{"id":2011,"date":"2026-06-22T20:06:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2026-06-22T20:06:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:06:56","slug":"a-hidden-dominican-deli-cheap-pizza-and-charlottes-lost-bbq-joints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2011","title":{"rendered":"A hidden Dominican deli, cheap pizza and Charlotte’s lost BBQ joints"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Monday, Charlotte. Today\u2019s CharlotteFive newsletter<\/a> serves up a heaping plate of food stories \u2014 from a tucked-away Dominican comedor to a fresh ranking that puts the Queen City near the top for cheap pizza. Pour yourself a coffee. Here\u2019s what foodies need to know. \u2615<\/p>\n

Read more North Carolina among the most economically segregated schools in the US, report says<\/a><\/p>\n

Andre takes us inside Tony\u2019s Deli, a Dominican \u201ccomedor\u201d tucked into Compare Foods Supermarket on Milton Road. Think sancocho thick enough to be rumored to cure hangovers, whole fried tilapia scored and seasoned just right, and pernil asado with skin \u201cblistered and bubbled like the finest chicharon.\u201d The Compare Foods chain was founded in 1989 by Dominican immigrant Eligio Pe\u00f1a and now has eight Charlotte locations.<\/p>\n

If you go, Andre\u2019s trifecta is non-negotiable: sancocho, pescado frito and pernil asado. Pair the pork with moro con gandules (rice with pigeon peas) and platanos maduro fritos.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccd Find it inside Compare Foods at 3112 Milton Rd, Charlotte<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49 Read Andre\u2019s full review.<\/a><\/p>\n

Heidi is collecting your smoked meat memories. Bar-B-Q King closed last year \u2014 with lines stretching out the door for one last bite of those minced and sliced sandwiches \u2014 and plans call for a First National Bank branch on the site. Earlier this year, Bubba\u2019s Barbecue, arguably the city\u2019s last old-school Eastern North Carolina-style chopped pork holdout, served its final plates.<\/p>\n

Got a favorite vanished pit stop? Heidi wants the story behind it.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc8c Share your memories with Heidi here<\/a> or email charlottefive@charlottefive.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Good news for budget pie chasers: a medium cheese pizza runs an average of $14.50 in Charlotte, making the Queen City the second-cheapest spot in the country to grab a slice, according to NetCredit\u2019s 2026 U.S. Pizza Index<\/a>. Raleigh also cracked the Top 10 at No. 9.<\/p>\n

Tanasia explained the report, which broke down chain prices too: Little Caesars came in cheapest at $10.27 for a medium cheese, while Chuck E. Cheese topped the list at $20.23. San Diego ($20.76) was the priciest city overall. Want local picks instead? Pizza Baby made the nation\u2019s Top 50 again at No. 41, and Zepeddie\u2019s Pizzeria in LoSo recently earned an 8.7 out of 10 from a father-son taste-test crew.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\uddde\ufe0f Read Tanasia\u2019s full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

L\u2019Ostrica in Madison Park now offers a six-course tasting menu on Wednesdays and Thursdays with two to three choices per course, plus an expanded \u00e0 la carte menu at the bar. Tasting menu guests can add \u00e0 la carte dishes too. Look for starters like oysters and meatballs, then pastas and entr\u00e9es featuring halibut, sugar-smoked duck breast and prime rib-eye deckle.<\/p>\n

Friday and Saturday stay tasting-menu-only in the dining room. Sora in Myers Park made a similar move recently, opening up \u00e0 la carte options alongside its French-Asian tasting experience.<\/p>\n

Read more Charlotte region adds budget, nonstop flights to Indianapolis, Cleveland<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccd L\u2019Ostrica is at 4701 Park Rd<\/a>; Sora is at 2907 Selwyn Ave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf7d\ufe0f Get the full scoop from Heidi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dilworth, Plaza Midwood, NoDa \u2014 the answer depends on who you ask. In the 1970s through the \u201990s, Plaza Midwood came closest, with gay bars, bookshops and bathhouses clustered nearby, longtime resident Ralph Martin told Jeff. Conservative policies and gentrification scattered those spaces over time.<\/p>\n

Today the community is dispersed across the city, and Charlotte hasn\u2019t had a dedicated LGBTQ center since one closed in 2014.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf08 Read Jeff\u2019s full story.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ali found herself in a roomful of reporters interviewing a golfer who doesn\u2019t exist. At the World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, Will Ferrell stayed fully in character as Lonnie Hawkins, the fictional washed-up golf legend at the center of Netflix\u2019s upcoming comedy \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d The bit included a mock Hall of Fame induction and a press conference where everyone in the room agreed to play along.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5 Read Th\u00e9oden\u2019s full account.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRehydration and recovery, especially in the Charlotte weather, is really key,\u201d \u2014 Charlotte FC Team Dining Manager John Major, on taking care of Scotland\u2019s World Cup soccer team<\/a> with drinks including electrolyte-packed nonalcoholic pi\u00f1a coladas.<\/p>\n

Get food news, restaurant openings, hidden gems and Charlotte intel in your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the free CharlotteFive newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists. To learn more about how The Charlotte Observer is using AI in our newsroom, see our policy here<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Eddie Knox, mayor who led Charlotte through a different era of growth, dies at 89<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A hidden Dominican comedor inside Compare Foods, L'Ostrica's new tasting menu and Charlotte's cheap pizza ranking lead today's CharlotteFive food roundup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nA hidden Dominican deli, cheap pizza and Charlotte's lost BBQ joints - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2011\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A hidden Dominican deli, cheap pizza and Charlotte's lost BBQ joints - 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