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
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