Q: Are there any Buffalo Bills bars in Charlotte?
Tom: You bet! Are you ready for some football? Will the Bills finally make it to the promised land? There are a few spots around town where you can team up with your Bills Mafia brothers and sisters and watch the games. Impact Golf Lounge in South Charlotte is the official home of the Charlotte Bills Mafia chapter. It has nine televisions, a full bar and kitchen, and golf simulators for anyone who needs somewhere to direct nervous energy during the fourth quarter. The Horseshoe in South End is is a hardcore Bills Backers bar and home of the Queen City Mafia. Expect the strongest game-day crowd, Bills drink specials, and a Buffalo game-day menu. Bisonte Pizza in Uptown is not officially a Bills bar, but is unmistakably Buffalo. Brothers Jim and Steve DaPolito grew up there, and Bisonte serves Buffalo-style pizza and appropriately serious wings. Outside the city limits, Taste of Buffalo Pizzeria in Huntersville offers perhaps the most thoroughly Buffalo experience on the list: Buffalo-style pizza, wings, beef on weck, and a dining room filled with Bills fans. The Bearded Buffalo in Belmont calls itself home of the 704 Mafia. It’s a true sports-bar experience with plentiful televisions, approximately 30 wing flavors, and Bills crowds on game days.

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Q:  My fourteen year-old son had decided he wants to be “a gourmand” and wants to starting exploring finer restaurants, but I’m not ready to break the bank on him yet. What are some good “training wheel” restaurants?
Tom: I love this question, It makes me feel our future may still be bright. I’d start with 300 East in Dilworth. It offers a nice bridge between “upper casual” and fine dining. And he’ll definitely learn what a top-shelf, well-plated dessert looks like. Stagioni in Myers Park will give him the surroundings of a sophisticated Italian restaurant, but pizza and pasta provide relatively affordable entry points. Sharing a starter also lets him investigate something unfamiliar without committing to an entire entrée. At The Flour Shop off Park Road, he’ll get that “open kitchen” experience. He can watch the cooks work while exploring the menu. Ever Andalo in NoDa is stylish and unmistakably grown-up, yet relaxed enough that a teenager won’t feel out of place. If he passes these tests, then head on over to Customshop in Elizabeth, admittedly an advanced class. Andrés Kaifer and Matt Moore put out a more adventurous menu, but the menu’s shareable format allows the two of you to assemble a meal without each ordering an expensive entrée. There’s also the plus that he can tell his friends that he’s been to two Michelin restaurants with Customshop and Ever Andalo.

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