Boudreaux's Louisiana Kitchen

501 E 36th St
Charlotte, NC 28205
http://www.boudreauxs.com/

The boy and I are back in Charlotte. (According to this blog, we were in Raleigh just long enough to eat fair food!) We wanted to try Boudreax's Louisiana Kitchen, which led us to NoDa, a sweet little arts district. NoDa is a couple blocks of coffeeshops, galleries, bars and small eateries just off the major artery of North Tryon Road.

The dining area was simple polished wood tables, with a well-stocked bar on one side, and on the other, a rolling garage-style door to connect the indoor and outdoor seating on warm nights. We visited on a chilly night, so it was closed, but still offered prime people-watching windows.

The day's special was fried fish with a shallot and tasso ham sauce, over grits. Tasso is cajun ham, in case you were going to state blankly at the waitress (like I did), and it comes as tiny, spicy bites of ham in the sauce. I had to try the special, while the boy ordered jambalaya.

Both dinners were spicy, without overpowering all the other layers of flavor, and both portions were way too big to finish.

They also offered a collection of cocktails, including a Hurricane Katrina (a hurricane with extra alcohol from places Katrina stopped on the way to New Orleans, with $2 going to disaster relief), mojitos, beer and a wine list.




Overall, a great night. Boudreaux had good food, and our waiter had time to recommend a string of other NoDa attractions.

Taqueria Guadalajara

4517 N Tryon St.
Charlotte, NC 28213
(704) 596-2239

We checked out Taqueria Guadalajara while we were in Charlotte last week.

As soon as we sat down, our waitress brought tortilla chips, lime wedges and a variety of salsas. One of them was a green tomatilla salsa, which pretty much guaranteed that I'd like this place. I discovered tomatilla salsa at the salsa bar at La Veracruzana in Amherst, MA, and have loved it since then. (This is where I lose all credibility as a food blogger. Seriously, who uses New England as the criteria for good Mexican food?)


The bilingual picture menu offered familiar Mexican-American favorites like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, as well as more unusual tripe soup and seafood dishes. I couldn't find margaritas, though, instead I noticed a collection of unusual juices and fruit sodas.

Our food arrived quickly... we barely had a chance to apply our half-remembered high-school Spanish to the telenovela playing in the background.

Our meals were great. We had really flavorful enchiladas, with moist chicken and lots of sauce. I also got a chile relleno that was a perfect mixture of spicy pepper, mild melty cheese and that light, omelette-y batter.

The rice was odd, it included the chopped mixed vegetables from the frozen food aisle, so a forkfull of generic Spanish rice might also have a lima bean or carrot cube in it. Not that great, but I didn't really want to fill up on rice with all the other delicious foods.

With the Spanish-language local papers and business cards, Taqueria Guadalajara is definitely catering to Mexican residents, but the informal, friendly atmosphere made us feel welcome. The green-tiled tables, bright paint and framed prints of Mexican scenes created a bright, pretty background, but the main focus was clearly on the delicious, fresh food, not the decor.

The only possible improvement would be offering a margarita, but I was very happy with our visit and we'll definitely be back the next time we're in Charlotte!