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Quote of the Week 1/13/14

January 13, 2014

So I think 2014 is going to be a good year. I’m feeling very optimistic–it’s been awesome so far, so I’m hoping that trend will continue in the coming months. Also, it’s restaurant week in Charleston. Remember last week how I said I was going to start my diet? Yeah, that’s not happening. I have a reservation literally every night this week at a different restaurant in Charleston. So, there’s that.

On a personal note, this weekend was really exciting for me because I’m officially in a relationship with a really cute boy that I’ve know for a while (who said you can’t get out of the friendzone?!). So if you see me on the street smiling like a crazy person, that’s why.

ICYMI, I’m giving away a free Delta Touch2O Faucet. Enter to win now! You have 1 week left. Good luck!

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.”

–Voltaire

Not gonna lie, I’d totally party with Voltaire.

Charleston, SC Restaurant Reviews

Oak Steakhouse

October 4, 2013

My final restaurant week visit was with my roommate, Regina, to Oak Steakhouse. I’ve been wanting to try Oak for a while now, curious to see if it could beat out my beloved Halls Chophouse (spoiler alert: it doesn’t). I know that most people say that you shouldn’t judge a restaurant based on Restaurant Week, but I think that’s just BS. If they can’t produce quality food during RW, then they just shouldn’t participate.

Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now.

We started off with the spicy strawberry margarita, which definitely lived up to its name. So. Spicy. It was good, but we had to have them tone it down a little bit because we’re wimps. My mother would’ve loved it though.

More like StrawBURNy margarita.

After we placed our orders, we were brought some bread and butter. It was good bread, I have to say. Nice and warm, and salty, very similar to the benne seed rolls at Husk. And the butter tasted like butter..so there’s that.

Bread and butter are my bread and butter.

For my starter, I got the wedge of Kurios Farms Bibb Lettuce Salad (local grape tomatoes, bacon lardons, creamy danish bleu dressing, regularly $10). Bibb wedge salads are not actually anything like your typical wedge salad (it’s just the nature of the beast), so I’ve learned not to be disappointed when I order a Bibb “wedge” salad and it comes out as basically just a bunch of lettuce leaves stacked on top of each other. But it tastes delicious!

Kind of like Lincoln Logs, but with lettuce and bacon and significantly less fiber.

Regina got the Vidalia onion bisque (lump crab, bacon crumble), which apparently was a special restaurant week thing. It was weird. Neither of us particularly cared for it. I get that vidalia onions are sweet, but this was ridiculous. It was overly sweet for a savory dish and I didn’t think that the flavors melded well together. Glad it’s not on the regular menu, because I would not order that again.

It seems like a lot of soup until you realize that the bowl is only like half an inch in depth.

For entrees, I got the Certified Angus Beef Filet Mignon with whipped potatoes, spinach, petite carrots, and Oak’s housemade steak sauce. Being a renowned steakhouse, I was really looking forward to it. I even ordered it medium because everyone gets mad when I order it medium well (because apparently there’s some rule leftover from caveman days where your meat still has to be bleeding when you eat it, or you’re an uncultured swine). When it came out, I was upset to see that they’d precut my filet. Part of the satisfaction of ordering a steak is cutting it at the table and watching the juices ooze out onto your plate. Because they’d precut it, when I went to eat it, my steak was already cold, like it had been sitting out for a while, and not under a heat lamp. This was only emphasized by the fact that Regina’s food came out steaming for a good 5 minutes. I was also bothered by the “smear” of potatoes I got on my plate. I’m all about good plating, but this was ridiculous.

I think they really took that “Lincoln log” comment to heart with those carrots.

Regina got the pork shank served with sweet potato puree, braised greens, sweet apple and peach chutney. She replaced the sweet potato puree with roasted corn maque choux, by telling them she had an allergy, because they didn’t allow substitutions, which again, just bothers me. (I hate chefs that get so hoity toity about their food that they don’t let you substitute stuff. Yes, I get that some people like to make like 15 substitutions, and those people suck, but if you’re like me and you abhor mushrooms, AND you’re paying upwards of $40 dollars a plate, you shouldn’t be forced to eat them. I think this might have been another RW thing, where they already had everything premade and didn’t want to have to make real food for people who were only paying the RW price. Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox for real now, I promise.) The pork shank was awesome and fell right off the bone. The maque choux was super tasty and I’d definitely order this dish again. Basically, I was really jealous of Regina’s meal.

Plus, she got like 100% more food than I did.

I also couldn’t resist ordering a side of the smokey bacon macaroni and cheese, $8.50. I mean, smoked bacon macaroni and cheese sounds delicious. I thought it was pretty good, but was a little disappointed in the cheese sauce. It was a little too creamy and not quite cheesy enough, but that didn’t stop me from devouring it. I’d probably still order that again. I like it better than Halls Chophouse’s mac & cheese and that’s about the only leg up that Oak got over Halls during this meal.

I’m really bad at Mac & Cheese photography. What’s up with that.

The dessert that came with the RW menu was “S’mores” with dark chocolate mousse, graham crackers, taosted marshmallow, and salted caramel. It was weird, but I liked it. The graham cracker wasn’t like normal graham cracker, I’d say it was more like a nilla wafer (but like a rock hard version). I thought the combination was really interesting. Regina wasn’t a huge fan of the dessert, and although I can’t say it’s my new favorite thing, I thought it was pretty good.

Now this is pretty plating.

Oak definitely didn’t live up to my expectations, but it had enough potential that I might be willing to give them another chance (on someone else’s dime, of course, that place is expensive).

Does anyone else think that tree looks more like a mushroom than an oak? (photo: from Oak Steakhouse)

Oak Steakhouse
17 Broad St
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 722-4220

3 Comments

Charleston, SC Restaurant Reviews

Carter’s Kitchen [CLOSED]

September 20, 2013

For restaurant week, Lily and I decided to try out Carter’s Kitchen out in I’on in Mount Pleasant. I’d tried Peninsula Grill a couple years back right before Chef Robert Carter left and was not super impressed with the food that we got. I’ve heard such good things about Carter’s Kitchen, however, that I was willing to give it a try. It took a lot of driving around ~~Stepford~~ I’on before we finally found the restaurant, and then it took some more driving around before we finally found parking.

Those two guys are most definitely robots.

The restaurant is located within the Inn at I’On, and is relatively small, but still has a very homey feel about it. Idk, maybe it’s the tan walls.

Hmm... now that I'm looking at it, those walls are a little too skin colored for my taste.

Hmm… now that I’m looking at it, those walls are kind of skin colored (image: Dining Around Charleston)

I had been all excited to try the apple-pumpkin bisque they had listed on their restaurant week menu online, but when we got there we saw that they’d replaced it with a boring tomato bisque, which I thought it tasted like Campbell’s Soup (i.e. not was I was paying $40 to eat). Lily said I was being judgy and that I always think tomato soups taste like Campbell’s, but then I saw another lady on OpenTable said the same exact thing, so now I feel validated.

Pictured: disappointment soup.

For Lily’s appetizer, she got the “Country Ham Crumb Crusted Seared Scallops with Melted Leeks and Orange Butter,” which she raved and raved about. She only got three on the plate, and although they were decently sized, that’s still not a ton of food. Luckily, she cut me off a bite so I could try it (it was delicious).

Not the best photo, I know, but beggars can’t be choosers!

For my entree, I opted for the braised short rib with truffle grits and spinach pie. The short rib was awesome, the meat fell off the bone and was super juicy. The spinach pie was probably the weirdest thing I’ve eaten in a while and was unlike any spinach pie I’ve ever had. I really don’t know how to describe it. Those grits, man. Those were the ticket. I’d go back again just for those (but, joke’s on me, because they’re not on the regular menu).

You can tell from this picture just how weird that pie is. Delicious, but weird all the same.

Lily opted for the stuffed quail served on fresh pappardelle pasta with wild mushrooms. I thought the portions were pretty good, and the quail tasted great. I even liked the noodles in the mushroom sauce. All in all, I was very impressed with our entrees.

Is it just me, or do they kind of look like the old Muppet guys in the theater?

For dessert, I got the coconut cake (I mean, it’s Bob Carter. Of course I get the coconut cake). And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Not in the least. The cake was moist and flavorful and deliciously coconut-ty, and the frosting was perfect–not too sweet. This made the whole trip worth it.

And, obviously, the cake was the best picture I took…

Lily got the other dessert, just so we could try it. It was a lemon tart topped with lots of meringue (and I mean lots), served with a side of strawberry compote. It was really good. I loved the tanginess contrasted with the sweetness…although I could’ve gone for a little less meringue.

It really should read “meringue, served with a side of lemon tart”

Overall, I’d say I had a pleasant experience at Carter’s Kitchen. I think I’d be willing to go back and give it another shot to blow my socks off (for the coconut cake, if nothing else). If you’re in the Mount Pleasant area, looking for a good dinner spot, I’d recommend looking into Carter’s Kitchen.

Just remember to watch for robots. (image: Carter’s Kitchen)

Carter’s Kitchen
148 Civitas St
Mt Pleasant, SC 29464
(843) 284-0840

1 Comments

Charleston, SC Restaurant Reviews

Persimmon Cafe

August 30, 2013

[UPDATE 10/1/2015: I originally reviewed Persimmon Cafe (back before it was cool) back in August 2013. Since then, I’ve been to Persimmon approximately 157,000 times, so I didn’t think it was fair to leave my review as it stands. So much has changed with them (and me!) since then, that I wanted to give a more accurate representation of what it’s like to experience Persimmon.]

Persimmon Cafe, for those of you lame-os not in the know, is my favorite restaurant in Charleston. The space is kind of off-beat–I mean, who would think to put a cafe inside of a laundromat? But, it works. It really does.

It would never really work the other way around, though.

Although, it would never really work the other way around.

The menu is simple and contains just the right number of choices so as not to leave you overwhelmed. I’ve had pretty much everything on the menu (multiple times), so I’ll go through and review each of the menu items I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing, starting with my favorites.

Orzo Pasta Salad

The Orzo Pasta Salad (orzo pasta, honey, balsamic vinegar, craisins, red onion, goat cheese, $1.50) is definitely my favorite thing at Persimmon. No matter what I come in for, or how hungry I am, I always order the pasta salad. It’s got a great amount of tang from the vinegar that’s balanced out by the creaminess of the goat cheese. It’s heaven.

Goat Cheese is my kryptonite.

Curry Chicken Salad Sandwich

My standard order for a long time at Persimmon was the curry chicken sandwich (red onions, curry chicken salad, and golden raisins, $7.50). In my first review, I said “I’m a sucker for curry chicken, so that’s probably why I liked this one the best. I’d probably get that again if I went back,” and I did. A lot. It’s got a very strong curry taste, so if you’re sensitive to that, I’d recommend one of their other sammies instead.

More for me!

Rosemary Lemon Tea

They have a really interesting selection of homemade drinks, like vanilla lemonade, basil limeade, and rosemary lemon tea. I always (literally, always) get the rosemary lemon tea. It’s my favorite drink of all time. Even more than diet coke, and that’s really saying something. They use a lemon-rosemary simple syrup that they add to their freshly brewed tea, and it is unique and totally delicious.

Not as much as I love you! #soulmates

The Greek

My new favorite sandwich is The Greek (thick-cut turkey, Greek-style salad, sheep’s milk feta, mayo, warm naan bread, $8). I don’t think I’ve ever had a sandwich like the Greek before. It’s so good. The sheep’s milk feta has a unique taste, much different from regular feta. It’s creamier and goes really well with whatever dressing they put on the Greek salad (I’m assuming Greek dressing??). The whole sandwich is a work of art.

Seriously. Someone frame this for me.

Nutella Custard

Tell me, is there anything better than a restaurant that lights marshmallows on fire right in front of your face? No. No, there is not. Especially when those flambeed marshmallows sit atop a holy grail of nutella custard. Thick, creamy custard, big chunks of Nutella, hot toasted marshmallows… This is basically why the phrase “food porn” was invented.

Have you ever been turned on by ice cream before?

The Italian

When Persimmon introduced the Italian sandwich (hard salame, sorpressata, prosciutto, provolone, dressed spinach, mayo, torta roll, $8), I was so excited that I cancelled my lunch plans and ordered that instead. I have a problem, I know. It has all the trappings of a classic italian sandwich: fatty italian meats, provolone cheese, and lots of mayo. They throw some spinach in there so your body gets some nutrition out of it. It’s very greasy and I feel like I need to wash my hands (and face) afterward, but man is it delicious.

Hey good lookin’

Adult Grilled Cheese

The Adult Grilled Cheese (smoked Gouda, green apple, prosciutto & cheddar, $6.75) is a classic. When you pulled the sandwich apart it was nice and melty and cheesy. I really liked the green apple, which adds a level of freshness to the sandwich (and pairs really well with the gouda).

Melted cheese is also my kryptonite.

Butternut Squash

The butternut squash sandwich (grilled butternut squash, curry cashew butter, honey, goat cheese, $6.75) is also a favorite among my friends. Rob once made it vegan-style for my cousin, and she’s still talking about it, 2 years later. Lauren requests it every time she visits Charleston. Grilling the butternut squash brings out its full flavor, and the curry cashew butter complements the nuttiness of the squash perfectly. Then you have the goat cheese, which makes everything taste better, and a little bit of honey for some sweetness. It’s a winner for vegans and carnivores alike.

What’s up butternut, whooooa whoa whoa.

Lobster Roll

Persimmon also makes one of the best lobster rolls (light mayo, parmesan, celery, $16.50) in Charleston. They don’t have it on the menu very often, but when they do, you should definitely order it. It’s big and it’s decadent, but it’s also totally worth it.

“Ooooh, the claw”

The Cubano

This is Sean’s favorite sandwich because it’s so manly and full of meat. The cubano (thick-cut ham, pulled pork, plantain dijon, havarti, bread & butter pickles, torta roll, $8) is really unique twist on a classic cubano sandwich. I love the way the plantain dijon balances out the tanginess from the pulled pork, and the havarti brings the whole sandwich together.

Persimmon is very multicultural.

Tuna Tacos

I love tuna and I love tacos and Persimmon combined that love into 1 menu item, the Blowtorch Tuna Tacos (peanut butter & ginger slaw, spicy mayo, blowtorched tuna, $3.50/taco). They’re super simple and packed with flavor, especially if you like tuna.

Taco Taco Taco!

Soups! (All of them)

Persimmon has 2 soup options daily to choose from and they consist of the following options (on rotation): Tomato Parm; Sweet Potato, curry and goat cheese; spicy black bean and corn; cream of asparagus; and potato cheddar. They’re all $4 each and come with a toasted piece of bread. They’re also all delicious. You can’t go wrong with any of them, although my faves are the sweet potato, curry, and goat cheese and the potato cheddar.

Yes, soup for me!

In my first review, I ended it by saying “I can’t wait to go back. I highly recommend you check this place out if you haven’t already,” and that holds true today. Even though I’ve eaten there more times than I can count, I always look forward to my next visit!

It almost makes me want to start going to the laundromat… almost.

Persimmon Cafe
226 Calhoun Street
Charleston, SC
843.937.5399

3 Comments

Charleston, SC Restaurant Reviews

Verde

June 7, 2013

Ok, so I’ve been pretty busy the past couple of weeks, traveling around the Southeastern US, so I haven’t really had a lot of time to go out and eat at any of the places on my Charleston Restaurant wishlist. I’ve mostly been cooking at home and eating at all of my usual haunts. One place that I frequent at least once a week, is Verde. Verde takes up the space where Bruegger’s Bagels used to be, and is basically a giant salad bar. Now, historically I’ve been very anti-salad–I think people only order salads when they either A. don’t like the taste of real food, or B. are on a diet–but I actually really like Verde.

Lookin’ at you, Lauren.

First of all, the space is really nice. It’s very clean and open, with a white and lime green color scheme which make you think of freshness, health, cleanliness, and nature. You start by ordering at the counter. You can choose to either build your own salad / wrap, or choose from one of the “Signature Creations.” The first thing you notice when you step up to the counter is the wall of lettuce. At least, that’s what I notice. Maybe you notice the 50 some-odd toppings and dressings you have to choose from. Either way.

Behold, the wall of lettuce.

Back to the toppings: Seriously. They have any kind of salad topping you could want. Unless you want something weird, in which case–move back to Seattle, ya Hippie. Laura always chooses to build her own salad, which is never the same twice. You get 4 ingredients included in your salad (while proteins and avocado cost extra, and each additional topping after 4 is an extra $0.50). They also give you a piece of bread with every salad / wrap. Here’s a copy of the menu, so you get an idea.

See what I mean about the green and white?

My favorite salad (obsessed is a good word) is the Mesa Verde (romaine, roasted chicken, grape tomatoes, red onion, avocado, black beans, corn, fresh cilantro, and tortilla strips with chipotle lime vinaigrette, finished with a fresh squeeze of lime). I usually don’t get the corn or tortilla strips (because… gross). I absolutely love their chipotle lime vinaigrette, it is so yummy. And the fresh squeeze of lime at the end just makes everything taste fresh and delicious. I freaking love this salad. I make it at home all the time (but it’s really just easier to let them do it).

I think I like it because it doesn’t actually taste like salad.

You also get the option of getting your salad chopped or tossed. If you get it tossed, they basically stir your salad up and then put it in the bowl. I always get it chopped, which is where they take this medieval torture-looking device (like a double-headed pizza cutter), and attack your salad until it’s mincemeat in a bowl. That’s my favorite part. They charge upwards of like $28 bucks to buy one from them, but if you’re trying to chop a salad at home you can just use a single-blade pizza cutter. It literally works exactly the same way (trust me, I’ve tried).

That second blade is pretty redundant, if you ask me.

Basically, if you’re on King Street and looking for a fast, healthy lunch that tastes as good as it is good for you, I highly recommend you visit Verde. Plus, they have a lot of cool, natural drinks to try, and they offer King of Pops popsicles (which are really good. TRY ONE). Also get their loyalty card–Buy 10 salads / wraps, get your 11th one free (I’m only 3 away!)

I’m kind of craving a salad right now. I feel like I’ve been body snatched.

Verde
347 King Street
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 579-2884

1 Comments

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 4/15/13

April 15, 2013

[Update 6:00pm: Thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Boston. Such senseless violence and bloodshed. So glad my Naomi is safe and unscathed. Hoping you and yours are safe as well]

So this weekend was jam-packed for me (but that’s just the way I like it). Saturday morning I had the pleasure of attending my first ever food truck rodeo, and we really went all out. I think there were 9 trucks or so there and I made a point to try something from every one. I think my favorite was Hello, My Name Is BBQ, because they had this amazing Goat Cheese Cheddar Mac and Cheese. It was divine. My mom really liked the chocolate glazed donuts from Diggity Doughnuts. My dad really liked Charleston Festival Foods‘ bratwurst and loaded baked potato fries. And we all really liked the Creole Food Truck‘s gator bites. It was a great experience overall, and I’d love to go to another food truck rodeo in the future!

This week’s quote comes from Greenville, SC native, Tyler Florence and is about how awesome food trucks are. Enjoy!

“I think food trucks are the new answer to American fast food. The idea of raising two or three million dollars and going through red tape to open a restaurant, there’s lots of barriers to success. There’s a really easy jumping place for food trucks. It’s very hip and acceptable for new chefs to open a food truck first.”
–Tyler Florence

Tyler Florence and that baby are making the exact same face. That’s kind of creepy.

Charleston, SC Restaurant Reviews

Fire Street Food

March 8, 2013

Dude, I freaking love Fire. I eat here once a week. Sometimes twice. It’s kind of a problem. In fact, I think Blue Ion is single handedly keeping them in business (anytime you want to start giving us that discount, would be great!). In fact, I’m using all of my self control to not walk the twenty feet across the street to go get some curry right now. Seriously, I’m addicted. Although I do occasionally miss Tacone, I’m so glad it replaced that weird “Burger Babies” place that I never actually tried because the name freaked me out.

Basically what I pictured every time I heard “Burger Babies.” …gross

First of all, while I’ve never actually ordered the pad thai, I’ve mooched enough off of other people to know that it’s good. It’s not necessarily the best pad thai I’ve ever had, but it’s tasty and flavorful and when you’re craving pad thai, this will definitely do the trick.

I’m glad I have friends who put up with me taking pictures of their food all the time.

My favorite thing at Fire is the curry. Specifically the Red curry. It’s my kryptonite. It’s so damn good, there simply aren’t enough words in the English language for me to accurately convey how much I love this stuff. I know everyone in Charleston freaks out over Basil, but I’ll take Fire’s Red Curry over Basil’s EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. Seriously. I’d eat it 7 days straight. Ben likes the yellow curry best, and the green is good too, but red is definitely my favorite.

OMG. I want this right now. RIGHT NOW.

I went there once craving a sandwich, and got their fried fish sandwich with sweet spicy mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, pickles, and avocado. It was delicious. If I wasn’t on a diet, I’d eat that sandwich all the time. It’s very fresh and I love that they have all these great, flavorful veggies on it.

“Hey sweet thang, can I buy you a fish sandwich?”

They also have burgers, chicken sandwiches, and sushi so it’s the perfect spot to go with friends or a date who’s not into curry (although the space is a bit cramped, so you might consider taking your food to go). Basically, try this place. It’s straight up deloycious.

I’m honestly a little surprised that I’m not in this picture.

Fire Street Food
293 King St
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 641-0152

2 Comments

Charleston, SC Restaurant Reviews

Taziki’s Mediterranean Café

December 7, 2012

Yesterday for lunch I decided to try Taziki’s, the (relatively) new mediterranean restaurant that opened up on King Street where Ye Ole Fashioned Ice Cream and Sandwich Cafe used to be. I was craving hummus and falafel, and now that Patat Spot is closed, I had to try someplace new. I’d heard relatively good things about Taziki’s, and it had pretty good reviews on Urbanspoon, so I had high hopes going in. The space is unassuming, not a whole lot going on in terms of decor. The layout of the restaurant is a bit cramped. While waiting in line to place my order at the counter, I was sandwiched in between two tables of people having lunch. It was uncomfortable and I was so close to them, I might as well have just grabbed a chair and sat down to join in on their conversations.

Hello new friends, wonderful to meet you!

After about 8 minutes of waiting in line, I finally made it to the counter. I ordered a Mezedes Platter (Hummus and Taziki dips served with Dolmades and pita) and a grilled lamb gyro (Taziki sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, and grilled onions) with tomato cucumber salad on the side. Not a hugely comprehensive order, but somehow it still took them 25 minutes before my to-go order was ready. Granted, they were pretty steadily busy, but I was there after the lunch crowd, and only maybe 5 people placed orders after me. The lady who handed me my food was very apologetic for the wait, which was nice.

Pretty accurate.

When I finally got back to work to eat, I was ravenous and slightly annoyed, but still excited for lunch. I love mediterranean food. However, I was very disappointed. The hummus was almost watery and a little too citrus-y, the taziki dip was a really weird consistency, the dolmades, although quite large, were dried out and quite tasteless. And, to top off my disappointment, they served it all with pita chips and not the warm, soft slices of pita bread I was hoping for.

PITA BREAD > PITA CHIPS

The lamb gyro was also subpar. It was good, but by no means would I say that it was better than any other restaurant’s lamb gyro. Maybe I’m just spoiled by all the really outstanding mediterranean food I’ve had, but the lamb itself was nothing special. It tasted processed, and it was very dried out. The pita bread that it was wrapped in was yummy, which made me sad that I got shafted with the pita chips in the appetizer platter. The tomato-cucumber salad was good, though, so at least the meal wasn’t a total loss.

More like “grilled disappointment gyro”

All in all, I was pretty disappointed with the whole experience. I’ll never go back. If you’re in the mood for really good mediterranean food, I suggest you try Ali Baba Mediterranean Cafe in Mt. Pleasant, because it is outstanding. Some of the best shawarma and falafel I’ve ever had.

I really have no idea how they got that many votes.

2 Comments

Charleston, SC Restaurant Reviews

Lost Dog Cafe

November 30, 2012

My favorite restaurant on Folly Beach.

I don’t really like Folly Beach. It’s crowded, it’s kitschy, and no matter what time of day it is, it always seems to take me an hour to get out there because of traffic. If I’m going to go to the beach, I usually drive out to Sullivan’s or Isle of Palms. The only thing that makes trekking out to Folly Beach worth the while is Lost Dog Café.

Really, it’s the biscuits and gravy. DELISH

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ve probably heard me talk about Lost Dog and their delicious biscuits and gravy (aka the best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever eaten in my life. Ever.) One time, when I went with Sean and Christine to meet Sean’s mom, we split an order of biscuits and gravy while we were waiting for her to arrive. They were so good, we ended up getting another order after Sean’s mom showed up. And we probably got a side of biscuits and homemade sausage gravy with our meal, too, because we’re fatties, and it’s SO FREAKING GOOD. When we ordered it with my mom and dad, we finished the entire plate between the four of us in under a minute. It was impressive (or pathetic, depending on your perspective).

In case you didn’t get it from the first picture.

I love to order the Southern Eggs Benedict, which is a fried green tomato and a poached egg on an English muffin topped with hollandaise sauce and a side of fruit. Lost Dog also offers a “Folly Benedict” which is eggs benedict with a crab cake, which is also pretty dang.

I know I don’t like poached eggs, but this looks delicious. Also, I haven’t had lunch yet.

I always order the “quesadilla for the hungry dog,” which I know sounds like kind of a cop out, but it’s so good! They stuff this huge tortilla with refried and black beans, peppers, onions, and cheese and serve it with salsa and sour cream. I always add chicken, but there’s an option to add shrimp if you’re into that sort of thing (weirdo).

Are those biscuits and gravy you see in the background? Yes. Yes they are.

When we went with my parents, my mom ordered the special wrap of the day. It had pork and some other stuff in it, and it was freaking delicious. We all really liked it, and if they put it on the menu permanently, I might start ordering it on the reg.

With a side of biscuits and gravy, of course, not the cucumber salad that my mother got.

When we went with Ben’s roommate, Doug, he ordered the “society street French toast” served with fresh strawberries. Although he’s not a huge fan of biscuits and gravy (because he’s a communist), I think he did like his French toast, which looked beautiful and delicious. I don’t know for sure, though, as he never offered to share (oh the irony).

He also ate it sans syrup, which just seems wrong.

Lost Dog has the best chocolate milk. They squirt Hershey’s syrup along the side of a mason jar before filling it up with some delicious chocolate milk so it’s double chocolate. It’s like the inception of breakfast drinks. Lauren says their Bloody Mary’s are pretty good, but I think mixing tomato juice with liquor sounds like something only a homeless person would enjoy, so, I guess you’ll just have to take her word for it.

I just don’t get it.

If you’re vacationing in Charleston and you’re looking for a really great breakfast/brunch place that is really delicious and won’t break the bank, I definitely recommend Lost Dog. And get the biscuits and gravy (unless you’re a dirty commie like Doug). I honestly don’t know why Guy Fieri and Diners’ Drive ins & Dives hasn’t been there yet.

Lost Dog Café
106 West Huron Ave
Folly Beach, SC 29439
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Events

Charleston Mac Off

November 16, 2012

If you know nothing else about me, you know I love macaroni and cheese. Seriously. I would give you my kidney for a quality bowl of mac and cheese. My favorite mac and cheese IN THE WORLD was made and served by the special education class at Greenville High School every Wednesday and you had to get there early before they sold out. I’ve spent most of my adult life trying (and failing) to find a bowl of mac and cheese that measured up. Enter the Charleston Mac Off… a macaroni and cheese festival/competition where you get to sample mac and cheese from some of the best restaurants in Charleston. Imagine my delight.

In case you have a bad imagination.

Ben and I bought the VIP package, which included admission and 25 tickets a person. The website said they were going to have 25 different restaurants, but they only ended up having 22, so we had some extra tickets. After we visited about half of the restaurants, we both started getting full and instead of getting a sample each, we started splitting the samples, so we ended up with a bunch more extra tickets. Luckily, they had drink vendors there, so I could drown my sorrows about all these extra tickets. My favorite drink was the Firefly Arnold Palmer, which was dangerously delicious (yay for not being DD!). In the future, I probably would have only gotten one VIP package and just bought general admission for Ben, as I think this would have been a more cost-effective option (plus you can buy more sample tickets as needed once you were actually there).

Ah, yes. I can see that I am in the right place. Photo from Tag Your Pix

Here are the restaurants we sampled: The Roost, Graze, Coleman Public House, Duke’s, Magnolia’s, Castaways, The Tomato Shed, Crave, Angel Oak Restaurant, Sesame, Poogan’s Porch, Cherrywood BBQ & Alehouse, J Paulz, B Gourmet Catering, Smoky Oak, New Moon Pizzeria, Mad River, The Shelter, possibly more, but I can’t remember….Of all of the restaurants there, I’d say Graze, Crave, and Coleman Public House were the best.

Plus, check out that sunset!

Graze was definitely my favorite of the night. Their “Southern Supper” white cheddar mac and cheese with pulled pork and collard greens was outstanding, and it really stood out in the sea of cheesy noodles that was the Mac Off. Although many of the restaurants were doing some kind of pork-related mac and cheese (bacon, ham, pulled pork, etc), Graze was definitely the best. No contest. I obviously wasn’t the only person who thought they were outstanding, as they won the Critic’s Choice Best Mac and Cheese. When Groupon offered a dinner deal at Graze a couple days after the Mac Off, I didn’t hesitate to purchase it so I could taste that delicious mac and cheese again. I’ll let you know how the rest of their menu measures up in a future post!

Also, that was the size of all of the “samples.” Also known as a “full meal” in most parts of the world.

Coleman Public House was serving up smoked gouda mac and cheese with pecan-smoked bacon and white truffle oil. I’m usually hesitant about things with truffle oil because the flavor can be so overpowering, but this mac and cheese was awesome. All of the flavors really complemented each other, and I loved that it was super creamy. They also used those twirly cavatappi noodles, which I love. I know they didn’t win anything at the Mac Off, but they were voted “Best Coma-Inducing Skillet of Cheesy Goodness” on the City Paper’s Best of Charleston 2012 list.

(It’s the one on the left and it is straight up deloicious)

Crave’s Aged Cheddar Mac and Cheese, topped with parmesan cheese, was definitely the creamiest of the entire event. It also had the cheesiest flavors and I think this was the best traditional mac and cheese I’ve had at any restaurant in Charleston. They also won the People’s Choice Best Tasting Mac and Cheese award for the third year in a row this year, so I think it’s safe to say that they know what they’re doing. I was also really impressed that they were actually cooking their mac and cheese on-site, instead of bringing it already cooked like most of the others.

I forgot to take a picture, so I stole this one from Crave’s Facebook page. This was not the size of the sample. But almost.

There were a couple restaurants whose mac and cheese was so bad that I’ll never eat there. At the top of this list was Angel Oak Restaurant, and The Roost. Angel Oak’s tasted like it had peanut butter in it for some reason, which was strange. The Roost’s macaroni was really dried out, so that wasn’t good (especially since this was the first one I tried that night). All of the other restaurants there ranged from “Good” to “Okay,” and basically weren’t worth mentioning, in my opinion. The only other restaurant to get some kind of honor was the Tomato Shed for “Best Use of a Local Ingredient” in their “Shrimp Club Mac & Cheese” (local shrimp, tomatoes, dill, goat cheese, bacon, and something called “bloomy-rind cheese”). I thought it was ok, but was a little too fishy tasting for my liking. J Paulz was there with their truffled mac and cheese, which is really good, but I’d had it before so it wasn’t really that exciting.

The problem here is that there was a lot of macaroni, and not a lot of cheese. Except for the crispy, dried out cheese they put on top.

The most creative mac and cheese was the Mac and Cheese cupcake from B Gourmet Catering. It was a mini-muffin sized cupcake made with cheddar and breadcrumbs and topped with a pimento cheese “frosting,” and sprinkled with bacon. I thought it was good, albeit a little too greasy. They also had some pretty cool entertainment, a DJ, followed by a live band, bull riding, and a cornhole contest and “fire hula-hooper” (no actual fire that I saw). They also had one of those new VW Bugs there that they may have been raffling off, but I was too focused on eating Mac & Cheese to pay attention.

For those of you who might not be able to tell, that hula hoop is not actually on fire. Photo from Tag Your Pix

Next time I’ll probably bring my own chairs (seating was hard to come by as the night went on), and make a whole night of it. It was way better at the Mount Pleasant Park than when they held it at the bus shed downtown, so I hope they hold it there again. Overall I’d say this was the best food event I’ve ever attended and you can bet I’ll be there next year!

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