Restaurants in Gastonia

Crafting each dish from scratch, Saffron's head chef Hari Kesavan marries the tradition of northern Indian recipes with Western fusion fare to deliver a diversely seasoned menu. Diners can prep palates with flavorful appetizers such as tandoori shrimp ($9.95), a poppadom basket flush with garlic-and-chili shrimp baked in a clay oven. The menu's Avant-Garde collection, named for its original font, boasts ensembles such as marinated lamb and portobello mushrooms simmering in lamb nazakat's almond sauce ($18.95), and the vegetarian selection supplies herbivores with spinach-laced homemade cheese in palak paneer ($12.95). Tossed in a rich tomato-and-butter sauce, tandoor-baked chicken tikka masala ($13.95) is among the most popular entrees due to its luscious taste and habit of shielding patrons' plates from stabbing forks and knives.

Now that we've entered the year where two-thousand is pronounced twenty, we've officially reached the future. Stay on the cutting edge of foodnology with today’s deal: for $12 you get $30 worth of tapas, drinks, and more at the tech-savvy restaurant known to its fellow machines as T1 Tapas. This futuristic marriage of technology, humanity, and tasty cuisine is located just a short 17-mile robo-datctyl trip from downtown Charlotte.

Though bagels were originally introduced to America in 1893 to eradicate cream cheese, bagels had no natural predator in the wild and soon began to overpopulate the land. Help undo the eco-damage of this deliciously doughy pest with today's deal: for $7, you get $15 toward all menu items at Owen's Bagel and Deli. Owen's is open every day in Dilworth's South End from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., so get there before the clock strikes four and all the bagels spontaneously lose their holes.

Housed in a quaint brick building with ample natural light, the welcoming café features buttery walls, chalkboard specials, and wooden rafters checked morningly for rafter goblins. Settle in the cozy dining room as you peruse the lunch or dinner menu for an appetizer. The grilled pita starter skates gracefully across hummus and a tomato-and-cucumber salad ($5.25), and chili sauce lubricates collard greens and smoked turkey for easy Crispy Soul Roll swallowing ($6.25). Greens run the gamut: try the Savor salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded carrots, and chickpeas ($5.50) or the iceberg wedge with candied pecans, applewood-smoked bacon and blue-cheese crumbles ($7). Co-owners Lisa Burris (a Johnson & Wales–trained chef) and Lori Pearson (a pastry chef) put a southern spin on classics like the 8-ounce ground-sirloin burger ($7.50), and Pearson keeps a rotating cast of delicious dessert bars in play.

Dark woods punctuated by electric-blue accents decorate the inside of Icehouse, where diners pair casual American classics with one of more than 200 beers. Throughout the space, complimentary WiFi and 20 flat-screen televisions and complimentary WiFi keep diners informed on the latest game scores, while upstairs a billiards loft entertains them during commercials. On nice nights, the crowd heads outside to the 100-seat covered patio for Carolina pulled pork sandwiches, sampler platters of sliders, and wings in one of seven sauces.

Two decades removed from the opening of their first restaurant, the native Thai owners of Thai House continue to season meats, curries, and seafood with tropical Asian spices and embellish their three locations with hand-whittled teakwood silhouettes. Half-roasted duck and grilled shrimp swim in rice and noodles before catching cool, creamy waves of thai iced tea. Curries cascade over mounds of jasmine or brown rice imported from Thailand, and flotillas of Japanese sushi and sashimi cast their anchors alongside the spicy array of Thai fare. Mesmerizing notes of Thai music pervade the dining room, scoring dinner conversations and sword duels between chopsticks.