Butcher & Bee, Charleston, SC

The New Buzz On Upper King

I’ve heard some noise lately regarding Butcher & Bee, the newest restaurant on upper King and the name even intrigued me, so we decided to give it a try. 

Pulling into their parking lot I was happy to see that they offer free parking. Not that parking in Charleston is expensive, but nonetheless it was a pleasant surprise.

When we walked in I was surprised to see that the restaurant was quite small and only had one long community table in the center of the room that I thought may have sat about 15 – 20 people.  “This is odd,” I thought – “ONE table??”

All of their menu items (which are not many in number), are listed on a blackboard on the wall.  There were four sandwiches ($5-8), a few beverages, 5-6 side dishes ($2-6) and a beet salad that was $6.00, and that could have been it.  “Hmmm…,” I thought, this is different.

Family Style Seating

Although there is an antique cash register on the counter orders are placed via an electronic ordering pad that sits beside it.  When I asked if they had any bottled water the cashier said that water was on the tables.  When I asked how to get a glass the cashier said that they were “over there” and pointed to a very large hutch with glassware and other items on it. Everything about Butcher & Bee has a community involvement feel to it, which was interesting.

I ordered the beet salad. My mom used to can beets when I was a kid and I love them. Not many enjoy them as much as I do, so I was glad that this was an option. My husband ordered the Cuban sandwich with a side of Fried Okra.

Lunch With New Friends

As we meandered over to the “community table” I saw the chair that I was going to sit in was a child’s desk chair.  When I tried to swap out another chair that was along the wall a gentleman stopped me and brought over what he said was a piano chair that was made from reclaimed SC wood.  In fact it was the plug from a wine vat.  “In fact, most of the building is made from reclaimed wood.” How nice.

If you don’t like to sit on top of people, or the thought of communal seating makes you want and run like your hair is on fire, this place is not for you.  I understand the sense of community they’re trying to capture, but sitting at a table with strangers, passing rolls of paper towels to one another, and because of the close proximity, hearing their conversations, was something that really didn’t blow my dress up.

Our food was served very quickly and I have to admit that I was surprised at the excellent food quality.  My beet salad was topped with radishes and arugula and a light dressing.  This was one of the few times that I’ve had beets that were not bitter. It was a nice change.

Beet Salad

My husband raved about the Cuban sandwich (on house made bread), and the side of pickles.  The lightly breaded okra tasted as if it had been picked that morning and the jalapeno remoulade dipping sauce was a spicy treat.

Cuban Sandwich

When we were leaving a gentleman approached us. Come to find out that “Michael” was the owner and he was wondering why we were taking pictures and writing notes.  I explained that I wrote a blog here in town and was interested in his business. I have to say that I do this in every restaurant that I visit (take notes and pictures) and although many seem inquisitive, Michael is one of the only people that inquired.

Fried Okra

After our introductions I had to ask him, “What’s with the “Bee” in Butcher & Bee?” He told me that the “Butcher” represented all that had to do with the meats and the preparation of the meats and that if you think about it, “The Bee is involved with everything else – pollination of fruits, vegetables, etc.”  I guess you could say, without the Bee, where would we be?

I also inquired about only having one table.  He explained that their hours of operation were from 11-3PM and from 11- 3AM.  They are trying to cater to the business, neighborhood and late night crowd in a community atmosphere.  He said that, “If my customers think I should get another table and business warrants it, I will get another table.”

That line stumped me a bit. All I could think of was the movie, Field of Dreams and “if you build it they will come.” 

The business side of me, contrarian to his way of thinking, was to put more tables in right away.  If as a customer I had come to his restaurant, saw one table and saw that it was full; it would be awhile before I came back again.  There’s also no waiting area if you have to wait for seating and although a very unique concept, it seems that it also might be hindering business instead of promoting it.

That being said the food was excellent and I would recommend both B’s. 

I gave Butcher & Bee 4 out of a possible 5 plates.

Zagat Tags;
#tidal #restaurant

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Amalfi’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria, Mt. Pleasant, SC

More is Definitely More..

We literally stumbled upon Amalfi’s Restaurant and Pizzeria in the Belle Hall Shopping Center via an internet search (thank you Al Gore), and decided to give it a try.

Located in the back of the shopping center location, if you didn’t know it was there you might not find it, which would be a big loss – this restaurant was a nice surprise.

We were greeted by a very nice hostess and although it was somewhat early a few tables were full and there was a regular stream of customers picking up take out items.

If you’re looking for a place with energy, atmosphere, décor, or something trendy, this is not the place.  It’s clean and very plain (everything is yellow).  A few Italian items dot the walls, but it is very stark.  I wondered if the food would do the talking and I hoped it would.

Yellow walls may tint food shots

We were greeted by a very cordial and knowledgeable server who quickly asked us what we would like to drink. He then served us piping hot rolls (made in-house) served with an interesting dipping sauce.  The sauce was a combo of their house Italian dressing, herbs, diced carrots, a little spice and a hint of anchovy.  Although I thought it was terrific, my husband, not so much.  That’s OK – more for me!

We then began to review the menu and decide what to order, which was no easy feat! The menu is MASSIVE, it’s not large, it’s not big; it’s massive.  My rough estimate determined that there are approximately 64 menu items, plus a 6-item children’s menu and three nightly specials. Phew!

The menu includes appetizers, soups, salads, Stromboli, entrees, pasta, veal, house specialties, eggplant and on and on and on.  If you want a variety of Italian food, this is the place.

As we tried to ‘cull the herd’ and decide on what to order we found our server to be incredibly helpful.  He answered every question we had, and we had several. Not only is their menu large, but since everything is made in house and to order, you can have just about anything you want, any way you’d like it.

Rolls and Oil (and everything looks yellow even after Photoshop)

I finally pared my selection down to Amalfi’s Seafood Combination which was similar to a Fra Diavlo (of the devil), pasta creation with shrimp, calamari, clams and mussels.  This was served with my choice of a soup or salad, and I chose the salad.

My husband also went the pasta route with their Boscaiola a combo of house-made spicy Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and marinara sauce tossed with penne pasta. He selected a soup instead of a salad.

His soup, “Fiorentina” (aka Spinach Florentine), was served almost too hot to eat. It was filled with pieces of fresh spinach, bits of chicken in a nice light broth. It was a nice beginning to what I hoped would be a memorable meal. 

Spinach Soup

My simple green salad topped with tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion was terrific. You’re probably thinking, “Hmm, nothing special here.”  I would agree, but the vegetables tasted like they were picked just before they were served and their creamy Italian dressing had a hint of raspberry, which was unique, delightful taste.

House Salad

Before we knew it our entrees were served and I worried if our dishes, mine in particular, would be able to fit in the frame of a picture.  My pasta dish was topped with 7 mussels, 4 clams, 6 shrimp and a smattering of calamari.  It was really something to see, and not only was it delicious, it was dinner the next night.

The Boscaiola also was a heaping portion of spicy sausage and crisp, fresh, vegetables was also outstanding.  The only thing that my husband said was that he wished that there was more sausage – not because the portion was so small, but because it was so good.  At $13.75 and $11.75, respectively, how can you go wrong?

Boscaiola

Amalfi Seafood Combination

As we were about to pay our check a gentleman approached the table and asked us if we’d enjoyed our meal.  Come to find out that this was the owner, David. Amalfi’s arrived in the United States from Naples, Italy where the family has two restaurants.  David and his family decided to come south and settled in Mt. Pleasant. 

I asked him, “How did you pick Mt. Pleasant?”  He said that in Naples he was used to mountains and the water and he had to be near the water.”  I also said, “You’re menu is a pretty big undertaking…”  He smiled and agreed.  He said that he and his wife sat down and realized they had to streamline the menu.  In doing so they found more recipes and items that they thought the customers would enjoy, so he again smiled and said, “So instead of getting smaller, it got bigger!”

Run don’t walk to this hidden gem, a place where more is definitely more. 

I gave Amalfi's 5 out of a possible 5 plates.

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Cru Café, Charleston, SC

Cru-ise on by this Cafe 

I have only heard a few things about Cru Café. 1) The food is great, 2) It’s really hard to get in, and 3) You should make a reservation, so we did.

Cru Café is on a tiny one way street called Pinckney.  It’s off of East Bay, but the street sign is somewhat covered by an overgrown tree limb, so keep your eyes peeled. You should also bring your patience and a lot of quarters, as parking is tough.

We were lucky to quickly score a spot on East Bay, fed the meter and headed to the café. Cru Café is in a small antique home and including their outdoor patio seats about 45 people. 

We arrived at the restaurant at 11:55 for our 12:00 p.m. reservation.  My husband had forgotten something in the car so I was standing there alone.  A gentleman approached me.  “How many for lunch?” “Two,” I said.  “Do you have a reservation?” “Yes.”  I gave him my name and watched him walk away.  I then watched as he went into the open kitchen area, picked up a plate and began eating. No, I can’t make this up.

Wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand he looked into the dining room and then said, “It will be about two minutes.”  As I looked into the dining room there were two four-tops open.  One of the four-tops was 2-two tops pushed together. In light of the volume we’d heard about we thought that he would seat us at one of the two tops and move the other away to accommodate other customers.

Back to the kitchen to finish his nosh and my “two minutes” became five, as the two tables in the dining room remained empty. “Right this way,” He said.

He then proceeded to take everything off the table next to us and leave it pushed against ours.  This seems incredibly strange to me leaving a barren table, but I thought it was part of a bigger picture perhaps? However, a couple arrived, asked for a table and they were told something would open up after 1:15. They said no thanks and left, and we had plenty of table space.

Our server was friendly and efficient and brought us our drinks and nice warm bread to start with.  Since we had heard so much about the food at this place we didn’t want to waste our appetites on bread.

The menu has a few salads, small plates, 10 lunch sandwiches and 5 lunch entrees.  Many sounded very appetizing and it was hard to decide.  We landed on the BBQ Beef Sandwich served with fries and General Tso’s Chicken, Fried Rice and Slaw, or Salw as they have printed on their website. (Doesn’t anyone proof anything anymore?)

BBQ Beef Sandwich

I have just purchased the new Iphone 4s and decided to use timer function to see how long lunch would take.  Time was starting to drag and I found myself thinking “how long is too long to wait for lunch?” 

Unless I’m in a big hurry, I’m Okay waiting as long as needed as long as when I get the item I’ve ordered my “French fries stand at attention.”  So in this case it was TOO long on many levels.

Our lunch arrived in 33 minutes and 46 seconds.  My husband’s sandwich was nice, rich, tasty pork, fairly hot fries, he was really enjoying it.  Mine? I got a rock.

General Tso Chicken

Clearly I was served cold, dead food from the window.  Really, after waiting all this time?  So I asked to have it remade.  So get this….

As we sat and waited, the host that ate his lunch before, during and after seating us came by and said, “Was ­everything cold on your first lunch?”  What is this a quiz?  If the rice was hot and the chicken cold would that make a difference?  Or do I get more points if the entire dish was terrible?

There are some times in our careers when someone has leaned over in a meeting perhaps and said, “Just stop talking.” This should have been one of those times.

Based on my Iphone 4s (thanks Steve), my new lunch was fired in less than six minutes.  It was exactly 1 hour and 5 minutes since we arrived at the place.  Unfortunately we were so rushed that I had a bite or two and had to go.

The gentleman came back and said, “Is this one better?”  I wanted to say one of two things, “Better than dead food, yes,” or “Probably not as good as your lunch.”  I chose however, to just say yes.  I just don't plan on going back anytime soon.
  

I gave Cru Cafe 3 out of a possible 5 plates and that's generous.

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EVO, N. Charleston, SC

5 Star Pizza - What A Great Find.

As I’ve tried to follow the “Weight Watchers Plan” around my blog writing, it’s been tough!!  I’m still down about 18# and so it’s uplifting, but tough!!!  So that’s why my posts aren’t as frequent, but today’s is a real gem.

Apparently EVO (Extra Virgin Oven) in historic Park Circle was at one time a food truck (before the food truck craze), and was a staple at the Farmer’s Market in Marion Square.  What a win for all of us that they established roots and are now open for lunch and dinner.

I have seen EVO pop up on a number of blogs and posts and just haven’t had a chance to get there.  Little did we know that our dinner would be fabulous.

Inside Evo

EVO is a small restaurant that seats about 40 people.  The kitchen workspace area is exposed and did I mention, tiny?  They still though manage to serve up some awesome menu items.

We started with the Antipasto.  It was served with coppa, calabrese, west coast olives, provolone cheese, crostini and a small caprese salad of house pulled mozzarella, local tomatoes and a balsamic dressing. This was to die for and I think I could have arm wrestled my husband for it.

Pork Trifecta

Antipasto

We then ordered the “Pork Trifecta” a signature dish for the restaurant.  This was topped with homemade sweet sausage, pepperoni, smoked bacon, house mozzarella and red sauce.  Pizzas can either be ordered 8” or 12” and we opted for the 8” version.  What a gem!

Although I thought that the bacon was a tad chewy I was quickly overruled at the table.  This was a great dish and we quickly wished we had ordered the 12” option.

The energy in the restaurant was eclectic.  By the time we were getting our check there was a waiting list and a line out the door.  I only wish I had stumbled upon EVO sooner!

We gave Evo 5 out of a possible 5 plates!

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Burger and Beer Challenge, Awendaw, SC

Tough Choice On Worst Burger

The great thing about living in the south is the ability to attend outdoor festivals in November.  In Boston, our old stomping ground, it has already snowed and no one ventures from their front porch after October.

Our adventure today was a Burger and Beer Challenge sponsored by the Funky Little Kitchen in Awendaw.  Six restaurants did their best to “out burger” each other and some should have stayed on the porch.

At first we thought $10.00 to get in was a bit steep. It wasn't until we got home that we read the event was for Autism. They could have done a better job of promoting the cause here. 

The “entertainment” that we had during our time there was a young gal screeching out Neil Young songs. Just when I said, “If she breaks out a harmonica I’m going to shoot myself”, she did.  It was awful, so much for the “entertainment”.  We then moved on to the burgers.

Eurasia Dish

Our first stop was EurAsia.  This is a restaurant located next to Whole Foods in Mount Pleasant.  We are big fans and think their chef, Meredith is a hidden gem.  Unfortunately, today they didn’t bring their A game.

EurAsia offered two burgers, one was a Lamb mixture, and the other was the “Real Deal Cheeseburger”.  For $2.00 you had your choice of a cheddar or provolone cheese, cheeseburger.  Garnishes included fried onions, lettuce and tomatoes.

We opted to split the “Real Deal Cheeseburger”.  The burger had been sitting in a chafing dish, cold, and flavorless.  One bite was enough for me. 

Real Deal Cheeseburger - Eurasia

We enjoyed FINZ offering at the Big Shrimp ‘N a few weeks ago and thought their burger would give the others a run for their money.  Not so much. 

FINZ offered a burger topped with caramelized onions and homemade pimento cheese.  Although the burger was OK, like almost all of the burgers, it was cold and lifeless.  How long can a burger hang out in a chafing dish for goodness sake?

FINZ slider

We then moved on to Sesame Burgers and Beer. We’re fans of this place and had high hopes.

A red wine reduction topped a hormone-free patty that was also dressed with blue cheese and fig jam.  Knock me down and call me Shorty.  The burger was tasty, but again, not that warm.

Sesame Burger

Coleman Public House was our next stop.  I personally don’t care for this restaurant, but we were trying to give it the old “college try” and taste their burger. Bleech.

The chef was pointing out what burger the attendant should give us.  There were two chafing dishes filled with sliders, all of them falling in the “dead food” category. After we purchased our slider I returned it, saying that it was ice cold.  The chef then pointed to another burger in the chafing dish that he’d “selected” for us.  This burger was also cold.

The burger was topped with guacamole, bacon, tomato and sprouts.  The sprouts were so overpowering that the burger was lost in the fray - another wasted $2.00.

Coleman Public House Burger

17 North weighed in with an Angus beef burger blend of chuck, short rib, filet and pork belly.  Gross.  Sometimes less is more.  It was topped with a fried green tomato and homemade pimento cheese.  All of which was lost in the slimy taste of the burger. Did I mention it was cold?

17 North Burger

Then we came upon our biggest surprise of the afternoon, the burger that the Funky Little Kitchen was serving.  We actually waited for it to come right off the grill.

Before us was an Angus slider topped with crisp bacon, caramelized onion, srircha and a cute small, hot pepper garnish.  This was the highlight of what was a very dismal event.  The burger was hot, tasty and the toppings gave it a great kick.

Funky Little Burger

The Funky Little Kitchen received our vote for best burger, by far the winner.

I’m not in a big hurry to go back to this event next year. The $10.00 entry fee for some cold burgers in a field with bad music seemed a bit excessive.  While there was a craft beer and wine tasting there as well, we chose not to partake.  Perhaps this was the highlight of the event.

We gave the Beer and Burger Challenge 2 out of a possible 5 plates. 

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