For dinner in Charleston, we decided to end my trip with a bang! Up until this point, I hadn't spent a ton of money on a meal, but I was willing to do so on the last night. After reading some reviews, I knew Bridge Road Bistro wasn't exactly college student-budget friendly, so that was our choice for our farewell dinner.

We parked across the street, at Cornucopia, because the parking near the restaurant was full. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a young, friendly woman. She was trying to deal with a complaint from another customer about the noise but all the while keeping her composure with us.

She seated us next to this awesome sculpture of the New River Gorge bridge. I looked around and quickly noticed this was not my demographic. All around us were old, white, rich people. People who look like they just finished a round of 18 at the local country club. We got a few stares for our blue-jean-clad legs. But that's okay.

The booth we were in was rounded, so you could fit a handful more people in. It was kind of awkward for only two people, but we made it work. We looked through the menu - I wasn't hellbent on paying a ton of money on something that only looked average to me. But what did look outstanding was the appetizers. Two especially: jumbo lump crab and artichoke gratin (toasted foccacia) and roast butternut squash and grilled red pepper won tons (napa cabbage kim chee, honey soy gastrique). Yum! We placed those orders, and then something unexpected happened.

Our waitress had a seizure. Not in front of us. But we heard lots of commotion coming from the back, followed by loud sobs, and then another waiter came to us and said he's taking over. It wasn't until we were finished with our meal that he gave us a few details I won't repeat here. It was unfortunate, and she was escorted out via police to an ambulance. My focus on the dining experience suddenly became far more lax, as I was concerned about her health.

But our replacement waiter brought out our dishes, with no real pause in service at all. I tasted the dip first - I didn't get crab or artichoke. Instead, I tasted cream cheese. In fact, the whole dip kind of just tasted like a cream cheese. That flavor overwhelmed any hint of crab or artichoke. It sounds delicious, and I really wanted to like it, but it was just okay. If the name on the menu matched the flavors, it'd be amazing.

Next, I tried the wontons. I truly was expecting some hint of cheese here, but nothing. The squash was tasty, and this dish was creative. I still think it could have benefited from maybe a sharp cheese flavor. But I can appreciate something different - but the cabbage was barely around. It was simply a couple shreds under each wonton to essentially help it stay in place on the plate.

After giving their dessert menu a quick glance, I couldn't really pass up their creme brulee. French custard and caramelized sugar seemed like a perfect fit for my meal's endcap. The dessert was light and airy and delicious. The top was a perfect thickness and the beautiful small shards of sugar dissolved in my mouth. The fresh strawberry garnish was cool and sweet. I scraped the bowl. I just wish those darn things were deeper. Oh well.

I spent about $40 total, which is hefty. But I did enjoy my meal overall. I appreciated the creativity, though the execution wasn't completely there. The dessert was phenomenal, and considering all the circumstances, the service was impeccable.

Grade: B

I was out of options for a Sunday lunch, so I turned to Twitter for suggestions. I received a few responses, many of which I hope to try on my return trip, but one place in particular was named by three separate individuals: Thelma Fay's.

I hadn't heard of Thelma Fay's. But if three people whose opinions value, I thought I'd go ahead with it. Besides, these home-cooked, hole-in-a-wall places sometimes have the best food.


This pink building doesn't have a devoted parking lot, so we circled the block for awhile trying to figure out where to park. We finally got a space and walked inside. I noticed some mismatched framed art on the walls, as well as some records. A few long tables decorated the wall on the left, and a couple single-person booths lined the right wall. We walked back toward the counter. I noticed the wall to the left had "Thelma Fay" herself, along with tons of signatures. At the counter were a few menus. We took them to a booth and looked over them.

The man behind the counter asked us what we'd like to drink, and he filled us up some styrofoam cups and handed them to us. I said thank you, but he just walked away. Their Sunday brunch menu looked fabulous - eggs benedict, eggs Thelma Fay (with smoked salmon), bagel & lox, and Captain Crunch french toast.

I had a hard time narrowing down between the Captain Crunch french toast and eggs benedict. I decided to try to be an adult and order the eggs benedict. After a little wait, our food was served. Two English muffins, topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. I bit down to only taste some bland, mediocre soft food. I tried again, sopping up more hollandaise to get some more flavor. Nothing. Where's the rich, buttery flavor? That mild tang? Absent.

I finished one muffin/poached egg combo and sent the rest away. This fabulous brunch item was reduced to a mediocre dish that I didn't want to associate with. It was simply … there. The service was questionable, at best. And the food was nothing to be desired.

You know, I love when I can find a great little diner that has an outstanding dish that you could find in a 5-star restaurant. But this wasn't my experience here. 

Maybe I ordered the wrong dish? It's hard to say. But I hold those who suggested the place in high regard, so I must just need to try a different dish. Captain Crunch french toast it is!

I did, however, try one fried cheesecake bite from a friend who ordered them. They were quite tasty. Fried desserts hit this odd comfort food in all of us - they're so good, but so bad to love them.

Grade: C

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