The Gravy Train

trattoria lucca: a new, intimately familiar dinner

Handmade bucatini with lamb sausage and kale

A few weeks ago we had a lovely evening with friends at Trattoria Lucca, a warm, intimate little restaurant in Elliotsborough.  It's the kind of place that feels really familiar, like you've been a million times before.

Top, left: the antipasti included cured meat; top right: a salad of endive, arugula and all sorts of other goodness; bottom right: my half-eaten salmon bruschetta

Trattoria Lucca isn't the kind of place I imagine that most out-of-towners would put on their list; there's too many good places in town specializing in Lowcountry fare to make it justifiable to stop by a Northern Italian restaurant tucked away in a nondescript neighborhood. But honestly, if you're in town on a Monday night, Trattoria Lucca's Family Suppers are a must.  What I love about it is that it's family style and there's no menu; you're up to the whims of the chef.  Also, for $38 for four courses, it's a great value, too.

Seared local grouper with a delectably buttery potato puree, olives and grapefruit

What's even better about the "no menu, family style" meal is that it encourages the free flow of conversation.  Freed from having to make difficult choices about the menu, we were free instead to focus on wine and conversation.  As a sidenote, without a doubt the hubby and I most frequently whisper-fight when we're out at dinner with friends is when we're arguing about 1) whether we'll share entrees; and 2) which two entrees to order.  Chef Ken Vedrinski kindly made our evening marital strife-free.

Oh, and you know when you have a truly haunting dish, and the memory of it excites and bothers you for weeks afterward?  Well, it happened to me that night at Lucca, and it happened because I got to savor this chocolate budino with sea salt and olive oil.  I know it doesn't look like much more than a Jello pudding cup with some fancy garnish, but let me assure you, it's so incredibly more than that.  Silky smooth, rich without being cloying, and just the perfect balance of salty, sweet and woodsy (from the olive oil), I honestly haven't been able to think of anything else, foodwise, ever since I had this budino.  I've even tried making it myself (using this recipe).  My version came out a litle on the dry side, way too rich, and embarrassingly amateur. 

For now, I'll just have to keep daydreaming about that budino and trying to find the next special occasion that falls on a Monday.  After all, President's Day is coming up, right? People celebrate that day all the time with four-course meals, right>

Trattoria Lucca | 41-A Bogard Street | Charleston, SC

 

celebrating anything at peninsula grill

Seared foie gras accompanied by a black pepper biscuit, duck barbecue and Carolina peach jam

For the hubby's birthday last month, we headed to Peninsula Grill, a swanky, well-known dining establishment in the Planter's Inn.  It's exactly the kind of place you think of when you think of a formal, special occasion type of place, which made it kind of funny that we happened upon there completely by accident.  The hubby and I had been wanting a night out, and what started as, "Let's get a quick bite to eat while Grandpa and Grandma Gravy watch the Gravy Baby" turned into an exhaustive discussion filled with frantic Yelp searches and phone calls.  The hubby and I value our breaks so highly that we act like a genie just popped back out of the bottle and said, "Just 'cause I like you, I'm going to give you a fourth wish."  What do you do when that happens?  Where do you even start?

Tenderloin in a gorgonzola blue cheese sauce with goat cheese mashed potatoes

Anyhoodle, it dawned on us while we were hemming and hawing over where to go that we should just -- well, go for broke.  And by broke, I mean we sauntered into Peninsula Grill just five minutes after having called the restaurant and demanded a reservation.  We've discovered that such assertiveness is often rewarded, particularly when you offer to arrive at the restaurant promptly at 5:15 pm and wait patiently for a 5:30 pm seating.  Yes, I always want to say to the servers and maitre'd eyeballing us as we order almost as soon as we're seated, having reviewed and re-reviewed the menu on my IPhone on the drive over, we are the lame couple with the toddler at home whom we'd like to tuck in by 7:30 tonight.  No, we don't mind dining with octogenarians.  Judge away.

Dry aged sirloin with lobster tempura claw and grilled asparagus

But seriously, mock judgment aside, what can I say about Peninsula Grill that hasn't already been said?  Was the food essentially perfect?  Yes, my seared foie gras had the exact right amount of caramelization on its seared surface -- enough to provide a satisfying crunch, but not so much as to ruin that glossy, buttery essence that makes foie so heartbreakingly delicious.  Did the hubby's dry age sirloin melt in our mouths?  Absolutely.  Was the gorgonzola balsamic glaze on my tenderloin, which I'd fretted would turn out to be overpowering, provide a mouth-watering accent?  Oh lord, did it ever.  (Just so you know, that's a big statement for me.  I really feel like blue cheese on most red meats is so early 2000s, like those LiveStrong yellow bracelets that everyone used to wear.)

The multi-layered coconut cake, a veritable cultural icon here in Charleston

I think what I can say is this: even on a night where our dinner happens at an hour when most people are just starting their pre-dinner cocktails, a meal at the Peninsula Grill is an occasion.  It's so much of an occasion, in fact, that while we were looking for parking outside the restaurant, we decided we needed a reason to celebrate in order to walk through its heavy, oak-paneled doors.  Conveniently, we chose the hubby's birthday, which happens during the holidays and is always overlooked.

Luckily, with a meal at Peninsula Grill like the one we had, we'll remember this birthday for a long, long time.

Peninsula Grill | 112 N. Market Street | Charleston, South Carolina

neighborhood mexican, from far away

Yess....

Everyone has one -- that local, no-frills Mexican restaurant where you can get a solid margarita and some good fajitas.

Fish tacos devoured by the Gravy Baby; his favorite were the spinach nachos covered with cojita on the right

Over the holidays (I know!  It seems so long ago now), while we were visiting the grandparents in Florida, they took us to just one of those spots.  The hubby and I realized that we haven't eaten  good Mexican food since we moved back to the States (that I haven't made for us, that is).

The accompaniments for the fajitas arrive on this really long, narrow plank.  Genius!

The grandparents' regular spot, Las Fajitas, is a winner. Darkly lit with just a few tables, it's the kind of place that the hubby and I might've made a regular weeknight spot, if it weren't for the fact that we live more than 500 miles away.

I know, it's blurry, but trust, these are delicious fajitas

Now that we've been back home for a few weeks, we're looking for our neighborhood spot.  Charleston folks -- do you have any suggestions?

Las Fajitas | Dixie Highway and NE 23rd Street | Boca Raton, Florida

early bird gets the chicken n' waffles

 Over our holiday break (it seems so long ago now), we checked out another diner near our house, the Early Bird.  From the moment we arrived, I could tell I was going to like the place.  It had an eclectic, down-home sort of feeling, similar to many of the coffee houses and diners I used to frequent in law school down in Austin, Texas.

Top: this is the first menu cover I've ever seen that made me think, "That would make a great tattoo;" and bottom: chalkboard specials above the relatively small kitchen area

Within 30 seconds of checking out the menu, I knew what I wanted: the $9 chicken n' waffles special.  I've expounded my love of the salty-sweet combination here before, and after maple syrup on bacon, chicken and waffles is pretty much a close second in terms of the best salty-sweet combo ever.

I wasn't disappointed with the Early Bird's version, either: theirs came with creamy, whole-grain Dijon mustard suspended in warmed honey.  I mean, seriously.  If I could have one wish, it would be to take a hot bath on a cold day in a tub filled with this stuff.

Top: the hubby's excellent corn cake benedict; bottom: my sister's unusual but tasty curried egg scramble

While the chicken and waffles were the clear standout, the other dishes we shared held their own, too.  The hubby ordered the corn cake benedict, which actually came more like corn pancakes with perfectly poached eggs perched on top.  My sister ordered a vegetable curried egg scramble, which, by the mere suggestion of curry, intrigued all of us.  It turns out that adding curry to eggs is an excellent way to turn an otherwise ho-hum morning omelet into something really interesting.  And with the fresh slices of ripe avocado on top -- well, that makes the whole dish a head-turner.

Early Bird Diner | 1644 Savannah Highway | Charleston, SC

at taste of thai, a huge helping

This delicious steamed flounder in three flavors sauce set us back a whopping $19.95 

Today I'd like to share with you an example of how the hubby and I have been going through reverse culture shock ever since we moved back to the U.S.   While we were living overseas, the whole online coupon trend happened.  We heard about these online coupons from friends, Facebook, and even the news.   I couldn't wait to jump on the bargain bandwagon, and as soon as we moved back, I discovered a coupon website that had to be a haven for eating aficionados like myself, and within minutes, I'd purchased a coupon for $75 worth of Thai food at our favorite little neighborhood haunt for $30.  What a deal, right?

Clockwise, from top left: crab wontons, shrimp and pork dumplings, larb gai and shrimp and papaya salad

I should've known that there was fine print involved.  As it turns out, we had to order a minimum of 150 dollars in food before we could use the coupon.  For those of you who have a favorite little Thai haunt, one of those that's close to your home and perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, you know that Thai food of this sort isn't pricey.  So we've been sitting on this coupon for months, since even with the Gravy Baby's ravenous appetite there's no way just the three of us could even eat close to 50 dollars' worth of Thai food.

Over the holidays, with lots of family in tow, we decided to use everyone's hungry bellies to help us meet our goal, and so we set off.  And boy, did we ever have a feast at Taste of Thai.  Our favorites were the incredibly fresh shrimp and papaya salad, the larb gai (minced chicken salad), and the masaman curry, which was richly creamy and full of peanut flavor.  

Clockwise, from top left: beef green curry, chicken masaman curry, stir-fried pork with spicy basil sauce, and pad thai

I have to say that even though initially I regretted having bought my coupon and committed us to this enormous Thai banquet, in the end it was thrilling to go all out and order all of our favorites in one sitting.  Between the hubby, the Gravy Baby and me, we usually just order our 2-3 staples and call it a night.  With the excuse of our coupon, we got to have everything -- and I mean everything -- our appetites could ever have wanted.  (It helps that Taste of Thai has excellent food, too.)

Taste of Thai | 874 Orleans Road | Charleston, SC

top o' the morning at bluerose cafe

Where does one go for breakfast at 7:30 am on a Saturday Christmas Eve?  We found ourselves asking exactly that question this past weekend, when the Gravy Baby's 6:00 am wake-up call meant that everyone at our house was twiddling their thumbs an hour later and looking for something to nosh.  Thanks to Yelp, we landed on the Bluerose Cafe, which met our two only requirements: it was relatively close to home, and it was open.

As it turns out, the Bluerose is a little bit Irish and a lot like walking onto the set of a diner in a TV show.  The food didn't necessarily provide us any sort of culinary revelation, but the characters around us provided us with plenty of nourishment.  Sometimes it's just nice to go somewhere where everyone wants to know your name.

My sister likes tea at the Bluerose

I've always imagined it'd be fun to go to a place that felt just like some of those classic American diners I've seen on TV, like the Peach Pit or Luke's Diner or The Max.  The Bluerose comes pretty close to a real-life version of those places.  Diners greeted each other like old friends.  The decor was basic but welcoming.  Our server, Jamie, wanted to know the Gravy Baby's name, and pretty soon everyone, even other customers, were calling out to him.

As for the eats, the menu had pretty standard breakfast fare with an Irish twist.  I had the homemade corned-beef hash (pictured at top), which came with my choice of eggs (poached, of course, because hash just isn't worth eating in my book unless there's a runny yolk on top), grits, and an Irish scone.  The hubby enjoyed his no-frills omelet, and my sister ordered a dish called the Irish Man, which consisted of two rosemary-scented potato cakes topped with an apple-cranberry compote.

The food was pretty good, but the real reason why I think a return visit to the Bluerose is in the cards for us is because of its people.  Many of the patrons chatted across tables and made the rounds in the restaurant while waiting for their food, and I don't know many restaurants around that leave you feeling like you just ate a meal at someone's house.  With full bellies and some good stories, it was a good way to kick off our Christmas holiday.

Bluerose Cafe | 652 Saint Andrews Blvd. | Charleston, SC