Brunch at Fat Hen

Last weekend I made a day-trip to Charleston to see some of my best friends, Austin & Collin, and their brand new baby, Martha Bennett.  Bennett is adorable, and slept most of my visit, (she's only 3 weeks old).

It was a beautiful day, so we ventured out to grab some brunch at Fat Hen, the sister restaurant to Wild Olive, which I reviewed here a few months ago.

Fat Hen is located on Johns Island, and the atmosphere is comfortable and the servers warm and helpful.  We sat on the back porch to catch the cool fall breeze-- Miss Bennett snoozed the whole time.

Austin and Collin indulged in a Sunday morning Bloody Mary, (served in a mason jar and rimmed with Old Bay), and I stuck with water. 

We were all pretty ravenous, so we started with soup; Austin and I had the French Onion and Collin had the Soup du Jour, Tomato Basil with Creme Fraiche.  Both were delicious!

And there ends the pictures...I totally forgot to snap any of the main course, sorry!  I ordered the Fat Hen Burrito--which was huge and delicious.  Austin had the Fried Egg Sandwich, and I believe Collin had the Duck & Apple Sausage Gratin--it was sooo rich, but yummy!

Some other menu items that I might have tried in addition to my burrito and soup, (if I weren't actively trying to not be the largest pregnant woman of all time): Bacon Cheese Grits, Blue Cheese Bacon Cole Slaw, and the Creme Brulee French Toast--next time!

All in all, a wonderful brunch with wonderful company--love Charleston!
XO

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Eating Our Way Through Charleston, SC, Part II

So, here's the second half of our Charleston culinary adventures over Memorial Day weekend.

On Saturday, we didn't partake of food, but drinks at the super-luxe Pavilion rooftop bar.

 Grill 225 is also in this hotel, but that wasn't in our price-range for the weekend.  My Dad swears it's the best steak he's ever eaten though, and that's saying a lot coming from him.

 The view from our table.

 

The Carnival Cruise Ship that now docks in the Charleston harbor weekly.

Collin's amazing-looking mojito.  (If only I liked mint and lime in drinks...)

 

After a leisurely afternoon filled with good food at Blossom and drinks at Pavilion Bar, we headed home to rest up a bit for the main event--Wild Olive for dinner.

 

Our friend from high school, Caroline, and her boyfriend, Matt, joined us for dinner at this John's Island "Cucina Italiana."  The 6 of us arrived a little late for our 8 o'clock reservation, but no worries, the staff was prepared and sat us immediately.  The restaurant was pretty hoppin', and actually was still busy when we left almost 2 hours later, but service suffered none.  

 

We got a few appetizers for the table- calamari, beef carpaccio, and 2 orders of the fried risotto fritters.  The fritters took the cake for me--they were stuffed with house made sausage, (yes, I ate some meat), spinach and Parmesan, served with a vodka-tomato aioli.  I would go back just to eat these.

 

For the main course, I enjoyed a Ricotta Gnocchi alla Marinara, which was tasty, but it was not the best entree at the table in my opinion--that title is reserved for Austin's Goat Cheese Ravioli.  I had debated between the ravioli and the gnocchi, and after tasting Austin's (a few times), was disappointed in my decision.  The ravioli is not only stuffed with goat cheese, but also dried orange, thyme and hazelnuts.  The flavor combination was unbelievable.  Seriously, I want some right now.

 

 Goat Cheese Ravioli

Caroline's Shrimp "Picatta" served over Fried Green Tomatoes

 

I don't really remember what everyone else at the table had to eat, (sorry y'all, I was really excited about mine and Austin's food), and it also may have had something to do with the  wine and extra-dirty martinis that were flowing...

 

 

 I definitely remember the desserts though.  We debated getting dessert at all, as we were all very satiated at this point, but we ordered anyway, and I'm glad we did.

 

 Chocolate Pistachio Custard--amazing presentation, don't you think?  And equally tasty.

 

 Black and White Semifreddo- dark chocolate, white chocolate, pistachios, and strawberries.  The best of the 2, I thought.

 

And so ended a perfect meal with super-fun dining companions.  Highly recommend Wild Olive.

 

 A very dark picture of the amazing chandelier hanging from a tree outside Wild Olive's door.

 

 And the very cool shadow cast on the ground underneath the chandelier.

 

Charleston, and Wild Olive, we will return.  Soon, I hope.

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Eating Our Way Through Charleston, SC, Part I

Do you see a recurring theme here? I like to eat, and I surround myself with others that like to eat too.  Thanks, Austin and Collin for an amazing 36 hours in Charleston, SC--we dined at 4 restaurants in that time and all were superb.  Here goes:

Lost Dog Cafe- we ate brunch here Sunday morning.  It's a quaint little spot on Folly Beach, where dogs are welcome, as you'll see from some pics below.

Pretty darn good bloody; served in a Mason Jar with an array of accoutrement.

Mimosa, also served in a Mason jar.

Some doggie diners.

My black bean breakfast burrito.

Austin's lox bagel sandwich.

Amazing homemade cinnamon roll.  It was the size of my head.

Another cute doggie diner.

After a day of sun and sand at Folly, we packed it up and headed to Taco Boy, which was the only request I had made for the weekend.  Austin and Collin took me to Taco Boy last time I was in town and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

Nachos.  So yummy.

Margarita.

Cheese quesadilla, sidfe of black beans.  Some of the freshest, tastiest guacamole I've ever had.

Tempura fish tacos.

Saturday afternoon, after James and I arrived in Cuck-town, we headed downtown to this gem, Blossom.

Fish tacos with cheese sauce.  I particularly liked these fish tacos--most places do not serve cheese on fish tacos, much less amazing, warm cheese sauce, but since cheese sauce is one of my favorite foods, I loved this dish.

Amazing-looking bacon cheddar burger.

And when you eat these things with a side of fruit, it totally balances out, don't you think?!

Check back later for a post about Wild Olive--our Saturday night eating adventure.

What is your favorite dining spot in Charleston?

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