Further out Central

Vietnamese coffee after a large bowl of pho.

As a teenager in the 1970's we liked to drive to Charlotte to Eastland Mall to go to the midnight movies. Eastland Mall at that time essentially anchored a longstanding middle class predominantly white neighborhood in East Charlotte. Upscale apartment complexes had sprung up catering to the 20 somethings who were beginning to be attracted to the city in the late 1970's. However, ultimately thirty years later Eastland Mall is all but closed and East Charlotte has transformed into a multi-ethnic enclave primarily consisting of apartment complexes filled with Mexicans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Chinese, Vietnamese and the mainstay as the low man on the ladder, African-Americans. Though the neighborhoods are clearly poor and somewhat dangerous depending on the place and time of day, they have a flavor not really seen elsewhere in the Carolinas. There are numerous restaurants serving all of the ethnicities. And, if you are suburbanites who like to experience the real food of our many immigrants, Central Avenue can be a wonderland. Tonight we enjoyed a pho meal at Ben Thanh at 4900 Central Avenue. Other restaurants we enjoy out this way on Central are Dim Sum, serving, of course, dim sum as well as Pho Hoa, another Vietnamese place and the Landmark, a Greek owned place serving traditional American food like Italian (okay, that's supposed to be joke) and fantastic homemade desserts. Tonight, as we sat at the restaurant, we watched the locals as they struggled to cross busy Central Avenue to get their groceries or some takeout. We noticed how many people were walking everywhere, probably because not as many own cars as they do where we come from. After eating, we walked to the nearby strip center and visited Cedars, a middle eastern store. Here, I bought some lentils and some Moroccan sardines in olive oil. There were about seven five gallon buckets filled with olives at the front of the store and we brought some of those home also. We are fortunate to have such a place to go and experience other cultures. This type of change is not without controversy as it has certainly changed the way of life for long time residents of the area. Ultimately, however, a certain amount of acceptance allows one to witness and absorb from the various cultures and to perhaps be more open to other concepts about how life can be lived.