Charlotte's Open Kitchen an authentic experience

Food shouldn't be this good ... this tempting.

The Open Kitchen, just down the street from the Carolina Panthers' Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., has this amazing Italian dish called braciole (pronounced BRAH-johl). It's thin steak wrapped around sausage, with manicottis on both sides, covered in marinara sauce and baked cheese.

The spaghetti is awesome, lasagne wonderful. Really, there's nothing at all bad on The Open Kitchen's menu.

• The Open Kitchen

"It's just good Italian food," says Christina Skiouris, who co-owns The Open Kitchen with her brother, Alex Kokenes. "We have a lot of veal dishes. We are one of the few restaurants in the area that serves braciole. It's really good. You'll have to try that."

The Charlotte institution was opened by the current owners' father, Alex Kokenes, and uncle, Speros Kokenes. If their names sound Greek, it's only because they are. After living in Washington, D.C., for a brief time during World War II, Alex moved back to Charlotte, his hometown, to open The Open Kitchen with Speros in 1952. It's been in its present location ever since.

"Our father was born and raised in Charlotte, (but) met my mother and moved to Washington D.C.," Skiouris continues. "Of course, it was very international there. It was during World War II when they moved there. My uncle, who lived here, wanted to open a restaurant and asked my father to move back down here. So my father moved back down and helped him."

So why is The Open Kitchen an Italian restaurant and not a Greek eatery?

"Italian food was a big thing in Washington, D.C.," says Skiouris. "They needed to bring that to Charlotte, so it turned into an Italian restaurant."

Having been around for nearly 60 years, The Open Kitchen has served generations of customers. They come from across the region to dine in the restaurant's authentic Old World atmosphere. You know how some joints attempt to re-create a certain type of Italian atmosphere? Not The Open Kitchen. This place is the real deal, from the red-and-white checked table cloths, to the pictures of celebrities who've visited The Open Kitchen.

Celebrities like Vincent Price, Buddy Hackett, Pat Boone, Gary Sandy -- the guy from WKRP in Cincinnati -- and ... well ... David Hasselhoff.

"I would describe [the atmosphere] as eclectic," Skiouris says. "We have pennants on the walls, pictures of celebrities who've been here. People walk in their first time, and they go, 'This is just like New York, or our neighborhood Italian restaurant."

Opening another location has never been an option for the family owned-and-operated restaurant that pretty much gives definition to the term "mom and pop" -- or, more appropriately in this case, "brother and sister" -- business. That just wasn't a priority. They were then, and they are now, wholeheartedly satisfied working in the shadow of downtown Charlotte.

"We're pretty content here in one location," Skiouris says. "We like it here. This is home for us."