Seven high-end steakhouses sit comfortably within two miles of Uptown's 277 loop. First, there is Ruth's Chris. Not something to laugh at, this “serious steak restaurant” serves superior strips at its South Tryon location. Adding 1940s flair to South Boulevard is Sullivan's, where live jazz and “unparalleled” martinis accompany a $40 filet. Also in South End is McIntosh's, a “locally-owned chain of one.” Fleming's, on East Trade, joined the scene on Sept. 25 as “the contemporary iteration of the classic American Steakhouse.” You can find “The Best Steak Anywhere” at Morton's – a claim shared by The Charlotte Observer's Helen Schwab – where you will have “an experience to remember” within their rich, mahogany walls. Around the corner at The Capital Grille, you'll be overcome with déjà vu, as “moments are captured and long remembered” amid African mahogany paneling while you dine on – you guessed it – premium cuts of anything that moos.
So what – or who – is behind this beef boom? Call them the Carnivore Class, an elite group of power players defining high-class dining uptown. And they're hungry – reserving private boardrooms and packing dining rooms from NoDa to South End. If money is power, and money can buy a large slab of steak, then these steakhouses are serving the most powerful plates in town.
On its opening night, Fleming's was filled with businessmen and lawyers chowing down on wet-aged steak and guzzling wine from a list of more than 200 bottles. The following week, the suits and ties began trickling down from the high-rises after a hard day of brokering deals and saving stocks.
It is a scene seen daily by more experienced establishments like Morton's, which has enjoyed 14 years on Trade Street. “Sixty-five to 75 percent of our guests are business clientele,” says General Manager Derrick DeWalt. “Our after-work crowd is mostly people who work in the building or at other businesses in the area.”
Evan Cordes, a 2006 graduate of Johnson & Wales, became quite familiar with the stampede during his time at Sullivan's. “I have only worked at a few establishments that are busier than Sullivan's on South,” says the chef, who left Charlotte for a city with more eclectic tastes. “Places like Sullivan's cater to an older crowd and stay consistently busy. They are successful because they are not bound by people's tastes or knowledge of food,” he explains. “People go there because they know they are going to get exactly what they ordered. Food there goes out right every time.”
In other words, it's risk-free dining. Charlotte is a Southern city built by bankers, whose dollars determine where we dine. Despite being risk-takers at work, they are not so adventurous with their food, says Cordes. Because of this, Charlotte may always be a meat-and-potatoes town, grabbing for its steak knife in the shadow of culinary sophistication cast by New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Charlotte has yet to cater to the herd from Hearst Tower with a signature steakhouse. Six of the seven steakhouses Uptown are chains. Morton's, for example, inhabits more than 80 locations worldwide. Even McIntosh's is a carbon copy of its chain-linked counterparts, with its sizable steaks and a la carte ambience. Despite being ranked Charlotte's No. 1 steakhouse by Zagat's, McIntosh's lacks the cosmopolitan charisma of a big-city culinary hot spot.
As does Beef & Bottle. Well outside the heart of Uptown, its preserved, late-1950s décor makes the Beef & Bottle one of the city's most distinct steakhouses. But like a great piece of meat, it is aged. The paneled exterior and neon lights make this South Boulevard staple seem more likely at home alongside the Jersey Turnpike. Framed black-and-white photographs of Rat Pack-era celebrities create a mafioso-like feel in the small, low-lit dining room filled with wooden booths and kitschy tables. While it has some of the tastiest steaks in town, Beef & Bottle does not possess the refinement required by the Queen City. Without an establishment that harnesses the spirit of the city with both refinement and originality, Charlotte risks developing the personality of a cow pasture instead of a cutting-edge metropolis.
Farther down I-85, things are not so bland. Keenly attuned to the South's penchant for porterhouse, professional chef Kevin Rathbun proved that even steak can be chic with his restaurant Kevin Rathbun Steak. Created as a nod to big-league steakhouses and the home-cooked dinners that defined his childhood, this “steakhouse for the new generation” is the latest addition to the three-restaurant empire that helped define Atlanta's restaurant scene.
Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, Rathbun's and Krog, Kevin Rathbun Steak doesn't just bring a pricey menu to the table – it brings character. Butter becomes stilton-bleu-cheese butter, and predictable sides are enlivened by regional favorites such as stewed okra. Dramatic lighting and contemporary design accent Atlantan architecture with artful flair. When a chef trained by Emeril Lagasse, Bradley Ogden and Stephan Pyles opens a restaurant, his establishment exudes matured confidence and a sense of identity in harmony with its surroundings. What results is a city embraced, rather than ignored or imposed upon. Such a place – with its accompanying whirlwind of publicity – is exactly what Charlotte needs to free itself from the chain restaurant chokehold.
For now, Charlotte remains a city in transition, evidenced by its latest addition, Chima. The Brazilian steakhouse exposes Charlotte to more adventuresome cuisine while providing the comforting reliability that comes with its nationwide presence. Owner Bruno Silva had no plans to open a fifth location, until he recognized the opportunity that awaited him. “Charlotte has very friendly people,” he says. “And they like to eat a lot of steaks. I knew this was definitely a great place for Chima.”
Its 16 types of meat served tableside by roaming gauchos may be just the thing to ease the meat-crazed masses into more daring territory, but ultimately, time will tell. After all, it is still a chain, and its South Amercian roots aren't exactly the American South.
As rising executives replace the aging bankers of Tryon Street, their youthful refined palate and insatiable taste for success will give rising chefs de cuisine a reason to stay, while enticing culinary professionals to come and open their latest concepts. Until then, the Carnivore Class rules each weekend, devouring plate after plate. 1,020 petite fillets… 330 New York strips… 210 ribeyes… 570 fillets… 42 porterhouses…
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