observer column, I reveal the winner of my cheap-things-to-do-in-Charlotte contest. A big shout out to Chris Keener, a Gastonia native who moved to Charlotte eight years ago.

A few week ago, in my column, I asked for five suggestions – each less than $10 a person – for exploring the city. More than two dozen people responded.

Here are some of the best recommendations and who submitted them. Thanks for playing.

From Crystal Skillman:
1. Visit the Mint Museum of Art on Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., when it’s free.
2. Enjoy a day of people watching at Freedom Park.
3. Take free yoga classes at the Yoga Center on the second Sunday of each month from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
4. Visit the Charlotte Museum of History for free Family Day on Sundays.
5. Listen to chamber music at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church uptown. Free concerts are at 12:10 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month.

From Elizabeth Cook:
1. Visit Julia’s Coffee on a Saturday afternoon for a wonderful cup of coffee and free live music by local artists. (This made the winner’s list too.)
2. Visit RiRa Irish Pub uptown on Tuesday nights for the pub quiz and a Guinness.
3. Go to an early afternoon showing the Manor Theatre (an art house theater now called the Regal Manor Twin).
4. Go to South Park mall... and window shop.
5. Visit two of the most interesting and unique places in Charlotte: The Levine Museum of the New South or the Raptor Center. Adult admission is under $10.00 per person at each place.

From Joyce Hannon:
1. Go to Latta Plantation.
2. Go to the U.S. National Whitewater Center.
3. Go to the Raptor Center.
4. Go to Freedom Park.
5. Go to McDowell Park.

From Jessica Houseman:
1. Dean & Deluca in Phillips Place - Free! They have free samples sitting out of their various goodies. Sometimes they have guest chefs there that give you free recipes.
2. Canine Cafe on South Tryon - a must for any dog lover and it’s also Free! They have a cute bakery display of muffins for your pooch! My dog loves their $0.99 Pumpkin Daquiries - a cute frozen treat. Visit on Saturdays from 2-4 (Yappy Hour) and the dogs get free treats when they come in. Kids and animal lovers also will love the dog-themed merchandise.
3. Freedom Park - Free! One of the best places to take your family/pets for an afternoon. Usually, there are some great local musicians practicing in the park and they have lots of clean, grassy areas for a picnic. Also - it’s has one of the few lakes that still contain water, even in the height of the drought.
4. Schiele Museum in Gastonia - $2 to $9. For the kid in all of us - has a science museum, planetarium and rotating featured exhibits.
5. Free/Cheap Live Music during the summer: Charlotte Symphony does Pops in the Park on Sundays in South Park,
Ballantyne Village has free music on weekends.
For the 20-somethings there is Thursdays in uptown, which has music at the square in front of Mimosa (Wachovia Building)

From Harold Keener:
1. Discovery Place
2. Mint Museum/Museum of Craft + Design
3. U.S. National White Water Center
4. Levine Museum of the New South
5. Arboretum at UNC Charlotte

From Katie Overcash:
1. Go to the Mint Museum on Tuesday Nights (It’s free)
2. Center City Alive After 5 (Every Thursday April 10 – Aug 28) Also free
3. Hike the trails at the Whitewater Center ($5 to park)
4. Eat at Mr. K’s on South Boulevard.
5. Bike the Booty Loop (It’s free)

From Roxane Javid:
1. Free Popcorn Tuesdays at the Manor
2. Festival in the Park -- a beautiful fall weekend of music, art, and various sorts of entertainment in Freedom Park. No admission charge.
3. Gallery Crawls. Visit various art galleries in NODA/uptown/South End first and third Fridays of the month. Free.
4. Bike, walk, or jog Charlotte’s growing greenway system. No charge and lots of exercise!!!
5. Movies in the Park -- free summer movies on Fridays at Freedom Park.

Got your own list? Add it here.

One newcomer's first impressions

Newcomer Jenny Brantley recently e-mailed me about some of her first impressions about Charlotte. The stay-at-home mom moved to South Charlotte from Allentown, Pa. in August with husband, Bill (a structural engineer), and children Mary Kate (3 1/2) and Graham (a year old today).

I think her list of impressions is a talker. In fact, I recall being struck by the same five things myself when I was a newcomer. Here they are:

1. In South Charlotte, you have to shower daily and wear lipstick. Gone are the days of a quick run to the grocery in sweat and baseball hats! Preschool drop-offs require full hair and fabulous outfits, in particular.

2. The YMCA is cool. We have never seen this before!!! YMCAs at our previous homes were homeless shelters -- that's it.

3. We have lived here since August and have yet to meet a native Charlottean. Do they exist? All our neighbors and friends are transplants like us.

4. Downtown is really uptown!

5. Despite any water shortages, cars must be super clean at all times.

So how does Jenny feel about living here?

"We love it -- especially now that we know the ropes!," she said in her e-mail.

Vacation time?

Thinking of getting out of town? But is the economy holding you back?

Observer reporter Jefferson George is looking for families who have changed their vacation plans because of the economy. That means maybe you're not venturing as far or you're now going someplace cheaper. If that's you, he'd love to hear your story. Contact him at 704-358-5071 or jgeorge@charlotteobserver.com. Be sure to leave your name and daytime phone number.

Thanks, everyone.