Pigging Out at Bull & Barrister

There aren't many restaurants (not counting fast food) where I live in northwest Charlotte, in the Coulwood/Mountain Island Lake area. But there is a good neighborhood restaurant and bar here that I don't frequent enough: Bull & Barrister. I ate dinner there last evening, and each time I go I try something different on the menu. I ordered the Pulled Pork Platter, which is 24-hour slow roasted and covered in sweet barbecue sauce. Two sides come with this entree so I chose the baked mac 'n cheese and the loaded baked potato. And because I love them, I ordered an additional side--the sweet potato waffle fries.

I was in food heaven. The pulled pork was very tender and flavorful, which isn't always the case at restaurants that don't specialize in barbecue. Everything was good, and I couldn't eat it all so I got a to-go box, which I will be opening up shortly for lunch. I also ordered dessert to go: the Barrister Chocolate Tower, a large slice of chocolate cake that was very rich and moist. Once again, surprisingly good.

If you're ever in the area, you should give Bull & Barrister a try. It's less than 20 minutes from Uptown up Brookshire Freeway, and only 10 minutes from Northlake Mall down I-485. There are great daily food and drink specials, such as half-price wine and 69-cent oysters on Mondays, 50-cent wings on Tuesdays, and half-price appetizers on Wednesdays.

Bull & Barrister Draft House and Grille, inside Callabridge Commons, 3615 Mount Holly-Huntersville Road, 704-971-3313, bullandbarrister.com.

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Charlotte, Not to Be Confused with Charleston, 'Tech' Speaking

There are people who live in parts of this country, particularly the Midwest, West, or even far Northeast, who don't know much about southern states and cities because they've never visited the region. Some of those people are the ones who confuse Charlotte with Charleston. Sure, the first five letters of the cities' names are the same and they're both in the Carolinas, but, as you know, one is in North Carolina and the other is in South Carolina. And as landscapes, tourist attractions, and prevalent industries go, they couldn't be more different. To put it simply, Charlotte is more of a southern metropolitan city whose downtown boasts skyscrapers, condos, headquarters of large companies, and professional sports teams; Charleston is an historic coastal city with beaches, plantation-style homes, and revered for its food and arts festivals. I know I'm just summing up those cities very briefly and that they each have so much more to offer, but I've never thought the two cities had a whole lot in common.

Then I learned there's one thing Charleston has that I already knew Charlotte possesses: a burgeoning technology industry.

Fast Company published an article this week titled, "Introducing "Silicon Harbor": Charleston, SC, Home Of TwitPic And Amazon's CreateSpace," where it illustrates how and why Charleston is one of the top-10 fastest growing cities for software and Internet technology, despite being the 75th largest metro area in the U.S. "TwitPic and Amazon's CreateSpace count among the household names to emerge from Charleston. Additional prominent companies with footprints in the city include Blackbaud, Boeing, and Google," the article states.

It also goes on to describe some of the prominent tech startups and partnerships in Charleston. But you know what, Charlotte has many comparable entities:

• Whereas Charleston has the Charleston Digital Corridor to provide office space and support services, Charlotte has The Ben Craig Center and Packard Place.
• Charleston has notable tech companies and startups like PeopleMatter, BiblioLabs, and Benefitfocus, while Charlotte has DealCloud, Skookum Digital Works, Acrowire, and Appian, just to name a few from each city.
• While Charleston has Business Indigo to connect the tech community, Charlotte has the Charlotte Regional Technology Executives Council.
• And whereas Amazon acquired Charleston-based BookSurge and turned it into CreateSpace and kept the company there, last year Amazon also bought Charlotte-based voice-to-text technology company YAP Inc., but won't talk about it.

Now, there are a couple of things Charlotte can learn from Charleston in terms of growing its tech community. For starters, Charleston has given itself a cool name for the industry: "Silicon Harbor." Charlotte needs a moniker too. Any suggestions? How about "Silicon Bank"? Secondly, Charlotte needs to land a large technology company. Sure, Apple has built a new data center in Maiden, about 45 minutes northwest of Charlotte, and Google built a data center in Lenoir, but those are both large facilities mainly used to house servers. We need a large tech company in Charlotte, proper, where developers go to work every day. Charleston specifically uses state tax incentives and grant programs to target tech companies. But one area where Charlotte has an advantage, we have a lot more access to venture capital because of all of the current and former banking executives that live here and have started investment funds. Securing sources for capital is essential to startups' survival.

The Fast Company article talks about how software developers, engineers, and other techies are moving to Charleston because they're finding it to be a great place to live. That's the same case with Charlotte, as is illustrated in the video below on the tech community by the Charlotte in 2012 Convention Host Committee, as part of their Carolina Stories series.

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Truck Hop?

Apparently there was a "Truck Hop" event recently in Charlotte. This truck has better dance moves than I do. LOL.

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Dating, Reality Show Opportunities for Singles this Week in Charlotte

If you've been watching the new season of The Bachelorette, which was filmed largely in Charlotte, perhaps you've caught the reality show dating bug. If so, you could be in luck with one of two casting/recruiting events this week.

Thursday, June 7
The Bachelor Casting Call at Suite
This Thursday during the popular Alive After Five event, producers from The Bachelor will hold an open casting call for single women, taking place 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Suite, 210 E. Trade St., at the EpiCentre. Think the odds won't be in your favor to make the cut for the ABC reality show? Keep in mind that Emily Maynard from Charlotte, who's currently starring in The Bachelorette, not only was a contestant on The Bachelor in 2011 but was the eventual winner (though her and Bachelor Brad Womack soon broke up).

Saturday, June 9
Celebrity Matchmaker Seeking Single Black Men
Celebrity matchmaker Jasmine Diaz is coming to Charlotte to recruit the city’s most eligible, single, successful African-American men. If you’re single and looking, and between the ages of 35 and 45, this will be your opportunity to connect with the matchmaker for free. The Shawn Mackenzi Agency, a Los Angeles-based matchmaking company that specializes in matching affluent African-Americans and Latinos, is hosting a special recruiting session that will be taped for a new reality series being produced by Comcast Entertainment Studios / NBCUniversal. The event takes place this Saturday, 1 p.m., at Aloft Charlotte Uptown Hotel. 210 E. Trade St., at the EpiCentre. Click here to RSVP.

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Be a Harambee Reader to Children this Summer

About six months ago I learned of a great nonprofit organization in Charlotte called Freedom School Partners. FSP helps children succeed in school and in life by offering educational enrichment programs, and it partners with numerous community organizations. Notably, it offers the Children Defense Fund's Freedom Schools summer programs to improve academic achievement, reduce dropout rates, and inspire the love of reading.

There's a way you can contribute by giving just a little bit of your time. Freedom School Partners is seeking members of the community to come read aloud at Harambee (Kiswahili for “Let’s Pull Together”). You'd help children in the summer programs start a day off right by being a Harambee Reader and sharing the gift of reading with them. All you have to do is volunteer 30 minutes of your time to read to a group of Freedom School scholars, ages five to 14 years old. The reading time is offered between Tuesdays and Fridays, 8:30-9 a.m., during the six-week program, June 18 to July 27. You only have to pick one time to come out--or more if you'd like. There are 25 locations around Charlotte to choose from, so you'll likely find one that's close to where you live or work.

FSP can provide you with a book or you can bring your own. You can also share a little about yourself, maybe talk about the work you do, tell them why reading is important and fun--anything to help motivate and inspire them.

The summer Freedom School locations are: Allenbrook Elementary, Ashley Park PreK-8 School, Avondale Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem Center at Winterfield Elementary, Billingsville Elementary, Bruns Academy, W.G. Byers School, Christ Lutheran Church, CN Jenkins Presbyterian Church, Druid Hills Academy, Eastover Elementary, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, The Grove, Highland Renaissance Academy, Johnson C. Smith University, Montclaire Elementary, Providence Day School, Quail Hollow Middle, Ranson Middle, Sedgefield Elementary, Seigle Point, Shalom Park, Statesville Elementary, Thomasboro Academy, and UNC Charlotte.

Click here to become a Harambee Reader. There you'll find a Google calendar where you can select a site and date to read. Then you'll need to email Kim Dickerson, Harambee coordinator, at kim@freedomschoolpartners.org with your selection to sign up.

I'm signing up and I hope you will too!

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