House of Pizza in East Charlotte. Photo courtesy of House of Pizza

We know chefs can cook great food, but where do they eat when they’re not cooking for guests or themselves? In this series, we ask a member of the restaurant industry to share their favorite five local restaurants (not including their own) and what they order. Rising star cake artist Brigitte Oger and owner of Craft Cakes CLT shares which mom-and-pop restaurants revive her after a long day’s work. —Justin Burke-Samson

PoBoy’s Low Country Seafood Market, Enderly Park

A fast casual seafood counter and market with communal seating
Oger’s order: Soft shell crab po boy
Her pro-move: Order the fresh caught fish by the pound, ask to have it cleaned and filleted for you so you can relax when you get home.

House of Pizza, Commonwealth Park
Classic no frills pizza is the foundation of this joint
Oger’s order: Greek pizza and cheesesteak sandwich

Deli St., Plaza Midwood
A vegan- and vegetarian-friendly deli
Oger’s order: The Outsider on torta roll

Viva Chicken, Various locations
Peruvian-inspired fast casual chicken and sandwiches
Oger’s order: On Thursdays it’s a whole chicken and three sides for $19.95

Taipei Express, Myers Park
Classic Chinese food owned by a mother, father, and daughter trio
Oger’s order: pretty much anything, you can’t go wrong

More from this series

Verdant Bread’s Tanner Fink
Wentworth & Fenn’s Samantha Allen
Bonterra’s Blake Hartwick
The Fig Tree’s Greg Zanitsch
Good Food on Montford’s Larry Schreiber
Yafo’s Shai Fargian
Zeppelin’s Vince Giancarlo
The Asbury’s Miranda Brown
Barcelona Wine Bar’s Nicolas Daniels
Heirloom’s Clark Barlowe