On Monday morning, as I laid in bed glancing at the many unanswered texts from the weekend and reviewing social media, I lost my breath for a second. I thought I’d forgotten to wish one of my closest friends ‘happy birthday.’ Nope, I hadn’t. I had simply forgotten the fact that I had drunk called her at 2:31 a.m. on the way home from a bar. Whew, I was relieved as I rolled out of bed and prepared for a short work week.
Like so many others, the weekend had seemingly flown by. On Friday, some gal pals at work and I decided that we wanted to deviate from our regularly scheduled program of simply getting wasted by heading over to BLT Steak at The Ritz-Carlton. A couple of us were salivating over a recent Instagram post about the restaurant’s $5 at 5 happy hour (thanks a lot @eatdrinkclt) and decided to fit in some quick girl time before the night’s festivities.
Amateurs to the classy venue, we had already peeked at the specialty cocktail menu when we realized the happy hour menu was only served on the bar side of the restaurant. Even though we relocated, we went with our original drink choice and kindly asked the bartender to whip us up a couple fresh blueberry mojitos. Next, we ordered the Steak Sliders and Kobe Hot Dog to share.
Either I was starving, or the food was amazing, because there wasn’t anything left to take home.
After our pregame snack, we made moves to check out the latest Goodyear Arts Preview Party at it’s new home on College Street. We had no idea what to expect, as it was our first time attending the much-talked about showcase that formerly resided at the defunct Goodyear building in Uptown.
All we knew was that there was an art event going on and that we could get free beer. Who can turn down art, hipsters and free booze in a kick ass building? Not me! We walked around and pretended we knew what we were observing while joking about which pieces we would “borrow,” if given the opportunity. (We didn’t attempt to really steal anything, I promise.)
Before long, we were heading over to The Gin Mill for a couple drinks before my friends split up for the night. Did you know you could order food from Tavern On the Tracks? Keep that in mind the next time you elect out of The Gin Mill because you’re worried all they’ll have to offer is popcorn. After everyone went their separate ways, my boyfriend and I decided on one last stop, Blue Olive Lounge. We ended up dancing the night away there. Most of the rest of night was spent holding on to the toilet for dear life, as I braced for the worst parts of the day/night — the spins.
The next morning, my boyfriend and I planned on heading out to the lake for some fun in the sun and booze but the weather was cloudy so we opted for naps and Netflix for most of the day. Once we agreed that we should at least try to get out for a bit, we settled on dinner at Enso Asian Bistro & Sushi. And for dessert? We finally got to check out the newest dessert sensation in Uptown Charlotte.
Kandy Bar is an upscale dessert bar and nightclub nestled in the corner of the third floor in the Epicentre. While you may not see it in passing, once you’ve walked beyond Vault the neon purple lights that adorn the bar and décor are impossible to miss. I’m not even a huge fan of dessert, but when I walked in I wanted to scream, “Willie Wonka where’s my golden ticket?!” They no longer have the item I wanted to try — Brie cheese and fig jam nestled between two pieces of pound cake and grilled to perfection — but I wasn’t disappointed when I tasted the Dutch Apple cheesecake. If you’re looking for after dinner drinks or dessert, I’s suggest Kandy Bar. In a short time, it’s moved toward the top of my list. (Pro tip: memberships are required and are currently $1, dessert menu stops at 10 p.m. and a dress code is enforced.)
After dessert, I thought for sure that my boyfriend would want to call it quits early. I was wrong. We ended up going to one of his friend’s houses for a couple beers before heading back to Ballantyne to call it a night — that is, after another stint at Blue Olive Lounge, of course. By 3 a.m. we were back on the couch and drowsily watching television while eating leftovers and Cookout grub.
And just like that, another weekend adventure in the Queen City was down in the books.
