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Comment Archives: Locations: Restaurants: American: 3 Stars

Re: “Craftsmen Kitchen and Tap House”

I finally made it into the peninsula to visit Craftsmen Kitchen, after a couple month wait for opening day. When you first walk in the door, you can tell there was a lot of money invested into design and decor. I really enjoyed the ambiance with the focus around a beautiful series of bars. There was plenty of space inside, and also an outdoor area with 4 large picnic tables.
The menu was very basic. One side had appetizers and smaller dishes. The other side featured more entree-like options. The waitress also gave us a large tap/bottled drink menu. My first thought, after glancing at the drink menu, was that it contained a lot of confusion. They tried to split things up by flavor profile, but didn't really get it right. There was a section for hoppy/IPA type beers, a section for local brews, a section for malt forward beers, and one other that I can't remember. The IPA/Hoppy section was fine, and featured many great brews. I am not sure there was a reason to separate the locals from the style based menu, as we didn't know exactly what flavor profile fit some of the local brews. The malty beer section was a complete cluster. There were pale ales (Hoppy), belgians, browns, and stouts all mixed in there. Those styles do not all fit the same flavor profile. I would have preferred them to not worry about style and just list all beers by brewery, or perhaps take time to separate by more than a couple flavor profiles. I didn't take time to check if most of the beers listed on the menu were actually on tap, but I didn't have any issues with my orders. The beer selection, while numerous, was not really impressive for a craft beer bar. It seemed like the had the normal basic offerings from many breweries, without carrying many seasonals or limited releases. I found it difficult to pick out a beer I really wanted to drink, but I am probably pickier than most patrons. I did like the option to have 8oz or 16oz pours, but I am not 100% sure the tumblers they use actually hold 16oz. The prices were a touch high, but that could be par for the course when you are a block from the market. The beers were served in clean glassware and seemed to be about the right temperature. My only suggestion there would be to use proper glassware for the style, but that is really asking for a lot.
Once we had a few drinks, we decided to order a few food items. We wanted to try two appetizers and a couple sandwiches. We ordered the Scotch Eggs (hard to find in the low country) and General Tso's Chicken Wings. The wings were really tasty, and they nailed the sauce. It was a nice mix of sweet and spice, and went well with the base crispy wings. The scotch eggs were not exactly what I am used to, but still very good. You only get one large egg, cut in half, so take note if you are sharing with a few people. My main course was the burger, which is made with house ground beef and some added pork belly in the mix. Pork belly makes for some delicious burgers, but also prevents you from getting a rare or medium-rare burger. It took quite a while to receive my burger, but we were in a large party. The burger comes with some thick cut fried potato rounds, but you only get 4 of these. If you are really hungry, it is better that you order more than just the burger. I did enjoy the seasoning on the burger, and would eat it again. I do wish there was more of a side with this. The other dish we got was the crispy pork belly sandwich. Basically, this is a piece of fried pork belly, between two pieces of toast, with a fried runny egg on top. I am not sure why the egg goes on top, as it makes the dish excessively messy. The belly was a touch overcooked, but the whole sandwich was still pretty good. This also cam with the small side of fried potato rounds.
Overall, I think this is a place worth checking out if you like craft beer. They are still very new and will probably be working on things like tap offerings and food. I think my expectations were a bit too high, due to years of drinking craft beer. I will likely return to see if they fall into a groove with food and beer selection. I wish them luck and much success. I am still happy to see another craft-centric bar in downtown Charleston, which covers a growing market of better beer drinkers.

8 of 13 people like this.
Posted by brewengineer on May 20, 2013 at 9:13 AM

Re: “Rutledge Cab Co.”

Our dinner was less than inspiring, the kabobs were ok but boring, the wings were the same as was the burger. The food was just very mediocre. Their house red wine was decent and a relatively good buy. The cocktail I had was unique and I enjoyed it. I thought it was pretty loud inside and outside, but service was good. I will be back to try the all day breakfast options, though.

1 of 1 people like this.
Posted by willywoody on February 25, 2013 at 1:30 PM

Re: “The Original Ms. Rose's”

I was so excited to try out Ms. Rose's and walked away disappointed.
The food was so so but the service was terrible. Our server forgot our appitizer, let our water glasses sit empty and we had to remind her we ordered a second round of cocktails.
We ordered the gnocchi and a ruben. I asked to subsitute the protien in the gnocchi and our server said there was an upcharge, which i expected but it was her delivery that threw me off. The gnocchi was good, lots of flavor. The ruben was just average. I will give them credit for their fries. They were awsome.
I won't rush back anytime soon.

Posted by elsmoak on February 15, 2013 at 3:54 PM

Re: “The Shelter Kitchen + Bar”

So-so food, drunken college kid crowd, and the beer selection is just a step above other bars on Shem Creek. I can't recommend this place, unless you just want to pound beers and yell a lot. I will probably revisit in a few months when the new bar crowd dies off.

6 of 7 people like this.
Posted by brewengineer on December 12, 2012 at 12:57 PM

Re: “The Shelter Kitchen + Bar”

This place is nothing to write home about. I tried it for both lunch and brunch. Nice laid back decor, but the service is slow even when its not busy, and their brunch menu is very limited. My eggs were cold and hard, but my grits were very tasty. I had lunch there as well. Burger is fine, but doesn't stand out. There are enough other places with better views that I'd go back to before heading back to the Shelter again.

10 of 10 people like this.
Posted by Q on October 2, 2012 at 3:53 PM

Re: “Wild Wing - Oakland Market”

I have dined here two or three times. The first time I went by myself and was just cathcing a bite to eat. The other time I went with my father and he paid so I imagine I only have positive things to say. It is in a quiet part of town. I had to wait for a good seat. The place is pretty nice and like any Wild Wings it has interesting decor. The food was alright. I would recommend this
restaurant to anyone.

Posted by Myron Steed on August 6, 2011 at 6:42 PM

Re: “Buffalo Wild Wings”

Tastes just like you expect wings from a bar to taste. Usually takes a while to get your food,and I mean, A WHILLEEE! But, if your used to the usual wing bar, with mediocre food, then you will enjoy it.

Posted by shannon88 on April 28, 2011 at 6:43 PM

Re: “Med Bistro”

This was OK because the food was bland. The tomato pesto soup tasted like crushed tomatoes, with very little flavor, yet still fresh. The risotto was not true to it's Italian roots, just tasted like firm rice with cream sauce and a few chopped veggies. I will say that the scallops were cooked just right, but the remainder of the dish was bland. On a good note, the atmosphere was nice and they had a great little trio playing.

1 of 1 people like this.
Posted by bropo on December 12, 2010 at 6:04 PM

Re: “Coleman Public House”

Good flatbreads and burgers. Brunch is another issue. They have great food but cannot pour a mimosa for anything (we asked for better pours on three separate occasions and they just can't get it right.) It is all OJ with a splash of cheap Cook's "champagne." For us, brunch is about the mimosas, so we will go elsewhere until they get it right.

1 of 1 people like this.
Posted by isidella on June 27, 2010 at 1:04 PM

Re: “Mad River Bar & Grille”

I have only been there once during the day time and that was ages ago so I can't really comment on the dining experience. At night it is a different experience anyway. There is usually a pretty good crowd there and the music is as good as anywhere else that has a DJ (for the most part). The drinks are fairly priced but the bartenders can be a bit slow (may not be enough to cover the usual crowd). Everyone is nice and there isn't a bug chance of drama. All around a good place except for one thing. On the weekends they charge a cover. Most times you just show your id, go in and buy your drinks at the bar. On the weekends they want you to pay a $2 or $3 cover but they can't tell you why. There is no event or band going on, they just want to squeeze you for some extra bucks. I understand charging a cover for minors (the only way you are getting money out of that demographic) but this is 21+ bar, why should you have pay to go pay for drinks when there isn't a event the cover is for?

Posted by -A on June 5, 2010 at 5:41 PM

Re: “Montreux Bar and Grill”

I've only been here twice & both times were to see Ellen Drive play in the back area. Typical bar atmosphere/service & the place was packed! I'd like to try their brunch sometime - wish I lived a little bit closer :)

Posted by jessc4343 on May 17, 2010 at 1:18 PM

Re: “Montreux Bar and Grill”

I live in Summerville and have been to Montreux several times. It's ok. The service is ok and the food is ok. I have yet to check out brunch but my friends went and said it was pretty good. It is what it is. A bar with decent drink specials and a good beer list. It's not the best bar I've ever been too but it's not the worst.

Posted by alrobert1 on May 5, 2010 at 8:17 AM

Re: “Vickery's Bar and Grill”

Decent brunch, good sandwiches, eating on the patio is great when there's a good breeze outside. Vickery's is our "stand-by /go-to" when we just cant decide or everywhere else is too blown up with folks...

Posted by yournamehere on August 14, 2009 at 4:21 PM
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