Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (cecif)

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:57:15 GMT

buffetbuster

cecif-
I did read your trip report before I left, but I have such poor short term memory. If I had it to do over again at the Crab Shack, I would have ordered the whole complete meal, as did wanderingjew and Travelin Man.

Hey, I can always go back!

Yeah, I saw it and photo'd my neighbor's platter, but couldn't hack it on my own!

I enjoyed this whole report (though it took me a coupla weeks from end to end reading...), and now I can't remember all the rest of the comments that I wanted to make as I went along... oh well!

Such great memories, thanks!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (cecif)

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:03:23 GMT

Nancypalooza

Woh-wah!

So ceci, Cliff or whomever, is the Crab Shack the place that maybe inspired the Joe's Crab Shack chain, or it's completely not affiliated?

Nancy, I think it's actually from Joe's Stone Crab (if I have that right), from Miami... my best guess.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 21:05:30 GMT

cecif-
I did read your trip report before I left, but I have such poor short term memory. If I had it to do over again at the Crab Shack, I would have ordered the whole complete meal, as did wanderingjew and Travelin Man.

Hey, I can always go back!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (cecif)

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:30:38 GMT

buffetbuster

There were at least 30 alligators in the penned in area. I did notice the camera showing live shots, but thought there was no way anyone I know would be watching. Little did I know, cecif!

The Crab Shack was a real fun experience!

http://www.thecrabshack.com/

Much more to come.....

Yup... I'd have internet-waved back atcha!

I am *so* glad you ended up going there for lunch. I'd have suggested that, because I liked the views so much and you get a really good flavor of the place when you can see everything... (though I would like to see it at night with all the pretty lights I could see were strung thru those great oak(?) trees...)

So sorry you didn't read my report again before you went, cuz I still dream about their amazingly good coleslaw. Love the shrimp - I had that too! Mmmmmmm, I can't wait to go back!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:13:01 GMT

MD-
The flavors in the toppings were all subtle, but it was still quite good. Jack's was good enough (and convenient enough, especially with it being open on a Sunday) that I plan on stopping in everytime I am in the area. Such an interesting menu that deserves further exploring!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (MiamiDon)

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:02:57 GMT

Great photos and a lot of interesting stops, BB.

Once I got past the silly names on the menu, I noticed that there were a few interesting toppings at Jack's Cosmic Dogs, like the blue cheese slaw, the sweet potato mustard, Jamaican relish and Jack's Zippy Onion Relish. But you said that the slaw was light on the blue cheese and the mustard had no detectable sweet potato!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:37:48 GMT

sudie-
Thanks for reporting back about your meals on Tybee and Savannah. Sounds like you ate extremely well down there. The Italian sausage at Breakfast Club was so good, I'm wishing I had tried the Polish, too.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (sudie)

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:52:09 GMT

The Breakfast Club was wonderful, as usual. My husband had the Grill Cleaner's Special, my usual choice, but I decided on the spinach/monterey jack omelet. What a treat! The spinach was fresh, and just lightly steamed. It infused the omelet with such a bright, fresh taste. My new favorite. DH loved his, a melange of Polish sausage, green pepper, onion, etc. We tried the Wassaw Sound Seafood Company on the recommendation of a friend. What a place! It's an old Church's Fried Chicken, and not fancy on the inside either, although there were white tablecloths. The seafood was just marvelous. I had an Arctic Salmon, set on a bed of fresh juliennned vegetables and a cake of grits and bleu cheese. My husband had a dish of halibut, set off by the same vegetables and a sweet potato cake which balanced it beautifully. We split a plate of steamed clams, in a bowl of wonderful garlic/lemon/butter. The clams were steamed just to tender, and the sauce was great to slurp up with them and dip bread into. These entrees came with a salad of baby greens and croutons, dressed with the house dressing, a vinaigrette of lime and cilantro. Unusual and very, very good. They take great pride in using local products, and although our fish was not, it was shipped to them fresh. I can't wait to go back and try other things. I especially would love trying roe shrimp, which is shrimp with its eggs, caught only a couple weeks out of the year. The place is run by a man and his children. The daughter is a waitress, and his son is a very gifted cook. It's not expensive, either. It was about $70 with tip for the 2 of us with appetizer and a glass of wine each. I can't ever remember having a better dinner in Savannah. It's located on Habersham, just north of Victory.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:18:14 GMT

Sudie-
Thanks for the reply! After Greymo recommended Sweet Potatoes and I looked at the menu, I really wish I had been able to fit that one in. I had also wanted to drive down to GA Pig, since I hadn't been there in almost a decade. Glad to hear it is still good. Please report back on how your meal at Breakfast Club was.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (sudie)

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:18:42 GMT

Love your report. We are going to try either Renee's or Randy's tomorrow evening. We had a wonderful dinner tonight at Sweet Potatoes kitchen on Waters at Eisenhower in Savannah. I had tilapia, my husband had a pork chop. The entrees were flavorful and well-prepared. I got fried green tomatoes and cheese grits as sides. The grits were a bit bland, but the tomatoes were done perfectly. My husband's creamed spinach was exceptional. We had lunch at the GA Pig in Brunswick and enjoyed it thoroughly, particularly the Brunswick stew. Their BBQ is fine, but their sides are spectacular. I loved your pictures of the Crab Shack on Tybee. We saw a sign this evening that read, "You didn't come all the way to Savannah to eat pond raised fish from China, did you?" We have heard many times over, including from a boy who worked his thru college there that the CS's seafood is imported. Friday, it's off to Tybee for a Breakfast Club breakfast.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (CajunKing)

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:42:51 GMT

BB

What a trip, you made some great stops along the way, even if you did get "travelinmanned" several times.

Your photos always make me drool, the stop at seewee.......yummmmm

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (ChiTownDiner)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:42:36 GMT

BB -

I don't know what it is...when i see those converted grocery stores with all the colorful soda bottles on the wall shelves, I want one of every color!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:09:02 GMT

Thanks for the reply Nancy. I sure wasn't expecting you to say that it was the shrimp, since mine were so good.

Jack's Cosmic Dogs was definitely a winner and deserves further investigation. I'm just concerned if wanderingjew will forgive for twice eating hot dogs in South Carolina!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (Nancypalooza)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:04:06 GMT

Oh, I'm gonna have to try Jack's Cosmic Dogs now. That looks good!

I just asked her about it at lunch; it was the shrimp, oddly enough. They had gone about 10:30, eleven, and everybody else had breakfast and was real happy with their choices but Julie said she couldn't tell whether the oil wasn't ready for frying or what but the shrimp weren't so good. She could have been nursing her broken heart about not getting to go on the ferry to Bull Island though, so I'm glad that you had a good batch.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:58:10 GMT

Sunday January 4 cont.

My time in Charleston was growing short, but I attempted one more stop. A bakery called Cupcake is reviewed here on Roadfood.

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=5900&RefID=5831

The downtown location is closed on Sundays, but there is also one in a spiffy, upscale shopping center in Mt. Pleasant. Pulling into the parking lot, all the businesses were open and busy. Well, all but Cupcake.

Hey, I want to join Team Cupcake! Wait, if you have to drive this vehicle,

nevermind!

So, I doublebacked up US 17 and stopped at Jack's Cosmic Dogs, a place I first read about on Hollyeats.

The interior is a feast for the eyes. Lots of cool things to look at, including signs, both neon

and drawn.

This may be my favorite photo from the whole trip,

since it looks like the guy is actually sitting in and driving that little car! All he needs is a fez and he could be a Shriner!

Sorry about the poor photo of the menu, but you can see they have a fairly big selection.

I went with the namesake Cosmic dog, which the young man taking my order called their signature item.

I asked and they use an all beef Boar's Head dog. The blue cheese taste in the slaw was very subtle and frankly (sorry about the pun), I didn't taste the sweet potato in the mustard at all. Still, this was a delicious slaw dog. I would have loved to have tried more than one, but the huge lunch was still with me.

They also have hand cut fries, which looked wonderful on someone else's tray. And my attempt to get a root beer float were thwarted by a broken ice cream machine. I am looking forward to a future stop at Jack's Cosmic Dogs.

http://www.jackscosmicdogs.com/

From there, it was straight to the airport, where I had an easy flight home.

As always, thank you to everyone for reading my trip report!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:01:39 GMT

Nancy-
Any idea what Julie and her friend had?

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (Nancypalooza)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:12:22 GMT

I am so glad you had a good time at the See Wee--Julie took her friend there back in October and had a just-okay meal. It hurt me to think they were goin down.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:47:43 GMT

TTM-
The only way we would know for sure is if I had ordered the exact same item and I blew that chance! At least the waitresses looked cute in their pajamas.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (The Travelin Man)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:44:56 GMT

It was during my New Year's road trip last year. I want to say that I visited them nearly one year to the day that you did. They had gone to the Tropical Toast motif, and I know that Michael Stern has subsequently visited there and been underwhelmed, as well.

It is certainly possible that they have had some kitchen or management changes, and I surely don't deny that your plates of food look underwhelming, at best.

Fortunately, even if it appears as though it may never be duplicated, I do still have the memory of MY meal there - but, I will be cautious about recommending it to others in the future.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:22:33 GMT

TTM-
I am curious. How long ago was the great breakfast you show in that picture? Was it before they switched from just Diana's to Tropical Toast at Diana's? BTW, I'm blaming you for my bad breakfast. The food in that photo looks spectacular.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:17:48 GMT

Sunday January 4 cont.

Hoping to have a much better lunch than breakfast, I was outside Seewee Restaurant,

about 25 minutes north of Charleston, just as they opened. When I went up to the cash register to inquire about a table, I saw this bumper sticker.

They obviously take their shrimp around this area very seriously!

Seewee Restaurant looks like an old general store that they stuck a restaurant in the middle of.

As per usual, I was seated at the table closest to the dessert displays.

Before even looking over the menu and the specials, I checked out the board with the desserts listed.

According to the Sterns' review, this is a place where they can run out of certain items. So, I surprised my waitress by telling her I wanted a piece of caramel cake and some banana pudding first. When she brought them over, she told me I had gotten the second to last portion of both. Woo-Hoo!!!!

Time to focus on the main meal. Or as I like to call it, the bridge to dessert! The specials:

My meal started with a bowl of fine she crab soup.

Not quite as luxurious as what I ate at 82 Queen, but tasty nonetheless. BTW, with the wooden floors they have here, I could see my soup move around inside the cup when someone walked past my table! With it came a delicious warm, soft, crumbly biscuit.

My meal of 15 fried shrimp, with sides of green beans, mac & cheese and sweet potato casserole arrived:

Most likely, the photo doesn't do it justice, but this was one of the most beautiful plates of food I have ever seen. It was almost too good looking to eat. Almost!

Lying in a pool of porky juice, the green beans were excellent.

The mac & cheese was soft and ultra-cheesey.

The somewhat spicy sweet potato casserole

was the only thing on the plate I did not finish and even that rated about a seven out of ten.

The fried shrimp,

typical of the area, was lightly battered, very fresh tasting and darn near perfect. I think I preferred these even over the ones from Fishnet Seafood the night before.

By the time I got to dessert, I was really full. The caramel cake

was good, but the icing was just a little too sweet for me. The nummy banana pudding was better.

The service here was excellent. Once I sat down, four different woman wanted to take my order within just a few minutes. You don't seem to have one set waitress here as everyone was constantly refilling my sweet tea or checking on me.

As usual, all my picture taking got noticed. One waitress (the one who got my desserts) said, "I'll be the nosy one. What is with all the pictures?" I told he I was just a tourist and we don't have restaurants like this back home. Then she asked about the Roadfood book and I showed her the review. She took it and showed the owner and soon the book was being passed around to everyone out front and in the kitchen. Once again, they had no idea they were written up in Roadfood. Even a couple of the customers wanted to read it. I counted at least six different people who said they were going to go out and buy the book. If the Sterns see a spike in book sales in South Carolina, they will know why.

The SeeWee comes highly recommended. I would have a hard time deciding which meal in Charleston I enjoyed more, Seewee Restaurant or 82 Queen.

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=1402&RefID=1402

I was so full from my meal here, I barely had enough room for one more stop.

More to come.....

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (The Travelin Man)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:14:33 GMT

While I appreciate your ability to change on the fly, if you HAD to make a change, you might have gone with the apple-stuffed French toast (IIRC). Those are the only two "spectacular" things I have had at Diana's.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (Nancypalooza)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:02:54 GMT

I've had great food at Diana's, and spotty food at Diana's. It's always a fun place to eat though. Those shrimp look amazing.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:11:24 GMT

Sunday January 4

Even though I am typically a planner, I made no set plans for where I was having breakfast, since I was hoping to sleep in. I should have known better. Some other places I would have liked to have visited didn't open until later, so I was at Diana's at 6:30AM.

Before leaving my hotel, I pondered whether to wear comfortable track pants or do I have to put on jeans. BTW, I packed so quickly the morning I left, I only brought one pair of jeans and they were a little tight around the waist. Deciding that Diana's was a nicer place, I wore the jeans. I get to Diana's and the waitresses are wearing their pajamas!

From now on, I am going to keep a spare pair of pajamas in my car for just such emergencies!

Earlier in the thread, The Travelin Man had showed photographic proof of a wonderful breakfast he had eaten at Diana's. I was all set to go with the Surf & Turf he advised, but at the last second switched away to the Eggs Meeting Street. Boy, would I like to have that decision back.....

Both the fried green tomato and the crabcake were hard and tasted old. The biscuit was obviously from the day before. The one saving grace was the delicious remoulade sauce. My favorite part of the meal was dipping the potatoes in the sauce.

I also ordered a side of sausage patties.

When I saw them, I instantly thought of what TTM wrote in his year end review that food should not be grey. But actually, the sausage patties were fine.

This is the second time I have eaten at Diana's and both were average or below. There are just too many other good restaurants in Charleston to come back a third time.

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=1414&RefID=1414

More to come.....

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:53:25 GMT

Paul-
For two bucks, who can turn down a side of Jesus crab? I should have gotten more than one. As for the photo, Mrs. Green deserves the credit, since I'm not that clever. I really had no idea why she wanted to stand there.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (Sundancer7)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:43:39 GMT

BB, I saw that you ordered the #10 but I saw that you got a side of Jesus Crab? It all looked very good to me but I also loved the optical issusion of the lady appearing to set on the bench while actually, she was propped against the wall. You get the prize for the optical illusion pic of the year so far. Only 357 days for somebody like the TTM to beat you.

See you in five weeks in Memphis.

Paul E. Smith
Sundanger
Knoxville, T N

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:31:11 GMT

CTD-
Even though that was a fine chili dog at Morrison's, that is a Roadfood eatery where the atmosphere is the star more than the food. Maybe it is the beautiful paint job, more than the atmosphere. It is eye catching!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (ChiTownDiner)

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:27:54 GMT

BB -

While your #10 looks mighty good, I really liked the looks of Morrison's! Nice variety!

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (buffetbuster)

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:42:02 GMT

mar52-
Nothing strange or unusual. Just the basic tartar and cocktail sauces came with the meal. Honestly, the breading on these fried items are so good, they could stand on their own, no problem. And I usually dip fried shrimpo in cocktail.

TTM-
Agreed! Between the Charleston area and the First Coast of Florida, those are the two great fried shrimp areas. They make it very hard for me to even think about ordering fried shrimp at home.

Re:Holiday weekend in Charleston/Savannah (mar52)

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:34:35 GMT

Any local condiments for the shrimp and flounder?

They look delicious but in need of dipping.