High Thyme, Sullivan’s Island, SC

After we ate at High Thyme in Sullivan’s Island last night I’ve thought a lot about what to say about it. Not because it was a bad experience – those are easy to write about, but because I couldn’t put into words what the experience was really like.

We went there on Tapas night Tuesday. The menu includes small sized plates priced between $9.00 and $14.00 and half priced wine by the glass until 10:00 p.m. They bill themselves as High Thyme Cuisine and Cocktails and they’ve been there for quite some time.

We were joined by a great couple, Dennis and Ginger Samuelson from Carolina Coastal Properties, and the evening was just terrific. Dennis sold us our new house in the area and Ginger handled our rentals before that so we’ve become fast friends with the Samuelsons. When driving home the “rating” of the restaurant came up. There was much debate about “What’s a 4?” “What’s a 5?” – and how the restaurant could go either way. One word, “memorable” was mentioned. What makes a restaurant experience memorable? That’s the question that has been rolling around in my head all day.

High Thyme is a small, quaint, dimly lit, comfortable place. You can sit either inside or out and the door is always open so it helps to create a very airy feeling. But memorable? No. It begs the question though, if the service and food are great would it be memorable? Possibly.

Our server was very efficient. She told us the specials, told us about the wine special, took our order, and was pleasant. She did not have conversations with the table, suggestively sell items, or bring bread to the tables as others had received (although I did observe the other waiter in the restaurant who did). If pressed, I could not pick her out of a lineup. Not necessarily bad service, but memorable? No.

The food was a nice surprise. At first I had a bit of sticker shock at the “tapas” prices. I was pleasantly surprised. Our appetizers were plentiful and beautiful. I had one of the salads with goat cheese, cranberries and nuts – just terrific. Also ordered were the heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad – stunning, and tasteful, and the white bean soup. The soup was very flavorful and was delivered piping hot.

Dinner was also outstanding. I had the littleneck clam dish that is served with chorizo, corn, tomatoes in a light broth. The salmon was served perfectly over a colorful bean salad. The Szechuan beef tenderloin was spot on – a perfect medium rare and just the right heat. Our friend had not been feeling well and ordered the chicken pot pie. He mentioned that it was one of the best ones he had ever tasted, and even mentioned at the end of the meal that he was already feeling better.

This part of the meal was memorable. Not only is the food very good, it’s just so beautifully presented and complimented.

We were offered dessert and coffee, but decided to pass.

So as I reflected on the evening gone by I asked myself if it was memorable. It was very nice, and I would recommend the restaurant and return. But it wasn’t “memorable”.

When we were leaving we noticed a white Mercedes trying to fit in the spot that was way too small right in front of us on the street. He was on his cell phone and kept gently bouncing into my car trying to back in. We’ve moved from Boston, so this parking technique is not new, but it was my car, and even after he knew that, because we stood right there and told him, he continued to back into it. Now THAT was memorable.

We gave High Thyme 4 plates out of 5.  We're still on the hunt for the elusive 5 plate memorable dining experience.

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Hominy Grill, Charleston, SC

The food is the star. Done. I Said it. End of story.

I had heard of Hominy Grill for quite some time. I also recently read that they won “best Shrimp and Grits”, so we decided to give it a try.

This is a location that is somewhat off the beaten path, on Rutledge Avenue. Driving by to find a parking spot (there is a parking lot adjacent to the building that holds about a dozen cars), we were chagrinned to see that there was a waiting line out front (it was 1:40 p.m. on a Saturday), but decided to still give it a try. Surprisingly we were seated within five minutes of our arrival, which was an unexpected treat.

Hominy Grill is a shotgun style, small restaurant that holds about 45 people. There is also a small, well-shaded patio with a few tables. The restaurant is all white with the exception of the many framed articles about the restaurant that line the walls. Old hard wood floors, tin ceiling, butcher paper on the tables, and a great staff round out this place! You almost feel like you’re sitting in your grandmother’s kitchen.

We didn’t know that Saturday only offered the “brunch” menu, which is somewhat limited, but there are numerous specials on blackboards that line the restaurant. My first choice, the shrimp burger was sold out, bummer, so I decided to sleuth my other options. I chose the shrimp and grits, and my husband selected the barbecue chicken sandwich. We were to find out later that all of the menu items are prepared from scratch from locally raised ingredients.

Although almost sacrilegious here in the south, I’m not a grits fan. ‘Can’t put my finger on why, but I’m not a fan. I thought that this might make me a convert.

Although our waitress never told us her name, she was very good. In fact, everyone in the restaurant was helpful. When I asked the manager what was in the huckleberry cake he brought me over a recipe book - conveniently, they sell them. When I asked our waitress to see a dinner menu, she spent a lot of time explaining the menu, what time it starts and ends, and spoke highly about the 20 to 30 vegetable selections that they have each night. Seems that their prep kitchen is down the street… this one could never accommodate so many options.

Our lunch arrived in short order. My grits were hot and moist. They were topped with shrimp, crisp bacon, fresh scallions and sautéed mushrooms, very nice. My husband’s sandwich had a heaping mound of barbecued chicken, a side of coleslaw, (“Just enough to top your sandwich”) and some very lightly seasoned potato salad. I had sandwich envy.

He was the true test of the grits and he said that they were the best that he’s ever had. Alas, though, I am not a convert. I still have a hard time actually understanding what they “are”, yet alone eating them. I also thought that at $16.95 the serving was small and the dish, pricey.

We tried to order a tee shirt (even though we live here), but they didn’t have my size. The waitress mentioned that we would be getting a postcard (nice touch), with our check and that everything they sell is on their website, which I promptly visited when I returned home. Give that gal a raise!

We gave the Hominy Grill 4 1/2 plates out of 5



BTW Anthony Bourdain did a little piece on Hominy Grill thats on YouTube here.

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Five Loaves Café, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Location, location, location… This is a restaurant that you have to KNOW is there, or you’d miss it, and that would be a shame.

In the far corner of Crickentree Village, on Johnnie Dodds Blvd is a small restaurant named Five Loaves Café. It has very little signage if any, so keep your eyes peeled.  There are two sections to the restaurant, an inside seating area, and a patio (somewhat enclosed) with A/C units. We chose to sit outside, only because at 11:50 a.m. there were no tables available inside.

The patio was dank, and smelled musty.  That didn’t deter us as we’ve been there before and the food is usually good.  Service started out efficient, but then went downhill. They appear to be using a “team approach” with servers, but there was one specific server (whose name we did not catch simply because it wasn't offered), who took our order.

The café offers a variety of specials and homemade soups every day.  It’s billed as a “gourmet eatery”, as the food is rather unique.  One of the interesting things about Five Loaves is that you can mix and match your sandwiches/salads.  ½ sandwich, ½ soup, “3 small pours” – a soup sampler… Something for everyone.  Please note though by 12:10 p.m. there was a line to get in so you might want to get there early to get a seat!

On this particular visit we each ordered a cup of soup to start, one of the specials (Corn and Blue Crab cakes over a salad) and a sandwich.  The “Loaded Potato” Soup was fabulous.  And even just a cup was very filling. My husband ordered the Mexican chicken chili, and although filled with chicken, avocado, black beans, it was quite bland. Both however were served with a large slice of very good, what appeared to be, homemade bread.

I was a tad nervous when we placed our order as the restaurant was full and no one was eating – a sign that the kitchen might be overwhelmed…  Although we were offered refills on our beverages many times, lunch took a very long time to be delivered, just over 30 minutes.

When my salad was delivered the salad dressing on the side was incorrect.  I asked the waitress “Is this blue cheese?” She said no.  “Let me do some investigating…” She then proceeded to go through EVERY SINGLE ticket she had written and look for our order. (Did I mention that we’d waited a long time for lunch????) “Here it is,” she said, “Blue cheese”, and then proceeded to bring me the correct dressing. It was the last we saw of her.

The pork sandwich that was ordered, “The Parker”, was good. The pork was a little dry, but it was very tasty.  Unfortunately, my salad wasn’t as expected.  The corn and blue crab cakes were cold and tasted more like hush puppies than crab cakes. The salad is served with whole cashews, a nice touch, but they were stale, very stale.  We ate lunch and then waited, and waited, and waited for our served to come back.  Another waitress came and removed our plates. I asked her if the crab cakes were supposed to be hot, she said, “Yes, yours weren’t?”  I regretfully said, “No”.  She asked me why I hadn’t said anything. I told her that no one had ever come by to see how everything was.

Our waitress returned with our check and said, “I’m sorry that your crab cakes were not warm.”  I said, “No, they were cold and the cashews were stale.” Just as I said “stale” she almost said it along with me, as if this was a normal occurrence, which I found very odd.  She did say that she'd tell the kitchen but it was a little late to save my salad.  Hopefully the next person that orders gets it served as it was intended by the chef.

Five Loaves does a lot of very unique things which we were unaware of until we asked.  They make their own soups, dressings, use local pasta, beef, chicken, etc. and their ingredients are very fresh and interesting.  Although prominent on their website it’s almost a secret within their café. 

My last comment is my Pet Peeve #6 – Flowers, planters, planter boxes, etc.  If it appears that you don’t care what they look like don’t bother having them.  We sat next to  a planter with trash, dead plants, in dry soil.  It was just a mess. It’s a cramped space, so you are literally on top of he poor plants. And the patio could use a once over. Although not the greatest of lunches, this is one place that I would give another try, not for the décor or service, but for the food alone, which is usually pretty good. But get there early if you don't have time to wait. 

We give Five Loaves 3 plates out of 5.

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Crave – Kitchen and Cocktails, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Nestled in The Shoppes at Seaside Farms is an interesting restaurant, Crave.  Before we moved here, Crave was one of our favorite restaurant haunts.  It always seemed busy and the bar had a wonderful, busy atmosphere.  Upon a recent visit, however, a lot of that appears to have changed.

Crave is a restaurant that I want to do well. The menu is a little eclectic, which is a nice change. But on a warm Thursday evening, all they could do was stumble.

We were seated in the bar area at a high top. A new addition is a shrill-singing folk singer.  We kept thinking that she would take a break, but we were sadly mistaken.  Although not busy upon our arrival, our waitress, “Carmen” seemed very busy and not interested in her role in the restaurant.  We ordered drinks and she kept mentioning something about “happy hour”, but we were uncertain what she meant. 

Our drinks took a considerable amount of time.  Restaurant Pet Peeve #4, can a brother get a coaster or a bev nap with a drink?  My drink was watery and the glass was sweating. Each time that I took a sip I had to lean away from the table so that it would not sweat on me or the table itself.

We asked about specials (there weren’t any, this is a change), and about happy hour.  She proceeded to tell us that there was a happy hour menu until 7:00 pm. She was obviously not happy that we’d asked for it and went to rummage through other menus to find a crumpled 4” x 6” listing of bar favorites.  We passed.

She did recommend the Bruchetta, which was tasty but difficult to eat. It should have been called the Build Your Own Bruchetta as it was a mound of a nice tomato mixture with a hot, deep fried cheese patty on top.  Interesting, but disappointing.

We ordered two simple things for dinner - side Caesar salad with anchovies and a cheeseburger.  I don’t know if the restaurant was understaffed but we watched as our waitress picked up tables throughout the restaurant and outside.  Our meal took a very long time, easily 35 minutes. During this time our glasses continued to sweat as did we. The restaurant was now hot, shrill sounding and damp.

The burger came out as ordered; nice but nothing special.  My salad was very warm. I mentioned to Carmen that it was rather warm, that it possibly sat in the window for awhile.  To her credit, she offered to take it back and get a new one prepared. My sincere worry was that we’d wait another 30+ minutes for that, so I declined her offer and pushed the salad around my plate.

It took a considerable amount of time for her to come back to the table to clear our plates (which she didn’t), and give us the check – I just handed her my credit card to speed things up.

When I glanced at the bill I noticed a $1.00 charge for anchovies on my salad. Restaurant Pet Peeve #5 – Don’t nickel and dime me with small charges, or at least tell me about them.

My fondness for the place has waned.  Although as I mentioned, I would like them to do well, as the “Eight Ball” would say when turned over, “not likely”.

 I give Crave 1 plate out of a possible 5 plates.

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Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Ratings juggernaut Zagat released its restaurant survey results on Monday. Topping the list for “best burger” was Five Guys Burgers and Fries. This peaked our interest. We have visited the restaurant before but decided to take a closer look on what made them #1.

Five Guys is located in the Mount Pleasant Towne Center on Highway 17. Its location is a bit off the beaten path. If you blink, you’ll miss it, but hopefully you won’t.

Décor-wise, the restaurant isn’t very special. It’s a red and white theme, with tiled walls and hardwood floors. Framed articles line the walls and mounds of bags of potatoes steer you toward the cash register.

The menu is also very simple – burgers, fries, hot dogs, grilled cheese and a veggie sandwich. That’s it. The ordering process is also not tricky. There are 15 free toppings that you can select to customize your burgers. Burgers are served as either “Little Hamburgers”, one patty, or just “Hamburgers” which consists of two patties. We have never ordered anything more that the little burgers and they are a meal in themselves. Fries are ordered regular or large, and the portions are massive. A regular size was easy to split, and we could have brought friends. Soda is offered in two sizes and is refillable.

On our recent visit we ordered two Little Cheeseburgers (we’ve had the bacon as an add on before, you should pass on it…), fries, and a soda to split. Total dinner tab, $13.76. But wait there’s more. To pass the time you can munch on free fresh shelled peanuts – What’s not to love?

Your meal is picked up by the number on your receipt. You can then go to the condiment bar to get ketchup, vinegar, etc. Easy to use, and like the rest of the restaurant – right down to the restrooms, spotlessly clean. Everything about Five Guys is simple. Maybe that’s the magic.

The management is to be commended on their staff. It’s very diverse and the team is also very friendly. Most importantly, they all seemed to be very happy to be there. They made us feel very welcomed - all this for $13.76. It was a 5 napkin dinner.

Phil Mickelson may have recently converted to a vegetarian, but it’s not for lack of a great burger. Maybe he can have the veggie sandwich??

We give 5 Guys 4 Plates out of 5!

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Bacco, Mt. Pleasant, SC

We found an unexpected jewel the other evening in the small strip mall at the corner of Houston Northcutt and Coleman Boulevard. “Bacco” is an unpretentious jewel on many levels. But one thing’s for certain, the food is terrific, and you won’t have to take out a second mortgage to eat there.

The décor is simple and clean, not overstated, and not over decorated. Simple warm hues adorn the room that has about 25 tables. We sat at the bar at a high top, which was nice as you could see what was happening throughout the restaurant.  Not for everyone, but for me, it was very interesting.

Our service was attentive and very pleasant. Drinks were served quickly and we were not rushed as we looked through the menu. Hot, fresh Italian bread was personally served to us by our server. No basket ‘o bread at this establishment. It was a very nice, personalized touch.

Our salads arrived quickly and they were a large, crisp mound of lettuce with a variety of toppings (my husband and I each ordered a different variety).  Nothing over the top, but very well done.

My husband ordered the evening’s special which was a veal dish. I ordered their carbonara, and although it was very good, I was envious of what my husband chose. The veal was so tender and the potatoes and other items that accompanied his meal were also done perfectly.  My dish was a generous portion of pasta with a nice egg-cream sauce. The peas were fresh (I suspected local grown), and the pancetta had just a hint of salt.  Both dishes are now highly recommended.

We ate until we were full, but wanted to continue!  We did end up taking doggy bags with us, the portions are very big.

As the meal came to a close, as I mentioned it was very affordable. It was not pricey at all. We are certain to go back and would recommend it to anyone who wants a very good Italian meal in a nice, casual setting.

Definitely worth the run through the rain drops to get there.

We give Bacco 3 Plates out of 5.

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Rice Paddy, Georgetown, SC

On an adventure to meet some relatives for lunch I traveled to Georgetown, SC. Georgetown is about an hour north of Charleston, a straight shot on Rt. 17.  What I didn’t know until I got there is that Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina behind Charleston and Beaufort.

The buildings along this two to three block stretch maintained the same façade from years ago. They have been very well maintained along the way.  There is a very nice river walk behind the buildings which also hosts a variety of boat tours.  Located in the heart of the historic seaport district of Georgetown is The Rice Paddy, a cute restaurant that we selected for lunch.

My relative had made reservations for us which I appreciated, but I thought at the time, not necessary.  Surprisingly, on a Monday in this very sleepy town The Rice Paddy is busy, and very rightly so.  The décor is modern which is a nice contrast to the antiquity of the building itself.  The menu is midsize offering many interesting items.

I choose the salad with country ham, crumbled blue cheese, mandarin oranges and sugar pecans.  My relatives ordered a shrimp quesadilla and a grouper sandwich. The waitress was fast and efficient. She mentioned that all of the seafood is from local fishermen and wherever possible, the restaurant uses local items.  She took our order and then delivered piping hot fresh rolls.

Our lunch was delivered quickly considering the restaurant was rather full.  Everything was delicious and fresh.  When we were done we were full, but not overly so.  Our check and change was also delivered quickly.  I have to say that the service was very good in this tiny, out-of-the-way place.

The rest of the afternoon we toured the variety of shops along the street. One of the local merchants asked us where we were from and if we had had lunch. We said we did. I asked her if she was going to go to lunch in town where would she go. Without hesitation she said, “The Rice Paddy.  It’s always consistent there and the food’s very good.”

We gave the Rice Paddy 2 plates out of 5 possible plates

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Poe’s Tavern, Sullivan’s Island, SC

When we know we want a quick bite at a place we can always count on to deliver, we head to Poe’s. You know that when you order your favorite item it’s going to be delivered to you quickly and “Just right”. 

We decided to go to Poe’s on a Sunday when most restaurants serve Brunch only, and brunch just wasn’t grabbing us. Poe’s is a typical beach bar on Middle Street in Sullivan’s Island.  It sits among a few restaurants in a one block area. When other restaurants might be slow, Poe’s is most often packed.  There is seating on a two level patio outside, and even on very hot days the crowd overflows to the patio.

I personally don’t know the history on Poe’s but it appears that it has been around since Moby Dick was a guppy. It was apparently founded to preserve the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe. It’s a nondescript place, old tables and chairs, some community tables and high tops, a large draft beer selection and t-shirts for sale and the burgers are named for Edgar Allan Poe stories like the "Tell-Tale Heart": fried egg, applewood bacon, and cheddar cheese. Like I said…… nondescript. T don’t let that put you off.


Their menu is limited, which is a good thing, for this is a place that does a few things great, not good, but great. My husband and I ordered our usual, chicken sandwich for me burger for the big guy. There are a variety of ways that these can be ordered and so we decided to go with the special of the day with a little twist.  The special was topped (either chicken or hamburger) with Pepper jack cheese and fried pickles.  I ordered mine topped with Cheddar cheese and fried pickles as I never had a fried pickle before. 

Although somewhat routine as we always order the same or similar items I’ve found that when I’ve ordered other menu items I’m disappointed and missing my old friends.  Our sandwiches came out quickly and were perfect.  The fried pickles… were off the hook! The bartender (we were seated at the bar), was quick to ensure that everything was to our liking.  The bartender himself is also a fixture at Poe’s.  We’ve been going there for six years and he’s almost always there. ‘Don’t know his name, but he’s always there – another thing we can count on, good service.

We left with full stomachs, a very small dent in our wallet and a smile on our faces.  When you go there look past the surroundings and directly to the menu. You won’t be disappointed. 

We give Poe's a 4 plate rating!

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