The Goodyear House in Noda is what made me revive this site. Too many restaurants in Charlotte get a tremendous amount of hype, they look great inside, but you are left with an underwhelming experience. And an equal number of times I want to vent about this situation. Tis the case with this restaurant. The Goodyear House in Charlotte is like watching an episode of Law and Order. You forget about it as soon as it is done; there are 1000 other places like it, all equally boring. The memory of the night returns when you pick up your wallet and you feel how much lighter it is (or more likely you look at your bank account online, this isn’t 1993).
Is the Goodyear House worth the money? You probably can guess the answer is no, the food and experience were subpar at best. The restaurant is quintessentially Charlotte, boring, forgettable, and expensive. Yet talked up like it is the best thing since sliced bread. Note to self: stop getting ideas from Axios Charlotte.
First Impressions
We wanted a burger, the so-called Goopy burger was ranked as one of the best, so why not give it a try? Walking into the place it is very nice, although it seems more geared toward drinkers than eaters. I had been to the back bar at a different time, and there was a good vibe. The dining area was a little cramped, but still a nice atmosphere. So far so good. Granted, I wasn’t walking into the Ritz, but it was not a dive bar either. It is nice in that Charlotte (younger) Millennial sort of way.
Now I might add on my experience before entering the restaurant, but I guess I can’t really blame the Goodyear House for this. Or can I? There is no parking in Noda; you would think I was about to go on Thunder Mountain with the crowds in this area, it was ridiculous. Even more so for the middle of the week, a Wednesday to be exact. I ended up paying $9 to park, which should be the cost of the whole burger. Still let me concentrate on what the restaurant can control.
The Experience
I will lump both food and service in here. This is where things start to go off the rails. As mentioned, we were looking for the best burger in Charlotte and that prostitute of a publication, Axios Charlotte. had this on their list. Our first choice The Stanley, treats their burger like the Ring from L.O.T.R, (more on that in future posts) so we settled on the Goodyear House in Noda. The bread comes out and I immediatly am disappointed, it was cold and basic. I never understood bringing out bad bread; why start everyone off on the wrong foot?
I brushed it off, we weren’t there for bread… we were there for burgers…those goopy burgers. God what a stupid name. I should know any food with the word goopy in it will disappoint. As mentioned, according to “reliable” sources the Goodyear House in Noda is supposed to have one of the best burgers in town. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. To begin with, we wait a long time for these burgers, not usually a good sign. Finally, after a second ice age the burgers arrive.
As per typical Charlotte fashion, they were stone cold. This is such a repeating theme is Charlotte restaurants and it happens more times than not, luke warm food, but this was worse. They did not even pretend to have heated these. We weren’t having any of it. Back to the kitchen they went, hoping the second time was the charm. All I can say is at least it was warm on round 2.
The Burger at the Goodyear House in Charlotte
The burger itself was that generic, thin patty that one can find a dime a dozen in this town. If I were to rank them it would be from fair to bad. The sauce was overpowering, somewhat spicy, just not my cup of tea. You can tell that sauce was the whole schtick of the burger. We also got fries which would have been unforgettable had it not been for the blond hair I found in it. Hairy fries and cold burgers… yes you deserve every bit of that 4.5 on Google. In addition, a cauliflower was ordered; it was pretty good with what tasted like Indian spices. Not a huge portion, but it is only a side.
I will say the service was fine. The people were nice, and apologetic about the coldness of our burger. It was a bit slow, but these days what isn’t? I never want to give a place a negative review without at least recognizing that the people who work the table did a good job.
The Dessert
So of course, we are offered free desserts, one each. I almost never eat dessert, but it was free. The biggest risk was a second helping of fur in my mouth. We were able to get three, which was fortunate because there were exactly three on the menu. Banana Pudding, a cookie (or more accurately a frozen solid moon pie that almost broke my tooth) and some sort of crumble.
As expected, they were not very good. The banana pudding was the best of the three, but I would never order it again. The cookie was almost a joke, more of a weapon than a dessert. I thought they served it to us because they were angry we complained about the burger. The crumble thing left a terrible taste in my mouth, take away from that what you will. As a side, who doesn’t have at least one chocolate option on the menu?
The Expense
Three Drinks each (one extra each because they had to remake our burgers), some cauliflower and some fries…what was the final verdict? Well almost $200 of course. Actually, more, I did leave a tip. It is an insult, to pay steak prices for a burger. Yes, everything was priced out on the menu, but one hardly looks at it when just ordering burgers. The cauliflower was the most ridiculous item at $14. It was a small side, and for the life of me I cannot understand that price? Nothing was great, I am generous to call it average, yet I am dishing out over $200. I know, I know supply chain, Covid, Russia, or whatever other Bullshit you can muster.
I am sick of being ripped off in this city. These restaurant groups love to give you generic food for inflated prices. They then pay Axios Charlotte to pump them up and get a bunch of people from the far corners of nowhere to write great reviews on Google. It happens over and over, and maybe it is time to change. We need standards in this city.
Final Thoughts on The Goodyear House in Noda
You can always judge a meal by how you feel after you leave. The Goodyear house in Noda had me feeling I just watched a rerun of the Simpsons I saw a thousand times (a Lisa Episode). As you might be piecing together, I was not very fond of this establishment. Although I do not really blame them at this point. They are following a formula. A formula that until challenged will be continued to be followed. Make a place look great, give it a good buzz, then overcharge people that really lost their mind when it comes to eating. I don’t think I will ever be back to the Goodyear house in Noda, not even for drinks. There are too many bad memories.
Maybe I am just being overly critical because I was rejected by The Stanley earlier that day. It could have also been the string of bad meals I had that day and really since. You think I would choose a less frustrating (and) cheaper hobby then a food blogger in Charlotte. Since I am a masochist, I will continue writing, eating $14 burgers and hating myself for it.