Brian and Mark Gott: Top five places for a birthday lunch

I met Brian Gott through his work as spokesman for IKEA Charlotte. Brian makes sure I know about the free events and special deals at IKEA so I can share them with Charlotte on the Cheap readers. (He’s also the guy who arranged for the $100 IKEA gift card that was the prize in a recent contest. Thanks, Brian!) When he learned about the occasional Charlotte Top Five feature on Charlotte on the Cheap, he had the idea to do a double feature…he and his identical twin, Mark, who also lives in Charlotte. Mark is a partner at Sellers Hinshaw specializing in guardianships and incompetencies. Learn more about Mark.

They’re from Northern Ohio and have lived in the Charlotte area since the mid 90s, and each year they pick out a new restaurant to have lunch and celebrate their birthday, which is Aug. 22. They typically pick a place where they would not otherwise go and that has relatively reasonable lunch prices or specials. Here’s their take on the Top Five Charlotte places for a birthday lunch.

Where should they go this year? Leave a comment for Brian and Mark!

	Brian	Mark
Bentley’s	I really liked the view. The overall experience was top notch. Great service and good food. It really amazes me that you can truly go to some of the best restaurants in Charlotte at lunchtime and have a relatively inexpensive lunch. I love to cook; I hate to spend a lot of money going out to eat.	Agreed with Brian. However, this is not really Charlotte on the cheap. The only thing that makes it so is going for LUNCH, which is considerably cheaper than dinner! In fact, in my opinion, the lunch price is far less than I expected to pay!
Krazy Fish	I loved the food and the atmosphere. I love going somewhere in Charlotte that can be fun and cool without being new. And in such a diverse neighborhood.	I chose the fish tacos. Around $9.00 for the entrée. Very good!
BLT Steak at the Ritz Carlton	What impressed me the most was going to the Ritz for lunch and spending less than $20. Actually it was around $15. It was also convenient since we walked there when we both worked uptown. Everyone should do it once or twice.	Agreed with Brian on this one. Great atmosphere and the prices were less than I expected to pay. But for a nice birthday lunch, this experience was hard to beat.
Fenwick’s	I thought it was charming. The food was delicious and it is fairly easy to get in and out of, especially at lunch, when you are working Uptown.	Nice little spot with a good baked chicken and broccoli casserole. Very reasonable lunch prices, too.
Sullivan’s Steakhouse	Excellent food. Good experience. Easy to get in and out of at lunch. Good choices. Good salads.	Agreed. I liked the atmosphere and once again I think it is a good place to go for a special lunch, even on a budget.

Read more Charlotte Top Five lists.