We’re huge fans of Instagram here at StyleBlueprint Charlotte. We wake up each morning and love scrolling through tons of new posts — yes, we know it’s not a great habit to have, but we all have our vices, right?! While there are tons of intriguing photos shared each day, the ones that really make us stop and stare are usually pictures of food. The typical play-by-play of thoughts goes a little something like this — “YUM! Want that. Where is it from? Definitely need to go there. Note to self: don’t forget to go there. Seriously, don’t forget. Will probably forget. Oh just take a screenshot to make sure you remember.”
All jokes aside — we’ve noticed there are some local Instagram accounts that just continuously stand out above the rest when it comes to drool-worthy pictures. Some belong to restaurants that do a great job photographing their food-laden dishes, others are bartenders that really know how to show off their craft cocktails and then there’s your everyday person who just likes to eat great food and take amazing pictures. Here are six foodie accounts that are so good we feel gluttonous just looking at them.
Suarez Bakery — @suarezbakery
Suarez Bakery’s sweets never disappoint and neither does their Instagram account. It really and truly is the most aesthetically pleasing feed out there. All of their pictures are crisp, colorful and most importantly they make us want to get in the car and drive over to Park Road Shopping Center to eat whatever Suarez is baking. You’ll see everything from their popular iced sugar cookies to wedding cakes and King Cakes across their account. They even set an Instagram trend with their alphabet and numerical shaped doughnuts, which have been such a hit on social media you’ll see them used on several other QC foodie accounts. We really like seeing some of the behind-the-scenes shots of their pastry chefs decorating their beautiful cakes and icing the cookies.
The popular numerical doughnuts are fun! Image: @suarezbakery
A little behind-the-scenes frosting at the bakery | Image: @suarezbakery
Marble iced cookies | Image: @suarezbakery
Midwood Pies — @midwoodpies
There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t check to see what Midwood Pies has cooked up on their Instagram account. One look and we’re daydreaming the rest of the day about taking a bite out of one of their homemade pies — they always seem to have the perfect thick and flaky crust with just the right amount of creamy filling. HELLO peanut butter and chocolate pie! Even if you aren’t a pie person (WHAT!? Blasphemy!), you’ll be able to appreciate Midwood’s knack for styling each Insta picture perfectly — we’ve picked up quite a few tips for taking better food photos from following their feed. Somehow they always manage to come up with creative and unique ways to showcase all of their pies — which can’t be easy when you’re always using the same subject.
SB TIP: While Midwood Pies is usually a bake-to-order shop, if you follow their Instagram account they’ll post to let you know when they set up special pop-up shops to sell slices around town.
Our biggest question is which one to take a bite of first? Image: @midwoodpies
Our baking never looks this pretty or neat! Image: @midwoodpies
Eat Life to the Fullest — @eatlifetothefullest
The person behind Eat Life to the Fullest knows what’s up, as evidenced by the more than 20,000 Instagrammers who follow the account. You’ll see a wide variety of scrumptious food from lots of different types of restaurants all over Charlotte — we’ve found out about quite a few new places and impressive dishes just from following the feed. We also like that Eat Life shares incredible pictures from other foodie accounts that have led us to other yummy gems like The Green Egg Effect — who is based in Georgia, but definitely worth checking out.
SB TIP: We’ll go ahead and warn you — don’t follow this account if you’re on a diet, because it’s full of juicy burgers, nachos and all things delicious.
Tacos from Tin Kitchen have never looked better! Image: @eatlifetothefullest
BBQ chicken pizza from Heist Brewing | Image: @eatlifetothefullest
Haberdish — @haberdish
If you aren’t immediately sold by the perfectly fried chicken pictures then forget it — we don’t know what else to tell ya. The new NoDa restaurant’s Instagram account is loaded with hearty plates of down-home Southern food we love, including smoked deviled eggs, chicken and waffles, tater tots and okra. Let’s not forget about desserts, if you weren’t already drooling — picture lemon meringue pie with a graham cracker crust or a chocolate pound cake covered in buttermilk ice cream with caramel and pecans on top. How ’bout now? That’s just a taste of what you can expect from the restaurant’s feed.
We wouldn’t mind digging into a plate of these waffles every morning. Image: @haberdish
A shot of the perfectly fried chicken we mentioned — YUM! Image: @haberdish
This Wild Season — @thiswildseason
We stumbled upon This Wild Season’s Instagram account by total accident and we’re certainly glad we did! The account is run by Asharae Kroll, a local Charlotte food blogger and photographer — and we have to say her pictures are absolutely incredible. Photo subjects range from meals at QC restaurants to some of her own homemade recipes (she shares full recipes on her blog). Her account really inspires us to cook — okay, maybe we won’t go that far, but it definitely makes us at least consider it.
Side note: It was really hard just to pick a few of Asharae’s photos to share.
We’ll take a piece of this any day. Image: @thiswildseason
One of each, please! Image: @thiswildseason
Try not to crave a brownie, we dare you … Image: @thiswildseason
Bucket List Tummy RD — @thebucketlisttummy_rd
We know, we know, the name sounds like anything but an Instagram account dedicated to food — but hear us out. Bucket List Tummy is run by a registered dietitian who loves food. Sarah gets that you can’t be strict 100% of the time, so you’ll see a feed full of delicious meals like avocado cheddar biscuits from Sunflour Baking Company, popovers from Kindred, pizza and wine — but she also has plenty of healthy meals and recipes that look pretty appealing. There a lots of delicious snack ideas too! We even found out about The Scone Shop, a local bakery that makes ready-to-bake homemade scones, from her account and can’t to see what else we’ll discover.
A colorful butternut squash salad | Image: @thebucketlisttummy_rd
Tomato soup and toast for lunch | Image: @thebucketlisttummy_rd
One of the many dessert recipes you’ll find on BucketListTummy’s Instagram feed | Image: @thebucketlisttummy_rd
What’s your favorite Charlotte food account to follow? E-mail us at [email protected] and let us know.
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