After my fabulous experience at M5 last week, I ventured back out to the SouthPark area to see if I could make it two in a row.
Sadly, I did not.
This time, I stopped in for an after-work cocktail and snack at Bricktops, a restaurant in the Specialty Shops on the Park that opened in May. Bricktops also has locations in Nashville, Atlanta and Naples, Florida.
The restaurant is pretty with low lighting, red walls, dark wood seating and mirrors hanging over the bar that allow you to sneak peeks at other patrons. The bar area has glass garage doors that open to the patio in the spring and summer.
But:
- The service was just okay. We waited too long to get our menus and too long to have our order taken.
- The food was underwhelming. Our smoked salmon flatbread was lukewarm at best and the spinach and artichoke dip was too rich.
- The crowd was what you would expect to find in SouthPark -- old, white and dressed in khakis and boat shoes.
17 comments:
Seconded. I went there a couple of months ago with some friends of mine, and I was seriously underwhelmed by the variety of selections on the menu. The sandwich I ordered was OK, but definitely nothing worth going back for.
OK, I can see you having problems with slow service, cold food, or the taste of the food, but finding what you would expect to find and the fact that the people were old, white and dressed in khakis and boat shoes? That is like saying don't go there because people are different than me! Are you a 13 year old brat? How well would another columnist do is they said don't go to this place because the people were young, black and dressed like gang members?
You may have lost your mind!!
She hasn't lost her mind precious anon. Bad food and a bunch of Southpark WASP's doesn't make for a great dining experience. The problem is not that the people are different from her, it's that they all look the same. It's full of the typical Charlotte conformists that dominate this town.
I gotta agree with the previous 'anonymous.' When reviewing a dining/drinking establishment, it's probably wise to leave race/gender out of the equation. With this post in mind, I can only imagine what your review of Club Myxx would be like.
So what do people need to dress/look like for you to not label them as 'conformists?'
I hate boat shoes. Why do girls (or guys) think they look good? And khakis - come on. Get a nice pair of jeans or something. So many more people would look so much better if they tried a little harder and weren't so boring.
yeah boat shoes look so hickish, especially in land-locked Charlotte, where there's no water for hundreds of miles. i hope this fad is on its way out
to the 3:25 anon -
ummm...there's plenty of water in/around charlotte...i'm guessing you meant to say ocean? you can still sail on the lakes around town...not that justifies wearing boat shoes out to dinner :-)
So... lets be non-conformist and all dress in jeans. Then we can all be radically different together!
Speaking of conformity, here's a great bit from "Futurama":
High Priest: Great wall of prophecy, reveal to us God's will, that we may blindly obey!
Other Priests: Free us from thought and responsibility.
High Priest of Osiris IV: We shall read things off you!
Other Priests: Then do them.
High Priest of Osiris IV: Your words guide us!
Other priests: We're dumb.
I think speaking on the atmosphere of the establishment is important. And I think "old, white, and dressed in khakis" paints a pretty good picture of the atmosphere - as does the first anonymous' example of "young, black, and dressed like gang members".
She could a restaurant the best review in the world but I would be upset if I went there based on her review and when I get there I find out it's a favorite hang out of the local set of the Latin Kings street gang!
Jeans look better than khakis, hands down. And boat shoes look dumb, unless your 40 or older.
Guys, she's writing about the party scene, which is supposed to be young and hip. Yes, I'd rather be in a place with a bunch of old hags in boat shoes than one with gangsters packing heat. But for a party scene, I'd rather be around an eclectic set of hipsters who bring a cool vibe to the place. Naysayers, get over yourselves and stick to the Olive Garden on 51.
I am anon from 11:03. My point was more to the acceptance of racist comments as long as white people are on the receiving end. If she goes to a club or restaraunt and states that it was full of young black people dressed like gang members as a reason not to go there there would be demands that she be removed from the observers payroll immediatley for writing such racist hatefull things. I also find it odd that she found what she expected to find and wrote negatively about it. That is like saying I went to a country bar in Texas and found what you'd expect to find, a bunch of white people wearing boots and cowboy hats or I went to a NASCAR race and found....well you know. I happen to know a few old white people that tend to wear khakis and boat shoes that like to party and they don't all get paid for it. I personally am a jeans and t-shirt guy and prefer a bar that has a bike night at least once a week in the summer. Mac's is one of my favorite places. In there you will find guys like me and old white people wearing khakis and boat shoes. I am the kind of guy that hates places that make you feel underdressed. I'm of the opinion that clothes don't make the man.
I also think this blog should be informative not insulting! She had it right until her last sentence.
I really love this quote. I gonna have to steal it. Props to whomever posted this.
" Anonymous said...
So... lets be non-conformist and all dress in jeans. Then we can all be radically different together!
February 21, 2008 3:42 PM"
I think she was right on cue with the description of the place. Ive only been there once and she helped paint a pretty clear picture for everyone.
My thoughts are this, she is paid to go out and critique the nightlife/dining/event scene. I want to know what it REALLY is like. Not some media milked up version that appeases everyone. If she said everything was great, everyone was great, great great great... It would suck as a column. Just as her words wont fit well with everyone, the bars she covers will not fit well with everyone. Her description, be it gang members or old people, is what I want to know before I check a place out...
It's not the description, it's the attitude that is perceived behind it that typifies not just Sarah but many writers at the Observer.
Substitute young, liberal, waifish and economy-car driving and Sarah and others like her would take great offense.
Besides, who's to say 20-somethings party any better than 30 or 40-somethings? I know some old farts (who wear boat shoes) who could give any of the young whippersnappers a run for their money.
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