Restaurant with ‘the best burger in Charlotte’ wasn’t even in Charlotte — until now
.jpg "The Nutty Goat Burger at Blacow features a mix of balsamic onion, garlic and herb goat cheese and pecan mix with a chipotle aioli, candied bacon, pickle and arugula.")
In 2018, Blacow Burger was named “best burger in Charlotte” during the Moo and Brew craft beer and burger fest. Located in Fort Mill, South Carolina, people began driving across state lines just to see what the hype was about. Now, the restaurant will get not one but two locations within Charlotte’s city limits.
“People were traveling almost 40 minutes just to try our burgers,” Calvin Ma, owner of Blacow Burger, told CharlotteFive. “It gave me the confidence to finally open up a second location within Charlotte.”
That second location opened about two weeks ago in the University City area, taking over the former Taco Mac space. Ma and location owner David Zheng didn’t make a big announcement for the grand opening because of COVID-19.
“We wanted to start slow and let people trickle in once they saw that we were open.”
Ma and Zheng are saving the big celebration for their South End location, slated to open in early September. The space will be in the new Dimensional Place building at the intersection of South Tryon Street and Camden Avenue.
In addition to some of the area’s best burgers, the new locations will also have an added feature — a sushi menu.
“People in uptown and University City like to experiment and try new things,” Ma said. “We like to infuse unique flavors from all around the world into our menu, and we think people will really enjoy it.”
With burgers like the Blacow (Japanese Black cow beef, lettuce, teriyaki glaze, nori furikake, mayo and tempura avocado) and the Gangnam (marinated in bulgogi sauce with kimchi, baby arugula, green onion and cilantro), you will feel like you have taken a trip to another country.
The sushi menu won’t disappoint, either. The restaurant flys top-notch ingredients directly from Japan and New York City on a weekly basis. Ma and Zheng get creative with their specialty rolls while still offering the basics that many people like, such as the Philly roll and California roll.
In the mood for burgers and sushi? Order a bento box and try a burger slider, sushi roll, hand cut fries, edamame and Thai cucumbers. Both locations will offer a full bar, as well as a host of unique starter plates that you won’t want to miss.
The University City location is currently open for dine-in with limited capacity. Masks are required to be worn when entering, and patio seating is available, as well.
Blacow
517 University Center Blvd., and 1646 Hwy. 160, Fort Mill, SC
Coming soon to 1515 S. Tryon St.
Instagram: @blacow.clt
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 10:50 AM.
