Sesame Burgers and Beer, N. Charleston, SC

You Have To Try The Fried Pickles...

We had eaten at the Sesame Burgers and Beer at the Citadel Mall and it was terrific. Unfortunately it was a “no blog” day, but our lunch was perfect. We decided to visit their N. Charleston location this past Saturday.

Make no bones about it, this is a destination restaurant. It’s out of the way and we needed our GPS to get there.  Because the N. Charleston St. Patrick’s Day parade was in close proximity to the restaurant it was very crowded. Regardless, we thought it was worth the trip.

Beer Menu

They have a beer menu of 60+ selections and their menu is extensive.  Even though it is written on the menu I missed the fact that they “proudly serve Meyers Farm hormone free, grass fed beef.” And that it is ground in house daily.  Sesame Burgers and Beer does many things to make your lunch/dinner special.

The menu includes Starters and Snacks, Salads, Sandwiches and a unique listing of Hamburgers, Turkey Burgers, Black Bean Burgers and Grilled Chicken served every which way from Sunday.  And if that’s not enough they also offer 45 toppings for the sandwich that you select.

Fried Pickles

We were stumped as we looked over the menu and decided to order the “Fried Pickles” as a starter.  These Iightly breaded spears were accompanied by Sesame’s homemade Ranch dressing (all of their dressings, sauces, ketchups, mustards, etc. are homemade…).  If you haven’t tried something like this, you should.  We ate them as if we had been on a desert island for weeks … while we continued to try to decide on lunch.

I landed on the Patty Melt.  I am not a big meat eater but it sounded interesting being topped with American cheese, caramelized onions, house made mayo (which I asked to have on the side, and it was a no show), and spicy Coast beer mustard on marble rye. 

Patty Melt

My husband chose the Slider trio – a “Memphis” (house made peanut butter, bacon and banana slices), “Colorado” (grated sharp cheddar and house made chili) and the “Southwestern” (guacamole and chipotle sour cream). 

Although the restaurant was packed, our lunch arrived very quickly.  Unfortunately, it did not live up to our visit at their sister location at the Mall.

Sliders - No Side

My hamburger that was supposed to be served “medium” was almost well done and with everything that was on it, was still very dry.  The marble rye was somewhat charred (see picture) and had a burnt taste to it.  And the house made mustard had such an overpowering flavor of horseradish that I even asked the server what was on the burger as I didn’t see horseradish listed as one of the ingredients.  Again, the homemade mayo was a no-show.

The trio of sliders were good, but overcooked.  Because they were topped with so many things it somewhat hid the fact that they were extremely dry and overdone. 

Having said all of this we would definitely give “Sesame Burgers and Beer” in N. Charleston another try.  Our first lunch at their Citadel Mall location was magnificent. Due to the parade and the crowd (there was a very long line when we were leaving), they could have been having an off day.

Here's a little intro to Sesame Burgers & Beer we found on YouTube.

We gave Sesame Burgers & Beer 3 out of a possible 5 plates. 

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Sette, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Add In A Chandelier But It's Still A Pizza Hut....

I must admit that I had some trepidation about having dinner at the Italian restaurant, Sette on Coleman Boulevard.  I had eaten at The Boulevard Diner, also owned by “Sal”.  Although the food was OK the food handling was awful, and having Food Safety and Quality Assurance as a responsibility of mine at my last position, it was very concerning to me.

But, many people in our neighborhood spoke so highly of Sette that we had to give it a try. Plus an entrepreneur (Bradford)  and two of his colleagues left Sette after many years to open Graze in the Whole Foods Plaza, which is a huge success.  We thought that his legacy may have lived on.

Make no bones about it; Sette is a former Pizza Hut.  Other than putting a chandelier in the center of the room, it’s still a Pizza Hut. Not that it’s a bad thing, but the décor is somewhat cold.  

We were quickly seated at a two top that was part of a long, hard, wooden, pew-like setting.  Although there was a cushion, all I could think of was the misery when I had been stranded at the 30^th Street Train Station in Philadelphia – so uncomfortable.

Special Board

Once seated a 2’ x 3’ blackboard was propped up next to us on a chair displaying the 6 specials. An awkward way to do this, but it seemed to work.  Our server, Alexa, never spoke of the specials but was efficient nonetheless.  We were quickly served a light olive oil and in-house baked bread that was really very good. I thought that we were off to a wonderful start.

As we perused the menu we decided to order an entrée and to split a Caesar salad.  I am a big fan of veal dishes and find that Italian restaurants usually prepare them very well.

Alexa approached the table to take our order.  We ordered the Caesar salad and then I began to inquire about the veal dishes.  She immediately told us that she would not recommend the veal and that “of all the dishes they serve, veal gets the most complaints.” “It’s just not good,” she continued. “It’s tough and I would not order it.”

Caesar With Brown Lettuce

I applauded her candor.  But thought if this is how the staff is feeling, why isn’t something done to change this?

My husband landed on the Pine Nut encrusted chicken (one of Alexa’s favorites), and I chose the Seafood Fettuccini.  We waited a brief time before our salads were served and watched as the small restaurant began to fill up.

Our salad had been split for us on to two small plates, which was nice.  We asked if the restaurant had anchovies, they did not.  However, we were assured that the dressing had anchovies in it and was very tasty.

My first bite of the salad was disappointing as it was very bland.  And, although the lighting was dim we began to notice that most of the lettuce was brown, and that most of it wasn’t the leaves but rather the “core” of the lettuce.  We gave the salads back to Alexa. 

Seafood Fettucini

If you think about it, a lot has to happen before our salads hit our table. First, someone had to either get the portion of Romaine, or portion the Romaine.  Then they had to toss the Romaine in dressing, split the portion on the two dishes and add croutons and freshly grated cheese. Since the kitchen was well lit I found it very hard to believe that the quality of the Romaine went unnoticed.  Is this what they always serve it? Bleech.

Our entrees were a mixed bag. My Seafood Fettuccini was hot, spicy and flavorful. No complaints on my end. But the Pine Nut Encrusted Chicken was a different story.  If you’ve been reading along you know that I’m usually the one that has food envy when we go out.  Without fail I always seem to pick the wrong thing off the menu. Tonight I definitely got the better meal for a change.

Balsamic Drenched Chicken

The “Balsamic reduction” was hardly reduced. The dish looked like two large chicken breasts sitting in an oil change.  And unfortunately, its flavor also faltered.  There was not a pine nut to be seen. The “crust” of the chicken was gummy and the procciuto was rubbery.  The mashed potatoes and asparagus (all three stalks) were so infused with balsamic vinegar that they, and the entire dish, was almost inedible. 

Again, someone on the expediter’s station saw this dish that looked that bad and decided to serve it to us. 

It answered my question as to whether I would ever dine at Sette or “Sal’s” 6 other restaurants again, and the answer is no.  We stopped at Harris Teeter on the way home so my husband could get something to eat. And after my “bench detail” at the table I felt like I was in need of a chiropractor.  This is a restaurant to skip.

We gave Sette 2 plates 5 out of a possible 5 and that's probably generous.

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Five Guys Burgers & Fries - Launches Android App

Just in case you missed this Five Guys (one of our favorite fast food joints) has released an app for Android that will let you find the nearest Five guys and place you order ahead of time.  You just pick up and pay.  Personally I can't wait for more restaurants to start using this technology to move things along.  After all who wants to wait in line if you don't have to.  BTW, the Five Guys Facebook page says the iPhone and Blackberry apps will be coming out soon!

APP SCREENSHOTS

    

For those of you without a phone using the Android OS, you can order from your computer or by texting in your order.

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Bricco Bracco, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Bon Appetito!

I have to admit, at first I thought the sign had a typo in it, but I was mistaken.  Loosely translated, and as defined on their Facebook page it means “this and that” - This" menu is derived from many years of Italian cooking and building layers of flavor combinations "that" bring a taste of Italy to your plate. Interesting…

We have a slight history with this restaurant.  It opened in late December and in early January my husband had total knee replacement surgery. Going to this restaurant was our first “outing” after surgery.  Although we took pictures and notes and the food was OK, I didn’t think that it was fair to blog the restaurant when there were so many other “distractions” at our table, so we decided to go back.

Inside Bricco Bracco

We arrived for lunch at noon. Sadly, there was only one other table in the restaurant. Throughout our lunch only one additional table would be seated. I asked the waitress if we had come on a slow day, or is business just off.  She said, “Sometimes lunch doesn’t start until 1:00, and sometimes it doesn’t start at all.” This was sad to me as we would find that our lunch was very good and wondered why the restaurant was so empty.

I can say that there was a gentleman that appeared to be the manager – you know, white shirt/tie, hovering around the kitchen… And that’s all he did. Bricco Bracco has an open kitchen and you can see your food being prepared. I would understand if it was busy and the manager was helping to ensure food quality by expediting, but the restaurant was dead.  Could he have at least stopped by the ONLY two tables in the restaurant to see how things were?  Be that as it may, we placed our order.

Anti-Pasta

We decided to start with the Anti-Pasta (not a typo), which included mixed field greens, prosciutto, salami, soprassata (sic), parmigiana (sic) reggiano, (sic), mixed olives, balsamic vinaigrette and fresh mozzarella. This was a treat!  The fresh mozzarella was no doubt made in-house it and had the most unique flavor. The rest of the dish was fresh, flavorful and presented well.  We split this as an appetizer.

Our lunch entrée was their A La Prosciutto Pizza.   As their menu states, Pizza’s are grilled on a slate/granite stone. Their dough is prepared specifically for this cooking surface and adds a rustic flavor. We did find it to have precisely that.

The pizza was topped with prosciutto (big day for us and prosciutto), shaved parmigiana reggiano, arugula, plum tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.  The flavor combo was out of this world.  A light, thin crust complemented the unique mix of toppings.  It was awesome.  I was surprised that none of signature pizzas are topped with “sauce” as one would be familiar with, but their combinations are very interesting.   You can also “Create Your Own” with a choice of three toppings, if desired.

Although the atmosphere is somewhat stark and lackluster (maybe because the place was empty), the food was great and definitely worth the trip. 

You won't find them on the web, though. When I tried to do some online research on the restaurant after we visited, the only presence they have is a Facebook page.  Interestingly enough we asked if they had a website during our last visit, two months ago and were told they were working on it.  When we asked during this visit, again we were told that the gentleman in the white shirt and tie was “working on it”.  With so much time on his hands maybe he should focus a little harder on this as it would only serve to help them.

It is definitely worth a try, Bon Appetito!  

We gave Bricco Bracco 4 out of a possible 5 plates.

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See Wee Restaurant, Awendaw, SC

Simply Good Food!

While others on Hwy 17 try to replicate Roadside Kitchens, See Wee Restaurant is the real deal.

From the info that we’ve obtained while we were in the restaurant, the name “See Wee” comes from the name of an Indian tribe originally in the Awendaw area. Opened first as a General Store in 1920 it was sold to its present owners in 1993. It continued to run as a General Store until its conversion to the See Wee Restaurant in 1993.

Throughout this time their motto has remained, “Simply Good Food” and it shows.  This is not a fancy place. I would imagine not much has changed over the years and that adds to the charm.  Floors creek, paint is chipped, and people are all very nice to you.  But the big gift is the food.

Although we did not see the breakfast menu, it probably is as aggressive as the lunch & dinner menu.  The number of menu items offered is insane! There are 40 menu selections and your choice of 20 sides.  In addition to that there is a large white board that advertises the specials for the day and another one that reflects the fresh dessert selections.  Twenty more specials and at least 15 desserts – and everything is homemade! Crazy.

The old adage of “don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry” also holds true when you wait too long to eat lunch, which we did. By the time we got there we were both starving. 

As we were looking over the menu, ut-oh, a large piping hot basket of fresh hushpuppies arrived at our table.  These hushpuppies put the “Husk Puppies” at the restaurant Husk, to shame.  Light, airy, crispy, there really aren’t enough adjectives to describe them.  We ate them like we had three days to live.

Lunch took a little longer than we anticipated. Not a big deal since we had our hushpuppy friends.  But when it did arrive, it was worth the wait. 

The Bacon and Cheese Hamburger (one of the day’s specials), was special indeed.  A very large burger on a toasted bun topped with five, count ‘em five slices of freshly cooked bacon.  The fries were almost too hot to eat. As requested they were lightly seasoned with Lawry’s season salt, one of See Wee’s specialties.  Now THAT’S different.

Although maybe a tad boring, I ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. It was perfect -nicely grilled with the cheese oozing out of the sides; Velveeta perhaps?  What surprised me most was that it wasn’t made with slices of ham, but rather a small ham steak. Accompanying this was fried okra (also awesome), and blue cheese dressing – for dipping, of course. 

Although after my friends the hushpuppies and I hung out for awhile as we waited, I could only finish ½ the sandwich and have a few pieces of okra.  I felt like I should have walked home to burn off some of the calories. Nice time I will plan ahead.

All of the checks are paid via the cashier at the front of the store who genuinely says, “Come and see us again if you can.”  Which we will.

We gave See Wee 5 out of a possible 5 plates!

See Wee On YouTube.....

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New Look For DiningAroundCharleston

Dining Around Charleston Has A New Face...

We've spent a lot of time trying to get the right look and feel for our site and we've finally landed on the new layout.  We hope you like it.  For those of you that own restaurants we've included a slideshow of our featured reviews and we'd love to have your restaurant in the slideshow right on our homepage.  To find out how you can make that happen please contact us directly at info@diningaroundcharleston.com

As always we welcome your comments and feedback on our new layout so please feel free to contact me directly with your feedback.

We hope you enjoy the new site and we'll keep working to make DiningAroundCharleston a better site to visit.

The Staff @ DiningAroundCharleston.com

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