BetsyinKY's Profile
Memorial Day Weekend in Charleston
Since you're planning to do bakery style breakfasts, I would do Sunday morning at Wild Flour Pastry (73 Spring St) for their Sticky Bun Sundays. I am drooling a little on my keyboard just thinking of those warm sticky buns! :)
Knoxville Hamburgers
Another vote for Litton's! I have never found their burgers to be dry and I enjoy their homemade buns. In fact, their bakery also creates some pretty delicious desserts, as well. I am addicted to their turtle brownies! :)
Where to eat during long weekend in Louisville?
I love breakfast at Toast on Market. Their lemon soufflé pancakes are heaven on a plate! I agree with the comments about Ramsi's. I haven't been there in a year or two, but their menu is huge and just seems impossible to do it all well. It's ok, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there.
Bachelor Party in Louisville - Thoughts?
I don't know how upscale you want your party, but if you're looking for a fun, somewhat dive atmosphere, we ate dinner at the Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot the other night and loved their barbecue. http://www.frankfortavenuebeerdepot.com/menu.html
Carryout Thanksgiving Meals in Charleston, SC?
The gourmet market, Caviar and Bananas does Thanksgiving dinners. They have a menu and order deadline information on their website. I've never had their Thanksgiving dinner, but I've had many tasty carryout items from their usual menu.
http://www.caviarandbananas.com/
Sweets/Baked goods in Charleston
I love Cupcake (both locations) and I love the Macaroon Boutique, too. Cupcake has, of course, cupcakes. Their chocolate with salted caramel icing makes me do a happy dance. Macaroon Boutique has amazing macaroons and really good chocolate croissants. I'm sure they have other delicious items, but those are the ones I'm drawn to every time I go there! I have also enjoyed sticky buns from Wild Flour Pastry on Cannon St. but have only been there once. I really wanted to go back when we were there in June, but I was already having trouble fitting all my meals into 10 days! :)
"What I Ate This Summer"-Charleston, June 2011
Mollybelle gave you a good description of the shrimp. I had friends staying on Folly who met us there, and one of the girls said, "Oh, you got popcorn shrimp!" I had to explain that the local shrimp are small, but they are so sweet and delicious. The breading was light. For about $13, I got 1/4 pound of fried shrimp, french fries, a small serving of slaw, and two hushpuppies. The slaw wasn't anything to rave about, but the rest of the meal was very good.
The Farmer's Market is wonderful, but be prepared for heat and crowds in the summer. I've been in October and it was much calmer, although still busy. We had already eaten a great breakfast at Page's, but I almost wished we had waited, because they have vendors cooking all sorts of delicious smelling items, like crepes with fresh fruit and Nutella. You need to go if you're ever there on a Saturday during market season.
"What I Ate This Summer"-Charleston, June 2011
I know lots of people read this board and want Charleston recommendations, so I thought I would write up the places we ate over the past week and a half while we were on vacation. So that you can understand my point of view, this was our 13th trip to the Charleston area since 2005. We stayed on Sullivan's Island and we had a car. We mostly ate breakfast and lunch at our house (lots of salad and fruit so I could eat out every night!), so most of these reviews are for dinner, but I'll group them by meal.
Lunches:
Juanita Greenburg's Nacho Royale-we ate a Saturday lunch at the newer Mt. Pleasant location. The food was just as advertised-fast, fresh, and inexpensive. I had the chicken nachos royale, which would have been plenty for two, and my husband had the steak quesadilla. We were both very happy with our selections.
The Tomato Shed-This little gem is on Johns Island and was recommended by a friend of mine who lives in the area. It's part restaurant, part farm stand market. The majority of what they serve is grown right on their farm or comes from another SC supplier. This was the freshest food we had on the entire trip and every one of us loved our lunch. I had the sweetest shrimp salad I've ever tasted, and the tomato pie and squash casserole sides were wonderful. Everything just had that truly "homecooked" taste to it. We also bought a lemon chess pie to go. It was devoured when we got back to the house and the plates were practically licked clean! The Tomato Shed is only open for lunch and gets crowded quickly. We got there about 11:45 and walked right in to a table, but by 12:15, people were stacked all around waiting to be seated.
Dinners:
Sermet's Corner-After eating dinner here, I think this King St. restaurant is underrated. I had a sauteed chicken dish with butternut squash agnolotti that was delicious. My parents had a pork tenderloin dish that they claimed was fantastic. The restaurant wasn't terribly crowded, service was good, and prices were extremely reasonable. Most dishes were in the $12-17 range, with a few priced higher.
The Old Village Post House-I absolutely adore the dining room of the restaurant. It's located in the Old Village section of Mt. Pleasant and you feel tucked away and somewhat hidden from the crowds of tourists. It's almost like you're in the dining room of a friend who has a really amazing house in the Old Village. At any rate, service here was great and the food was delicious. I started with a peach salad and had a trout dish, with a wonderful fresh corn side. My husband had the NY strip, which was perfectly seasoned and cooked. Prices here are more upscale, with most entrees in the mid-20's.
Pane e Vino-This little restaurant, which is on a side street off of King St., was hard to find at first, but worth the effort. There wasn't an obvious sign outside, so we drove past it twice, trying to decide if we had the right address, but then we noticed the Italian flag. The food and the charming patio area were worth the extra gas we used cruising around the block multiple times! We started with the funghi fritti, which were as addictive as crack, served with sea salt and truffled pecorino. I could not stop eating them! My husband ordered the spaghetti bolognese and said it was the best sauce he's ever had. I had the spaghetti allo scoglio and it was very good. The atmosphere on the patio was very romantic and service was excellent. Most pastas were in the mid-teens and meat entrees ran to the mid-20's.
La Fourchette-I think this may have been my favorite meal of the trip. This tiny French bistro was crammed with patrons on a Friday night. I started with a wonderful tomato-rosemary soup and then we both had steak frites with a green salad. The steak was perfectly cooked and the duck fat fries were sheer heaven! Well, at least that's what I thought until I had dessert. I wasn't going to have dessert, but then another table ordered profiteroles and they looked so good, that I decided I needed some, too. Fantastic! The pastries had the perfect density and the chocolate sauce was warm and poured tableside. So good! Service was good and entree prices ranged from mid-teens to upper 20's.
Peninsula Grill-This truly is my favorite meal of the trip. We eat here for our anniversary every year and every year we leave saying, "Wow! That was an amazing meal!" This year was no exception. My husband had the NY Strip and the goat cheese smashed potatoes. I started with a salad that was a special that evening, featuring local John's Island heirloom tomatoes. Then I had the boneless Berkshire pork chop, with cheese grits and collard greens. We both shared the famed coconut cake for dessert. This restaurant is a model of great service that is unpretentious while still being attentive to your every need. The food was outstanding. Prices for entrees are in the $30-$40 range.
Cheaper eats:
Poe's Tavern-This Sullivan's Island hangout is the home of my favorite burger and no visit to the area is complete if I don't have one!
Andolini's Pizza-I love their vegetarian slice and I could eat the crust all day long. I don't know if it's truly NY style, as it claims to be, but the crust is wonderful, chewy with just a bit of crunch to it.
Page's Okra Grill-We ate a dinner and a breakfast here. It is truly "Local Food for Local Folks". It is just good old home cooking, with most dinner entrees in the $8-$12 range.
Bowen's Island-Almost to Folly, but worth the drive, if you love truly fresh seafood. This is one place where you can have a great view and still have great food, as long as you love fried seafood. I think this place (which is much less dive-y now that they've finished their new dining room) has the absolute best fried shrimp ever. The only service is when they scream out your name. You throw up a hand and they bring you your order. The rest of the time you're on your own, but with seafood this fresh, who cares?! Prices are mostly $12-$20ish.
Cupcake-There are two Charleston locations, but on this trip, I only went to Belle Hall in Mt. Pleasant. If you love cupcakes, this place is hard to top. I sampled four different cupcakes over the span of the trip. They were all good, but my favorite was the chocolate salted caramel. If you've ever had the Gigi's version of this, well Cupcake's blows it out of the water completely. Insanely delicious!
Charleston Farmer's Market-We stopped here on our way home on Saturday. I stocked up on some bread from Rococo bakery, some preserves from Colonial Charleston Kitchens, and then I hunted down the elusive Roots ice cream wagon. I know you really shouldn't eat ice cream at 10am, but hey, I had already had breakfast, so it's not like it would ruin my appetite! Roots ice cream is made in small batches with locally sourced ingredients and not your run of the mill chocolates and vanillas. Among the selections on Saturday were blueberry fennel, peaches and cornbread, and my choice, fraiche mint. It was delicious and very refreshing, even if it was a little early in the day for ice cream. (Is there any such thing?!)
I know this report/review is long, but hopefully it will be helpful to others who like to eat! It has definitely helped me to see why my clothes are little snug right now! :)
Curate - Asheville
Here is a link to the menu with pricing.
http://www.curatetapasbar.com/menus/main_menu.pdf
Best Hamburger in the State of Kentucky
A little bit (1:15) of a drive from Corbin, but the Dairy Hut in Harlan, KY has really good burgers (they have chili buns, too!). Actually, there are several good burgers in Harlan. Lou's Kountry Kitchen has a good burger, and believe it or not, the BP Double Kwik makes a good one, too.
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Dairy Hut
488 Skidmore Dr, Harlan, KY 40831
Kountry Kitchen
729 W G L Smith St, Morgantown, KY 42261
Sunday Brunch - casual dress - Charleston or Folly Island, SC
Mmmmm! Seconding Danna's recommendation of Fat Hen, with the caveat that I haven't been there for brunch, but I've eaten there several times for dinner and it is always plate lickin' good!
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Fat Hen
3140 Maybank Hwy, Johns Island, SC 29455
Red Velvet Cake - Charleston, SC
Ummm, yum, yum! I agree with Sue and 4. I love the Red Velvet cake from Sal's restaurants. I think it is my favorite Red Velvet cake anywhere.
Sno balls in Asheville?
Don't give up your search, caiogirl! We have "sno balls" like you described here in KY, but they are just called "shaved ice". It is harder to find the ones that have "cream", but I know there is at least one in my area (Strawberries and cream....strawberry syrup, cream, and real strawberries on top....divine!), so if they are here in KY, surely you can find them in NC! Good luck!
Lexington, Frankfort Louisville
Here is the link to Billy's in Lexington. http://www.billysbarbq.com/index.htm
McCrady's, Fig and ?? (Charleston)
Jackets are not required, but you will see a few in there. We go every year for our anniversary, and my husband feels comfortable in nice slacks and a dress shirt, no tie. Women are usually in nice slacks or dresses.
Seafood Dinner Reccomendations in Charleston, SC
I will second the Bowen's Island rec. By far the best fried seafood I've had in Charleston, or anywhere for that matter, and the prices are more than reasonable. I think Hominy Grill is also a good rec. They generally have a couple of seafood items on their menu and the prices, particularly at lunch, are not as steep as some of the other places that get recommended all the time.
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Hominy Grill
207 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC 29403
Charleston - Savannah- Recs for Restaurants on the Water
You aren't specific about what type of restaurant you're looking for, but if good food is the only qualifier and you aren't worried about white table cloths....or any tablecloths at all, for that matter, Bowen's Island is on the water and the views and the food are both great....but be forewarned that "dive" is probably an optimistic description of the place! :)
Eastern Kentucky Chili Bun Trail: Corbin, London, Williamsburg, Barbourville et al.
The Dairy Hut in Harlan has a pretty good chili bun or dog, either one. They also have good hot fudge cake, if you need dessert!
Best Restaurants for a Serious Foodie in Charleston, SC
According to the Charleston City Paper, Ken Vedrinski left Sienna as chef when he opened Trattoria Lucca, but maintained his monetary partnership in the restaurant. Trattoria Lucca is still open and seems to be going strong, and I read something not too long ago about Vedrinski having plans to open yet another restaurant, this one with an emphasis on seafood.
Shopping in Isle of Palms
Mt. Pleasant Farmer's Market is great! We go every time we're in the area. As far as grocery stores, we've had better luck with the stores on Coleman Blvd. in Mt. Pleasant than the Piggly WIggly over in Seaside Farms (closest to the IOP connector). There is a Piggly Wiggly, a BiLo, and a Publix all on Coleman Blvd, and they all seem to have better prices than the Pig closest to IOP.
Skip Poogan's Porch in Charleston, SC
I agree that Poogan's serves some pretty tasty biscuits. We've been coming to Charleston at least twice a year for the past six years or so. We used to eat at Poogan's at least once every trip. I don't know that it was ever the most outstanding meal of the trip, but it was always decent. We never had an experience of the sort that the OP described. However, as Sue points out, there are so many better places in the area, that when I'm in town for a limited number of meals, I don't want to waste one at Poogan's.
Charleston's Best Restaurants for NYC Foodies?
When I hear "foodie" + "Charleston" , I immediately think of McCrady's. My husband and I have an anniversary tradition of dinner at the Peninsula Grill....our anniversary wouldn't be complete without Robert Carter's fabulous coconut cake! Hominy Grill is good for homestyle, Southern cooking. Bowen's Island is a place that you definitely would not find in NYC (since you said you are up for "down-n-dirty") and it's oyster season and a good time to visit what is (in my opinion) the best seafood place in the area.
appreciate an update on cliff hagans-hazard,ky
You might want to call and make sure they are open, before you set out to visit. The restaurant suffered a major fire in June and I'm not sure if it is back in operation.
NEED RECS for Charleston at Xmas
Not quite South of Broad, but in the historic district, Caviar and Bananas is a great little gourmet grocery with very good prepared food. I love their truffled mac and cheese.
http://www.caviarandbananas.com/
Charleston SC shrimp and grits
Hominy Grill has my favorite shrimp and grits. Price aside, I think their grits are exactly what grits should be, and I like being able to taste all the flavors, not just the "gravy" that some recipes use.
Help! Need Johnson City, TN, recommendations...
If you don't mind driving about 20 minutes to Kingsport, downtown Kingsport has Bonefire Smokehouse, which started out as a 12 Bones franchise, and when they added a music hall, broke away from 12 Bones. However, they have kept the same basic menu, with a few of their own twists, and every time we've eaten there, before and after the name change, we've loved it. They don't have wine, but they do have beer.
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12 Bones
242 E Main St, Kingsport, TN 37660
Bakeries In and Around Charleston
Mmmmm! Cupcake! Mmmmmm....cookies and cream cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes, key lime cupcakes.....mmmmmmmm! (Can you tell I'm a fan?!)
Best Restaurants for a Serious Foodie in Charleston, SC
To me, "serious foodie" + Charleston=McCrady's.
Mt. Pleasant, SC, best places
Do you want casual or more upscale? As far as casual dining, I don't think you can beat the Boulevard Diner. The Mustard Seed, owned by the same people, is also very good, but a little more upscale. I also love the Old Village Post House. It is run by the Maverick Kitchen group, which also owns SNOB and High Cotton downtown.
