Greenville, SC: High Cotton

This is a beautiful new restaurant in the downtown area of Greenville that offers some twists on Southern cooking with excellent results. The space is huge, three levels, and well appointed. It reminded me in a vague way of the original Palomino in Seattle; polished, interesting light fixtures, glass. The service on both visits was excellent, with particular kudos the the bartender for an excellent martini and good conversation. I tried several menu items and enjoyed them all, with the exception of what I thought was going to be wonderful: smoked bacon hollandaise, which turned out to be heavy and rather bland. Maybe it was a bad day for the sauce chef. Some of the good things inclued a black-eyed pea hummus [a nice changes from the usual], pork belly tacos with a green tomato pico de gallo [what a concept], and a tuna tartar stuffed avacado with a tasty ginger and shallot dressing. An iceberg wedge was tricked out with fried green tomatoes and an excellent buttermilk blue cheese dressing and was pretty perfect. Good things all around.

The entree standouts included wild American shrimp and grits that included smoked chicken andouille, leeks, and charred tomatoes. I put in Tabasco, but that's just me as I think grits should have some heat. Also an excellent grilled pork chop that was served with a black-eyed pea ‘cassoulet’ that was a flavorful intrepertation of the original dish. Both plates were well balanced in terms of flavors and textures and fit in nicely with the concept.

Desserts were less successful, pretty pedestrian actually and a disappointing end to the meals. Seems like most of the inventive thought went into the other food on the menu. Oh well.

EatHereOrNot: EAT HERE

Greenville, SC: Sticky Fingers BBQ

Greenville is a nice town with a very cool restored downtown area that is charming and has a number of nice restaurants [and a surprising number of people asking for handouts . . . what's up with that?]. So today was a Sunday and I was disappointed in the number of what looked like great spots that were closed, but you know I like me some BBQ so I settled on Sticky Fingers. What a disappointment!!! The only thing that was good was the beer, everything else was average at best. The ribs looked promising, but the sauce was bland and boring. The mac'n'cheese tasted as if it came from a box and used that nacho cheese stuff rather than real cheese, and the baked beans were tepid. How can this happen in the heartland of BBQ? Then there was the service [or lack there of] . . . I sat at the bar, which is usually a good thing. Not here. The bartender was distracted by everything, including the TV. I had to ask for water, and after the food arrived had to ask for silverware. When I asked for the check and put out my card I actually had to ask him to process the card as he was leaving the area on some other distraction. This place has a prime location in the main street in downtown Greenville and is a prime disappointment. Don't waste your time or the calories, you'd be better off with room service at the hotel.

EatHereOrNot: NOT