The pretzel at Brewers at Yancey is served with beer cheese.

Q: Which places offer beer-centric dishes—either recipes with beer as an ingredient or food designed to pair with a beer?
UP: You’ll want to stick to the breweries with a solid kitchen. Brewers at Yancey does a lot of cooking with beer, and the menu at the new Legion Brewing in SouthPark is pretty impressive, with many dishes using Legion brews. There are lots of beer pairing dinners popping up, too, like one at Corkbuzz tomorrow night. You can see beer events on our calendar by clicking on the little beer tag in an event!

Q: As newbies to Dilworth in a few weeks, what would your list of Must Eats be in our first month?
UP: Let me do some math… if we say you go out two times a week for four weeks, that’s 8 restaurants. Phew, the hard part is over; I hate math. Here are 8 places you should try, starting in Dilworth and spreading a bit towards Park Road: 300 East, Kid Cashew, Copper, Bonterra, Foxcroft Wine Co., Inizio Pizza, Not Just Coffee, and Dot Dot Dot. But there are plenty of great restaurants in the area; use our restaurant finder here to find ’em!

Q: Are there any food writers/critics that you enjoy and would recommend? Any books on food that really stand out to you? I’m always looking for new voices and perspectives on food and wine. Thanks for the help.
UP: Yes! I actually prefer to read food books instead of food criticism; one of the inspirations of UP’s name was the level of pretentiousness you see in a lot of food writing. Here are a few books all over the map: The Cooking Gene, by Michael Twitty, follows a black Southerner as he tries to reconnect with his ancestor’s culinary traditions, ones that were cut short or changed during slavery. The Third Plate, which was recommended to me by Heirloom chef Clark Barlowe, is written by renowned chef Dan Barber. In it, Barber examines how we’ve industrialized food and what we can do to make it better, in a way that is interesting and inspirational. And for fun, I adored Wine. All The Time by Marissa Ross. Ross is a former comedian-turned-wine critic, and her book is full of curse words and hilarious tidbits. She makes the often-overwhelming world of wine more accessible. She’s also big on natural wines, and I recently bought a t-shirt from her that is a Gucci knockoff but says “Gamay” instead of Gucci. It’s my new favorite.

Q: I have a couple frequent visitors to CLT who are non-adventurous with food. Where I can take them to get quality traditional food that’ll meet their needs but satisfy my taste buds?!
UP: A lot of restaurants are realizing that even the most food-forward diners have non-adventurous friends, so some of the city’s coolest places also have unintimidating dishes. The Stanley, for example, has some out there (delicious, but out there) stuff, yet also serves a steak or a pork chop most nights. Stoke is also fantastic for this; since they have to please all kinds of hotel guests, you can bet they have something for you and your family. I’m also going to throw Rooster’s in here, too, because I think it’s a crowd-pleaser. Bistro La Bon is often overlooked these days, but always dependable. Don’t forget, you can search for “non-adventurous eaters” on our Restaurant Finder for all of our recs on that!

Q: I have someone looking for places that could host 20-30 people around uptown. Think: cocktail hour and appetizers. She’s looking for “perhaps an interactive bar and tables or sit down location.” I’m not really sure what an “interactive bar” is, but I’m hoping you can help me give some good options?
UP: With this size group, I’d look for a private dining room or bar area you can rent out. I’m guessing by an interactive bar, she means a mimosa bar or something, but I’m going to throw out restaurants with great cocktails instead, because I’m a believer that the pros will make better drinks than us, so why not take the better drink? Fin & Fino is an enthusiastic recommend from me for this. My husband just hosted an event in the private dining room there and raved about it. You can work with them on cocktail options, as well as the menu. Fin & Fino’s sister restaurant, Dogwood, is in SouthPark, and there you can rent out the bar space for something that’s a little more mix-and-mingle, plus bartender Brian Lorusso is one of the best in town. Back in uptown, Loft & Cellar‘s upstairs space is available to rent, and the menu there was just redone by uber-talented chef Greg Collier. Haymaker also has an upstairs private dining room that is beautiful.

Q: I’m taking a golfer in town from the West coast to dinner uptown tonight. He’s competing in the US Mid-Amateur Championship. Don’t think he’s ever been before. It’s overwhelming to pick an uptown restaurant these days! A couple of ideas for a trendy, casual, tasty spot would be greatly appreciated!
UP: Oh, good luck to him! I really like Sea Level, and you can validate parking in the garage underneath. They’ve got some good healthy options which might be a plus for an athlete! Their cocktails are awesome, too… Colleen Hughes from Haberdish does their list. As for trendy, out-of-towners really love 5Church, with the whole Top Chef connection and everything. Stoke is great if you don’t mind being in a hotel. These are places you can get entrees, too, if you don’t know the person well enough to do small plates. I’m also a fan of Halcyon for the view (and the food). It’s been open a while, but is still delicious.