I had some family friends come into town recently and felt a lot of pressure to take them to a good restaurant. So rather than risk one of my favorites failing to live up to the hype, I decided to have us all try somewhere I’d never been before so that we could all experience it for the first time together! I decided on Pawpaw because we’d been out exploring the Market and they had a reservation available for a party of our size. I had messed up in counting when I made the reservation, so we were actually 1 chair short when we were seated (hey, I’m a writer, not a math-er), but the team was super great about adding an extra table so that we could all sit comfortably.

@eater_charleston shares a sneak peek of our shiny new dining room….doors open at 5 tonight! Snag a reservation on @opentable – link in bio ? @leslieryann

A post shared by Pawpaw Restaurant (@pawpawchs) on Dec 21, 2016 at 1:37pm PST

I ordered a cocktail, the Word of Mouth (Local Hat Trick Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, St. Germain, Grand Marnier, Rose Water, Vanilla, $14), which I loved. I’m really into cocktails that are refreshing and vegetal, and this very much fit the bill.

For appetizers, we started with the Truffle Fries (roasted pepper coulis, house aioli, $8.50), which were awesome. Sometimes restaurants go way too heavy on the truffle, but the balance on these were perfect. The sauces were also delicious, and I opted to keep the house aioli to dop my 2^nd appetizer (Brussels sprouts) in.

I think aioli is my favorite condiment.

The 2^nd appetizer was the Brussels Sprouts (fried with parmesan cheese and chives, $8.25), which were perfecto! Nice and crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside, and seasoned perfectly. (Note that these are not on the online menu, but I just called and confirmed that they are in fact still available).

And brussels are my favorite vegetable.

Our third appetizer was the Macaroni and Cheese (parmesan bechamel, english peas, smoked pork, cheddar, biscuit breadcrumbs, $10.95). I usually prefer simpler macs, but Pawpaw did a really good job of not going overboard with the toppings, so it was delicious. A couple of people even ordered it as their entree after trying it as an appetizer.

Mac and cheese with orecchiette is growing on me.

For my entrée, I opted for the house-made Orecchiette (farm egg, smoked pork, heirloom tomato, touch of chili, $15.95), which was amazing. The egg was cooked perfectly so that the yolk melded with the pesto and created this awesome creamy sauce that was to die for. The pasta was also cooked to perfection at al dente, and it was altogether a really pleasing dish.

A top-notch pasta dish!

My mom ordered the Chef Rogers’ Recipe #88 Free-Range Fried Chicken (collard greens, potato purée, herb gravy, Nashville hot butter, $22.95) and I have to say, this is probably the best fried chicken I’ve eaten in Charleston. I’m not sure what they put in their breading, but it is fantastic. The chicken was perfectly juicy, the breading was super flavorful, and it was pretty much perfection on a plate. In terms of the sides, the mashed potatoes were creamy and rich and cheesy. My only complaint is that when asking for pepper vinegar to accompany the greens, the waitress looked at me blankly and replied “we have balsamic vinegar, would that work?” No. No it will not.

Judge all other fried chicken by this one.

All in all, Pawpaw was super flavorful and delicious and a definite crowd-pleaser for a reasonable price point (especially for its location).

Pawpaw

209 E Bay St
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 297-4443

I’ve been to Indaco a few times now and have finally gotten around to writing a review about this awesome spot for Italian food on King Street. I first tried Indaco a couple of years ago at a Yelp event, then I went back for my birthday with my friend Lily, where we tried the Chef’s Tasting Menu. My most recent experience was at the beginning of July with my friend Caty, where we had an amazing Italian feast. I started with the Paloma cocktail (El Jimador blanco, ginger, grapefruit, basil, $10), which I loved.

I lived with a girl named Paloma in college, whose a chef now. Life is funny like that sometimes.

Caty opted for the Namaste Here and Drink (Tito’s, cardamom, ginger beer, hibiscus, lime, $11), which was essentially a Moscow Mule by another name.

Luckily, we both love Moscow Mules.

For our appetizer course, we started with the burrata (tomato panzanella, fried croutons, cucumber, red onion, herbs, $17), which was awesome. I love that burrata is becoming a super trendy food, because I think it’s delicious. Indaco’s version had an awesome array of veggies that went great with the creaminess of the cheese and the crispiness of the croutons.

I’d eat burrata at every meal, if I could.

Next up was the polpette (ricotta, San Marzano tomato, Pecorino Romano, $13), which I was a little disappointed by. They had a dryness to them that made them super crumbly, and lacked a lot of flavor on their own. In a sauce or with something else to complement them, they would’ve been much better.

The tomato sauce was on point, though.

Our final appetizer was the sausage pizza (San Marzano tomato, summer sausage, pepperoncini, marinated red onions, arugula, San Simon di Costa, $17), which was fantastic. The pizza had just the right amount of char on the super-thin crust, the sauce was in perfect proportion to the rest of the toppings, the sausage was just a little spicy, and the arugula added a nice peppery note, which was a great complement to the tanginess of the red onion. I would absolutely order this again!

Pizza party anyone?

For our 2nd courses, we opted for the seared scallops (spring onion, grilled squash, okra, peas, cherry tomatoes, green garlic, $34). I don’t normally love scallops, but these were nice and buttery, and the summer veggies gave the dish a nice refreshing feel.

Plus, it looks like a work of art!

Our favorite dish of the night was the Roman-style gnocchi (jumbo lump crab, black truffle, parmesan cream, $28), which was, by far, the best gnocchi I’ve ever had in my life. Roman-style gnocchi is made with semolina flour rather than with potato or ricotta, and apparently it makes all the difference. Also, I’m not sure what they put in their parmesan cream sauce, but they need to bottle it so I can put it on everything.

Like little pillows of joy.

Because we are pasta addicts, we also tried the lamb agnolotti (Speck, Calabrian chilis, corn, basil, $25), which was also a winner. The lamb must’ve been braised for a while, because it practically melted in your mouth. The corn tasted like it had been grilled and removed from the cob about 2 minutes before it arrived on our table, offering a nice charred flavor to the pasta that was the shining star of the entire dish.

Bright and colorful for summertime!

To satisfy our sweet tooths (tooths? teeth?), we decided to try their almond budino (chocolate shortbread, caramel, $8), which was basically an Italian custard. It was super thick and creamy, so I loved the crunchiness of the shortbread, which offered a nice variation in texture.

And plus it comes in an adorable little mason jar!

We also couldn’t resist the vanilla bean panna cotta (pomegranate, sable crunch, $7), which, while also a custard, had a much more gelatinous texture to it than the budino. The pomegranate sauce was a great balance of tart and sweet, and I loved the sable crunch. The texture of the panna cotta itself was not my favorite, but Caty absolutely loved it.

It’s like a little dessert volcano!

TL;DR Indaco has awesome food, but I highly recommend the pastas (specifically the gnocchi), the pizza, and the cocktails!

From Indaco’s Facebook page.