Chad "Easy Tiger" E.'s Profile

If you have decided that you can no longer handle the Atlantic Farmers Market or Super G for one reason or another - generally the fact that they tend to have some sort of funky odor about them - you might want to take a drive out to Stallings.  Stallings?  Unfortunately, yes.

Like why is it in Stallings?  I am not likely to be keyed on on a large (or even a small) Asian community, but it is also possible, so I would have to agree with Annie and say that rent is cheap, certainly more so than a location on Independence, although perhaps not than a smaller spot on Eastway.

Regardless, the building itself is impressive in its cleanliness and organization.  Rather than a somewhat haphazard collection of stuff seemingly arranged in any which way, you have a nice restaurant right up front (rather than in a rear corner), a very impressive seafood section (with several tanks of live fish, ready to be prepared however you request for a small additional charge) and row upon row of just about anything you could want.

One area they are perhaps not the best is the produce section.  Super G, for instance, has a much larger selection.  Not sure why, really, but the produce seems like an odd stepchild here in comparison.  There were some interesting areas, like tofu, that had some nice looking fresh selections, in addition to the prepackaged varieties, which I don't recall seeing elsewhere.  But the produce was rather disappointing.  Maybe it just didn't move and so they do not dedicate the space to it.  Efficient and all, but it would be nice to see more.

Where Jeff reviewed the other activities and excluded the nature center, this review is for the nature center, specifically during one of their "Nature at Night" events (not the UYE, as my inner calendar was off by a week).

First up, let me tell you that you may not want to visit at rush hour if you are headed from the Charlotte area, and if you do, give your self plenty of extra time.  The drive down Tryon Street/49 can be excruciating.  Luckily, you generally will be visiting in the day so this isn't an issue, but they do have night programs, so just keep this in mind, K?

Once you get to the entrance to the preserve, it may seem a little intimidating.  Like crazy axe killer coming out of the woods when no one is around intimidating.  There is little to no signage and if no one is around it can be pleasant ("hey, no one is around - this is peaceful!") or scary ("hey, no one is around - do I have my pepper spray and yawara stick?").

As you pull into the nature center, it is probably best to not get your hopes up too high.  As with many things, there is marketing at work here.

For instance, the "indoor campfire" is a fan in a room with light attached to it.  Seating is reminiscent of folding lawn chairs (it may have been folding lawn chairs).  There is also an indoor night sky, which is really dots or splatters of paint on the ceiling - it does not seem to be an accurate representation of the actual sky or constellations (if you are into that sort of thing).

There are a few reptiles in cages, and you can color in a spider or draw something on construction paper with crayons.  If you are up for it, you can hike in the woods around the nature center, and there is supposedly a telescope nearby, but the location was not revealed to us by the staff.  On our visit, they also offered hot water which could be used to mix our own hot chocolate.

At night, this may not be the best place to visit, especially in the winter season and during inclement weather.  During the day when you can get out and about, there definitely seems to be more potential here.

As my man Will has already said, the new year has kicked off already with another elite event, this time from the vantage of the top of the Harvest Moon.  Looking down on Tryon Street is an awesome view - after picking up some candy goodness from Cigarette Girl Annie on the way in, and noshing on the mini sliders and cheese and veggie goodness, the turkey carving station was an awesome way to hang and check out what was going on below.

That cooler of plenty offered up some easy-drinking Newcastle Winter Ale that went down oh-so-simply (along with a nice stack of glasses for remembering the drink later when you get home).  While I did not make it into a seat at the Blackjack tables, plenty of folks seemed to do so, and appeared to have a ball doing so.  I know Arin was keeping the dealer busy handing out chips if nothing else!

Definitely plenty of time left for chatting up the old guard, the new guard and everyone else.  Great seeing everyone!

Pulling into the parking lot in front of the repurposed warehouse, you definitely feel that you may just be on the wrong side of the tracks - and it is only partially because you just crossed over the actual railroad tracks.  This is not the nicest part of town.  During the self-defense class you are also reminded that Noda is perhaps six blocks of redeveloped nicety surrounded by twenty blocks of ghetto.

On the inside, if you were to throw up a few sides of beef, you could be in a Rocky movie.  And I am not talking the flash of Rocky III here.  We're talking the original, baby, back before Sly Stallone could speak so you had much chance of understanding him.  This is bare floors and walls, torn and taped mats, not fancy elliptical machines, but that just adds to the allure.

While some espouse their apprehension about laying hands on other Yelpers, much less causing any pain, you know there are some you wouldn't mind hurting if you had the chance.  Most importantly, however, was the ability to find within yourself how many tools you have at your disposal to protect yourself if the need should arise - arms, hands, feet and yes, even your voice.

This was definitely not the standard happy hour event, and there were no goody bags.  Instead of passed appetizers, some left with half moon indentations from the yawara.  If I look at the spot long enough, think I can still see mine.  But if you could handle it, this was the coolest event to date.

A great opportunity to get into a preview of a new play in town.  The staff at Theatre Charlotte was very welcoming, and they had a tasty spread set out for everyone.  Those rolls were insane - even though we had just eaten with Melissa and Travis, I had to partake of one.  Or two.

The show itself started off a bit slow, which allowed the tension to build, and as it neared the conclusion, you could see the emotion - Father Flynn actually had a red face as he belted his lines at one point.  For just four people, it was pulled off wonderfully.

After a short wait, a few of us even had a tour of the backstage, which is surprisingly large (much larger than the stage itself), and that gave some cool insight to such a production.  I can imagine how difficult it could be with just four people in the cast, and have no idea how they would pull it off with a much larger show that had dozens of people running around.

Thanks for having us, Theatre Charlotte, and Nicole for putting together another unique event!

On a normal day, I don't know that I would give Jimmy John's four stars (sorry Jake!).  Then again, their service might have been better on a normal day.  On this day, however, they were handing out free subs.  That's right.  FREE SUBS.  Though the line was not as long as it gets for, say, free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's or even pizza at Donato's, it was a pretty good one.

Perhaps most importantly was that the line moved rather quickly, even though the location is on the small side and ti was crammed with all these people craving a free sandwich.

While the line did not illustrate that the Jimmy John's staff are lightning-fast at their jobs at making sandwiches, it can be understood in this case.  The only real problem is that because of that line, the directions for anything other than your sandwich were left a bit nebulous.

Want a cookie?  Oh, you should have picked that up at the register... move back three spaces and fight for it with the people now at the register.  But once the process is done, enjoying some sandwich goodness works out well enough!

If you find yourself walking into A.C. Moore or Michaels, only to walk out again because you were just unable to find that one thing you wanted, try Hobby Lobby.  This place is freaking huge, and if it involves crafting or home-making, they probably have it.

On the downside, that means you may have to wander around for a bit in order to find what you seek.  This is not really a bad thing - it just means that you may need to grab a buggy, as you will likely be picking up all sorts of things that you had no idea you wanted when you entered.

Staff is generally quite friendly, though they can also have that deer in the headlights look, and since at times the place borders on a close out store (think Big Lots), they may not actually be helpful.  At least they keep you company while you look.  Make sure you hang onto your receipt, as you can typically return most anything if you determine you don't need it once you get home.  Or even out to the parking lot.

Le's rocks.  Unfortunately, those rocks end up in the parking lot of the mall.  If I were to put much thought into it, calling this abomination a mall is a real stretch of the imagination, because the only thing that makes it a mall is that there is one big building with some smaller shops inside.

But it is definitely worth braving that parking lot, because the place is worth the trip.  The proprietor of Le's actually started the perhaps even sketchier Thanh Huong on Central many years ago, but decided to move on, and now has this sandwich shop, focusing on what he loves: The banh mi.  Several places in Charlotte supposedly offer the simple sandwich, but when you go to order it, they are often out.

They say it is because of the bread.  Interestingly, you can actually buy the bread here at Le's for a paltry $0.60 a loaf.  Regardless, do yourself a favor and order a couple extra.  One for the ride home, one for after you get home, whatever.  That way you do not have to take a few hundred miles off the undercarriage of your car by braving the parking lot when you crave another of those awesome sandwiches.

And make sure you get one of the pressed sugar cane drinks too.  It complements the heat of the sandwich nicely, is something you cannot find anywhere else that I know about and is not nearly as sweet as you would think pressed sugar cane to taste.

I have been to the Actor's Theatre for several productions now, and I always forget to review them.  From Chaps to the Evil Dead to Rocky Horror, some are packed, some are, well, less than packed, but they never disappoint.

If you should happen by on opening night, they typically have an extra special event where you get some tasty goodies from the sponsor (seems like it is usually the same one, but it may change from show to show) as well.

They also have a cult movie night on (all? many? some?) Mondays with free admission and popcorn, so be sure and check that out if you are looking for something to do.

Like most places, they have a nice little bar, and drink prices are not too bad, but it would be nice if they would give you the whole beer instead of pouring 2/3 of it or so into a cup.  I do not know if they keep the extra little bit for themselves or the next guy in line, but it is just one of those things that can be a little annoying, you know?

Tired of sending that same (and expensive) flower bouquet that just gets thrown out after a few days?  How about sending something entirely different - a bouquet of (perhaps even more expensive) fruit instead?

I have to give these guys props, because the idea is pretty cool.  While giving flowers is an idea that hasn't changed much, and you seem like you are flushing money down the toilet since they really will not last long, at least with this you get a meal (okay, a snack) with the gift.

But after someone unknown assembles the arrangement, then it travels in the back of an - albeit refrigerated - truck, and it sits for a few days, are you really going to want to eat off of it?  Probably not.