Strings Attached
Pssst! Have you heard? Ballantyne and South Charlotte have a new orchestra! Bravo!! [caption id="attachment_806" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Josh Diaz , BCO's Managing Director"][/caption] The Ballantyne Chamber Orchestra is the newest member of the South Charlotte fine arts community. It debuted in November 2009 and the evolution of this orchestra is the effort of its Managing Director, Josh Diaz, a resident and trombonist of the Ballantyne area since 2003. Joining Josh in the summer of 2009, Jamie Hood became the ensemble’s conductor and musical director. [caption id="attachment_791" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Ballantyne Chamber Orchestra"][/caption] The dynamic duo set out to develop an ensemble comprised of professional musicians from the ...
Beach BestQuest – Vote & Enter to Win Cash and Prizes
[caption id="attachment_667" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Carolina Beach welcomes you"][/caption] With all the snow of late, we at BestofNorthCarolina.com are dreaming about warmer weather and summer fun. One thing is certain, when those dreams become reality and you head to swim, surf and sun, North Carolina has some of the best beaches in the world. Whether you like water sports, fishing, and sightseeing or just enjoy sitting on a secluded beach listening to the waves on the shore and soaking up the local flavor, North Carolina has you covered. [caption id="attachment_660" align="alignright" width="135" caption="Surfing in Kitty Hawk"][/caption] Some of the best surfing on the East ...
Finer Diner in Carolina
My friend Joe, a recent transplant from Tenafly, New Jersey, claims that a REAL diner must have breakfast, lunch and dinner available all at the same time. For example, if you have a turkey club sandwich (lunch), your wife has chicken picatta or a souvlaki plate (dinner), and the kids have pancakes, eggs and bacon (breakfast) all in one sitting, then and only then are you eating at a real diner. Everything for everybody. Of course, somebody's meal is then followed by a ginormous dessert. North Carolina has a number of excellent family restaurants that fit the bill for comfort food, but they don't quite meet all ...
Best Quest for Barbecue in NC – Winner Revealed
I know you all have been waiting for the name of the winner of the BEST BARBECUE CHALLENGE almost as long as you were waiting to find out whether that groundhog was going to see his shadow. So now that we know we’ll be having six more weeks of winter (thanks, Punxsutawney Phil), you need some good news . . . we do indeed have a winner. In fact, we have two. One winner is one of you wonderful readers who sent in your votes; and the other is the restaurant that garnered more than 10% of your votes. [caption id="attachment_507" ...
Dessert At Any Cost
If you have been exemplary thus far in maintaining your New Year’s Resolution to lose those ten (twenty, anyone?) pounds that have taken up residence on your ______ (fill in the afflicted body part(s) here), I have some suggestions of where the best place to leap off the wagon is, when you are ready. I’m guilty of having a massive sweet tooth, so I know of a few spots where you will delight in a brief respite from diet-dom for a sugar fix. First, if you have something special to celebrate with your honey (Valentine’s Day isn’t so far off y’all), ...
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Strings Attached
Pssst! Have you heard? Ballantyne and South Charlotte have a new orchestra! Bravo!! Josh Diaz , BCO's Managing Director The Ballantyne Chamber Orchestra is the newest member of the South Charlotte fine arts community. It debuted in November 2009 and the evolution of this orchestra is the effort of its Managing Director, Josh Diaz, a resident and trombonist of the Ballantyne area since 2003. ... [Read more]
News You Can Use ~ Charlotte
Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit! You’ll be hearing that a lot if you venture into Uptown Charlotte this Saturday for the 14th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Charlotte Goes Green Festival. This year’s Grand Marshal is Dr. Peter Gorman, superintendent of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. If you’re into green, flags, floats, smiling kids, and pipe band music, join the 50,000+ people... [Read more]
News You Can Use ~ Money
Who says there are limited lending options these days? Sure, mortgage lending guidelines have tightened but that was a reasonable response to loose lending which resulted in high levels of fraud and loan default. That doesn’t mean all of the exciting programs are gone. Just this past Friday North Carolina Housing Finance Agency announced they are offering a 3.99% fixed rate program for buyers of... [Read more]
News You Can Use ~ Real Estate
“What are rates going to do?” That’s a question I hear as often as weathermen are asked for their predictions. Just like meteorologists can predict the next snowmageddon, I can read the economic tea leaves and get a sense of where rates are heading. Sometimes there are surprises like 2009’s Black Wednesday – but for the most part, lenders have a good idea of what’s on the horizon. Let’s... [Read more]
Peek of the Week ~ Charlotte
A couple of nights ago, my husband and I had about an hour to eat dinner, but we sure didn’t want one of those mediocre meals at a cookie-cutter chain. Thankfully, we remembered that we weren’t far from Cantina Fifteen Eleven, which turned out to be a very good thing. Guacamole made table-side Granted, this Mexican restaurant is part of Frank Scibelli’s restaurant group, but it is... [Read more]
Beach BestQuest – Vote & Enter to Win Cash and Prizes
Carolina Beach welcomes you With all the snow of late, we at BestofNorthCarolina.com are dreaming about warmer weather and summer fun. One thing is certain, when those dreams become reality and you head to swim, surf and sun, North Carolina has some of the best beaches in the world. Whether you like water sports, fishing, and sightseeing or just enjoy sitting on a secluded beach listening to the waves... [Read more]
News You Can Use ~ Real Estate
Friday night, I had sushi on the brain for dinner. There are two good places near my home – one delivers and one doesn’t. Because I was ready to settle in, I opted for the former. Unfortunately, when I called and said ‘delivery order’ their response was ‘no thank you, we’re too busy’. Pardon? Then it hit me – I’d broken my rule to select businesses based on quality and service not... [Read more]
