Hey guys we've got a new beer fb group in charlotte that has been gaining steam. Much less BS than the "metro" one. Its called "The Official Charlotte Craft Beer Forum", and its run by a group of local folks. Pretty good stuff so far. The main point is to keep everyone updated on releases, when things hit the shelf, and general CLT beer discussion. If you're in the charlotte area, concord, rock hill, etc.. then come join us! Not much trading, more just for local Charlotte stuff.
The Raosting Company has fantastic and somewhat wholesome chicken dishes, one of my biggest go-tos. Ru Sans and Nikkos are good for sushi, Fud at Salud has great takes on waffle sandwiches, meatball subs, cool grilled sanwiches, etc.. They are also in the same building as salud, my go-to bottle shop. If you're looking for hole on the wall mexican, Miguels is really the only choice, and then there are all kinds of hip offerings in noda and plaza midwood area. In noda, jack beagles for late night hot dogs and mac n cheese, or growlers pour house for house made sausages and oyster shots (they're actually really good). Those are just a few.
For BBQ, do saucemans.
hope this helps