The Apollonaire

Charlotte on $40 a day

One of Apollonaire’s favorite Food Channel shows is $40 A Day, where Rachel Ray attempts to dine well in a particular city while adhering to the tightly sculpted budget. Just for fun, we tried it in Charlotte and found plenty of good eating without breaking the bank.

We began with breakfast at Eddie’s Place in the Sharon Amity Road strip mall where Hotel Charlotte is located. Eddie’s may not be the fanciest place around, but they serve what are arguably the best omelets in town – the big, fluffy three-egg kind you find at Le Mont St. Michelle in France. There’s a huge choice of fillings, including sausage and liver mush (whatever that is), but we opted for ham, cheese, and mushrooms. The omelette was served with savory hash browns with onion chunks, toast with jam, and a good cup of coffee. All this, with tax and tip, came to $10.90. Best of all, Eddie’s serves breakfast at any time, so you can get an omelette whenever you want. There are also soups, salads, and dinner entrées, including Cajun dishes, as well as lunch specials.

Dean & Deluca at Phillips Place is always a good bet for lunch. Build your own sandwich at the sandwich bar in the middle of the store, where you can choose from a cornucopia of ingredients that include all your favorite meats and cheeses, plus trimmings like cucumber, avocado, and sprouts. There several different kinds of crusty bread, as well as a selection of condiments like chipotle mayonnaise, apricot mustard, and remoulade. We went with Genoa salami, ham, smoked turkey, and Provolone cheese with Romaine lettuce, tomato, black olives, roasted pepper, and olive oil on olive-rosemary bread. Not exactly heart healthy, but a treat nevertheless. With $6.95 for the sandwich and $1.35 for a bottle of Stewart’s peach soda, the tab came to $8.65, including tax. Not bad? Dean & Deluca also has an ample salad bar, handmade sushi, and delicious soups and prepared foods you can eat in or take home.

We’ve already spent nearly $20, leaving $20 for dinner, which could be a problem if it weren’t for Frank Manzetti’s at the Shops on the Park on Morrison Boulevard, across from South Park Mall. Manzetti’s has long been one of the area’s favorite watering holes for Charlotte’s young, upwardly mobile, and it’s usually packed for lunch and dinner every day of the week. Manzetti’s ribs are some of the best we’ve had anywhere, so we focused on a rack of tender, smoky baby backs that literally fell off the bone with the nudge of the fork. Served with a dollop of sweet, savory, slightly spicy sauce on the meat with more on the side, the ribs were accompanied by a salad that was drenched in blue cheese, a croissant, and thick-cut steak fries. Although it put us slightly over budget, we washed it all down with a pint of hoppy Bass Ale. The tab, with tax and tip – $22.15, still not bad. Manzetti’s is also known for its Pittsburgh-style steaks (black outside with a red core}, triple lamb chops, chicken and seafood, pasta, sandwiches, and humongous salads, as well as tasty appetizers and side dishes that include the best creamed spinach anywhere.

So how’d we do? Breakfast at Eddie’s, $10.90; lunch at D & D, $8.65; and dinner at Manzetti’s, $22.15, for a grand total of $41.70. OK, we went a little over budget, but it was worth it.