300 East’s pimento cheese platter with an Aperol Spritz. TM Petaccia/UP

Q: Where can I get some really good pimento cheese?
Tom: Oooo! I like this one! During nice weather days, few things are better than sitting at the 300 East patio in Dilworth and enjoying their pimento cheese platter with a nice glass of wine or an Aperol Spritz (it’s pretty darn good inside the restaurant too). Pinky’s Westside Grill and Mere’s also put out some mighty fine pimento cheese. For snacking at home (or in your car on the way home), Orrman’s Cheese Shop at The Market at 7th Street makes an excellent one in-house. Nana’s Porch’s pimento cheese is absolutely killer. They don’t keep as active a farmers market/event schedule as much as they used to, but you can order some online. A recent addition to the PC scene is Thoughtful Baking Co. You won’t find any at their typical farmers market haunts, but chef/owner Mary Jayne Wilson has added the item to her new high-tech vending machines. Trust me, it’s eye-roll good.

Q: Am I nuts to want to drink red wine with roast chicken?
Tom: Not at all! I’m totally with you here, and our wine expert, Anita Skogland, agrees with us. She recommends looking at a Gamay/Beaujolais, Merlot, Zinfandel, or even a nice Chianti (with or without fava beans). Need a little more specific advice? Check out Anita’s list of 20-buck bottles — quality wines that won’t break your wallet.

Q: What do you think of Counter-‘s new “no tipping” price structure?
Tom: The discussion of “Tip Culture” has been getting louder over the past few years, especially over the past few months. A June 2023 study by Bankrate revealed Americans’ increasingly negative attitude toward tipping. Still, it’s hard to let such an established practice go, believe it or not, often by the waitstaff themselves. No matter how many times a server gets low-tipped or outright stiffed, there’s always a possibility of that $500 or $1000 tip (it still does happen on rare occasions). Gotta give Sam Hart kudos for going out there. He’s building fair tip percentages into his overall menu prices and paying his workers out of that. For the consumer, this greatly simplifies matters, allowing for easier dine-out budgeting and completely eliminates table math. My guess is many Charlotte restaurants are going to be watching closely how this works out at Counter- — both from worker and consumer perspectives — to see if it may be worth incorporating into their businesses.