For the first two years of Charleston Restaurant Week — pretty much the most highly-anticipated local culinary celebration, like, ever — I was mostly out of town.
Then last year, I waited too long to make coveted reservations and wasn’t able to get into many of my favorite spots, hitting just two restaurants that week.
There was no way I was making that mistake again, so I went into this year’s event as a very hungry man with a foolproof plan. I booked a few restaurants weeks in advance, then completed my picks once official menus were announced two weeks ago.
Even better, I left one night intentionally open so I could squeeze into an empty bar seat and score dinner at a place getting lots of buzz based on your recommendations.
The result? Five good meals at five different restaurants over five consecutive nights — and one very clear “winner.” (Oh, the suspense!)
Based on the crowds I saw, I’m not sure the economic impact from this Restaurant Week topped last year, when estimates show folks packed participating businesses to the tune of more than $500,000. (That’s over half of the roughly $1 million boost to the local economy from the first three years’ combined.)
But I sure did see lots of you out and about, taking advantage of the week’s “three courses for $30” concept.
As for me, I started the week at Laury’s, where I enjoyed the grilled salmon with lemon-butter cream sauce (which could’ve been a tad lighter) and went gaga over the triple chocolate mousse cake and melba sauce-topped cheesecake, both of which stole the show. I heard nothing but great reviews for Laury’s all week.
The next night at The Block, my corn and crab chowder was nice (although barely warm) but I was so excited for the main course that I didn’t care.
I’d heard so many people rave about the seared halibut with lemon-herb cream sauce and sautéed spinach there, with a few even calling it THE dish of the week. But my particular piece of fish was really tough and dry, so I must’ve caught them at a bad time.
The following night at Bricks & Barrels, I enjoyed what I would ultimately call the second-best dish of the week — a sublimely silky lobster bisque, bursting with umami flavor, that’s also on the restaurant’s regular menu.
But the barbecue-braised short rib that came next was so dry and tough that I couldn’t even eat it. I heard the same from several others throughout the week, although I also received a note from a reader who reported his was juicy and tender. Our service at Bricks & Barrels was fantastic, though, and I know they would’ve taken the dish back had I spoken up. But they were busy and I had plenty other items to enjoy.
Evening No. 4 found me at Celsius, where the charred corn and goat cheese salad with cilantro mint dressing was a nice surprise and the herb-buttered fillet with shrimp, creamy Parmesan risotto, asparagus and peppadew coulis was perfectly cooked. (It was just begging for a dusting of salt to punch it up.)
I might have gone out on a limb and declared Celsius the winner after that meal. But as it turned out we did save the best for last, celebrating the final night of Charleston Restaurant Week at the place we enjoyed the most last year.
And Paterno’s at the Park killed it again.
The salumi platter of meats and cheeses was nice, and the mini cast-iron skillet of three differently flavored risotto balls over arugula and cream was decadent. A fantastic spicy sausage and pea rigatoni was paired with shrimp scampi and a stuffed shell in a filling pasta trio, and the breaded veal piccatta with lemon-caper cream and scallops with Parmesan risotto was, hands down, the best dish of the week. Truly outstanding!
A large scoop of pecan-crusted ice cream was nice, but the simple bowl of impossibly rich and creamy chocolate pudding was mesmerizing. (They also serve a butterscotch version on the regular menu, I was told, and I’m SO getting that this week.)
Outside of a slightly salty scallop, we couldn’t find fault with a single thing we tried. Based on our five dinners last week, Paterno’s knocked it out of the park.
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As nice as these places were, it still sounds like I missed some gems. I heard from lots of you sharing plenty of love for the special offerings at Adventures Bar & Grill, South Hills Market, Soho’s, Ichiban, Mi Cocina and B&D Gastropub.
You can check out lots of reader reviews posted on my Facebook page, but below are a few other comments I thought worthy to share here.
“We had a great experience at B&D Gastroub Monday night,” reported reader Jeannie Ammirato. “It’s a favorite place of ours all the time, but this was our first-ever experience with Restaurant Week.”
With a group of five, she said they were able to sample all options for each course.
“We were overwhelmed by how delicious everything was, and the three of us who chose the monkfish were surprised at the addition of the rice cake,” she said. “We really liked it, but thought it was unusual. It was such an unexpected taste, so I wanted to know what YOU thought of the combination. We’re hoping the chef will add it to his weekend special choices soon.”
I did have a fantastic experience at B&D during last year’s event, but didn’t make it there this time around. I’ll be on the lookout for that dish, though, and let you know!
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“WOW! First, let me say that my husband and I enjoy your columns as we eat out way more than we should,” wrote Judy Bailey, my new best friend. In fact, she said, they ate out every night during last week’s event — at South Hills Market, Bridge Road Bistro, Bricks & Barrels, Laury’s, The Chop House and Adventures.
“It was wonderful. Great for us, great for Charleston businesses,” she said. “I had the braised BBQ short ribs over root vegetables and potatoes at Bricks & Barrels, and it was our only bad experience. It was tough and inedible. I am mad at myself for not complaining, but that is not our style. But my husband had the Cajun seafood pasta, which was excellent.”
She said The Chop House was good, too, but she felt as if they wanted Restaurant Week patrons segregated from regular patrons, since most were promptly escorted into the bar area.
“It was fine with us, but I think they missed the mark by not giving Restaurant Week patrons the full Chop House experience of feeling like you are the only people they are serving.”
She said their favorite experience of the week came at South Hills Market, followed closely by the Bistro.
“We looked forward to each night and are sorry it is over.” (Me too!) “We have enjoyed this event from its initiation and have already decided that some of our friends will get gift certificates for next year.”
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One of the Charleston Restaurant Week participants that I heard killed it (in a good way) was the new Adventures Bar & Grill towering over the valley high atop Eagle View Luxury Apartments & Townhouses across from Kanawha City near Campbell’s Creek.
I’m so glad to hear that, since Adventures is on a long list of new restaurant reviews coming your way in the coming weeks. Be sure to check back weekly to hear The Food Guy dish on these spots and more:
n Adventures Bar & Grill, opposite Kanawha City
n Cielito Lindo Mexican Restaurant, St. Albans
n King Kebabs, Spring Hill
n Red Fire Korean BBQ, Southridge
n Genesis Café, downtown Charleston
n Rock City Cake Company, downtown Charleston
n Marco’s Pizza, South Charleston
If there are other new places I should check out, be sure to hit me up. Sounds like that diet may have to wait.
Steven Keith writes a weekly food column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and an occasional food blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/foodguy/. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or by e-mail at wvfoodguy@aol.com. You can also follow him on Facebook as “WV Food Guy” and on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as “WVFoodGuy.”