A seasonal must-try at Zebra's is the Lobster Waldorf salad. Thin, sliced pears surround sweet, cold butter-poached lobster. An anise infused crème fraiche finishes off the plate.

ZEBRA RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR Location: 4521 Sharon Road in the Wall Street Capitol Building Phone: 704-442-9525 Details: In-season patio dining, special wine dinners, private dining areas, on and off premise catering services, award-winning wine list, separate bar area, takeout. Prices: Breakfast and lunch prices range from $1.95-$16. Dinner entrées range from $18-$29. Hours: Breakfast: Monday-Friday, 7-9:30 a.m. Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner: Monday-Saturday, 5:30 p.m. until. Closed Sunday.

Award-winning menu, award-winning wine list, award-winning restaurant. Zebra Restaurant and Wine Bar in SouthPark is undoubtedly one of the brightest stars in Charlotte's cosmos of wining and dining. There are no gray areas here; the black and white of it all is that restaurateurs Pete Pappas and Jim Alexander have created the success that is Zebra.

Alexander is a graduate of the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, N.Y. Prior to venturing out on his own with Pappas, he was Myers Park Country Club's executive chef for 10 years.

Pappas has been involved in Charlotte's culinary circles for most of his adult life. First working at The Epicurean, formally located on East Boulevard, he later joined his brother at Park Lanes bowling alley where Pappas ran a "meat and three" (the Southern term for a meat entree and three side dishes), serving up burgers, hot dogs, fries and onion rings. Next, there was a breakfast and lunch bar at the Café at 6100 Fairview Building in SouthPark, and in the 1990s Pappas owned and operated The Pine Room in the old IJL Building Uptown.

As Charlotte grew, Pappas was ready to open an upscale SouthPark dining spot. About the same time, Alexander was ready to leave the country club and start his own venture.

The two teamed up, and Zebra was born Sept. 14, 2001. Located in the Wall Street Capitol Building on Sharon Road across from SouthPark mall, Zebra boasts rich interiors, fireplaces, private dining rooms and one of South Charlotte's most beautiful patios.

Zebra serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with a menu centered around Alexander's forte - contemporary French cuisine. The offerings are spectacular - veritable works of art on every plate with attention to detail. The cuisine is simple, yet elegant. Breakfast and lunch menus feature reasonably priced standards, as well as house specialties. At dinner, food gets a bit fancier, but the atmosphere remains comfortable and inviting. From appetizers to desserts, the color and beauty of the food shine through and open the door for a mouthful of rich, wonderful flavor.

When I first ate at Zebra, I was blown away by the selection of foie gras on the menu. But this time it was the lobster dishes that caught my attention.

RATING SCALE Excellent, a must try. Above average, worth consideration. Average, but nothing spectacular. Just okay. Poor, not recommended.

Lobsters arrive in the Zebra kitchen fresh and whole and are then cooked to order. The results are sweet and tender and of melt-in-your-mouth proportion.

Currently, the Lobster Waldorf salad in shaved pear is a dinner selection that shouldn't be missed. An original creation of Alexander's, it's a takeoff of a traditional Waldorf salad with one of the most creative presentations I have seen. Chunks of chilled lobster tail and claw meat are placed in the center of a "crepe" made out of shaved slices of pear, then topped with additional lobster claw meat, garnished with sugar-roasted pecans, red currants, and apricots and lightly dressed with an anise infused crème fraiche.

At lunch, enjoy lobster salad in a slightly different guise, served tossed with a light rémoulade dressing and tomato, avocado, sprouts and a mix of baby lettuces.

Whole lobster, butter poached to order, is served with potato and asparagus, perfectly cooked with white wine and tarragon. At lunch and dinner, enjoy lobster bisque. Poured into warm bowls tableside, this soup won the award for best hot food item at the seventh annual Taste of the Nation, and a $500 donation was made in Zebra's behalf to Share Our Strength, a national antihunger organization.

If you are more of a landlubber, the Mushroom Velvet Soup, spiked with truffle oil and a bit of foie gras, is one of Zebra's signature dishes at lunch and dinner. Like the bisque, it is rich, warm and creamy - contemporary comfort food in a bowl.

It would be hard to order the wrong thing at Zebra, but if you are looking for suggestions, try the Tenderloin of Rabbit in Fines Herbes as an appetizer at dinner. As for entrées, the Sautéed Dover Sole is a superb selection served in a Verjus Veronique with white grapes and browned butter sauce. The Paillard of Veal, cut into small, tender fillets, seared and served with butternut gnocchi, and a red currant veal Glace de Viande is also one of my personal favorites. Alexander's favorite, echoed by many customers, is the lamb entrée. A roasted tenderloin of lamb is served with a daube of lamb, slowly braised with a blend of vegetables, red wine and seasonings. "It's not like I invented anything new," said Alexander. Like most of what is on the Zebra menu, is just an example of using classical methodology with a contemporary mix of flavors."

To highlight all of those fabulous flavors, Zebra's wine list, a well-organized, voluminous book, offers nearly 1,000 different selections and some 10,000 bottles the cellar. Pappas is a wine enthusiast who has made it his mission to seek out hard-to-find, interesting niche wines to feature at the restaurant. Easier than looking at the list, just ask Pappas for a suggestion. He'll match a bottle with your food and your pocketbook for nothing short of a perfect pairing.

In August, Zebra was recognized in the annual Wine Spectator restaurant award issue. Zebra's wine list was honored with the Best of Award of Excellence. While several other fine dining destinations in Charlotte have received other Wine Spectator awards, Zebra has the distinction of being one of only 47 new winners worldwide to have gained this recognition and the only restaurant in Charlotte to have achieved the honor.

Wine Spectator considers restaurants involved in its award program to be destinations for wine lovers, offering cellars full of bottles from top producers in mature vintages, along with unparalleled service and excellent food. Zebra certainly fills the bill on all accounts.

A bird's eye view of one of Zebra's signature desserts: the SouthPark Geisha, featuring a cold Grand Marnier souffle, sliced mango and a geisha-inspired sugar cookie.

Well-known Charlotte restaurant critic, food writer, cooking instructor and connoisseur of food and wine, Heidi Edidin writes "South Charlotte Weekly: Culinary Corner," a restaurant review or food feature that appears weekly. Contact Heidi with questions and restaurant, food or story ideas by email at heidi@southcharlotteweekly.com.

SCW photos by Sean Busher.

This article first appeared in "South Charlotte Weekly" on October 3, 2003. "South Charlotte Weekly" is a free, locally owned, independent newspaper that's "About the Community, For the Community," available every Thursday in South Charlotte and Uptown.

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