Recovery Sports Grill seems to be a newer restaurant in town, and from what I gather, folks are happy to have a sports bar. It's located right on Virginia Street, and the lane in front of the building suddenly turns into parking around 6 p.m., which blows my mind. I was really confused to see a three-lane road become two lanes because the right-most lane became a parking lot. Bizarre.

There's something about a sports bar that turns me into a sports fan who loves nothing more than a beer, wings, and trivia. In this case, I just went for the wings because their menu said that "absolutely nobody does wings as well as we do." Ha!

Other menu items include burgers, sandwiches, salads, appetizers - your typical sports bar fare. I ordered 10 wings - 5 of which were buffalo bleu and 5 were sweet BBQ. I also got a side house salad because I was extra hungry.

The salad came out first. I was bummed they didn't have French because that makes a salad for me. Ranch had to suffice. It wasn't bad, actually. Some greens, onion, cheese, tomatoes and croutons. A little more to it than I was expecting.

I think whenever someone builds up an item like - "it's the best I've ever had!" or "no one tops our X!" it is instantly a failure to me. Maybe I should not put so much stock in others' opinions or maybe I think my mouth is going to melt from an overwhelming amount of amazing that I just consumed. But I feel like the more times someone talks up a place in such a way that is over the top, the more likely I am to hate it.

Sorry, Recovery.

Have you met Mario's Fishbowl's wings?

Maybe I'm too picky with wings. Here's the thing: I don't like when I feel like I'm chewing a giant piece of fat. That is a texture that is just not appealing to me. I understand its value in flavoring the dish, but skin/fat have to be cooked well done so I don't feel like I just ingested grubs. Blech.

So, I like my wing skin to be cooked well, well through. I don't want it to be slimy - I want it more crunchy. I want some bite. A couple of my wings had this - but the majority did not. Beyond that - I felt like the flavor was meh at best. Yes, 'meh' is an acceptable adjective now.

Too much build up without delivering. Wings need some extra kick. Give me some flavor, give me some spice. Maybe a different flavor would do the trick.

Dessert can redeem all. My friend ordered a cake of some sort, and I got a peanut butter pie. Both were good. That's all.

My bill came to around $25, so not bad considering the salad, the wings, a drink and dessert.

Grade: C

I only just recently visited Adelphia on Capitol Street, but I noticed this Adelphia Limited on my drive to work. It's a smaller lunch service cafe that's only a block or so from work, so it's a perfect location for me. Not only that, but it's also the opposite way of Capitol Street - which is usually where I find myself during my lunch break, so it's nice little change of pace -- not to mention a little less foot traffic in that area.

Their menu has a few gyros, quesadillas, wings, burgers, fries, and grilled cheese sandwiches. I ordered a Greek quesadilla, which is flour tortillas stuffed with gyro meat, feta, blended cheese, red onion, diced tomato, cucumber and served with Yia Yia's tzatziki sauce. I called this in, and they told me it'd be about 15 minutes.

A couple co-workers and I went to the building. There is some outdoor seating, but you go inside the actual building, and the first left is the restaurant. My total came to around $8, and I was on my way back to work.

After I opened up that styrofoam container, four small triangles stared up at me. It was a little on the spicy side, but not overwhelming. The flavors were a little muddled in the heat and spices, but it was still good.

It has the gyro elements, but I didn't realize how much the bread really pulls those flavors together and maybe the starch helps balance out those flavors. With a thin tortilla, I didn't quite get that same effect. For what it was, it was good. But I think the spices were a little heavy-handed, and I would've liked the tomatoes and cucumber to shine through a little more.


Grade: B

The Daily Cup apparently recently moved downtown. It's only a few blocks from work, so it makes for a good lunch break during the day. My coworker and I braved a rainy afternoon in search of coffee and quiche.

Located at 700 Virginia St. E., The Daily Cup is a nice, modern cafe that offers sandwiches made with cuban presses and lots of specialty coffee drinks.

I perused the case and a sandwich board that was outside before deciding on their ultimate grilled cheese sandwich and a side of spinach/ham quiche.

They pressed the sandwich, and handed me over a slice of quiche to take back to the office. The sandwiches are a pretty good size, and it was filled with four different types of cheeses, tomato and bacon. It was gooey, warm and the perfect comfort food for that gray day.

I was a little less impressed with the quiche - I wish it had set up a little more so the texture was a little stiffer. And it was kind of bland overall - no vibrant flavors. Just eggy with a little ham. A different flavor or more spices could amp it up.

Nice little cafe spot with a cool vibe. I could definitely see myself getting some homework done here.

They are open 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday & Tuesday; 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday; and 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.

Grade: B

So, Frutcake rounds out the Charleston trifecta in addition to Bluegrass Kitchen and Tricky Fish. They're all owned by the same folks, I believe. All of which I find okay, while I find Charlestonians tripping over themselves to compliment the places. I think they are good. Amazing? Maybe I'll have to test out some more dishes before I go that far.

Frutcake is only open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday 8 a.m to 2 p.m. So my friend and I went on a Saturday after the East End Yardsale. There are a few shabby-chic tables and chairs, but it seems as though most of the business is take out.

The place boasts organic pastries, pies, cakes and espressos. Since we got there late in the afternoon, many of the goodies behind the case were already nabbed up. But muffins, pies - which I will definitely get next time, and more were still options.

One item did catch my eye, though: A ramp scone. With parmesan cheese. Mmm. Since I didn't really experience the ramp phenom growing up that consumes the state, I'm trying to make up for lost time. I asked if I could have the last ramp scone, and the woman behind the counter said "good for you!" Apparently I don't look like the type to try different(?) foods?

For only a couple bucks, I took the scone, enclosed in a brown paper bag, and headed out. The savory scone was what dreams are made of. Crumbly chunks of the garlicky, pungent - in a good way - ramps combined with some sharp parmesan cheese was fabulous.

I ate every last crusted, flavorful piece. I'll have to try some of their other offerings soon, especially if they're as good as this was.

Grade: A

Charleston finally has its own little brew pub, much to the delight of brew connoisseurs in the area. Ann Saville of Taylor Books opened the English pub, Charleston Brewing Company, and she actually told me about it a little over a year ago when I was working on a story about successful businesswomen on Capitol Street. She was very excited, and it's been in the back of my mind ever since.

It opened up recently at the corner of Summers and Quarrier streets, and Daily Mail reporter Paul Fallon has followed its progress for some time. My friend Karie and I decided to check it out. We arrived around 9 p.m., and since they close around 10 p.m., we thought we'd be good to go. The hostess sat us and supplied us with menus.

We looked over them briefly, but before our waitress even took our drink orders, someone from the kitchen came out and asked if we'd ordered. We said no, and they informed us the kitchen was closing, but if we knew what we wanted, they would try to put our order in. I scanned the menu again and decided on fish and chips, which came with smashed peas.


Soon, our waitress came over and told us the kitchen was closed. We told her another man just took our order. So, she left to make sure our order did indeed get in. It did, luckily. So, take note - the kitchen closes an hour before the bar does. She took our drink orders - I initially wanted the sampler so I could try each one, but she told me I wouldn't want that because only one beer was left. So, she told us what was left, and I opted for the Quarrier Wheat.

That was a good decision. It was slightly sweet, crisp, and clean. Not too heavy, so I was happy with that decision. Our waitress - named Candace =] - brought out some rolls. They were, how can I say this, rock hard. But that's probably because they were the absolute last rolls and sitting around all day.

The main meal wasn't bad. The fried fish was so hot, it was a little mushy on places where it didn't have a chance to set up properly. The fish itself was great, though. I was expecting a sweet, tangy tartar sauce, but this was a thinner, more tart flavor. It wasn't bad, but I really would've liked to have that more mayo-based sauce. The steak fries were good - salty and flavorful.

The smashed peas were ... well, smashed peas. If I had time, I would've looked into substituting something. I don't mind peas, but this kind of thick pea paste isn't the most appetizing. Maybe with a slab of butter and garlic, it would've been more manageable. Apparently I just want all my food's to amplify the fat content.

However. There is value in having an English restaurant as well as a brew pub. Definitely an asset to the community, and there are so many other items I want to try - bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, and the Scotch eggs!

The environment here is really cool. I love the laidback, relaxing vibe. Next time, I'll get there a little earlier so that the experience isn't rushed.

Grade: B