Bits and crumbs

Travel + Leisure named Halcyon at the uptown Mint in its March story about museum restaurants with "artful food and design," saying, "Don’t be surprised if your server shares exactly which farm provided the ingredients for the day’s menu specialties. Halcyon’s design brings the outside in with lovely touches like a chandelier made from twigs and a trickling stone fountain. Adventurous eaters can add crispy pig ears to salads and pasta or enjoy a tour de force spice-lacquered duck ..."

The Showmars at 2601 Freedom Drive, with a grant from the city of Charlotte, put in energy conservation measures as it was renovating its building; it's added energy-efficient windows, replaced lighting with LED and updated its air conditioning to be more efficient, along with adding a dozen new dining spaces, revamping the kitchen and adding a stone face on the exterior.