Chris Coleman, The Goodyear House

Table 222

"I love the Botanist Room because I love all the greenery, I love the big garage doors, I love the tall ceilings, I love the potted plants that we have all around. It feels like we're not in a restaurant, it feels like you're in a greenhouse. It also overlooks the patio and when those big garage doors are open it's really cool, it has this indoor-outdoor feel. So whenever I can sneak away from the kitchen and sit down for a minute, that's where I try to sit."

What he's eating: "Trash salad, which is a de facto meal in the kitchen for a lot of cooks. The idea is it's totally customizable because you grab a deli quart container and just kind of walk down the line and anything that looks tasty at the moment, throw it in the container. Add whatever dressings or marinade, whatever else you want, and pop a lid on it, shake it up, then go to town. My go-to always has a bunch of lettuces in it, butter bean spread, it has pickled shallots, tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, buttermilk dressing, and our house-made chili crisps, so you get creamy, fatty, nutty, and spicy all in every bite."

Bruce Moffett, Barrington's Restaurant

Bar seat B2

"I usually sit near the front door, the second seat in. That's my favorite seat. I've always liked sitting at bars. I have a lot of hearing loss in my right ear from this thing I have called Miniere's disease. So for me, sitting at the bar where someone's on my lefthand side is much easier for me to hear what they're saying. When I have a chance to sit side by side with someone, I generally do it. I like the bar, I like seeing the bartenders work. There's a view of the kitchen; you can see the kitchen work. As an owner, I can see all the food that goes out of the kitchen as it goes out of the kitchen. I can see if someone's been waiting a long time or if something doesn't look quite right. Unfortunately, my brain never stops working. And I just find it a lot more interactive and social."

What he's eating: "Mussels. They just remind me of New England. I've always enjoyed mussels."

Jayson Whiteside and Mike Noll, Bardo Restaurant

Bar seats 110 and 111

"Those seats in the corner of the bar were special to us for similar reasons. You can see everything, you really see the bartenders making the cocktails, you can see the passion behind the bar. And then you can also see the kitchen. And that's what it's about, is having the open kitchen and being able to see the chefs do what they do. From that seat, you can see all that, you can also see all the guests, you can gauge the flow of the night. It's a seat for everything." — Jayson Whiteside

What they're eating: "The beef tartare. The tartare for me is a special dish because some form of it has been on our menu since we opened. It's fun to see them recreate it time and time again and just take it to the next level. They stay seasonal, they stay on brand with what we try to do at Bardo, but they make it fun and they make it interesting each time. And it's a fun way to see the seasons change and see the maturity of the restaurant change, too."

Greg Zanitsch, The Fig Tree

Table 21

"It's in probably the most quaint room in the house where the only foot traffic that goes in and out of the room is when a server needs to enter the space. During distancing right now, we have three tables total in that room. So for privacy or if you don't want to be seen or you just want to enjoy the company of your guests, I think it's the quietest table in the house."

What he's eating: "The cheese plate from the menu and a bottle of Rotllan Torra 2010 Priorat from Spain we're pouring by the glass currently. The wine is a nice good value, Spanish red. It is one of my favorite by-the-glass pours right now."

Lauren Brooks, Brooks' Sandwich House

The "Too Blessed to be Stressed" table

"I wanted to do it in front of the mural because it's something different. I just want people to remember this place by a good burger and my uncle. He and my dad, they're legends out here in Charlotte and I just want to continue to carry that on. The mural means a lot to me and my family that [my late uncle, Scott] is on the back of the building."

What she's eating:: "A double cheeseburger all the way, which is mustard-chili-onion. That's our signature burger here. A lot of people are iffy about onions and chili and stuff like that. But I tell you what, our mustard, our chili, our onion all mixed together — it's a whole different combination. If you don't like chili, we'll change your mind real quick."

Blake Hartwick, Bonterra

Table 66

"You can actually see everything in the whole restaurant. We have those little alcoves right next to that table, where you're kind of in that little cutout just for two people. And that's fun if you're going on a date or an anniversary, but this table is great because you can just see everybody come in the door, see everybody at the bar, see everybody in the dining room. You don't have to move your head around and try to 360. That's the main reason why I really like this table."

What he's eating: "We always have had our pimento cheese at the restaurant that Sonia [Granados, our bread baker] makes. She's been there since we've opened twenty years ago. We've always served that along with some Benton's country ham and some of our yeast rolls. It's always been a kind of a staple, something that's always kind of been comforting to me, especially with everything going on. It's kind of nice to have comfort food, just easy, simple, yet honest — and it just makes me feel good. When I have a little bite, it just takes me back to times of Bonterra that we've had over the years."

Paul Verica, The Stanley

Table 8

"My fiancée Jane was quite involved in construction and she wanted to pick a table that would be her table. So on the wall right above that table, behind everything when the drywall first went up, she wrote "Jane's table" on there. So there's a sentimental factor. And then me and my control issue factor is that I feel like I can sit there in the corner and I can see everything. I can see what's going on at the bar. I can see what's going on when people walk in the front door. I can see every table in the front dining room. I could see people going in and out of the kitchen. It gives me a good vantage point in order to see what's going on in the restaurant. Even the few occasions I've actually sat down at the restaurant to eat, I still am watching and looking and wanting to control everything."

What he's eating: "Pasta, because it's all I play with right now. I think we've done seven variations of extruded dough and about six variations for rolled cut pasta. I just made a little fettuccine because we had a new batch of dough the day before. It's fettuccine with some mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and a parmesan cream."

Subrina and Greg Collier, Leah & Louise

Table 37

"Our favorite table is number 37 because it's in a corner by the garage doors. It's almost a little nook that allows us to be outside without being outside. I like corner tables that allow me to see the whole space, so that's why I always go to that one." — Subrina Collier

William Dissen, Haymaker Restaurant

Table 14

"The booth at Haymaker is one of my favorite tables in the house because it gives you a great vantage point of the park. There's a lot of different textures and warmth to the booth, with exposed concrete and the salvaged walnut and the upholstered booth. It just really has a nice, warm feeling to it. It's a great place to have a business meeting, or to hang out with some good friends or family and just have a great time."

What he's eating: "Our fermented peach glazed duck confit, which comes with a sweet potato purée and then a slaw of local cabbages and lots of pickled, fermented things. It sounded like it would be really good for lunch."

Paul Manley, Sea Level NC

Table 77

"It's in the corner of the restaurant, so you have a great view of the entire restaurant. You're also closest to the kitchen out of any other table, so you can hear and see and smell all the activity that's coming out of the kitchen. It's right next to the oyster board, which is to me the cornerstone of the restaurant and why we do what we do. It's the only table that's counter height, so it gives you that particular vantage point. You could fit up to eight people at it comfortably, so it's a great communal table."

What he's eating: "The Sea Level oysters, because that's where it all started. Our restaurant is named after Sea Level, North Carolina, which is where our partner oyster farm is. And the whole premise of starting a sustainable Carolina coast seafood restaurant in Charlotte was based around that oyster and that farm."