Eden Eats: Charlotte
Eden is ready to see whom she can meet and what international dishes she can eat as she travels around Charlotte, North Carolina, to uncover the hidden global food scene on Cooking Channel's Eden Eats.
Chow Down in Charlotte
Charlotte is known for its barbecue, apple pie and NASCAR, but it's also one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.
Charlotte Starlet
Eden has 24 hours to taste the world there.
Taste of Taiwan
Her trip begins at the 30,000-square-foot Asian grocery store, Grand Asia Market, selling food from all over the world.
Afternoon Snack
Eden enjoys a perfect midday pick-me-up a pickle sandwich and a milk bubble tea while she learns about Taiwanese culture.
Get the Recipe: Taiwanese Bubble Tea
Taiwanese Pickle Sandwich
Pickled mustard greens are cooked with sugar and sandwiched into a panko-crumb-coated, deep-fried roll for a crunchy, doughy, sweet and tangy treat.
Get the Recipe: Taiwanese Pickle Sandwich
Kingston Culture
At 8 pm, Eden swings by Caribbean Hut where you can catch owner Trevor and his friends at a rowdy game of dominoes or hear local Jamaican musician Nate Brown on the steel drums.
Irish Moss
Trevor assures Eden that the Irish moss seaweed he uses to make a thick eggnog-like drink is good for a man's virility.
Tin Mackerel and Boiled Dumplings
Trevor's childhood favorite, Tin Mackerel and Dumplings, is not listed on his menu, but he'll happily cook some up for anyone who knows to ask.
Get the Recipe: Tin Mackerel and Boiled Dumplings
Serbian Sustenance
At 1 am, while most of the city sleeps, Eden arrives at Nova's Bakery to check out their old European bread-making methods.
Master Baker
Vlado calls his bread "ten-touch" because his artesian process requires each handmade loaf to go through 10 steps before customers can bring it home.
Baked Beauties
The delicious bread is all-natural with no additives or preservatives, so it must be eaten while still fresh.
Breakfast in Venezuela
At 8 am, Eden arrives at Antojitos Mi Colombia Bakery to sample their Venezuelan-style arepas.
Eyeing an Arepa
To make the dough, corn flour is added to cold water until it's reached a consistency such that it can be picked up in one piece and molded into flattened discs.
Arepas Reina Pepiada
Shredded chicken and avocados are mixed into a delicious filling for these arepas whose name means "sexy queen."
Get the Recipe: Arepas Reina Pepiada
Lunch in Korea
The Korean population of Charlotte has tripled to 6,000 in the past decade. The restaurant and market PePeRo offers a true family business. PePeRo restaurant and grocery dishes out home-cooked Korean fare and sells hard-to-find Asian foodstuffs.
Sticking Together Like Rice
Eden learns the amazing technique and equipment used to make handmade ddeok, or rice cakes.
Kimchi Jjigae
Many Korean restaurants buy their kimchi (spicy fermented vegetables) and ddeok ready-made from large wholesalers, but the Yoo family keeps with tradition and prepares everything from scratch.
Get the Recipe: Kimchi Jjigae
Snacktime in India
A real hidden gem, the restaurant Bollywood Bites showcases the tastiest Indian "chaat," or street food, around Charlotte.
Bollywood Bite
The owner, Hetal, comes from the largely vegetarian western state of Gujarat, close to Bombay (Mumbai). She serves vegetarian and vegan food prepared in the style of her homeland.
Daabeli
Hetal's classic Daabeli sandwiches are made with mashed potatoes and lots of savory spices.
Get the Recipe: Daabeli
Ciao, Charlotte's Chow
Eden's 24 hours are up. She's met great people and eaten amazing food. Now she's full and exhausted. Hopefully, this bread can double as a bed.