How to spend 48 hours in Charlotte with TV’s Joe Bruno

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Your tour guide: Joe Bruno. He’s a reporter for WSOC, as well as a part-time vaccine finder.

Neighborhood: Plaza Midwood

The perfect itinerary for: Entertaining college pals. And for those trying to get back into the swing of things.

What do you love about Charlotte? I’m originally from Pennsylvania and went to Elon University for college. I arrived in Charlotte in 2014 after getting a job in news here. I quickly fell in love with the city. It’s a great place to live and work.

His caveat: I’ll preface this guide by saying I was used to going out almost every weekend before the pandemic. But the pandemic changed me. Instead of going out, I was going to 7/11 to buy beer, and then getting takeout sushi from Akahana and watching Amazing Race on the couch with my wife.

So I’m slowly getting back into a routine and I’m not sure if I’m capable of doing all of this immediately (laughs), but this is what my hope would be for the weekend.

[Related Axios story: What it’s like to be married to Joe Bruno (and his phone)]

FRIDAY: Night out in Plaza

Wine and mini-golf: On Friday night, first we’d head to The Bohemian for some glasses of cab sav and a cheeseboard. Then we’d head over to Stroke for a cocktail and a round of mini-golf.

Dinner in Plaza Midwood: For dinner, I’m thinking we’d try Soul so my college friends could experience the pork belly tacos, which are so delicious.

Or we could head down the street to the Grinning Mule. It’s not in that central business district in Plaza, so it’s a little off the beaten path, but it’s great. They have a fantastic grilled Caesar salad and their Grinning Mule cocktail, which is like a blueberry mojito, might be my favorite drink in Charlotte.

Drinks and a DJ: From there, we’d head to The Workman’s Friend, which is my favorite bar in Charlotte. They have a great DJ on Friday nights, and I love that it’s half-indoor, half-outdoor.

SATURDAY: Karaoke and live music

Breakfast sammies: On Saturday we’d do breakfast and coffee at Common Market. I’d get the ranchero breakfast burrito with bacon. The queso really makes that dish. It’s just so good.

Kayaking: Typically the most exercise I get is getting out of bed and sitting on the couch. But with friends in town, we’d probably head to the Whitewater Center. They’ve got a great deal where you can rent kayaks and stand-up paddleboards for not that much. I do that a lot. (Editor’s note: Flatwater rentals cost $30, plus $6 for parking.)

A quick fuel-up: If we needed a late lunch, we’d go to Rhino Market in Villa Heights. The chicken torta and the hot roast beef are my two favorites from there.

Karaoke and apps: In the evening, we’d head to Seoul Meat Company in South End. One of my favorite things to do in Charlotte is to get a big group of friends together for dinner and rent out the rockstar karaoke room there.

You’ve got a private karaoke room for ten or 20 of your friends, so you can sing whatever you want and not have to worry about singing in front of strangers. It’s so much fun. We’d do that and order fruit punch beer, wings, and Ramen mac and cheese.

Live music: After Seoul, we’d seek out live music so we could dance. I’ve got three bands or artists that I look for when I want to see live music: Pluto For Planet, Falconheart, and Wallace Sings. They typically play at The Brickyard or Gin Mill, so pre-pandemic I loved going out on a Saturday and dancing to that music.

SUNDAY: A baseball send-off

Breakfast and baseball: On the last day, we’d do breakfast and coffee at Undercurrent Coffee. I’d get the grits bowl with the farmhouse egg, as well as a coffee.

Before shipping them off to the airport, I’d check and see if the Knights were playing. If they had a late flight, we’d catch an afternoon game.

That stadium is so beautiful, even if you’re not the biggest baseball fan you can appreciate it.

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