Ollie's Bites: Top Sushi Spots in Charlotte

Salmon avocado roll from Ru Sans

This article first appeared on Localeur's website--check them out for travel recommendations! Localeur features in-the-know locals giving food, drink, and recreation recommendations from all over the world!

O-Ku

Interior of O-Ku//photo courtesy of O-Ku's Facebook page

Located in the ever-growing South End neighborhood, O-Ku is a great spot to meet friends for a drink and some fresher-than-fresh sushi. Must tries include the Green Eggs and Hamachi Hako, which is a boxed style sushi, and the Kiwi Kani roll which incorporates lump crab, avocado, and yes, kiwi, which is super fresh, creative, and delicious. Stop in Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-7pm for half off sushi rolls!

O-ku Sushi//photo courtesy of O-Ku's Facebook page

Ru Sans

Exterior of Ru Sans//photo courtesy of Charlotte Agenda

Ru Sans in Dilworth is a Charlotte staple for quality sushi at a great price point. Don’t be deterred if there is a wait--it usually moves faster than what they quote. While you wait, enjoy a sake bomb at the bar and enjoy the cheers in your honor from all of the sushi chefs. My favorite roll is the Green Dragon, which has tempura shrimp and cucumber wrapped in avocado and roe. Yum!

The infamous sushi lunch buffet//photo courtesy of Trip Advisor

Bonsai Fusion

Sushi burrito!//Photo courtesy of Charlotte Agenda

If you find yourself Uptown for lunch, head over to 7th Street Market. Do not get distracted by the myriad options available in this fun eatery hall--you are here for the sushi, remember? The best deal at Bonsai is their signature lunch special--two rolls for $9! Also, check out the sushi burrito ($10) or the poke bowl. Their options are fresh, quick, and tasty!

Terminator roll//photo courtesy of Yelp

Futo Buta

Salmon belly nigiri

Although Futo Buta bills itself as more of a ramen shop than a sushi joint, their sushi is awesome! My favorite is the Salmon Belly Nigiri, which started as a special but is now a menu staple--it’s topped with a fabulous yuzu mayo tobiko roe. Other rolls are offered on special daily, and at this funky South End eatery, sushi can be an accompaniment to another dish like ramen or a rice bowl. Options abound!

Uni nigiri//photo courtesy of Yelp

Central

Background:
Central opened in 2008 in Miraflores, Lima and quickly rose to being ranked as the best restaurant in Peru. By 2014, it was named Best Restaurant in Latin America and remains number one today. Central currently ranks as the 5th best restaurant in the world.  Virgilio Martinez also won International Chef of the Year in 2017. And lastly, Central is featured on Season Three of Netflix's, "Chef's Table." In the words of Ron Burgundy:

Yvonne's never seen Anchorman

Central is run by Virgilio Martínez and his wife Pía León. Central serves a menu of items only found in Peru, and its goal is to show off the country's unique biodiversity. Peru experiences 30 of the 32 climates found on earth, and therefore boasts a wide variety of flora and fauna. Virgilio and his team travel the country looking for new ingredients he can bring back to Central. 

Eat This:
You have two different tasting menus you can choose from--an 11 course menu and a 17 course menu. If are you are in Lima and have managed to get a reservation, you need to just go all out and get the 17 course menu, k? The 17 course menu is called Mater Elevations, and each course is based on a certain ecosystem and elevation unique to Peru. The menu takes you on a wild ride through the biodiversity of Peru, and a lot of this biodiversity includes some obscure ingredients us Gringos had never heard of. Don't fret if you have never heard of some of these items, just sit back and enjoy the adventure of Virgilio's unique take on Peruvian cuisine. 

Rock Molluscs

Sea snail, mussel, sargassum, limpet

-10 Meters

The first six courses were all eaten by hand with no utensils. The first course started under the sea at -10 meters (that's -33 feet for those of you who failed 4th grade math). Sea snails and mussels were made into a black paste which you spread on the crispy seaweed crackers.

Desert Plants

Huarango, cactus, sweet potato leaf, loche

180 Meters

The second course took us to the desert where we enjoyed a bite of cactus, a lightly fried sweet potato nest, and then a sweet potato leaf coated in a mix of sweet spices. Our favorite part of this dish was the leaf--who knew a leaf could taste like such a decadent snack?

Lofty Andes

Potato, tree tomato, alpaca, muna mint

3,500 Meters

Next up, we traveled higher--up to the Andes, where we got to eat some potatoes with a delicious Alpaca sauce. Depending upon who you talk to, there are between 2,000 and 5,000 different types of potatoes grown in Peru.

The only problem with this dish is you wanted to eat more of the Alpaca sauce compared to the size of the potato (one small one each) you were given to dip in the sauce. Looking back, we probably should have put our fingers in that bad boy, but this was early in the meal and didn't want to lose decorum too early.

Thick Stems

Olluco, chincho, onion, field mustard

3,500 Meters

This little gem included a olluco, which is a purple tuber (no relation to a potato). They made a little latke out of the olluco and provided an elixir made of a little broth of chincho (native herb), onion, and field mustard to wash it down after.

Water of nanay

Piranhas, cocona, achiote, huampo bark

680 Meters

This baby was all about the piranhas, which were served two ways. One version was served raw in a leaf and the other was a lightly fried piece of the piranha (skin attached).

The waiter told us that this was one of their newest dishes on the menu, and yes, the piranha heads that make up the serving dish are real frozen piranhas! The piranha tasted pretty meaty in the raw form, almost like a flounder.

Forest Cotton

Churo, gamitana, pacae, llanten

300 Meters

Forest Cotton is one of the signature dishes of Central. It had three distinct bites. The first was white part of the cacao plant filed in the middle with cream. The next was the cacao leaf filed with Gamitana, which is a fish. Finally, it was washed down boiled juice from the Llanten plant.

High Jungle

Macambo, cassava, copoazu, air potato

2800 Meters

The bread course! If you know anything about scallionpancake, you need to know that we love bread more than Oprah. The main loaf (pictured on the right) was made from the cacao plant and came with a cacao spread as well as a burnt butter which blended right into the little dish it was served in. The middle was a little fried cassava cake, and the far left was a crunchy "air potato."

Marine Soil

Sea urchin, pepino melon, razor clam, seaweed

0 Meters

Finally a course where we knew all of the ingredients, and it was the token sea urchin dish. It seems like you have to serve sea urchin on your menu or you don't get invited to the Top 50 club. What made this one special was the razor clams, which mixed perfectly with the melon and sea urchin to take away some of the strong briny flavor of the sea urchin.

Tree Skins

Avocado, huacatay, kanihua, macre

1200 Meters

The warm avocado paired with the herbs and crunchy kanihua made this dish one of our favorites. The flavor was simple, and the avocado was perfectly savory.

Land of Corn

Kculli, purple, chulpi, piscorunto

2010 Meters

For those of you that know Yvonne, you know that she has a mental corn allergy/fear. We don't know the exact origin of the corn fear, but let's just say this was the Jerry Springer moment where Yvonne had to meet the corn head on. I don't know if it was Peru, Central, or the Lord up above, but Yvonne conquered her corn fear and ate the whole dish! Peru has over 50 varieties of corn, and this dish includes four types of corn made four ways. Our favorite was the fritter, which was basically the best hush puppy ever made.

Colors of amazonia

Paiche, yacon, bellaco, lemongrass

450 Meters

We're now in the Amazon. The pink slivers are paiche, a type of fish, which were slightly pickled. The rest is a bunch of straight up Amazonian magical plants and herbs.

Coastal Harvest

Scallops, yellow chili pepper, borage, tumbo

20 Meters

We've back by the coast, where we found ourselves eating scallops. These were the best scallops that we've ever tasted. hands down. The yellow chili pepper added a nice flavor to the little cracker made from tumbo, which is a Peruvian fruit.

Sea Coral

Octopus, crab, squid, sea lettuce

-10 Meters

This one gave us flash backs to our trip to In Situ in San Francisco, where we tried their take on this famous course. What makes this dish really cool is that it looks like the environment which you're eating - a little bed of sea coral. You have to dig down deep for the octopus and crab, but it's well worth the reward.

Low Andes Mountains

Pork, black mashwa, panca chili pepper, kiwicha

1800 Meters

We've made it to the end of the of the savory dishes, and this was really the only true "meat" course. The pork is pork belly, which was slow roasted for over 50 hours. It was dressed with a really nice, heavy Black Mashwa (Peruvian Plant) sauce. The seeds here are Kiwicha, which the internet considers a "Peruvian Superfood" that will cure pretty much any disease you have. Added bonus!

Humid Green

Caigua, cushuro, sweet lemon, chaco clay

3700 Meters

Desserts, desserts, desserts! If you've watched the Chef's Table episode on Central, then you'll remember Virgilio and his sister hand-picking tiny balls of algae (cushuro) from a lake high up in the Andes. Well here they are! The green ice is made from caigua, which is Peruvian vegetable. This was Yvonne's favorite dish of life.

Amazonian White

Cacao, chirimoya, bahuaja nut, taperiba

400 Meters

A little chocolate ice cream Central style sounds good to us! The white shaved part is bahuaja nut, and the white ice cream is made from Chirimoya & taperiba, which are Andean Fruits.

medicinals & Plant Dyes

Congona, matico, malva, pilipili

3050 Meters

We made it! We're at the end of our meal, and if you've eaten all this you need to go to the Shaman to help you digest everything you've eaten. Take a shot of the medicinal water made from various Peruvian herbs and have a few little chocolate bites before you take a look at the check and leave this magical land

Drink: 
Central offers two drink pairings--one wine pairing and one juice pairing. We tried the juice pairing, because what other restaurant in the world offers a juice pairing? The juices ranged from random Amazon fruits like granadia, to lettuce and lime juice, to beetroot and muna mint. For Jason, who doesn't really enjoy drinking, this was his dream pairing. The table next to us got the wine pairing, which consisted of not just wine, but also a beer made especially for Central and a lot of fun liquors; however, we're not sure how you can walk out of a restaurant after drinking 10 glasses of anything.

The rooftop garden

Atmosphere:
As soon as you walked into Central the energy is palpable. It almost feels like the base camp of an expedition to an exotic locale. There are jars of all ingredients, flow charts, maps, and white boards filled with graphs. You are literally in a Peruvian culinary laboratory. There is an open kitchen, where guests can see what's being prepared. There is also a rooftop garden where a lot of the flowers and herbs are grown for the restaurant.

Part of the learning kitchen, where they train chefs from around the world how to make the menu.

Peruvian Hospitality:
The waiters were exceptional, always answering our questions (and believe me, we had questions!) and getting us whatever we needed at all times. At the end we asked for a tour of the restaurant, which the Maitre D' gladly provided, taking us through the kitchen, the garden, wine room, and of course the laboratory where they test out new ingredients.

The research room where they try out and test new ingredients

Frankie's Notes:
Literally knowing only 4% of the ingredients on the menu makes us feel cool; eating lunch at 1:30 and having the fortitude to not eat anything before that deserves an olympic medal; Yvonne can now officially consider corn as a friend, and not as a face-eating zombie enemy; Frankie would come down to South America, but he does not like that the toilets flush the opposite way; Eating at three of the top 30 restaurants in one week is pretty incredible, but something only professional eaters should try. 

Rating: 5 out 5 + 3 Michigan Pugs

 

Maido

Maido in Lima, Peru

Background: 
Maido is owned by Mitsuharu  "Micha" Tsumura and is currently number eight on the "World's Fifty Best Restaurants" list, which is published by the British magazine Restaurant. The list is updated each year, and also includes rankings by region in addition to the main list. The rankings themselves are based on a composite score from previous year's chefs and restauranteurs, as well as restaurant critics. Maido is currently ranked eighth in the world ranking and number two for top Latin American restaurants. You can read more about Maido and other restaurants on the list here. 

Main dining room ropes hanging down. When viewed from above, the ropes form the Japanese flag

Tsumura is a native Peruvian Nikkei who studied in Japan for a while before returning to Lima to open Maido, his first restaurant. Nikkei is a term that refers to Japanese emigrants, and Tsumura's menu reflects both parts of his background--his Japanese roots and his Peruvian upbringing. Tsumura is essentially a prodigy--he is easily among the youngest chefs on the top fifty list, and it's so cool that he has achieved so much success with Maido. 

Checking things out as we wait outside--eagerly early for our reservation

money money money money...MONEY

Eat This: 
The meal started with an assortment of "snacks" before leading to the larger courses. The first course of fine dining is so often my favorite, as I feel the chefs really try to wow with the early dishes, and the tiny bites pack so much flavor. Maido was no exception! 

Snacks

Seaweed tempura

sweet potato cream, squid fermented in beetroot, lime gel

Sushi rice cracker, avocado, trout belly, ponzu gel

Aji negro chawanmushi

Two of our favorite bites from the whole meal

We were instructed to eat the two bites and then drink the custard. This was a top course for both of us. Every little bite and sip was perfection. 

Poda Cebiche

Sarandaja cream, mackeral, shallots, limo pepper, chulpi corn, nikkei leche de tigre

We only had fancy ceviche like this during our trip--we ran out of time for a good old fashioned hole-in-the-wall place, but can't say we are mad about it. The ceviche at Maido was mouthwatering in its tangy savoriness.

Dim Sum

Squid and sea snail cau cau, camotillo cream, crispy white quinoa

The fifty best restaurants list notes this course as a standout dish on the Maido menu. Can't say we disagree! So many textures from the pureed fish, the squid and snail dumpling, and the crispy quinoa.

Choripan

Steamed bread, fish and octopus sausage, pickled vegetables, Japanese mustard, native potatoes

Other than dessert, this was my favorite dish! The Japanese mustard made this little fish hot dog taste like a classic ballpark dog--only about 52 million times better, obviously.

Nigiri

Catch of the day

Basically this was the best nigiri we have ever tasted.

The money shot (in food blogger terminology...not in other worlds)

Why the fish is so fresh: this is two blocks from the restaurant. Lima is so pretty!

Lapas Cebiche

Chullpi corn, lapas, avocado, aji Amarillo leche de tigre

This dish was steaming from the liquid nitrogen corn--yummy and fun to eat!

Liquid nitrogen corn!

Catacaos de Camarones

Green rice tamale, sautéed river prawns, creole sauce, chupe reduction

The chewy mochi tamale was perfect with the rich broth. Look at that tiny bouquet of veggies on the right!

Cassava Soba

Cassava soba, tenkatsu, vongole dashi

For this dish, you were instructed to eat the noodles and then drink the dashi. So savory and delicious. Lots of umami happening here.

Soup made from clam broth

Noodles made from cassava root!

Sudado

Catch of the day, sudado reduction, seaweed

The broth was poured in table-side. Loved this one!

Beef Short Rib 50 Hours

Camotillo potato cream, crispy rice, cushuro, purple corn chowder, black garlic

Yes, this meat was really cooked for fifty hours. It just fell apart when you put your fork in it. This was Jason's favorite course!

Sea Urchin Rice

Chiclayo rice, Atico sea urchins, avocado cream, wan yi, baby corn

This tasted like a risotto and all of the different textures played so well together.

Whew! There you have it! We were so full and happy. But wait--don't forget dessert!

Whew! There you have it! We were so full and happy. But wait--don't forget dessert!

Dessert: 

Reef

Tofu cheesecake ice cream, bread sand, sweet potato, appel with wakame, camu camu, taperiba, and burgundy grape tapiocas, soy milk

This was a game changer. We especially loved the crispy cocoa decoration and all of the textures. Taperiba is a Peruvian fruit--all of the fruits in Peru are ridiculously fresh and tasty, and I wish we could get all of them in the states!

Mussel

Granadilla with mandarin sorbet, mucilage foam, cacao nibs, lucuma ice ceam, raspberries

That's a little chocolate shell made to look like a cacao pod, filled with the lucuma ice cream! Wow. Lucuma is another Peruvian fruit. You can usually find it in the states in powdered form. The desserts at Maido were the best of all three restaurants from our trip that were on the top fifty list. We are still thinking about them!

The prettiest, tastiest dessert of the whole trip.

Drink: 
The signature drink of Peru is the Pisco Sour, and they are everywhere. This was our first meal of the trip, so we enjoyed our first Pisco at Maido! It definitely spoiled us for other Pisco Sours on our trip, because it was excellent. Pisco is a brandy liquor that is fermented from grapes. To the pisco, they add fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, egg whites, and bitters. It is stronnggg and super tasty--not too sweet. 

Day drinking = vacation staple

Jason enjoyed a cold-pressed juice--fresh juices are so prevalent in Peru! 

Muy fresco

Atmosphere: 
The vibe at Maido was so exciting--there was not any music playing, but the constant buzz from the kitchen and sushi bar provided its own soundtrack. We sat at the sushi bar, which is something we love to do--we got to see a lot of action. We watched one of the chefs plate maybe 50 of the egg nigiri dish--it was such a delicate process to keep the yolk from breaking. Whenever any new party enters the restaurant, all of the chefs and serves yell "Maido"--which means "welcome" in Japanese. We had constant smiles on our faces throughout our dining experience. The overall mood was elegant but not at all stuffy. 

Chefs hard at work

Close up of my view. Hi, wavy cat!!

Ropes hanging down into the dining room, viewed from above

Japanese Peruvian Hospitality: 
The staff could not have been more gracious and lovely. They provided the sort of top notch service you except in a restaurant of this caliber. 

Also, they were nice enough to let us behind the sushi bar at the end of the meal for a group shot. And guess what else? The man himself, owner Tsumura, happened to be in the restaurant during our lunch and came by to say hello! We felt so hashtag blessed, guys. 

GEEKING OUT

The Lovers Statue in El Parque del Amor, or The Love Park

Really exciting art near Maido. Can I keep him?!

Frankie's Notes: 
Frankie really wishes he could have been here for this meal, but he can't take long flights due to his dislike of airplane food; This was one of two tasting menus we ate in one day; We really do not recommend that the average person eat such a staggering amount of rich food in a twelve hour period; We, however, are professional eaters--your mileage may vary/try this at your own risk; We also ate some street meat and street fruits on this trip against doctor recommendation; Our bacterial biome is very rich and hardy now; MAIDO!

Rating: 5 out of 5 + two Michigan Pugs

 

Ollie's Bites: Date Night in Charlotte

Image courtesy SiliconHills

Hello, Loyal Scallionpancake Readers! 

Welcome to a new series on the blog--Ollie's Bites. All of the articles featured here are also featured on the super cool travel website Localeur, for which Scallionpancake recently started writing. You should download the Localeur app posthaste, and use it to get insider recommendations from locals whenever you travel to a new place. Localeur is in tons of cities around the world and is growing daily. It's a damn fine concept, as getting recommendations from trusted locals is a hallmark of meaningful travel, in our humble opinion. Even though many of our readers are local, we like to think our recommendations are good for Charlotte natives or those just passing through. We hope you enjoy!

Here's the first installment--Date Night in Charlotte: 

Growler’s Pourhouse

Image courtesy of QC Exclusive

Start your night out at this NoDa neighborhood bar, which is a super chill spot for hipsters and mere mortals alike to grab a drink before dinner. In addition to a wide range of local craft beers and cocktails, you would be remiss if you didn’t order a round of oyster shots to get your night started on the right note. Feeling hangry while you wait for dinner? Never fear--there’s complimentary popcorn for you to nosh on.

Stick those babies in a shot glass and drink up!//image courtesy of Charlotte Five

Haberdish

Before heading to Growler’s, definitely put your name on the waitlist for this super popular southern eatery. Use the Nowait app, if you would rather avoid the half-block schlep. Can’t miss items include the mac and cheese (don’t you dare neglect to add the spicy chicken skin on top) and the sweet potato dumplings. Colleen Hughes is the master mixologist behind the cocktails here, and the quality and creativity of her drink menu has rightfully earned her a fair amount of local fame. Thus, you should have a drink. Heck, maybe have two. There’s not a bad one in the bunch, guaranteed.

Popbar

Us Charlotteans are beyond excited to get our first location of this New York gem. Do you like gelato? Obviously. Would you like it even better on a stick? Of course you would. The options for customization are endless--you can get your pop dipped (full dip, half dip, or a drizzle) in white, milk, or dark chocolate, and then covered with as many toppings as your heart desires. Don’t despair if there’s a line out the door--it moves fast, promise!

The Comedy Zone

HAHAHAHAH//image courtesy of The Comedy Zone

After walking the previous three spots, it’s time to take a quick drive just one neighborhood over for some entertainment. The Comedy Zone is open seven days a week, and they pull pretty big names; I’ve seen Bob Saget and Margaret Cho here, and both were magical. Is the offering an open mic on the night you’re in town? Well, congratulations--you’ve just hit the jackpot. Charlotte has some awesome local comedic talent, but it is a truth universally acknowledged that awkward stand up is sometimes even more delightful than quality stand up.

8.2.0

Image courtesy of d3 Studio

Just a short walk away from The Comedy Zone, you will find this funky little joint that’s just right for a nightcap and some fun to keep your energy up into the wee hours. Highlights include the karaoke room, arcade games, or the sorta-secret speakeasy library (hint: push the bookshelf!). I highly recommend a boba cocktail and some french fries (with all the dipping sauces) for a late-night snack.