Put This On Your Dining List Just off King Street on Cannon Street is one of Charleston’s newest restaurants, The Grocery.  If I am capturing this correctly The Grocery is designed to reflect grocery stores of long ago. Where people came to chat, set a spell, break bread together, share stories, food and visit.  We did just that. Joined by another couple all four of us were a tad nervous when we entered the restaurant and there were just a few tables seated. Ut-oh, we thought, this could have been a bad choice.  An empty restaurant is never a good sign. Boy, were we mistaken.

I have to say that our server was one of the most knowledgeable that we’ve come across here in the Low Country.  She had a casual, easy going style while suggesting menu items, but certainly didn’t push us, which was nice.  After she explained The Grocery’s concept we started to review the menu to see what we would “share” at the table.

The menu is divided into “snacks”, “bites”, “tastes”, “plates”, “table”,  and “side” options.  As you go through the options they escalate in price. We decided to choose a few things from the “snacks” ($4-$13) and “bites” ($9-$13).  Our server explained that the portions would be on the small side, which good to know.

When our appetizers arrived it was nice to see that a lot of thought was put into what they would be served in. No white plate ware at this place.  The plating on crocks, old fashioned coke bottles and casserole dishes did not go unnoticed.  It actually was a great touch.

We were all hungry  and ordered several appetizers.  The Charred Onion Dip with Kettle Chips was outstanding - a great flavor, but not over powering. The homemade kettle chips were also terrific.  Charred Onion Dip with Kettle Chips The Fried Oysters were also a plus.  Placed back in their shells with a spicy deviled egg sauce and topped with sweet house made pickles was a great compliment.  The ‘Piggy Plate’ though, stole the show. Fried Oysters On a small ‘pig shaped’ cutting board arrived some of the best items of the evening.  House made ‘City Ham’,  pork cheeks, mortadella, and pates along with sweet and sour pickles, pickled radishes, crostini and hearty grain mustard were to die for.  This is an item I would highly recommend since we almost fought over the last pieces. Piggy Plate Piggy Plate Condiments Unfortunately the ‘Crispy Pimento Cheese’ was overcooked, small cheese balls that were mostly breading and not-much cheese.  I would pass on this bite.  They had zero flavor at best. Crispy Pimento Cheese  Our entrees were selected from the “tastes” section of the menu.  Again the presentation was impressive.  I had the Pappardelle, Pancetta, Parsley and Poached Egg dish which was served in a small crock like dish and looked beautiful.

For some reason I thought that the egg would be incorporated into the dish but it wasn’t and it sat on top of the pasta.  Our server told us that it was “their take on a carbonara” and to mix the egg into the pasta.  Being not my cup of tea I passed on this option.  Although flavorful the dish was over seasoned with pepper and the pasta was overcooked.  Pappardelle The Tile Fish special dish of the evening was perfectly cooked and served with brussel sprouts.  Although the server informed us that the “tastes” section of the menu would be “about 4 ounces” that’s a lot smaller than you’d think.  Our entrees, though tasty, were also tiny for the price. Tile Fish The Beef Short Ribs were fall-off-the bone tender, though miniscule. The bone marrow served on the side did not receive any positive reviews, but that’s just a matter of personal taste.  Beef Short Rib Lastly, the ‘suggestion’ of Lamb Shoulder with Chick Peas and Sautéed Greens was flavorful, but again, very small (mostly shoulder and not a lot of lamb). There was also a piece of house made sausage on the plate that was very good, but didn’t seem to be a good match for the dish. Lamb Shoulder I guess you could say that about all of our dishes. The accompanying items to our entrees made us wonder how they “fit” with the main items on the plate. Not that they didn't taste good, they just didn’t seem to fit with the entrees. 

We also shared a Cauliflower Casserole and Roasted Root Vegetables as side dishes that were ample for the table - pricey, but ample ($8.00 each). Roasted Root Vegetable Cauliflower Casserole All in all I liked The Grocery a bunch.  I do, however feel that their “Tastes” section of the menu are overpriced.  The Tile Fish special was smaller than a deck of cards and my pasta was about ¾ of a cup. My advice would be to stick with the “Snacks” and “Bites”.

BTW our concerns when we first arrived and the restaurant was empty were quickly squashed.  By the time we left the restaurant was packed and on a wait list.  Add The Grocery to your list of restaurants to try!!

We gave The Grocery 4 out of a possible 5 plates.  Zagat Tags; #tidal #restaurant

Big Disappointment

From the owners of the Noisy Oyster comes their newest concept, Big Billy’s Burger Joint in N. Charleston near the Tanger Outlets.  Unfortunately, I found it disappointing.  It’s not like we didn’t give it a try, this is our 3rd time here.  I just didn’t write about the other two thinking they were new and had to work the kinks out. Now, not so new, many kinks remain.

When you enter the restaurant the first thing you see is an incredibly large tiki hut that graces the entire center of the building. The theme here is ‘margaritaville’ and Jimmy Buffet’s music is the mainstay.  But hey, can you ever hear too much of ‘Wasted Away in Margaritaville?’ The answer is yes. Tiki Hut There were very few patrons either at the table or bar area and our service was swift.  We decided to start with the Baked Jalapeno Pimento Cheese Dip as we looked through the menu.

Billy’s is not a fancy place and the menu is simple.  Sandwiches, Salads, Wraps, all of the usual suspects dot the pages.  There is a “build your own” burger, chicken sandwich and salad section that caught our eye and we quickly placed our order for a chicken sandwich and a burger.

Our dip took quite some time to arrive and when it did it was burnt.  From the picture you can see that I’m not exaggerating. So here’s what I don’t understand.  The line cook takes it out of the broiler, sees that it’s burnt and sets it in the window.  The manager, who is also expediting, sees that it’s burnt and hands it off to our server, who also sees that it’s burnt and brings it to our table.  Really?  We sent it back for a second try.  The second one was better and pretty tasty. But returning it made our lunch a disaster. Pimento Cheese Dip (round 1) Pimento Dip (round 2) We sat and watched our lunch dying in the window as our appetizer was served.  Again the manager pulled our lunch items, cold as they were, handed them to a server and they were sent out to our table just a couple minutes after our appetizer (round 2) was served. Since they were DOA when they hit the table, we sent these back as well.

In a restaurant that seems like it has such a simple formula – burgers, fries, salads, etc., how does is go so wrong so quickly?  Apathy perhaps… it’s really hard to say.  Chicken Sandwich Burger with Guac When our lunch (round 2) finally did arrive (we probably had been at the restaurant for close to an hour by now), it was actually okay.  Not great by any stretch, but okay.  My husband’s burger was close to mooing, it was so rare and it had been ordered medium.  My chicken sandwich was AOK and the tater tots that accompanied it were perfect.

Billy’s serves their side items, fries, tots, etc., in mini fry baskets which is really a cute touch.  But if you’re a place that’s supposed to be all about burgers for goodness sake, at least get those right.  This is one place that I’ll be skipping in the future.

We gave Big Billy's 2 out of a possible 5 plates.