Columnist Tommy Tomlinson poses a fun question: What would you miss about Charlotte if it went the way of New Orleans?
A couple things spring to mind. The towering trees along Queens Rd. and in Myers Park that never fail to elicit gasps from first-time visitors. Fried chicken livers from Dish’s. The Double-Door Inn. The dopey but lovable way Charlotte tries and tries to make that fabled “World Class City” cut — all earnest, striving, and naive. The Cajun Queen, especially with the house band at full-tilt. Bonterra, Blue, and the city’s nascent home-grown fine dining. The Panthers, whose Super Bowl run knitted the community together at a crucial time. South Park, just because it can’t possibly reinvent itself again, can it? Being able to drive — yes, drive — just about anywhere in the city in 30 minutes or less. One of the best Time Warner franchises going, one that is inexplicably on the outs with city and county officials. Strawberries in season from roadside stands. Peaches too.
Oh, and even the way roads change names two or three times for no clear reason. What other city has that, huh?
