Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Bite Your Tongue opens in South End

N'awlins food arrives in South End with the grand opening this week of Martine and Lucius Johnson's Bite Your Tongue at 222 E. Bland St. Their place had been tucked inside a medical building on Randolph Road, but the new space, along the light rail line at Bland and Rensselaer, gives room for sit-down dining and a larger menu.

Right now they're in "soft opening mode" - which means that the menu has been trimmed down and will change as they go, as will hours. Look for seafood gumbo, red beans and rice, jambalaya, shrimp stuffed with crab, and beignets (the classic light donut-like confections, pronounced bay-nyays) and chicory coffee served in the morning.

Other, lesser-known New Orleans cuisine may show up along the way, from Ya-Ka-Mein (also called Old Sober, this is a kind of beef noodle soup) to crawfish pie to bananas Foster French toast.

The family's backstory is dramatic: They fled New Orleans (leaving their original Bite Your Tongue) and came to North Carolina the day before Katrina hit. Imagining how difficult it would be for their children to return as the city healed, they decided to stay and begin anew in Charlotte.

Breakfast ($3-$3.25), lunch ($6-$10) and dinner (entrees $7-$12) are served right now 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. 704-376-0333; charlottecajunrestaurant.com. (Photos from Bite Your Tongue's website.)



1 comments:

Pete H said...

I loved them when they were on Randolph Street. Had lunch today and was disappointed. Short menu, which is ok if the staff knew what was available. Also the prices on the internet are lower than the prices at the restaurant.

Follow the directions on their web page. You can't get to the restaurant from Bland street unless you walk south along the trolley track.

I'll wait a while until I try them again.