511 N. Church Street
Charlotte, NC 28202

By Tom Crosby

(April 2008) Some people whisper it is Charlotte's best kept dining secret.

Others proudly claim it's the Queen City's most unique fine dining restaurant.

Historians call the McNinch House at 511 Church Street one of the city's oldest residential dwellings - a throwback to the days when Charlotte was a small, sleepy Southern town, with homes downtown instead of high-rise office buildings and condos.

Despite being buffeted by aggressive development nearby and investors who want to tear the house down for yet another concrete and steel high-rise, the Queen-Anne Victorian-style McNinch House continues to survive after more than 110 years.

Five nights a week (Tues.-Sat.) the McNinch House opens its antique style wooden front door with the frosted glass panes and becomes a AAA Four Diamond-rated restaurant with first-floor dining and reception rooms full of antiques and tables set with authentic Victorian cutlery, colored crystal wine glasses and fine china.

To those who have eaten there and know the history, the McNinch House remains embedded in their memory, a Charlotte treasure, lovingly restored over the past two decades by Davis to earn a place today on Mecklenburg County's and the National Register's list of historic places.

Built in 1892, the house was home to three generations of McNinch's, including Sam S. McNinch, Charlotte's mayor in the early 1900's, his son (Sam the second) who went to Davidson with future President Woodrow Wilson, and his son (Sam the third) who was on the Charlotte school board when the city's schools were first integrated.

Davis, who grew up in the old Hickory Grove area, purchased the house in 1978, opening it as a reservations-only, fine dining restaurant in 1989.

The rest, as they say, is history, with the restaurant winning its first AAA Four Diamond rating in 1998. Davis, who lives upstairs, plans on opening a one-suite bed and breakfast in the future.

"I think it would be fun," said Davis, who was a pioneering Charlotte street vendor in the 1980's selling lemonade and chocolate chip cookies from a stand on South Tryon Street - an activity she credits with helping her to learn the basics of customer service. "Whatever people said they wanted, I would have for sale the next day," she remembers.

McNinch House diners, who are urged to call for a reservation a few days in advance to assure a seating, get to choose from a limited list of entrees, usually six, and the three-and-a-half hour meal is prix fixe at $89 each, plus extra for cocktails and tip. Reservations can be left on voice mail 24 hours a day. The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday.

Executive chef Chris Coleman, who began working with Davis five years ago, makes everything from scratch. Entree choices, along with the rest of the menu, change with the seasons, but always includes the Roasted Rack of Lamb with a fresh Rosemary and Dijon mustard crust (the signature dish of the McNinch House). Other popular dishes include Duck Breast and Duck confit served with caramelized Oranges and a Raspberry-Port sauce, Tenderloin of Venison with Shiitake mushrooms and port, Pancetta-wrapped wild-caught North Carolina Grouper served with Sweet Potato Ravioli, or grass-fed petit Filet Mignon with braised Beef short ribs.

Seven servings accompany the meal and lucky diners enjoy a small canape then are presented as the first plate Ellen's signature crab cakes with a remoulade sauce, with nary a crab shell to be found in a pair of silver dollar-sized cakes with generous portions of crab meat, not breading. Other chef-created appetizers are just as delicious, but the crab cakes are the "ultimate" McNinch House opener.

Next, the soup: corn chowder, mushroom and wild rice, or the staff favorite, potato and green apple bisque, is a house specialty always served hot, but not scalding - a perfect temperature to eat immediately. Soups are accompanied by a hand-made corn muffin.

The salad consists of slivered green and white asparagus in a house-made curry-chutney dressing, topped with watercress and garnished with Ellen's edible flowers from her garden.

The salad is followed by a sorbet, then the entree, a cheese course and dessert.
Entree vegetables sampled at one meal were al dente - perfect - crunchy but cooked; the same as the carrots. The mashed potatoes, however, melted in your mouth.

Accompanying it all are appropriate pourings of wine by the glass that have been carefully selected by Wine Steward Anthony Wesley to match the courses served.

Diners will find the house between W. 8th and 9th Streets on Church Street, across the street from the rear of a six-story church and next to a seven-story luxury apartment house under construction called Frederick Place. There is a gray two-story on the other side, which is used as an office building by an architectural firm.

Cedar shake siding distinguishes the three-story dwelling, along with a pair of gables and Victorian-style, porthole windows. A thigh-high wrought-iron fence rims the yard, which includes in-season blooming plants and flowers.

The driveway on the house's left serves as the valet's provence, with one of the soon-to-be-your waiters emerging from the house to park the car in the lot behind the house. Wicker furniture decorates the white-columned, L-shaped wooden porch, including a swing.

Once through the door into the foyer with its pink brocaded wallpaper, you notice an oak staircase on the right that leads to the private second and third floors. A stuffed chair, antique bureau and a guest book full of praiseworthy comments complete the decorations. On one wall is a photograph of Miss Mattie McNinch at 17 years of age, the daughter of the original S. S. McNinch.

Ellen greets you here, leading you on a tour of the Dining Room, including the Wine Bar, where guests can relax with their favorite beverage before dinner. Soft classical music wafts from hidden speakers, setting the evening's mood.

The sitting room has two couches, in addition to the bar seating, but Ellen's prize possession is an antique mirror she purchased in Charlotte's Fourth Ward that is rimmed with meticulously carved wood and shows the aging of the silver in the reflection. Eleven AAA Four Diamond award plates grace one wall.

The room resonates with a feeling of the turn of the last century, with original hand-blown windows, crystal chandeliers and woodwork including the oak wainscotting. Magenta walls and a gold ceiling surround the bar. Other pieces of interest are a buffet that belonged to the McNinch family, a green-tiled fireplace with a subtle Greek influence to it and wall portraits of Victorian women.

Each of the five original downstairs fireplaces are configured differently, each surrounded by tiles of different colors and geometric shapes. While they all once worked, the fire department has requested they not be used because as, Davis said, "This is probably the one of the best and oldest houses in Mecklenburg County. They - and I - don't want to lose it."

The dining rooms tour begins with the library, where marvelous carved oak wood coffers serve as the vaulted ceiling. Five tables for two and a table for four view a green, flowered wallpaper pattern. Another fireplace serves as a central decorating spot, with original wall sconce lights on each side and a matching original central overhead light fixture.

Between November and January, this room - as well as the others - generates Christmas cheer with a tree decorated with Victorian ornaments and other festive decorations that make dining during the holiday memorable.

With a single group reserving the restaurant, 40 diners can be accommodated; generally the occupancy is 25 diners.

Sliding oak-panel pocketdoors separate the library from the next dining area, the green room, thought to have once been a music room or conservatory. An eye-catching gold mirror on the wall is from the former Hotel Selwyn (now a Marriott). Gold curtains hang from the three windows and a single large table can be set to serve 12.

Antique crystals, fine china and authentic silverware are used on all tables, however, the settings for each table are different. On one table there may be lavender cut crystal water glasses, another table may find deep blue crystal glasses.

A collector of Victorian glasses, Davis buys them in a minimum group of four so everyone at a single table has the same items but no table's placeware is the same.

A typical table setting includes a water glass and three wine glasses per diner, an appetizer and regular fork, salt and pepper shakers, butter plate and knife, dinner knife, coffee spoon and soup spoon. The cloth napkin sits in a napkin holder on the dinner plate and a lit candle burns in a clear, small snifter glass. A bubble vase contains fresh-cut flowers and the three butter balls come with a flower garnish.

Brocade linen provides an overlay to a second linen table covering underneath. During the course of the evening, a total of 52 different items per guest will be used.

The final dining room is in front with five windows, including a bay window, which is the most romantic table for two in a romantic restaurant. Here's a tip you can use: the McNinch House usually seats the first couple to arrive at this table, unless a special reservation is made.

Thick oriental rugs are scattered about on the darkened pinewood floors in all of the public rooms.

Like all AAA-rated Four Diamond restaurants, table service is flawless, with Chef Chris Coleman and his staff doing the cooking and Corey Cochran, Dining Room Manager, waiting on tables with a waitstaff of four.

The experienced Cochran and assistants he has trained over the years maintain a rhythm and pace that keeps wine glasses full and food served hot during the entire evening. (Reservations are often purposely spaced to make sure service remains flawless).

"It's like a Broadway show," said Davis. "When the bell rings, everyone takes their place, everyone knows what to do, and the curtain comes up."

Images provided by Wanda Burton.