An institution in Charleston, I've heard many say that Fazio's is past its heyday. But that didn't deter me from wanting to check out this legend. And Italian? Yes, I say!

Luckily on this night, we made reservations. This place was beyond packed. It was prom or something in the area, and girls with frilly dresses were found en masse in the parking lot and waiting area. We pushed our way inside to tell the sweet woman at a single-person table with a hand-written notebook that we had reservations. She smiled politely then said it'll be a few minutes. We sat down, and I took in the decor. It was so crowded in there, I couldn't tell if they made it stuffy or the '70s wood paneling was holding too much hot air inside.

Yes, the decor looked like something out of a bad '70s or '80s movie, complete with overly designed carpeting and mirrored walls. And waiters in tuxes sans jackets. And you know what, I loved it. Why do you need to have a restaurant updated? You don't. If that food is still good, I'm all for it. We were seated after a few minutes of waiting, and, coincidentally, right up against a mirrored panel. So, I had myself for a dinner guest that night, as well. Plastic mats were on the table, alongside white cloth napkins - what a combo, eh? The waitress wasn't overly friendly, by any means, she sat down our menus, took our drink orders and headed to the back.

We were seated in one large room, but I believe there was another across the way. There wasn't much privacy - no dividers. Just a large room with tons of tables placed in. Some dividers would've helped break up the space some and give an illusion of privacy, but that's okay.

We were brought out some pimento cheese and crackers to start off with. I would've really loved if they were homemade crackers, but the cheese was nifty - smooth, but not potent. A nice little something to get my tastebuds working.

I looked over the menu for awhile and thought long and hard between two options: the manicotti or the sampler. The sampler had a few different things, but only one I was really interested in. And manicotti is noodles and cheese - yum! Manicotti won out. How can you pass up creamy, stringy ricotta cheese in a soft carb wrapper?

With our dishes, we were served salads. I was pretty impressed with this salad, as most of the time in these situations, you get a few leafs of lettuce and maybe a shred of carrot. This salad had some large chunks of tomato, cucumber, lots of croutons, crisp lettuce, and mine was drown in French dressing. I loved the dressing - tangy and yummy. But it was a little much. Maybe I'll ask for it on the side next time.

We were also blessed with a basket of buttery, garlicy bread. It was very tasty, but I tried to stave off the temptation because of the carb-induced coma I was about to encounter. But the bread had a crunchy crust and soft, buttery/garlic inside. My mouth is watering thinking about it.

Finally, our entrees came out piping hot. Two long manicotti rolls awaited me. At first bite, it was so hot, I didn't even taste anything. Try again. Okay, this time I got a taste. The marinara is chunky and tomato-y. It was thick, and the noodle was thin, oozing white ricotta cheese. It was tasty. It was hot, cheesey and hit every spot in my mouth that said "yum." What can I say, comfort all the way.

Grade: A

I saw Soho's when I went to the Capitol Market last year, but I didn't have a chance to go in. Basically at the end of this long building full of farmers' market meats, cheeses and other goodies (as well as many produce items outside), is this Italian restaurant. It strikes me as a lunch place, so we did just that on a Saturday afternoon.

A hostess greeted us then walked us back toward a table. In the middle, however, she stopped at another table to drop off some silverware and napkins. Note: It is entirely awkward to be standing next to a table of strangers, looking at you, while the hostess is dropping something off. It could've waited til the next trip. Regardless, we were seated, and our waiter came for our drinks.

This guy had been doing this for years, obviously. Jovial, joking and happy, our waiter was having a good time with us. I asked if I could have a water - he says, "I don't know - can you?" with a toothy grin. Usually I'd be annoyed, but his tone was playful.

I was looking for something light, so I skipped to the salad section. I saw a caprese salad, and if you know me, you know I need look no further. As we waited for our order, I looked around. I couldn't get a real feel for the restaurant - it seemed to have a mixed group of people. That made me comfortable.

My salad came out with huge slices of tomato, smaller slices of fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, accompanied by some fresh bread. It was all drenched in extra virgin olive oil and some Italian dressing. It had some cracked pepper on top, and the flavors were kickin'. Tomatoes were huge, bread was fresh, mozzarella could have been more soft and fresh, but it was still good. I ate every last bit of this dish. And I would do it again.

For dessert, we both ordered a bread pudding. If I haven't mentioned it before, my family, on the Nelson side, is known for their bread pudding (and wine-making). So I have pretty high standards for bread pudding. When it came out, it was a huge, huge chunk. It was pretty sweet - complete with white chocolate morsels. You know, it was definitely an "Americanized" version, made for a sweet tooth, but ... guilty as charged. It was warm, fluffy, hearty and yummy for a rainy day outside.

I really enjoyed this place; I'll be back.

Grade: A

I've been dying to try Vandalia Grille since my last trip to Charleston (last summer). We didn't have time. But, huzzah! On my most recent trip to Charleston, it was our first stop. This cold, rainy Friday night could only be solved with tasty burgers and sweet potato fries.

I parallel parked (!) in a side street, as Vandalia Grille is located right downtown, and a lot of the street parking was already taken up. The yellow front was inviting. We stepped inside to see a full restaurant. There's another entrance on the opposite side - kind of cool. We stood at the front awkwardly until a waitress popped by and said we could sit anywhere we like. We walked back until we found a table that wasn't infringing on others' privacy. It just so happened to be in front of the cook's area. A waitress quickly came over and took our drink orders. She was excellent the whole evening, asking us if it was our first time and offering her recommendations.

I had perused the menu briefly online already, so I knew I wanted a burger. But as I looked down the menu, I noticed they had three slider burgers. That looked perfect - I had the opportunity to sample three of their signature burgers - the Colorado, Aloha, and Gobbler. I also got their sweet potato fries, and we split the brushetta for an appetizer.

Their menu had "tapas" - small plates that are meant to be shared. We thought about buying a couple appetizers and just splitting them, but the burgers looked too tempting. The brushetta came out fairly quickly. Eight focaccia toast points were seated on a plate, drizzled with a sweet balsamic reduction, while a mound of sweet tomato and basil decorated the center. While the dish was probably too sweet for some folks, I thought it was key.

The Colorado burger consisted of a bison burger, smoked bacon, cheddar and red onion marmalade. This was the first one I tried, and it was a solid burger. In the words of my dear friend Brittany, it wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a solid burger overall. I think if the red onion marmalade was more prominent (I didn't really even taste it), it would've added another element here.

The Gobbler burger was next, and it was a turkey burger with spinach, gouda, caramelized onions with a pesto sauce. While this all sounds fantastic on paper, maybe I didn't get the full effect since it was only a slider. I didn't get those pops of flavors. I got a turkey burger with some cheese. And if you have a good gouda, it's out of this world. This burger was just okay with me.

Finally, the aloha was ground beef, with grilled pineapple, red onions, green onions, green leaf lettuce, and a teriyaki glaze. This one packed the most flavor for me. Right away, the pineapple was sweet, and the teriyaki was a little tangy, and the lettuce mellowed it out. This was probably my favorite of the three.

Oh, and how could I forget the sweet potato fries? They weren't bad - slightly soggy. I prefer mine to be more crisp ala Tailpipes, but the cool thing about these is that they came with two sauces: a sort of cherry mustard and a teriyaki mayonnaise. Bother were interesting. I used the mustard for the fries and the mayo for my burgers. All in all, not bad.

We also ordered their dessert - which was something like a fried cheesecake with ice cream ... everything in that phrase sounds amazing. And it was.

As a side note: Brittany ordered the Mediterranean salad, and she loved it infinitely better than her burger.

Grade: B

Only I would get excited at the sight of a small shack along the road in hopes of it being a new dining establishment. Right alongside Grant's, between Thorn Street and Oakvale and Athens Road is a small, small building. It looks as though it could be a shed belonging to the grocery store. But look closer! Signs waving in the air say "Hotdogs!" and "BBQ!" and a small yellow building, complete with red porch.

We approached the building from the backside, so it was like a grand reveal when we pulled around to the front. A small gravel lot leads the way to this bbq shack. We walked up the bright red stairs. I was kind of surprised at how well this place was put together. It is new, and it is small, but the quality was not sub-par. As soon as I got to the top of the stairs, I saw a sign that said their daily special was a bbq sandwich, bag of chips and drink for $5. Sold! Something about package deals that I love. The rest of the menu is pretty small.

We stood on the porch, watching traffic go by as we waited for the food to be done. After just a few moments, the window slid back open and the kind gentleman ushered out the steaming hot sandwiches, wrapped in a brown paper bag. I spotted a single picnic bench on the side of the building, so we took ourselves there and unwrapped our foodie presents.

At first bite, I noticed how steamy the bun was the pork was tender. The bbq was a little too on the sweet side for me. I like a little bit more tang to my bbq. The chips were classic Lays (no choice here), and I had a water. I would've liked a little thicker, tangier sauce, but it wasn't bad. And I was pleasantly surprised considering the location. Would I go back? Mmm, when it comes to bbq, I'm not sure if anyone can beat A Taste of Memphis...

Grade: B

At the Health Sciences Farmers’ Market, the line for the “bread lady” was always, at least, 10 people deep. That bread lady, Karen Guse, makes some of the best pepperoni rolls around. Her various breads, which were produced in her basement, have now found a home at the former Tutto Gelato stand on High Street. My five years here have seen the unique gelato standing tall on High Street, but after stopping at the now-Wild Mountain Bakery shop, I was welcoming them with open arms.


The shop features artisan bread, muffins, coffee, scones, cookies and pepperoni rolls, which come in regular or jalapeno. What makes these pepperoni rolls lovely, though, is that there are tiny chunks of pepperoni throughout a delicately, soft baked bread. It’s not a chunk stuck to one end. The slightly smoked taste is spread throughout the entire bun, giving you a nice mixture of bread and spice in each bite.

They are open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For the inner carbaholic in all of us, this soft, light, airy bread with some warm butter is enough to keep me happy. On this particular day, I also opted for their two muffins: blueberry and orange-mango. Heavenly.

I first tried the orange-mango,  and I was skeptical. I was concerned it would be slightly bitter. But a large muffin, contained in a maroon paper, was handed to me. Topped with crystalized sugar, it looked gorgeous. And it tasted even better. This light, fruity muffin had chunks of real oranges and mangoes, surrounded by fluffy cake. I finished the muffin, feeling refreshed and my palate cleansed. Which is sort of the opposite of the blueberry. While still great, the blueberry is a heavier muffin, more of what I’m used to, but still with small bits of blueberry and a tasty, sweet, muffin. For around $10, I got two delicious muffins and a pepperoni roll that’s out of this world.

Try it; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Grade: A