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| Bricks & Barrels: Blackened flat iron served with crispy fingerling potatoes, vegetables, and garlic compound butter |
I know it's just a teeny bit late, but I wanted to mention all the great food I had during
Charleston's Restaurant Week. Held during the last week of January, Charleston really did Restaurant Week right. I went to three different restaurants this week in order to write something up for
Taste! WV Magazine (I really should get on that...).
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| Bridge Road Bistro menu |
Buzz Food Service organizes and sponsors the event, which
featured 20 different restaurants offering a three-course meal for $30. Appetizer, entree and dessert for $30? Yes, yes and yes. During the first year, there were 8 restaurants, then 16 in the second year. And this year - 20!
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| Bricks & Barrels - Chocolate decadent cake with vanilla sauce and fresh berries |
Tons of people go out to find new restaurants and revisit old favorites. Aladdin Restaurant, Bricks & Barrels, Dem 2 Brothers & A Grill, Fifth Quarter, Leonoro's, Su Tei, The Block, B&D Gastropub, Ichiban, Paternos - and so many more participated. The event resulted in half a million dollars in economic impact.
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| Bricks & Barrels - Sauteed shrimp with peppers and onions, tasso ham gravy served over grits |
So, where did I go? I went to Celsius with Veronica - my first time at the restaurant, so it'll get its own post. I also went to
Bricks & Barrels with Veronica, which was pretty amazing. I started off with these small bite-sized crab cakes, which were fine. The entree, though, is what was the best part. Their take on a shrimp and grits was creamy, tangy, smokey and all-around comforting. The flavors were balanced, the texture was varied, and the dish had soul.
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| Bricks & Barrels - Mini chocolate brick |
My friends opted for their steak and enjoyed it. My dessert was their mini chocolate brick, which was this chocolate shell with cream inside. Not bad.
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| Bridge Road Bistro bread |
The final restaurant I visited was
Bridge Road Bistro. For starters, I had this French Onion Soup. It was pretty tasty. I love the croutons and Swiss cheese bubbling down the side. It's a very earthy sort of taste, but I'm into it.
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| Bridge Road Bistro - French onion soup with crouton and Swiss cheese |
For entrees, my friend Maggie got a salmon with potatoes and greens. I went for the bacon-wrapped pork medallions with whipped potatoes, haricot verts with toasted almonds and a huckleberry demi glace.
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| Bridge Road Bistro - salmon with potatoes |
The pork was quite good, as were the potatoes. The sauce really was a nice complement to the meat. Nicely thought out dish.
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| Bridge Road Bistro - Bacon-wrapped pork medallions with whipped potatoes and haricot verts with almonds. |
Dessert was creme caramel with fresh berries. Anything rich and creamy such as this has my vote.
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| Bridge Road Bistro - Creme caramel with fresh berries. |
I love the cohesive, community-driven aspect of this weeklong event. I think it benefits so many areas - including the patrons who find new restaurants, the restaurants who get a bump during a slow time of year and the economy that sees so much more money. I'd love to see this implemented in even more areas throughout the state.
