{"id":3008,"date":"2026-07-08T18:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T18:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3008"},"modified":"2026-07-08T18:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T18:06:12","slug":"were-searching-out-charlottes-spiciest-food-looking-for-travel-stops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3008","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019re searching out Charlotte\u2019s spiciest food, looking for travel stops"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Wednesday, Charlotte!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s CharlotteFive newsletter<\/a> centers on Evan\u2019s hunt for the city\u2019s spiciest dish, spurred along by plenty of thoughts from eaters all over the area. Here\u2019s a quick look at what readers are talking about.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more Why is Charlotte called the \u2018Queen City\u2019? What to know about its royal namesake<\/a><\/p>\n

Evan\u2019s search for Charlotte\u2019s spiciest food landed him at Curry Gate II on South Boulevard, where a chicken curry ordered at spice level 10 delivered lingering heat. But it fell short of the punishing burn of Carolina Reaper hot sauce, he wrote after testing out Reddit recommendations.<\/p>\n

The Carolina Reaper, developed by Ed Currie of PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, once held the Guinness World Records title as the world\u2019s hottest pepper, with heat topping 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units compared with 2,500 to 8,000 for jalapenos, as detailed in the spicy food search. Now, Currie\u2019s Pepper X take that title. But what Charlotte foods pack that kind of punch?<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf2 Can you help Evan out?<\/a><\/p>\n

The Outer Banks ranked 10th overall among the top islands in the Continental U.S. with a score of 82.51 in this week\u2019s Travel + Leisure\u2019s 2026 World\u2019s Best Awards, making it the only North Carolina locale on the list that drew 661,000 reader votes.<\/p>\n

The Outer Banks is known for serene waterfronts, wildlife and historical attractions, including Jockey\u2019s Ridge State Park, home to the tallest living sand dune system on the Atlantic Coast, as highlighted in the travel rankings.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcd6 Read Tanasia\u2019s full story.<\/a><\/p>\n

Skylight Inn in Ayden, about 90 minutes east of Raleigh, was named one of America\u2019s best affordable barbecue spots by budget travel site Cheapism. Founded in 1947 and run by three generations of the Jones family, it specializes in whole hog barbecue cooked over wood coals.<\/p>\n

Read more Beloved \u2018gathering space\u2019 being torn down in Great Smoky Mountains, park says<\/a><\/p>\n

The most popular item at Skylight Inn \u2014 a tray of chopped pork, slaw and cornbread \u2014 starts at $9.50, and the restaurant has earned a James Beard American Classics award, as noted in the Cheapism recognition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude99 Wanna go? Check out Drew\u2019s story.<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow along for daily food and drink coverage, plus things to do, on Instagram (@cltfive)<\/a>, Threads (@cltfive)<\/a>, TikTok (@cltfive)<\/a> and Bluesky (@charlottefive.com)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want this kind of news landing in your inbox every day? \u2709\ufe0f Sign up for the free CharlotteFive newsletter here<\/a> to stay up to date on the latest restaurant openings and closings, Charlotte\u2019s dining scene, reader polls and more.<\/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 NC auditor reassigns Dallas Woodhouse after controversy over early voting plans<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Charlotte reporter hunts for the city's spiciest dish, plus the Outer Banks and Skylight Inn earn national recognition in today's CharlotteFive recap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWe\u2019re searching out Charlotte\u2019s spiciest food, looking for travel stops - \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=3008\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We\u2019re searching out Charlotte\u2019s spiciest food, looking for travel stops - 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