Cheap Eats Charlotte was a landmark episode for me: this was the 50th episode of Cheap Eats. Hard to believe three years ago it all started with the pilot episode in Minneapolis but here we are. Fitting that this special episode featured some of my favorite things about food: burgers, food trucks, chocolate and food culture collisions. Charlotte is a growing town that likes to eat and with that, let’s take one more big bite of Cheap Eats Charlotte!!

The Vitals: the spot: Gan Shan Station 143 Charlotte St Asheville NC 28801 the eats: Black Bean Chicken, Brisket Fried Rice, Chinese Broccoli, Salt and Pepper Tofu, House Made Dumplings, Korean Cabbage Wraps the bucks: $10 a dish and meant for sharing. factor about $10-$15 a person.  the full nelson: when you’re craving food from the entire continent of Asia For a moment, I got caught up in the idea that Gan Shan Station would be the future of Asian restaurant ...

One look at that low country boil I scored for dinner in Cheap Eats Savannah reminds me of two things: Savannah Seafood Shack offers up a steal when it comes to the pricey world of seafood and my Cheap Eats Savannah escapades did not come so easy, cheap eaters. Savannah reminds me of Charleston in more than ways than one. It’s a gorgeous town that’s a postcard for the Antebellum South. The hanging moss and stately abodes make you daydream about purchasing ...

When Cheap Eats wrapped the shoot in St. Petersburg, I walked away surprised and impressed with the level of cooking happening there. Once dubbed “God’s Waiting room”, St. Petersburg has transformed from a retirement haven to a destination city on Florida’s Gulf coast. Sometimes on Cheap Eats, we feature restaurants that serve up deals despite offering a menu that upon first glance would be way out of our budget. Enter Red Mesa Cantina, whose sprawling three story set up(in an old ...

If I had to describe Cheap Eats St. Petersburg in just one word it would be this: surprising. Outside of Miami(where we did an episode of Cheap Eats in Season One) and a summer family trip to Destin in my tender Wonder Years, my knowledge of Florida eats is pretty darn minimal. Take away the heavy Cuban and Caribbean culinary influence in Miami and one might correctly assume that Southern fare becomes a big part of the edible mosaic. But ...

When one thinks of the South, Soul food, Barbecue, the struggle for Civil Rights and music, specifically the Blues, immediately come to mind. I cannot think of the South without thinking about the African American experience, I believe that the two are intertwined forever. In short, with so much history and infamy, it is hard to imagine a Birmingham that can described as “hip” or “trending”; but don’t let the past cast a permanent shadow over the present: Birmingham is ...

I may not be Childish Gambino but I am childish, and like Donald Glover . . . I am sooo down for the ATL!! Sprawling with a diverse community and great restaurants at every turn, Atlanta reminded me lot of Los Angeles, my old stomping grounds. And an added bonus: I have yet to visit a city in American where I saw such a diverse set of African Americans on a socio-economic scale. To put it bluntly, as my African ...

Even though my allegiance to college football is out west with my alma mater, The University of Southern California, I caught a little of the “Go Dawgs spirit” when Cheap Eats went to Athens Georgia last December. And though they may have come up short in a double OT game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, they did not come up short on Cheap Eats. And I ain’t talking just budget either . . . because if there is ONE THING ...

Greenville SC may not be on your foodie radar YET but trust me, if you spend time in Asheville or Atlanta, you will no doubt hear about this South Eastern up and comer. If the cranes and bulldozers don’t clue you in, I will flat out say it: construction means progress. I can’t say what Greenville was like before I got there because it was my first time here when we shot Cheap Eats but I do know that folks ...

Yeah, I got love for Asheville. I have since the summer of 1998 when I took a road trip there to check the scene out. My most memorable moment was talking to a French Ex-Pat who fled Los Angeles after 10 years and extolled the virtues of the mountain serenity with a 4 year old in tow. Beyond the slower pace of life one would expect, you also have to recognize the draw Asheville has for people from all over ...