The Charlotte area is abound with many great places offering a wide range of outstanding eats. Queen City diners can choose from an impressive variety of culinary experiences — from innovative twists on Southern classics to unique flavors from around the world. Here are the Unpretentious Palate staff picks of their favorite dishes of 2023.

Anita Skogland
Salt-Roasted Bosc Pear Salad — Bar Marcel, SouthPark
Served baby arugula and candied pecans with a roquefort sauce and port vinaigrette, the textures were layered with the pear having crispy edges and a juicy soft center. The roquefort sauce was perfect with the port reduction – just all in all an explosion of flavors.

Charred Broccoli / Amalfi Coastin’ Cocktail — Chapter Six, South End
Served with a pine nut romesco, lemon, and aleppo pepper, the broccoli had a deep smoky flavor with a bit of crunch in the stalk. The hint of spice from the pepper pulled the whole dish together. The cocktail was very zesty and tongue stimulating. Many cocktails deaden the taste buds and are not complimentary to food. This one did the opposite – lemon zest, tequila, passion fruit cordial, almond orgeat, Cocchi Americano, tajin spice rim. It was explosive and delicious.

Brian Beauchemin
Bacon-Wrapped Meat Loaf — The Office Craft Bar & Kitchen, Ballantyne
Served with goat cheese mashed potatoes, it’s an elevated ‘comfort meal’ that’s savory and slightly spicy from the BBQ sauce, plus those creamy, cheesy potatoes. Each bite asks for another.

3C IPA — Triple C Brewing Company, LoSo
Nothing new, but always good. It has a wonderful hoppy profile of grapefruit with a solid malt flavor supporting the hops.

Ebony Morman

Roasted harvest salad from Mimosa Grill. Ebony Morman/UP

Roasted Harvest Salad — Mimosa Grill, Uptown
This fall salad is the best thing I ate all year because it combines all of my favorite fruits and vegetables — apples, roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted fall squash, mixed greens, and shaved fennel — plus candied pecans and fromage blanc. The candied pecans add a pop of sweetness and the shaved fennel elevates the salad, adding crisp, fresh, and floral notes.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes — Supperland, Plaza Midwood
Made with with gold creamer potatoes, smoked paprika aioli, and chives, I was pleasantly surprised by the contrast of textures with a crunchy exterior and soft center. The aioli was exceptional and added the right amount of spice and smokiness.

Kristen Wile

The caviar bite from L’Ostrica. Kristen Wile/UP

Caviar Bite — L’Ostrica, Madison Park
The tasting menus this new restaurant change regularly, but the debut bite on the debut menu was a memorable one. Briny caviar paired with creme fresh, cured egg yolk, and scallions sits atop a beet “chicharrone” that adds an airy crunch to the dish, as well as a creative presentation of a classic caviar service.

Oldie — Lorem Ipsum, Plaza Midwood
Tasting an old-fashioned is a great way to immediately sense the skill of a bartender. They’re on menus everywhere, and their simplicity makes them easy to mess up. That simplicity also makes them hard to stand out – yet Justin Hazelton’s version combining rye whiskey, earl grey tea, black lemon bitters, and Angostura bitters, does just that.

Peter Taylor

Summer pork chop from Restaurant Constance. Peter Taylor/UP

Pork Chop, Restaurant Constance, Wesley Heights
(From the summer menu) Pork chop with a bonito-peanut crust, sweet and sour cherries, maitake mushrooms, and and zucchini. It was a nearly perfect dish. Very much a showcase of North Carolina’s summer bounty.

Ryan Allen

The étouffée at Palaza Midwood’s Dish. Ryan Allen/UP

Étouffée — Dish, Plaza Midwood
Each spoon fully coated my tastebuds in comfort and flavor, and the site of perfectly cooked rice cascading into it with a slight press of a spoon instantly encouraged me not to stop once I started. I learned after raving about how much love was in this small dish, is that is it chef Miles Dean’s favorite thing to cook.

TM Petaccia
Escargot and Mushrooms in Gorgonzola Cream — The Fig Tree, Elizabeth
It took every ounce of willpower not to lick this plate clean. Plump Burgundy Helix Snails are combined with cremini mushrooms and immersed in a velvety smooth Gorgonzola cream sauce. They are served over a small crostini slice, but you’ll also need to employ the complementary house focaccia (an extra order, please) to sop up as much as you can.

Pasta Al Nero — Volo Ristorante, Myers Park

Volo’s Pasta al Nero. TM Petaccia/UP

Thin black squid ink pasta is combined with various seafood and a cherry tomato sauce. It’s Mediterranean hedonism on a plate. It’s hard for me not to order this dish every time I go there.

Apple Tarte Tatin — Coquette, Uptown
The restaurant has only been open a few months, but this dessert has already won my heart. Executive pastry chef Leressa Rucker has crafted a beautiful combination of puff pastry, caramelized apples, and caramel sauce — topped with her honey and rosemary ice cream. This dish, like everything at Coquette, is meant to be sharable, but you’ll want to hoard this all to yourself.

Travis Mullis

Seared diver scallops from Barrel & Fork in Cornelius. Travis Mullis/UP

Seared Diver Scallops — Barrel & Fork, Cornelius
Served with a neon yellow saffron risotto, crisp fennel, Calabrian chili oil, and crispy pancetta, I love this dish for the delicate layering of contrasting flavors and textures, how great it looks on a plate, and the care and attention shown to the scallops.