e2 emeril’s eatery

So long. And thanks for all the fish.

«The julep tart enough for you?» — Goldfinger (1964)
I travel quite a bit and I am often in Charlotte. Trying to find places to dine that fit the bill, are not that easy. Ben G was kind enough to tell me about e2, so we had to check it out.
I booked my table through OpenTable day of and had no problem — getting a table for 3 is often a weird thing. We found our way to e2 and were seated right away. After a long work day — we were famished. One person in our party was on an odd diet — he could drink to his heart’s content, but needed to eat a strictly vegetarian (and light) meal. We set this expectation early and the server talked to the chef and worked something out.
I started with a cocktail — did I mention the long work day? I ordered the Blueberry mint julep as I was told it was none-​too sweet. Well, epic fail. Pure sugar and alcohol. So not anything I would every order again. I’m a fan of bourbon drinks, but this was like someone stuck a popsicle down in my good bourbon. Too much for me. Luckily, out came the potato rolls and homemade crackers to tide me over and help with the sugar factor. The rolls were like crack — I wanted more and more.
One of my co-​workers and I have a deal — when we go out to eat and charcuterie is an option, we order it no matter what… so we did. We opted for the cheese plate with country ham. It was a let down. Barely any cheese, and a ton of accoutrements. We had pears, a pork rillette, a couple of other quenelles of things, a pickled something, the ham and a mustard with some toast points. It was not enough for 2 people to really share. It was a large amuse bouche.
As for entrees, these were an improvement. My friend with the special needs received a Seasonal vegetable plate that looked like a work of art. He was quite pleased and full after he ate. My other co-​worker ordered the Grilled Filet Mignon which came with cedar planked broccoli, house potato and Emeril’s worcestershire. It looks delicious and properly cooked to medium rare as requested. As for me, I opted for the Braised Lamb Shank. Served with quinoa spinach salad, mint, cucumber, tomato and pinenut — it was sensational. It could have been falling off the bone a bit more, but it was moist, tender, perfectly seasoned and it just melted in my mouth. It was also very large and I could not eat it all — which was a crying shame.
I’m not sure how, but we decided to order and eat dessert — the Banana cream pie which was topped with caramel, chocolate shavings and whipped cream. I was not disappointed in this, but sort of sorry I couldn’t help finish it. I do love bananas with chocolate.
I will say that our server was a bit on the slow side, so refills of water, tea, soda were lacking. Our glasses were empty for quite some time before refilled and dead soldiers were removed only when new items were brought to the table. Both things are a pet peeve of mine. The place is a bit on the loud side as well — but with nothing to absorb sound, it is to be expected.
I’ve heard that e2 will be closing, which is a shame. It really does do a good job on many levels, but maybe it just cannot survive based on location? I don’t know Charlotte — you tell me. I’m sad it will not be there when I return.

OK so my last «review» was taken down by the Unilocal HQ guys because apparently «announcements» can’t be posted. Sooooooooo, I did go to e2 yesterday for lunch, so I am going to post a «live» review AND my announcement. How’s that?
ANNOUNCEMENT: e2 is closing April 25^th. I will be sad to see it go.
REVIEW: Yet another good lunch had here at e2. It seems like it more crowded than usual, probably because of the closing announcement. I spoke with the GM who confirmed the April 25^th closing date. When I asked why they are closing, they said it was lack of dinner traffic. Despite 10,000 new apartments and condos that are going up in Uptown Charlotte, he said that they just can’t wait that long.
So me and my buddy enjoyed our lunch. I opted for their Hangar Steak, complete with a Emeril style cajun onion ring, stuffed with crimini mushrooms and some Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. As usual, all were excellent.
But I think the thing that has done more harm to this restaurant than anything is their lack of execution. Their staff is very professional and courteous, yet my food came out a tad cool (not cold, cool). Should be hot, no? That means that it sat too long on the pickup station. If you read my other reviews, there have been other service errors that most will not forgive. Because I like the food here so much I kept coming back… despite the imperfections in service.
With a coke and tip, my bill came out to $ 27.00. A pretty pricey lunch but then again, I was the one who chose the $ 18 steak entrée. Worth it? Yes. Just not sure Charlotte is ready for this place.
It is MY hope that they one day return. Maybe to a more intimate setting as the dining room is quite large… something the GM said was an issue.
So thanks for the great food Chef Emeril! I hope you do come back to the Queen City!

The food was incredible! The service was incredible. I would like to thank the manager for delivering exceptional service and ensuring all our needs were met. QqThe food was to go! We ordered salmon, pork chops, shrimp and grits, and a whole banana pie! That’s right an entire banana pie because it’s that good! We were visiting Charlotte and I must say I was impressed by the hospitality, as well as the cuisine! Thanks again we will back.

First time there, won’t be the last! For restaurant week, it was better than expected. Ordered the Bacon Maple, pricy, but so good I had no choice but to order two. Even the E2 Mojito my date had was delicious. This was a great start to the dinner. Beet Salad, Oysters, and BBQ Shrimp for appetizer, I recommend them all. We both ordered the Ribeye seasoned well, broccoli raab was very bitter, and one steak was over cooked. The real hero was the dessert, the chocolate cake and Banana Crème Pie are to die for. The servers were very attentive and friendly as well.

We decided to try E2 during restaurant week this year. We made a reservation for 7:00 pm and we were seated at 7:03 — awesome!
My friend and I decided to order different things so we could try more from the menu. For appetizers she ordered the oysters — they gave her 3 oysters and they had really good flavor for a delish bite. I ordered the gumbo. I actually really don’t like gumbo but since Emeril I known for his NOLA food — I figured it had to be good… and it was! It had the perfect amount of heat with a great sauce/​broth to pair with the poultry and sausage.
For our meals my friend ordered the ribeye — it was cooked perfectly and had a nice smoked flavor — wood burning grill? It was paired with mashed potatoes — they were creamy and delicious. I ordered the shrimp and grits — this dish was ridiculously good. We were raving about how good that dish was! You could eat the grits on their own they were so rich and flavorful. The only piece that could have made it just a little better would be to take off the tails before they are served. Because of the shape of the bowl it was a little difficult to take them off without feeling like you were going to spill your plate.
As if the food wasn’t already good enough — they gave us hot fresh soft rolls with a sprinkling of salt — they were so good!
For desert we ordered the peanut butter mouse with chocolate ganache. My friend loved hers and was surprised at how good it was since she isn’t a peanut butter fan. It hardly tasted like PB. I ordered the banana cream pie. Every bite was better then the last! The cake consistency was somewhat similar to a cheesecake with a delicious crumb crust, whipped cream, chocolate shavings and caramel. It is in my top 5 desserts I have ever had!
We also ordered some drinks. The E2 Collins was refreshing and delicious! The maple bacon tasted like a whisky sour — I think they sprinkled nutmeg or cinnamon into the drink (I didn’t care for that). The hurricane was delicious — it was a well balanced drink. The red wine list by the glass was very short — I wish there would have been more choices. The wine list was two pages long, by the glass took up ¼ of 1 page. The rest of the wine list were bottles — so when the table prefers different kinds of wine it makes it tricky.
I am giving a good review of the food. Our server was horrible. Didn’t check on us at all. When we asked to substitute the mashed potatoes she said we could. When we asked to get veggies she said it would be another $ 6 — that doesn’t count as a substitute. She literally laughed at the table next to us when they tried to do the same thing with fries. We met the GM he was super nice and brought us our food — for the 2 minutes we saw him he treated us nicer then our server. As other people dropped off our food they would grab us water or bread because our server kept abandoning us.
I would definitely go back to this restaurant but if we got the same server I would ask for someone else!

As promised I returned to have dinner here. First things first: lavender sage gimlet! OFF THE HOOK!!! They make it with this foam on top and it is the best cocktail I’ve had in Charlotte and that is saying something because I try specialty cocktails everywhere I dine and I dine a lot.
Second cocktail fave. The grasshopper. Cucumbers and cayenne pepper! What the YES?!
Now to the food. Loved the raw tuna and beets dish appetizer. Loved the gumbo. I mean really??? Gumbotastic! You had an appetizer and soup before dinner? Umm yes.
The fried chicken and spicy rice was amazing too. Yum.
Banana cream pie for dessert. Of course!
The service was great. The bartenders are awesome. The server split the gumbo for us to share. That was nice.
I would skip the calamari next time. It was good but you can get that anywhere. You have to have the gumbo though. Seriously.
The location is sort of hidden right across from the Levine center. They have valet or you can park under and get validated.
So I just have to say «BAM!»

We went here for my husband’s annual high-​school Christmas reunion dinner this year. Not realizing, we should have gotten a babysitter to watch our 8-​month old, we walked in to find a very upscale establishment — so much so, that I was embarrassed to ask for a high chair, so I didn’t. We took turns holding our fussy baby throughout the meal. I guess I should have done more research before we decided to go, but all-​in-​all it was a pretty good restaurant.
We ordered a bottle of wine and my husband ordered a beet salad and the scallop appetizer as his entrée. He really enjoyed his food. I had the Lobster & English Pea Linguini as my entrée. It was good, but later that night, I woke up nauseous on the verge of throwing up. Not sure if I ate bad lobster, or if it was just due to the fact that the pasta was swimming in butter. Either way, if I decided to eat here again, I’d probably order something different.
The service staff was great. They kept our water and wine glasses full and repeatedly complimented our baby, saying how cute she was. We had a good time, but if I ever ate here again, I’d definitely get a babysitter, as it is not the most kid-​friendly restaurant, and I’d definitely order a steak! Someone else at our table got the pork chop and it looked delicious.

Every meal I’ve had here has been very good, and their chocolate chip cookies are my guilty afternoon pleasure. They host crawfish boils in the summer, which are well-​attended and very delicious. Drinks are outstanding — like many fellow reviewers have noted, try the Grasshopper.
Staff is very friendly, and they have two people on the waitstaff tend to you during your meal so you’re never without assistance when you need it. I’ve come in on a particularly rough day in search of comfort food, and their management team sent me away with a hug and some cookies — that’s good customer service right there.
Outdoor seating! It’s great for the summers and for almost-​too-​cold fall days with space heaters and good conversation with good friends.

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Chef went to NOLA this week and he came home with some amazing new tricks. I’m in love with E2 even more than usual. I just had the best meal I’ve ever had in Charlotte tonight. Thanks Chef Mottola!

We rolled in during a trip to Charlotte and in need of a place that had good food for us adults and something decent for the kiddos.
E2 was a great find and we had an excellent meal all around. My wife had the BRAISED SHORT RIB and LOVED it. I had a bowl of the gumbo (could have used a bit more zip) and the bbq shrimp, which had this killer sauce that I dipped my bread in. The kiddos had a cheese pizza (YUM) and pasta.
We also tried a few appetizers to start, the crown jewel of which is the YELLOWFIN TUNA CRUDO. The Bacon appetizer was solid as well.

Had some of the best food ever on the planet here including Filet Mignon, Muscles, and Lobster. It was my birthday so they took me to see the kitchen and also wrote «Happy Birthday» on my plate in chocolate with Beignets and they were delicious! Definitely recommend.

Amazing service! Great food. I was happy to hear about ½ price wine night night on Monday and Thursday nights! Kevin and Taylor helped me at the bar and were terrific. The Serbian Legend recommended a fantastic wine as well. I also loved a San Francisco treat!

I absolutely love this place. I’ve been here cocktails, lunch, crawfish boils, dinner, special events… every experience has been just top notch.
Don’t believe me? Well, two days after Unilocal’s Summertime Soirée, a few of my friends wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner before a birthday party that night. One friend said, «let’s go to the place that had the bread pudding at your Unilocaler party.» So, we did. And they were completely blown away.
It’s not just the food that is amazing here, but also the staff. Miki (the general manager) is one of the most charming and captivating people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He loves what he does. He’s damn good at what he does.
The only go-​to item that I must order every time I come here is a cocktail: the grasshopper. Hendrick’s gin, cucumber water, wheatgrass, lime juice, jalapeño simple syrup… it should just be called perfection. The entire cocktail menu is impressive.
I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve gotten here. We usually order all the specials and share them. For my latest meal, I went with the lamb. I have never ordered lamb at a restaurant. I wanted to get something different than everyone else at my table, so Miki suggested it. He, of course, did not steer me wrong. It was delicious. My friend Paul got the shrimp and grits. He completely cleaned his plate. Seriously, it looked like he licked it clean.
If you can manage to save room for dessert, get it. Hell, even if you are completely full… you should probably still get something sweet.
Parking: they do have complimentary valet during dinner. e2 also validates for the Levine Center for the Arts Parking Garage.
GPS can sometimes be tricky for this location because of the new-​ish road name. If you are having problems, use 135 1^st Street or 550 South Tryon instead.

As with all Emeril’s restaurants, this one was excellent. The best shrimp and grits that I have ever had. My friend had the pork chop and it was excellent as well. The service was excellent too. We really enjoyed ourselves. I wish we could have gone back again.

Let me start out by saying that I am very skeptical of «celebrity» restaurants and this visit thoroughly confirmed my prejudice.
We came here for Mother’s Day brunch. E2 does not normally serve brunch, except for special occasions so I was both wary and excited to give it a try. We made reservations for 11:30 and then tried to switch them a day before to noon but we’re told it was booked solid. We arrived at 11:30 and there were maybe only 3 tables sat. Come 12:00 maybe only about 3 more… frustrating.
We ordered our drinks about 20 minutes in advance hoping they’d come out right at 12 (liquor laws) like many other Charlotte restaurants do. We were wrong. Apparently, they only had one girl working the bar and it took until about 12:15 to finally get our drinks. I ordered the bloody mary and was extremely displeased. It tasted like the bartender poured mix (zing zang) and vodka and did nothing to spruce it up. I sent it back and 15 minutes later I received a terribly peppered and butchered drink. Should have ordered something off the specialty cocktail menu.
As for the food. The rolls were nothing special… definitely not made in house. We had a few questions about how things were served. I asked two waiters about the shrimp and grits and both told me there was no sauce on the dish. Another at the table ordered it and… you guess it… there was a sauce. Darn, wish I had ordered it.
We ordered a plate of the peanut butter and banana stuffed French to the table, which was delicious (how could you mess that up?). I ordered the croque madame which had a funny taste to it that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. The creole mornay sauce was inexistent and I was craving something saucy to break up the monotony of flavor. The fries that came on the side were delicious. The biscuit in the biscuits of gravy tasted like Pillsbury dough and were overcooked on the bottom.
I was really hoping E2 would end my celebrity restaurant skepticism but, unfortunately, even my low expectations were not met. Perhaps it was because they aren’t used to serving brunch? Who knows — but regardless — not an excuse in my book.

I chose to dine at e2 for 2014 Restaurant Week. This was my first visit to one of Emeril’s restaurants. I booked a reservation via OpenTable and also received confirmation phone call a few hours before my reservation.
I was seated promptly at the kitchen bar. It was good to have a view of the kitchen.
Before my arrival, I planned to order from the prix fixe menu for Restaurant Week however, I also ordered an oxtail slider, since I like oxtail. The oxtail slider is served on a small bun with a spicy mustard and pickled green tomato. The oxtail slider great!
From the prix fixe menu, I ordered the wood roasted oysters, braised pork shank and blueberry upside down cake.
The oysters were topped with bacon, onion, spinach, Parmesan Reggiano.
The braised pork shank was slightly seasoned, tender and served upon a bed a slow cooked greens and topped with tomatoes and peanuts.
The accompaniments to the oysters were good, but masked some of the flavor.
The braised pork shank was good and a good complement to the greens.
The blueberry upside down cake was served with frozen yogurt and saffron caramel. No complaints are the desert, it was good.
I came here with the expectation of ordering the the drink «What’s Up Doc», but learned it was seasonal and currently unavailable. My server recommended that I try a drink call «Cumbersone», I did not like it. The house made pepper vodka and cucumber purée was too much for my palate.
I then try a drink called «Ginger Sour», it comes in a flute, but it tasted much better than «Cumbersome».
Overall, I had a good visit. No issues with the service, although there was a longer than usual delay between my entrée and desert.

Grabbed a late bite to eat here with Moo. I had the pork chops, Moo had the scallops. (How cute, no beef!)
Anyways, it was pretty late but the staff seemed upbeat, and not in the I’m-getting-ready-to-jet-to-the-gas-station-and-pick-up-a-six-pack upbeat. Pork chop was a ridiculous size, I must’ve gotten through only half of it. Was really good though.
Best thing they have here is still the bread. They have different bread that comes while you’re waiting on the meal. The cornbread muffin is one of those things that is amazing. It’s crack-​cornbread muffin. The last time I had it, I specifically asked… hold on.
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.
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Moo ran off with my cornbread :(
dmo out (chasing Moo for the cornbread)

I’m very excited to try e2 again in the very near future.
We attended a Unilocal event at e2 this week and were able to sample some what what they have to offer. Everything served was fantastic and as I saw food strolling by to lucky hungry tables, I grew even more excited to try more. This may very well be worth one of the rare 5 star grades and I will update this post as soon as we try it again!

First of all, I have to thank the staff here for working on Christmas Eve. Having worked earlier in the day, myself, I know what it’s like to work holidays, so I truly appreciate them being there for us!
Secondly, I would like to comment regarding many folks being instantly negative because of Emeril’s status. Personally, I applaud Chefs who have worked hard to make it as a Celebrity… it wasn’t that long ago when there was no such thing as a Celebrity Chef. And, how cool that they can share their expertise and power to open new restaurants for all of us to enjoy!
That being said, with no greater expectations than any other restaurant in this price range, there were some real positives to our experience and some negatives as well.
Positives: Service early-​on was informative and friendly. We were quickly sold on trying cocktails. I went with the Lemon Spritz and Husband did the Bourbon Mash. We ordered the Wood Oven Roasted Oysters to go with them. Both of us loved our drinks. Mine was light and refreshing. Husband could not have been happier with his. The Amuse Bouche that was presented was delicious… a small square topped with avocado chicken salad. Also impressive were the incredible rolls topped with salt. Ranked right up there with the best we’ve ever had. YUM. There were also a couple small cornbread muffins that were good, but the rolls were WOW.
Biggest positive of the night: NC Rainbow Trout «Meuniere»
fingerling potatoes — cipollini onions — swiss chard — crabmeat — creole meuniere sauce $ 24.
This was oh-​my-​gosh good! (see food porn pic) …an absolutely perfect plate of flavors that worked so well together. The onions, swiss chard, perfectly cooked moist trout, fingerling potatoes, all tied together with the most amazing sauce. Dreams are made of this!
Negatives: Husband ordered: Filet Mignon C.A.B.
pomme frites — red wine butter — fresh herbs — Emeril’s house made Worcestershire $ 35
This was a huge disappointment. Steak was ordered medium. It came very charred and was unevenly cooked. Part was well-​done and part medium-​well. None of it was medium. The wine-​butter was an interesting and overwhelming touch for Husband. The beef itself had little flavor. Even more disappointing were the frites. They were so thin and so crispy that it was like eating flavorless ones that come in a can. So, while I was chowing down in food heaven, Husband was fighting for flavor. And a drink.
Which leads to the next negative… Our Server got so busy with a large table that was seated near us, that Husband didn’t get his second drink that might have made the less-​than-​perfect steak meal more palatable.
Other negatives here: HOLD ON TO YOUR STUFF… they are way too quick to remove things. Husband saved my last oyster before it was whisked away while I was checking out the wine menu. Sadly, I lost the last few sips of my lemon spritz though, as it went bye-​bye before I was done with it. We saved the last roll before it was whisked away also.
I will leave on positives: Our Server apologized for getting busy with the big table and brought a comp drink to Husband to make up for it. It helped as it was just as good as the first one. Also liked that they will let you sample wines so you can pick what you like best. Plus generous pours.
So, while Husband’s experience was probably more 3-star-like…mine was on a 5-​star level, which is why I have chosen a 4-​star rating.
TIPS: Get seafood, and hang onto your drinks and food til you’re done with them!