Back in May, I attended a preview party for Cinco, a new tex-mex style restaurant in Mount Pleasant. We had margaritas and watched an awesome machine press out freshly made tortillas, which was pretty freakin’ cool.

The end result… ain’t she a beaut?!

We were excited to go back and try it on a normal day, since our preview experience was pretty positive. We started with a pineapple margarita, which was tasty. Nice and tangy, with just a hint of sweetness. My only complaint was that the pineapple chunks at the bottom kept getting stuck up in the straw, which made it a little tricky to drink.

Syd started with a regular margarita, which was a lot easier to drink (unless you’re like me and have to take an antacid after every margarita). It had the perfect balance of sweet and sour, and didn’t immediately have me reaching to my purse for a Tums.

Always a good sign!

Because Syd had been craving nachos lately, we decided to split and order of Cinco’s Nachos (individual corn tortilla chips topped with your choice of meat–chorizo, fajita beef, or fajita chicken–refried beans, cheese, jalapeño, with sour cream, pico, and guacamole, $8). Our waitress was enthusiastic about the chorizo, so we chose that as our topping, and we weren’t disappointed! The chorizo was packed full of flavor, and thankfully lacked a lot of the grease that you’ll find at many other Mexican restaurants.

Nacho problem.

For my entree, I decided to go with the Carnitas (braised pork shank with grilled onions and peppers, fresh flour tortillas pico de gallo, sour cream, and 2 sides, $21). For the price, I had very high expectations, but luckily, this dish delivered! The meat practically fell off the bone and was so much more flavorful than I ever expected carnitas could be. Plus, they give you enough food that you can definitely make 2 meals out of it.

This could be a pterodactyl shank for how huge it is.

The carnitas are served with the warm, fresh tortillas off the tortilla press, and that seriously makes all the difference. I filled up 2.5 of these babies, and it didn’t even look like I made a dent on my shank.

Rolled up all snug in a rug, headed to my tummy.

For our sides, we opted for the Frijoles Refrito and Arroz Roja (included with the cost of the carnitas, but $4 each if you got them on the side). The beans were absolutely fantastic. They were nice and creamy, wth just the right hints of smoke and spice. The rice was just ok. It was flavorful, but pretty dry… it didn’t blow me away.

Delicious beans, meh rice.

Syd ordered the Enchiladas (choice of meat: barbacoa beef, chicken tinga, or spinach & bean. Choice of sauces: roja, verde, or suizas. Served with 2 sides, $12). Our waitress recommended we try the barbacoa with the verde, which we did. We really enjoyed it, although I think with the verde sauce, I would’ve preferred chicken. The barbacoa meat itself was very tasty and tender, but I think it pairs better with a red sauce (but that’s just me). The sides we chose were the Arroz Verde and the Corn Salsa, which our waittress also recommended. The arroz verde was a lot more flavorful than the roja, and the corn salad was nice and refreshing, but otherwise not noteworthy.

The arroz rice is much better!

I’m not sure if Cinco offers dessert, but even if they did, we wouldn’t have been able to stomach it.

We’re nothing if not thorough.

All in all, I thought Cinco was a delicious meal, and for the most part was impressed with both the quality and portion sizes of the food we tried. I can’t wait to go back and try more things off the menu!

Cinco Tex-Mex
1035 Johnnie Dodds Blvd #B7
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
(843) 606-6788

Pizza is one of those foods that brings us all together. Pretty much everyone can agree that if you need to feed a lot of people for not a lot of money, the answer is pizza. But just because you get a lot out of each pie doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality! All my friends make fun of me because I’m pretty particular about my pizza, so if I’m reviewing a pizza joint, you better believe it’s worth it!

So true, Albert. So true.

Famulari’s is a local chain, with locations in West Ashley, Summerville, Goose Creek and a pretty new location on James Island. Each of the stores follow the same basic menu, with the exception of the James Island location, which brews their own beer and offers brunch. They’re most well known for being pretty much the only place in Charleston for serving Chicago-style deep dish pizza, and since Chicago is still on my domestic travel bucket list, I was really looking forward to trying deep dish pizza without having to hop on a plane.

Although flying to a new city specifically for the food is not exactly out of character for me.

Fams offers 4 different options for their 14-inch stuffed pizzas (although any of their specialty pizzas can be made into a Chicago Stuffed Pizza, or you can build your own). On my first visit, we kept it really simple with the Chi-Town Classic (mozzarella, double pepperoni, double sausage, chunky sauce, $25.99). The pie dense, it must’ve weighed like close to 10 pounds and I wasn’t sure how we’d be able to finish it. The chunky sauce was fantastic, with a nice bit of acidity and tang, with just a bit of sweetness to balance it out. There was a nice distribution of toppings, so I felt like I got an even spread in each bite. This was a definite winner.

That’s one fat pizza pie.

On my second visit, we went in a different direction with the Greek (mozzarella, spinach, black olive, artichoke, feta, chunky sauce, $25.99), which was a really awesome choice. It was like a greek salad under a blanket of chunky red sauce, all things I love.

Guess how many people were at the table to eat that much food?

We also tried an order of their Spinach Cheese Bread (pan-baked dough loaded with fresh spinach, mozzarella, cheddar, and topped with “shake,” $6.99), which was delicious. The bread was perfectly cheesy and had a lot of flavor, and I liked the addition of the spinach to trick my brain into thinking I was eating something healthy.

My brain is very easily tricked. Proof: all of my ex-boyfriends.

Because I’m also obsessed with white pizzas, I also decided to try their version. The White (ricotta sauce, mozzarella, garlic, basil, tomato, $15.99 for a 14-inch pie) was absolutely delicious! Lots of flavor in the sauce without being overbearing, and I loved the addition of the tomatoes and basil.

Again, it has green stuff on it, so I can feel less guilty about how much pizza I ate.

I visited the brewpub on James Island for brunch with friends who were visiting from out of town. Their regular menu was basically the same, (although they do have double the number of appetizers, with amazing sounding dishes like fried cheese curds, zeppoles, and chicken tenders). The space was much bigger than their West Ashley location, and I absolutely loved how spacious and inviting their outdoor patio/beergarden was.

My picture turned out to be blurry, so this one comes via Famularis’ Facebook

I’ve never been to brunch at a pizza place before, but the menu was so mouthwatering that I was really looking forward to it! There was a good mix of sweet (like french toast topped with Grand Marnier Syrup) and savory (deep dish frittata of the day, a smaller version of their Chicago-style deep dish, with a brunch spin), which is definitely required of a quality brunch. We started with an order of Beignets (deep fried dough, topped with powdered sugar, $4), which I absolutely love. Their version was made with some of their pizza dough, and was nice and pillowy and sweet. We probably could’ve eaten a 2nd order, but we restrained ourselves.

Like heavenly little clouds of sugar.

Since I tend to prefer savory foods at brunch, I opted for the Caprese Crostini (crispy toasted bread, topped with fried eggs, avocado, fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, and extra virgin olive oil, served with your choice of side, $11). Eggs + avocado + bread = my favorite thing, so I absolutely loved this dish! Adding in the mozzarella and tomato made for a delicious and well-rounded open-faced breakfast sandwich that I will definitely be back for. I opted for the home fries as my side, and boy was I glad I did! They were super crispy outside, but nice and pillowy inside, exactly what everyone loves in a home fry. Plus, at only $11, I felt like this dish was a total steal.

Eggs, Potatoes, Avocado, oh my!

They also offer a brunch-twist on a classic calzone, in the form of a fruit Turnover (dough filled with sweet ricotta and your choice of fresh blueberries or Granny Smith cinnamon apple filling. Topped with your choice of raspberry or caramel sauce, and served with your choice of brunch side item, $10). We had 2 people at our table order this, and they both loved it. The apples topped with caramel definitely had more of the makings of a classic apple pie, which I was a huge fan of.

Hello, gorgeous.

The blueberry filling (topped with raspberry sauce) was really sweet and tasted like summertime. I was happy to have a bite of it, but it was a little too sweet for me. But my dining companion didn’t seem to mind, as she cleaned her entire plate.

Plus the color is much more Instagrammable.

All in all, I’ve had many fantastic meals at Famulari’s, and if you haven’t visited them yet (especially the brewpub), you should get on that post haste!

Here’s another shot of the crostini because I’m so obsessed with it.

Famulari’s Brewpub
1291 Folly Rd
Charleston, SC 29412
843-225-4646