Tapas & Cocktails in NoDa

In the nine plus years I’ve lived in Charlotte, I’ve always been drawn to the NoDa neighborhood.  That’s short for North Davidson for anyone outside of Charlotte currently reading this blog.  It has a simplicity you can’t find in any other part of this city.  The vibe is great and the people watching is even better.

In the past year, the NoDa neighborhood has started to see change that leaves some local residents begging for it to remain as is.  However, the positive side of the change is new restaurants to experience.  Davidson Street Public House is one of those new spots.

Specializing in tapas (small plates), Davidson Street Public House makes for a great group outing where you can share several dishes.  The first item I saw on the menu was PBLT Sliders.  If you are wondering what the PB stands for, it is Pork Belly.  Pork Belly is a menu item that used to scare me strictly because of its name.  Once I pushed past the fear, I was able to enjoy a delicious part of the “other white meat.”  This PBLT also includes a fried green tomato and pimento cheese.  So, basically, it embraces all things Southern in one bite.  Each order comes with two sliders which was perfect for my friend and I to each have one.  For a small sandwich, they are very hearty.

The next item we chose to order was the Corn and Jalapeno Fritters.  I don’t know if I can actually explain just how great this item is.  Inside of the crispy exterior is a creamy and spicy ball of cheese.  I found the spice to be very minimal, but some might notice the jalapeno more than I did.  The creaminess is exceptional.  We sort of paused after each bit to embrace the taste and texture.  This dish is served with five fritters.  They are so great that I could have eat all five by myself.  Just my luck – my friend thought they were amazing, so I had to share.

An order of Bruschetta appeared at our table.  It was mistakenly ordered for our table.  We explained to our server and she allowed us to keep it.  We lucked into a great dish.  This bruschetta was beautiful in its presentation atop a black serving board.  The bread slices were topped with tomatoes, red onion, red bell pepper, lemon and goat cheese spread, asiago, and a basil and balsamic glaze.  All of which was flanked by arugula.

You may be thinking we didn’t order anything else, but there is more tasty food to tell you about.  We also ordered the Roasted Brussels Sprouts.  It was served in a cast iron skillet on top of a white serving plate.  These Brussels sprouts had a surprising spicy kick to them that I really enjoyed.  This vegetable is another item that I avoided at a younger age, but have learned that with the proper seasoning and preparation are really incredible.

We completed our food order with the Heaven and Hell Deviled Eggs.  There is jalapeno in the creamy egg mixture, so this spice has become a welcome constant in many of the dishes we ordered.  Topping off the deviled egg is candied bacon which added some crunch and an extra dose of sweet and salty.

All of the tapas we ordered were under $10 each.  We were able to get enough food (actually more than enough as we left a few bites) for an incredibly reasonable price.

In addition to the incredible food, Davidson Street Public House has an extensive drink menu.  In fact, the food menu is one page while the drink menu is nearly five pages.  They serve a variety of wines, specialty cocktails, and craft beers.  The beer selection is pretty impressive as many of them were new names.  The local breweries in Charlotte are also well represented on this menu.  Because there are so many great beers available at this restaurant, I’d love to see flights as a purchase option in the future.

The entire dining experience was flawless.  Shout out to our server, Monique, who helped guide us through the menu, gave us extra time to decide, and split our checks with no issues.  These qualities in addition to the great food and drink made for a perfect Friday night dinner.  With the group style food selections and TVs placed at the bar and along the back wall, I can see this restaurant being a great place to watch an away game for the Panthers.