Sea Level: Making Lobster Rolls Cool in the Queen City

Background: 
Sea Level was opened by Paul Manley in February 2016, and is the destination for Seafood Uptown ($1 oysters, anyone?). We have been to (and enjoyed) Sea Level several times on our own, and we were invited out a couple of times in the past two months to check everything out again, and we sampled their summer menu on our most recent visit. Check out everything we ordered below!

Eat This: 

Sea Level Oysters

From Sea Level, NC

Did you know there is an actual Sea Level, North Carolina? It's true, and that's where these oysters are from! Manley routinely takes his staff there so they can see the oysters being caught! All of the oysters and seafood served are sourced from North Carolina, and are all sustainable. 

Barrel Ceviche

citrus marinade, fresh strawberry apple salsa, house made chips

Tempura Shrimp

spicy aioli

Fried Springer Mountain Chicken Sandwich

greens, chorizo gravy, ranch

Jason's favorite. This sandwich was a winner: perfectly crispy and well seasoned. Special cameo by Chrissie Beth's hand!

Sea Level Salad

fried oysters, romaine, cabbage, radish, corn, pickled shallots, white balsamic vinaigrette, horseradish aioli

Maine Style Lobster Roll

lobster lightly coated in mayo, greens

 This roll is heavy on the lobster and light on mayo. Perfect. The Parmesan tater tots that came with it were just okay--nothing offensive, but not very flavorful. 

Connecticut Style Lobster Roll

lobster lightly coated in butter, greens  

The Connecticut style roll just debuted on Sea Level's summer menu, and this was the hand's down crowd favorite at the media event. I prefer this one to the Maine style, but it's a close race. Definitely go for the fries over the tater tots. 

Fried Chicken Bao Bun

with honey BBQ & slaw

Dessert: 
Sea Level regularly rotates their dessert menu, and they are currently working on adding some fun and creative options to their sweet menu items. On our last visit, we tried the chocolate spoon cake, which was simply divine. 

Chocolate fudge Spoon Cake

with whipped icing

Drink: 
Sea Level has a full bar and some fun cocktail offerings, and they recently started venturing into the world of mocktails. The Nada Colada mocktail below is a revelation. Here a fun story on this episode of the pod regarding this particularly drink. 

Summer G & T

Sutler's gin, house-made tonic, apricot, basil, lime

Nada Colada

pineapple, coconut, almond, lime

Atmosphere: 
Sea Level has a fantastic dining room and outdoor patio. It is formal enough for business folks to take clients ("professionals," as we termed them on the pod), but you don't feel as though you need to get dressed up, which we love. Everyone in the restaurant seemed to be having a great time, and there were good vibes all around. 

Also! Charlotte needs to prepare for more fresh seafood, because Manley's next venture, The Waterman, is opening in South End in early fall. Diners should anticipate a slightly more casual vibe and a rooftop patio. Heck yeah. 

Under the Sea Hospitality: 
We have always received top notch service, even when we dined incognito.  

Frankie's Notes: 
Here we go, here we go, now let me see your lobster roll; Chrissie Beth & I scared everyone when we walked outside with all of our food when we visited on our friend date; It's all about the lighting, people; Ollie is originally from Sea Level, NC, where we plucked him out of the sea like a beautiful mermaid; Jason wishes that The Waterman were called The Merman; When I posted the Nada Colada on Instagram, I got asked if I was pregnant; I am not pregnant.  

Disclaimer: This meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.

 

Zeppelin

Background: 
Zeppelin opened in South End, Charlotte, in late 2017, and shares a building space with the soon-to-open new South End Common Market and the recently opened Bang Bang Bites. Head Chef Vince Giancarlo worked previously at Baku, Aquavina, and Cantina 1511. We found the overall Zeppelin experience similar to Soul Gastro--small plates in a hip and cozy atmosphere with a banging cocktail list. Zeppelin is tiny and super hot right now, so prepare yourself for a wait (and make use of the Nowait app--hear about the trials and tribulations we endured just to get a table on the podcast). 

Eat This: 
The menu is divided into "Smalls" and "Biggies," and below are our orders from two visits. 

Maine Lobster Avocado Toast

Butter poached, homemade brioche, herb aioli, bacon, preserved lemon

The thick and sweet brioche toast with that generous lobster claw? Avocado toast perfection, we say! 

Scratch Buns

Sweet miso Heritage pork belly, shaved cabbage, pickled chilis

Love, love, love. 

American Wagyu Tartare

Taro & sweet potato chips, black truffle yolk, egg custard, roasted tomato relish

The tartare was just okay--we felt this dish was concerned with presentation over flavor. 

Point Judith Calamari

Korean chile, yuzu, pickled bacon dashi gel, serranos, HRF shishitos

Our new favorite calamari in town--sorry to Luca. The dashi gel took it to another level. Slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and just lightly fried. 

Bacon Dashi

served with the calamari

Pacific Yellowtail Crudo

Coal-kissed, pickled & smoked red onion, sriracha tartare crispy rice, serranos, ponzu, truffles

Delicious--get everything below in one bite, and it's a thing of beauty. 

Maine Lobster Mac & Cheese

House-made fettuccine, uni bechamel, truffle froth, brioche crumbs, bacon-poached lobster tail

One of our favorites--we were licking the bowl. Can you blame us? 

Notorious P.I.G Puppies

Braised HRF pork cheek puppies, Eastern Carolina BBQ, whipped honey butter, house BBQ sauce

These cute little puppers were a table favorite! The savory barbecue flavor paired with the crispy fritter perfectly. 

Dry Aged Crispy Duck

Local wildflower honey, sansyo pepper, coriander, fleur de sel, arnaud olive oil, fresh herbs, compressed persimmon

Only I really liked this duck--other dining companions complained that the flavor was off.

Dessert: 
There are currently three options--a chocolate cake with Biscoff ice cream, a Krispy Kreme bread pudding with dulce de leche, vanilla-yuzu ice cream and candied rose petals, and a trio of ice creams (the biscoff, vanilla-yuzu, and a chocolate variety). We loved both of the options below, but if you have to pick just one, we recommend the chocolate cake. 

Chocolate Cake 

with Biscoff Ice cream

Krispy Kreme bread pudding

with dulce de leche, vanilla-yuzu ice cream and candied rose petals

Drink: 
Bartender Ryan Hart crafted a gorgeous and novel-esque cocktail menu with a mix of innovative cocktails ("Remixes") and old school 1900s "Classics" like gin fizzes and sazeracs. 

Gin Fizz
Gin, lemon, egg white, sparkling mineral water

This cocktail was rather poorly mixed--some pockets of egg white and lemon were suspended in a viscous trap of blech, but subsequent cocktails were all fabulous (no pictures due to: too lit. Whoops). 

Gin Fizz

Behind the magical bar

Atmosphere: 
Zeppelin calls to mind early 1900s vibes, and stays on theme with zeppelin drawings and a giant metal zeppelin hanging above the dining area. Random liquor bottles, knick knacks, and the odd bird cage (or three) complete the look, but we felt that the decor went a bit overboard in this respect and was somewhat cluttered (particularly on the empty bottle front). We did, however, love The Savage Way's giant preserved moss "Z," which is certainly the visual focal point of the restaurant. 

Wide shot of Zeppelin interior/image courtesy of Charlotte Business Journal

A divider down the center of the restaurant keeps the side farthest from the bar from being to noisy, and creates a private atmosphere for each table. 

World War I Hospitality: 
Shout out to server Tony, who we have had the pleasure of having on both of our visits. He provided attentive service, always checked in and thoroughly explained each dish to us. We love you, Tony!

Insert big-eye emoji here

Frankie's Notes: 
Has avocado toast jumped the shark?; Biggie Smalls is so hot on Charlotte restaurant menus right now; Apparently the Hindenburg was a rigid airship and a zeppelin is a semi-rigid airship; Scallionpancake drops facts like candied rose petals; The romanticization of the turn of the twentieth century needs to be replaced with a renaissance of the Mesozoic Era and dinosaur themed restaurants; Forget about activated charcoal--what about asteroid debris lattes?; No dinosaurs were harmed in the making of this post. 

Rating: 

5 out of 5