495 King
American, emphasis on locally produced
$$$

If you’ve been living under a fricken rock (for the last month) then you likely missed King Street’s newest member of the culinary club.

Stars has been one of the most highly anticipated restaurants to open in the area since The Macintosh or The Grocery—and, when you’re going up against those two for patrons, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Planning to open in August before the PGA tournament, it finally opened the first week of October – just in time for my birthday. And, while we’re comparing it to the likes of The Macintosh, I’ll point out that The Mac feels a bit crammed sometimes– Stars is wide open with a much bigger floor plan (and 3 levels vs. just 1). If The Macintosh is a younger, hipper and “chic-er” version of Hall’s, Stars is the equally-as-trendy new kid on the block.

One area where Stars feels different than other high caliber restaurants in the area is that it has one of the coolest rooftop bars downtown, and the only one on Upper King. Chef Nathan Thurston uses the rooftop to grow a few herbs (sounds great in theory, but it will likely turn into a pretty ashtray). From what we’ve seen in its short existence, the rooftop bar is a hotly desired place to be on a Friday or Saturday night, often resulting in a line to gain entry.

We started our Sunday night visit on the rooftop, where we found a decent view, a great atmosphere and spacious, private-feeling surroundings. The walls are tall enough to elicit a private, exclusive feeling, but short enough to see the lights and hear the sounds echoing from the street below.

A sucker for anything with bourbon and bitters, I chose the FORT SUMTER JULEP ($10) featuring smoked white peach and tobacco-infused Bulleit Bourbon, spearmint, Angustura bitters and local honey. When I glanced at “bitters,” I was expecting a more Old Fashioned-style drink—but, I was reminded that this is a “julep” with every sweet sip. For $10, it was a lot more ice than anything and I can’t say I was impressed.

McCown took even more of a gamble by trying the AUTUMN ELIXIR ($10) with American Harvest vodka, Fernet Menta, ruby, Vanilla Basil tonic, house Muscadine vermouth and celery bitters. The feedback: ….very unusual. On the first sip, I was hit by the strong taste of the celery bitters, which was the primary taste of the drink. It’s a very odd-sounding mixture featuring many, many flavors that almost ending up coming together in the end — but ultimately results in tasting like an odd mixture of too many flavors.

Once seated downstairs (note that no food is served on the rooftop), our first course was the OYSTERS BULL’S BAY ($11.75) with baked oysters, spinach, Asiago cheese, garlic and brandy. The oysters sat on a bed of rock salt, making for an excellent presentation. You’ll definitely want to skip the sea salt on this dish as local, South Carolina oysters are notably salty—this proved their freshness and validated their local origins. It was a perfect Oyster Rockefeller—creamy, cheesy and natural salinity from good, old-fashioned Mother Nature.

The next dish we tried (our waitress recommended it so much that we would have felt like fools for not) was the STAR’S WOOD-GRILLED BLUE CRAB SOUP ($6.75 cup/$9.25 bowl). Let me start by saying that this ain’t your typical she-crab soup, so don’t come looking for that. At a lot of places around town, they think that a salty, creamy soup that tastes like crab and sherry—artificial or not, will pass as “she-crab.” Well, Stars dares not to take any such shortcuts. Here, they start by pureeing an entire blue crab, working some magic on the sauce and pouring it over wood-grilled corn, potatoes and other herbs, making for an impressive presentation and phenomenal flavors. Unlike typical she-crab soup, this dish wasn’t creamy or over salted, allowing us to taste all of the natural flavors, including the grilled sweet corn (a very nice addition). Bottom line: Watch out 82 Queen you might not be able to boast about your “best she-crap soup in the city” for much longer.

It’s worth mentioning here that there are always three somelliers on duty. And, the best part? A wine bar on draft, a very unique option, catering to its more high-brow clientele. Serving options include 500ml, 1L and by the glass.

As for entrees, McCown chose the DIVER SCALLOPS ($26.75) served with forbidden rice, butternut squash, charred brussel sprouts, and bluegrass soy vinaigrette. The result was a delicious dish with super strong earthy flavors. I’ll stop here to talk about the wood-fire grill. Along with the rooftop, Stars’ wood-fire grill sets them apart from all other restaurants because every single dish offered has some ingredient (if not all) cooked in the Redwood-from-Wadmalaw-fire grill (the wood is not as sweet as applewood), adding a flavor that is natural and smoky-tasting — and fricken delicious. All-in-all, the creamy butternut squash puree brought everything home with this dish, and the wood-fire grilled scallops were definitely something we’d get again.

My dish, you ask, could only be described as “la pièce de résistance.” I’ve always wanted to use that term in a review and, finally, Stars has provided me the opportunity with its LOBSTER AND GRITS ($mkt price, $37ish on our night). I can honestly say that I don’t know where to start in describing how amazing this dish was. There was more than 1 lb of lobster served over “big grits” that were dense, moist and creamier than most of the stone-ground variety. There were just so many unique-but-complimentary flavors on the dish that make it one of kind in Charleston. The grilled lobster tail featured an amazing wood-fired, smoky flavor, which came right off the grilled nice and charred. The fig jam added a superb hint of sweetness that made the grits and ham taste that much better. Unlike most lobster dishes, the amount of meat present in this one won’t leave you hungry.

Full, but needing to complete the meal with a dessert, we pressed on. Touted as Chef Thurston’s special variation of a dish he grew up on from his grandmother’s recipe book, the STONE GROUND CORN “COFFEE CAN CAKE” ($8.50) also carried the highest recommendation from our waitress. This one was assuredly atypical of most desserts. It was a corn-bread style cake that might be considered a mix between corn-bread and pound cake (think the sweetness of pound cake with the density and dryness of corn-bread). It was topped with Mascarpone-lemon ice cream and wild huckleberries that gave it that much needed moistness and flavor to make it an interestingly unique dessert that won’t necessarily leave you craving more but will leave you feeling satisfied in your decision.

BOTTOM LINE: The hotly anticipated Stars has jolted Upper King as a big boy worthy of competing with the likes of The Macintosh, Hall’s Chophouse and The Grocery. And, I’d venture to say it’s got staying power.

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293 King St.
Asian, street food
$
How to save $$: Eat here, not at Basil.

I love Thai food. And I (used to) love Basil.

But, then I started eating at more authentic Thai restaurants (think: hole-in-the-wall with lots of Buddahs), and realized Basil might be good, but cheap Thai food is better.

Fire may not be decorated with Buddah’s and it serves food other than Thai (which, I’d argue, is a good thing)… but this is the new place to go for Thai food on King Street. The best part? One-third the price of Basil!

Fire is a relatively new (opening in September) restaurant, taking the place of Burger Babies on Lower King. It has a sister restaurant in Savannah, and I guess it was so successful there that it came to Charleston. The worst part about this new restaurant is the location, which is ironic since Lower King used to be where everything was. Now, you CofCers and Upper King residents will have a little bit further of a walk, but we promise it’s worth it.

Fire has lots of bright, vivid colors and WAY more energy (and customers) than Burger Babies ever did. Loud music, TVs on the wall, and close-sitting tables make up the busy-feeling atmosphere.

It sells itself as a “street food” restaurant, but one look at the menu gives you plenty of foods – and genres – to choose from. Because we both love Thai food, we went that route, but if Thai’s not your thing, still go to Fire for the sushi, Asian-style salads, skewers, teriyaki and sandwiches – you can find basically anything Asian here.

Like always, I went with the GANG DANG GAI (RED CURRY) ($7.95!!) – it is WAY cheaper than Basil & tastes just as great. I will say that this had a little less spice and a lot more coconut milk than its counterpart at Basil, but, hey, for a third of the price, it can’t be beat. It comes in a huge portion, so be ready to take at least half of it home for later.

Jeff tried the PAD THAI CHICKEN ($8.95), which was pretty good. The sauce is sweet and rich, but it’s a very good Pad Thai dish. Again, very filling — he took half of his home, too!

All in all, this new restaurant is one to visit again and again. You can visit three times for the same price it costs to eat once at Basil. And that, my friends, is the best part about Fire.

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298 King
Japanese, Sushi
$$

We’re not sure whether to consider Izakaya Hiro on lower King new or old. Previously named (and better known as) “Sushi Hiro,” the restaurant was recently acquired by the Rev Group (Closed for Business, Monza, Taco Boy, Poe’s Tavern and The Royal American).

The ambiance is very feng shui-and-Japanese feeling. The left wall features a cool cork board-looking, in-the-middle-of-a-Jenga-game wall (just don’t invite Michael J. Fox). They’ve done a good job with the atmosphere, too: dark, red lights and lots of light wood in the décor. We visited when it was rather empty (on a Monday night), but the loud background music left it feeling mostly non-awkward. All-in-all, it’s a semi-upscale Asian restaurant (much better than the atmosphere at Chopstick House).

Open for lunch and dinner (except no lunch Sun or Mon.), you can get upscale sushi whenever you want. We found the service to be great; our waiter was very attentive. We noticed a very big difference from your standard sushi restaurant where they hire cousins — this place is a pretty “Americanized” sushi restaurant. And, although it doesn’t seem so upscale for King Street, you’ll avoid the super awkward atmosphere you might find in other Asian restaurants (think: owner’s kids staring at you doing their homework on a Tuesday night).

You’ll find Izakaya a place where you can easily go in a hurry as the food arrives quickly but, given the portion sizes and nature of the restaurant, we recommend taking your time here. Plan on posting up for a while and ordering something every few minutes until you’re full.

The TSUKUNE ($5) was where we started after some waiter intervention. It’s essentially grilled chicken meatballs on a skewer (2 skewers x 3 meatballs each) with a sweet teriyaki glaze that added to the flavor. Served with a side of Dijon/spicy mustard that’ll knock you off your feet/clear the sinuses, the moist meatballs made for an excellent app.

From there, we tried the DRAGON’S TONGUE ($7) sake, which combined flavors of pineapple vinegar, aloe, kaboshu, jalapeño. Our synopsis: it tastes like aloe vera, but in the most refreshing way possible. There’s a hint of jalapeño, but it’s not very spicy or very sweet.

If you don’t like branching out – or aloe vera in your drink – go with the PALMETTO “GINGER SLAP” ($4) from Holy City Brewing. It’ll compliment anything served in this place.

The TRASH ROLL ($8.50) was good but probably the worst value we got all night. It’s essentially a “mystery roll” that the sushi chef makes new every time—you could order 5 in one night and get 5 completely different rolls. Ours was a roll with white tuna and avocado topped with crab and spicy mayo. You’ll only get 6 rather small pieces, which is why I thought it to be a bad value. But…it’s a good go-to if you’re a bad decision maker.

Jumping in on the DONBURI section of the menu, we went with the KATSU DON ($14) next. I’m not entirely sure what part of Asia this dish stems from, but I can say that it was simple and tasty. It featured a fried pork cutlet, fried egg and onion, all served over a bowl of piping hot white rice. Don’t be fooled: even the rice was flavorful—maybe there was a sauce on it?—leaving for a surprisingly sweet concoction that was super moist and left you wanting more (but with that combo, how couldn’t you?). One potential downside: no veggies to be found anywhere, so don’t come expecting hibachi-style fried rice.

BOTTOM LINE: Good sushi. Good atmosphere. Good prices.

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309 King
Pizza, large draft beer selection
$$
How to save $$: Go Monday from 4pm-close for a $5 small 1-topping pizza

Mellow Mushroom has been keeping Joe College full since the ’70s in a college town near you. Currently, it’s sporting 120+ franchised locations (3 in the Charleston area) and, as of recently, has made a big push outside of its comfortable college-town-only business mode and expanded into larger urban areas in the Southeast.

It has, for the most part, brilliantly branded the “stereotypical pizza joint.” And the pizza is freakin good.

When you enter, you’ll find psychedelic décor, a real heady-sounding menu and, with prices like $13+ for a small, it’s got the classicly-ironic-music-festival-hippy attitude of overpriced food, catering to the more-inclined-to-bartering hippy. How in the hell will your target audience afford this, dudes?

We headed over on a Sunday night to find the atmosphere fun and lively, starting off with the KOSMIC KARMA ($12.49 for a small, personal-sized, 10 inch, 4 slice). This one started with a red sauce base and feta and mozzarella as the cheeses. It is then topped with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and Roma tomatoes and completed with a pesto swirl. This pizza gives you a great mixture of pesto and traditional tomato sauce if you just can’t seem to make up on your mind between pizzas, although you should know that the pesto was the predominant flavor. Only complaint, which I’ve learned is mostly seeded in personal preference, the whole slices of tomato can render the pizza a bit soggy – but that might be a positive for you.

If you haven’t tried Mellow’s pizza before, I bet the first thing you’d notice is the dough. I can’t figure out what sets this gooey-but-not-soggy crust apart from other pizza joints, but there’s something different about it. How do they make it taste so good?! I’m not sure, but you’ll be hooked.

Next up, the MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR ($12.99 for a small) was solidly delicious and more my style than the Kosmic Karma. This was a pesto base with button and Portobello mushrooms, feta and mozzarella cheeses, spinach and jalapeños. Per the waitress’ suggestion, I added spicy ground sausage, which made it over-the-top good with plenty of heat. And, although the feta was a little overpowered by the mozzarella, the delicious pesto more than made up for it.

We ought to mention that the SIGNATURE ESPERANZA DRESSING is, well, dank for lack of a more perfectly appropriate word. We skipped the salad on this visit, but it usually is quite good, especially with this awesome dressing—I recommend saving some for dipping any extra crust.

BOTTOM LINE: Finally, a pizza joint for the $700 VIP Ticket Bonnaroo crowd. Skip the tie-dye and hemp around here, the more franchises Mellow gets, the more corporate it becomes. But, we have a feeling that once you try the dank pizza, you can’t help but come back.

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306 King
Greek/Mediterranean
$
How to save $: Use either FREE HUMMUS coupon, CHICKEN ROLL UP FOR $5.95 coupon, or Restaurant.com gift card.

If John Stamos were coming to Charleston, I bet he’d eat at Taziki’s for lunch.

The name gives it away: Taziki’s Cafe is a Greek not-so-hole-in-the-wall, literally busting at the seams at 12:30 p.m. on a weekday with co-workers and families grabbing a quick lunch. Don’t waste time waiting to be seated, just grab the only empty chairs you can find (we sat on the stools overlooking King St.). Once seated, you can go up to the counter and place your order, then they’ll bring it to your table when it’s ready.

We had a few coupons from our C of C coupon book : one of them was for a free HUMMUS with any lunch order (usually $3.99). The hummus was unusually fresh-tasting…almost like it had been made to order, with a prevalent lemon flavor. And the pita chips were also tasty and not too oily or greasy (and real pita chips- Leaf, take note), tasting like they, too, were homemade. All-in-all, a good effort at being “healthy.”

And, before we could finish our hummus, the extra-fast service had our lunches at the table. I ordered the FRIDAY PASTA ($8.49), which seems to be different every Friday. On the day I went, it was a delicious blend of mixed lettuces with penne pasta (sort of like a pasta salad) and grilled chicken, tossed in a very good homemade balsamic vinaigrette and topped with tomatoes, feta and fresh basil. One word to describe this pasta: fresh! The balsamic has an interesting flavor– not as vinegar-y tasting as most balsamic I’ve had before, and a bit more sweet than normal. I’d recommend this dish over and over again, but I’m not sure you’ll find it on their everyday menu.

As for Jeff, he tried the GRILLED CHICKEN ROLL UP ($7.29), a pretty simple roll up with grilled bread and no shortage of cheese. Tomatoes and feta and four strips of chicken breast were rolled up and grilled into the flat bread pita. It was pretty good — you can’t mess up tomatoes and feta cheese — but we agreed it was a little plain. With so many yummy-sounding options on the menu, I’d definitely try something else before getting this again. And, the best part about Tazkiki’s? You won’t find the standard mystery beef/lamb mixture of “gyro meat,” just grilled or roasted chicken here.

BOTTOM LINE: This is a restaurant any Greek family would be proud to run. And, coming from someone who likes Greek food almost as much as John Stamos, I give this restaurant a big thumbs up (metaphorically, of course – a real thumbs up would be nerdy). Hands down, a good, inexpensive place for a light, quick lunch.

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412 King
Southern/Soul: Breakfast, Weekday Lunch, Weekend Brunch, Dinner (except Sundays)
$$$
How to save $: Use a Restaurant.com Gift Card. We did the $25 off $50 for some good savings.

Virginia’s On King, which shares an owner with Coast and Rue de Jean, is the final restaurant of the trifecta that we needed to review. With this task complete, we can say that the guys behind these restaurants are doing something right as all are delicious (but, if forced to rank, Rue de Jean will take the cake 10 times out of 10).

The only one of the three restaurants actually on King Street, it features traditional, southern décor: exposed brick and deep, dark, rich wood booths and tables set the tone for the rustic and very lowcountry feel. The artwork features scenes of the Deep South.

We dove right in to our Sunday brunch with the TRADITIONAL TOMATO PIE ($7.99) with arugula and balsamic vinaigrette. The description fits the bill and stays true to the course for Virginia’s– a very traditional tomato pie, like your grandmother might make. It was very creamy and cheesy in a fresh, flaky crust. My only suggestion to the chef would be adding a few more tomatoes in the future, as it should be the main ingredient. With the healthy portion of arugula salad, it was a good, filling appetizer to split with the table.

Next up, the BULL’S EYE ($9.99) hit the spot with two pieces of Texas toast, with the center cut out to allow for each to have an egg in the middle. My egg was overcooked and the whole dish was on the bland side, but the sides more than made up for it. The BISCUITS WITH SAUSAGE GRAVY was great, but so heavy you won’t want more than a few bites. I mean, how could you go wrong by soaking a biscuit with a delicious hill-up of sausage gravy? You can’t. The only  “vegetable” on my plate was the COLLARD GREENS. I use the word “vegetable” loosely because they made these things taste so good by stewing fresh collards with apple cider vinegar, a ham bone and maple brown sugar for a long time . The result is a very tasty and tangy dish that likely had all nutritional value stewed right out of it—but definitely worth trying.

I had a bite of the SHRIMP AND GRITS ($13.99) and it, too, was a great choice with a good flavor of which green and red peppers was predominant. It won’t be in line for any awards, but it was a well-executed version of the classic lowcountry dish.

McCown said the TODAY’S OMELETTE ($9.99) was also excellent and cooked much better than my eggs. The variation that day included tomatoes, goat cheese and red and green peppers. The goat cheese really made this dish, and I’d say this was the best choice at our table.

BOTTOM LINE: Virginia’s is a perfectly fine place to go for a traditional, Southern style brunch. It’s not the best on King, but if you’re looking for something safe (think a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day brunch), it’s one of the few that will deliver every time.

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347 King
Salads: Lunch, Dinner
$

The first impression you’ll have about Verde is “this place must be a chain.” It is just so well put together that you get this impression… Sounds like the owners of this place are on to a hot concept that appears to be easily transferable to other markets.

I went into this one thinking, okay, let’s scratch this chick salad joint off the list. I left full, satisfied and eager to return.

You’ll notice that the concept is essentially a packed salad bar with limitless options (well, not limitless—I counted 45+ toppings, which is a giant leap towards infinity). But, here’s where Subway and Which ‘Wich and other salad bars drop the ball time and time again: Verde offers a good mix of pre-thought-up, delicious-sounding concoctions for those of us who cower at the thought of having to pick from 45+ toppings — all while still giving you the flexibility of building one from scratch or subbing in items from one of the creations. Just be mindful that it is on the upper end of the price scale for “fast food” and you can easily wind up paying $13+ for a salad and a drink.

McCown went with the always-changing CUSTOMER MIX OF THE WEEK ($9.90), which is priced at the create-your-own rate so that, too, is always changing (based on the amount of meat and toppings). This week was the DANIELLE with mesclun, strawberries, avocado, grapes, cranberries, goat cheese & chicken with champagne vinaigrette. The verdict was overwhelming positive; the one thing that did sketch me out is that, although all of vegetable ingredients looked fresh, the meats appeared to be the cubed, lunch-meat variety—possibly the type that comes pre-cut in giant, gross watery bags? We’d prefer to see our chicken/turkey in a less sketchy format. UPDATE: We stand corrected. Per this message from the owners, turns out all of the meat is just the opposite of sketchy: it’s actually healthily baked on-site and then diced into perfectly bite-sized cubes.

I went with the CHICKPEA ($7.95) which is described as “hummus deconstructed”: romaine lettuce, chickpeas, roasted red pepper, feta cheese, pita chips, lemon tahini dressing and a squeeze of fresh lemon + $1.95 extra for roasted turkey. Great salad. The “squeeze” of fresh lemon turned into a whole fricken lemon half, which was a great idea and it really added to the salad.

I was impressed with how much food you get – it would be very difficult to leave here hungry. It seems to be relatively healthy, too. But, as always, you might want to request the dressing on the side as it’s applied rather liberally.

Suggestion to dudes: either don’t go here at all or go alone with the attitude of taking numbers left and right. The one male employee in the place sure had it down: not missing any opportunity to flirt it up with the 90% female clientele.

BOTTOM LINE: If you’re looking for something quick, easy and healthy, then give Verde a shot—I’ve heard the food is good, too.

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86 Society
$-$$
Chinese, Asian
How to save $:  10% off with coupon from CofC discount book

Chopstick House has more than its fair share of good reviews, making me hopeful for a better-than-average Chinese restaurant experience. We gave them a shot at lunch during the week and found the tiny dining room to be about half-full – already better than most take-out-only places. I can’t say the interior was decorated by a “licensed” interior decorator, but it was decent enough and the atmosphere was busy enough that you didn’t feel awkward dining inside.

We expected the menus to be a bit more Westernized (you know, with maybe 10-20 dishes max that they do well). Nope, it was the standard what-felt-like-17 pages of dishes, all of what, at a glance, appeared to be the same five ingredients prepared in hundreds of variations. What is it that the Mexicans and Chinese love about an overly complex numbered menu? Ok, maybe it’s just for convenience and perhaps to minimize pronunciation shyness, but, still, why do you need 100+ options on the menu? You cannot honestly expect me to believe that every single one of those dishes is as equally good as the last; maybe we could compromise with an abridged version of strictly “house specialties?”

Doing my best to take queues from the server and those around me, I went with the L20: GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN ($5.80 at lunch) with what was said to be by far the most popular. I found it to be pretty standard for this dish: I believe it’s traditionally spicy, however, this version was very mild for my palette. The true test for Chinese restaurant chicken is to cut into a piece – I usually take an attitude of “if you go looking for a problem, you’re probably going to find one,” and make every effort to eat full pieces so as not to lose my appetite. On my test, I cut into a few and it was indeed a white-looking, chicken-type meat—which is much better than most places, but there still wasn’t anything that gave me the feeling it was fresh or quality meat. The chunks were huge, but, upon closer inspection, the actual amount of chicken in the dish was quite slim, as most of the chunks were a breading that is all mixed in.

At just $5.80 for an entrée, pork fried rice and a drink, this Chopstick House is an undeniably good deal – it does have that going for it (although the lunch menu seems to include the cheaper options from the dinner menu).

McCown’s L3: SZECHUAN STYLE CHICKEN ($5.80) was better. It left less to the imagination as it featured slices of chicken, which could clearly be confirmed as chicken instead of having its true identity hidden behind the veil of a fried breading. The dish had a lot of veggies, including but not limited to snow peas, water chestnuts, carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, green peppers and broccoli. But, don’t let that fool you, as any flavor and chance at a healthy dish was surely masked by the all-too-salty soy/teriyaki-based sauce that suffocated your taste buds.

Intent on trying something unique, traditional, or just good at a Chinese restaurant, I also ordered one of the daily specials. Finally a special – that ought to be tasty and fresh, right? Not quite. The DUCK NOODLE SOUP SPECIAL ($8.95) arrived as a bowl of “soup” in the form of noodles in a salty broth so non-tasty it left you yearning for Top Ramen. The meat portion of the dish arrived on another plate featuring a few pieces of duck cut up with more bone, fat and skin on it than edible meat.

One cool thing that they do have and was better than most anything else—the BUBBLE TEA ($2.50) with mango flavor and “bobo heads,” small mango juice bubbles. It’s the rave in Asia, but weird to us ‘Mericans. In this case, weird and unusual turned out to be refreshingly good.

Maybe Chinese just isn’t my thing. I’ve yet to find one I like. I mean, even after eating at a very expensive, top-of-the-line Chinese place in Hong Kong last year, I still don’t like Chinese. What am I doing wrong?

BOTTOM LINE: I had high hopes, but found Chopstick House not to be anything special, aside from a slightly fancier dining room that doesn’t make you feel like you’re in a sketchy, awkward fast food joint. The food? Your run-of-the-mill Chinese. But, if a cheap, very heavy lunch is your thing (and perhaps you like Chinese food in general more than I do), you’re at the right place.

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149 Wentworth
French/American
$$$$- Fine dining experience
How to save $: Best bet is to go during restaurant week but even that will put you at $85+ a person after wine, tax and tip!

Eager to jump on Restaurant Week early, we made reservations at Circa 1886—a restaurant we’ve always wanted to try.

Deriving its name from the construction of the Wentworth Mansion that it shares a property with, the restaurant is housed in a great historic building with lots of character.

The first thing I noticed is that Circa 1886 is much more formal than I imagined. Plenty of men were wearing blazers and ties, but you’d be fine in nice slacks and a button-down shirt. There are several dining areas and even a private dining room for larger parties.

We started out with a cocktail drink each. I tried the 1886 OLD FASHIONED, with Maker’s Mark, simple syrup, bitters, muddled cherry and orange. It was good, though it wasn’t strong. And sweeter than most old fashioned’s.

McCown’s LIQUID SUNSHINE was about like it sounds: gin and deliciousness. A fruity drink that only a girl could get by with ordering.

In my opinion, the telltale sign a Restaurant Week menu will be a quality one is that they only offer a 3-course prix-fixe menu for the duration of the promotion.  Husk and Circa 1886 are two I’ve visited that share this philosophy. No a la carte choices here. The restaurants that offer a small Restaurant Week selection in addition to the normal menu often given you the cheapest, least desirable options.

The 3-COURSE PRIX-FIXE MENU was $40 + an extra $25 for the wine pairings which I recommend. The first item that came out was a CAULIFLOWER SOUP with watercress oil. Right out of the gate, we were loving Circa 1886. Besides being a delicious, rich, creamy soup like she-crab, it was still surprising light. I wouldn’t ordinarily order a cauliflower soup, but I’m glad I tried this one. It was a bit reminiscent of a light potato soup (without the bacon).

For my first course, I had the CORN HOT/COLD, which arrived at the table with a warm Smoked Corn Custard topped with Red Pepper Caviar and Cilantro, all sitting on a bed of Chili Powder and Corn Dust (whatever that is). The server then poured the Chilled John’s Island Corn Soup around the custard. I found this to be a tasty combination, but a rather “haute cuisine” dish… Meaning it was needlessly complicated for a dish that wasn’t amazing. Not to mention, portion size was on the smaller end.

McCown’s starter, the TOMATO, was undoubtedly the better of the two. Technically called a “Tomato Sourdough Bread Pudding,” it was more of a layered tart/pastry stuffed with local Wadmalaw tomatoes and cheese and topped with pesto. It turned out to be very flaky and crispy on the outside (which is why I was thinking tart/pastry), but very dense and moist on the inside. Think: the best tomato pie you’ve ever laid your fork on. Along with the pastry, there was also a shooter of some sort: it tasted like vinegar mixed with tomatoes and spices (in a good way). It went with the pastry well and, if you like bloody mary’s, I’d bet you’d like this shooter. I would hope that just describing the ingredients made this dish sound as amazing as we found it to be, but let me say that I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a bad combination of flaky pastry bread, melted cheese and pesto before in my life—simply delicious.

For the main course (listed on the menu simply by the type of meat) McCown’s BEEF, arrived looking absolutely mouth-watering. The two pieces of meat were set atop a Parsnip Puree and topped with a Sauce Bordelaise, which tasted like some type of sweet carrot-cream sauce. Cooked to perfection, Chef Marc Collins knows what he’s doing. Surprisingly, the portion size was large and very filling.

As for my main course, I tried the ANTELOPE, which was a much smaller portion than the beef. Our server recommended this dish and said that antelope is Chef Collins’ gig: although he changes his menu often, some dish with antelope is always there. As you can guess, this was my first time trying antelope and I was surprised that it is a very lean meat– not gamey at all. In fact, I found the flavor to be much milder than even the beef! The antelope was accompanied with green beans, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms.

For dessert, we tried the WHITE ESPRESSO CRÈME BRÛLÉE, a lot like the classic dish everyone’s tried, but with a small hint of coffee. Pretty good but also pretty standard — not too different at all. A very safe and delicious choice.

The real star of the dessert menu, though, was the STRAWBERRIES N’ CREAM SOUFFLÉ. The server brought it out to the table as soon as it was finished cooking – it was almost still baking. I can’t say enough good things about this dessert. It was light, fluffy and the best souffle I’ve ever tasted. Pieces of strawberries were mixed into the dish, delivering a very fresh-tasting strawberry taste- not the artificial fruit taste we’d all recognize immediately.

As for the wine pairings, the tawny port/creme brulee and prosecco/strawberry souffle were by far the best.

BOTTOM LINE: Circa 1886 has everything you should expect from a high-caliber, haute-cuisine restaurant–expertly planned and executed dishes coupled with very professional service. Its only downside is that it’s “off-the-beaten-path” location can at times make it feel a little quiet and the atmosphere a bit stuffy.

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Looking for some ethnic food on a budget with a good atmosphere? Look no further than Tasty Thai & Sushi, the sister restaurant to Taste of Thai in West Ashley. Be sure to sit in the front of the restaurant, so you can people-watch on King Street. If that’s what you’re after, I’d suggest going on a Thursday through Saturday night, when things are a bit more “interesting.”

Tasty Thai and Sushi looks pretty cool from the outside, but I had no idea how big it was until we went in. The sushi bar and kitchen wrap around to another, larger dining area and bar in the back of the restaurant, with a pool table and “hang out” space for what looked like College of Charleston kids students just a few years younger than me.

Jeff started off with the THAI CHIPOTLE SCREWDRIVER ($6.50), which was just your average screwdriver (vodka+orange juice) with fresh, sliced jalapenos and simple syrup muddled in. It was very spicy and fresh-tasting, complements of the OJ and fresh jalapenos. It’s not your average orange juice cocktail. And, although it was very good, if you’re going for a spicy drink on King Street, I’d opt for O-Ku’s Jasmanian Angel or Co’s Sriracha Mary before downing another of these screwdrivers.

But if you’re not interested in a spicy drink or one of the other specialty cocktails, the beers are only $4 — pretty cheap compared to the new restaurant Co just a few doors down (who’s selling beers for $6 each).

We shared the CRAB WONTONS ($6.95) and FRESH BASIL ROLLS ($6.95) as our appetizers. The crab wantons were very good, but that’s just because I like cream cheese more than I like crab. If you like crab more than cream cheese, you’ll probably be disappointed. They come with a spicy Thai chile paste sauce that make them spicy and much more flavorful – a nice addition to the smooth cream cheese flavor. As for the fresh basil rolls: ehh. They looked so pretty when they arrived at our table, but what they add in appearance they lack in flavor. They’re pretty unusual tasting and the basil (surprise, surprise) stands out among the shrimp and lettuce. This appetizer wasn’t spicy at all, but it was light and refreshing and a good choice for those looking for a little less spice.

Having to choose between Thai and sushi was the hardest part for me because I love them both. Because my seat faced the kitchen, I kept watching noodle dishes leave the kitchen counter and each dish looked better than the one before. Because I generally like rice dishes more than noodle dishes, Jeff and I decided to share one rice dish and one noodle dish to get a taste of both (and I wanted what kept coming out of the kitchen).

The PAD KEE MOW ($13.95) was our waiter’s favorite noodle dish and came with flat rice noodles stir-fried with garlic eggs, onions, bell peppers and basil. It was colorful and full of vegetables. On the spice scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the spiciest), Jeff ordered a 3. The delicious and rich spicy red sauce was definitely deserving of a 3 score. Aside from the spice, the dish was surprisingly bland and didn’t do much to win me over to the noodle side. I’d maybe get it again, but with chicken instead of the beef because the beef was pretty chewy and tough-tasting. But, after tasting our rice dish, I’d skip the Pad Kee Mow on my next visit and order something else instead.

Our rice dish of choice was the ONG BOK ($13.95) and came with chicken sauteed in a spicy red curry with peppers, onions, bamboo shoots, kachai and lime leaves. Without fail, every red curry Thai dish I’ve ever eaten has been delicious, so I was hoping I wouldn’t go wrong with this dish. I didn’t. The curry flavor was flavorful yet not the least bit overpowering, and my 3.5 spice scale was just the right amount of spice to leave my mouth burning- but just a little. Even though there wasn’t any coconut milk in this dish, it was really good nonetheless. It wasn’t too soupy and was filling enough that I took more than half of it home. It comes with a side of jasmine rice which was a little dry, but that was completely masked by the flavorful dish.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s a great, low-key place to grab a quick bite to eat on a weekday night. If you’re looking for a place that’s more upscale than Mama Kim’s (and without the red plastic booths of Spring Rolls), then Tasty Thai might just be for you. We were impressed with the quality of food at such a reasonable price (thanks to our Restaurant.com gift card). If you want a much more upscale Thai experience, then Basil is your place–but it will just hit your wallet a little harder.

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