There is nothing that I can point to that needed improvement. From the margarita, to the creme brulee, Brett's Restaurant was absolute perfection. The atmosphere in the quiet and elegantly decorated room was romantic, and our server was friendly and professional. I had the picatta with creamy parmesan potatoes & julienne vegetables, and it was out of this world! Jerry enjoyed every delicious bite of his penne pasta, with a spicy vodka pepper sauce. This restaurant left nothing to be desired ~ except to go back the next night! They get a 10!
Today we went to Cappy's Seafood Restaurant, 2408 Maybank Highway, 559-3552. I was very disappointed. The decorations and atmosphere were very nice, too bad the food didn't live up to the 4 star rating the Charleston Paper gave it (What were they thinking?). I started out with a Margarita that wasn't drinkable. After a while our waiter, who had been MIA for quite some time, showed up with our food. I had The All American Burger with french fries. The burger was average, I've had better at the local fast food chains, and the fries were stale! Jerry had the Seafood Combination with local shrimp and flounder filet. He liked his meal except for the three potatoe salad. This stuff just missed being good. The dessert was pretty good. We had a Charleston Cheese Cake. It had nice presentation and tasted pretty good. Jerry gives them an 8.5 and I give them a 7.1, so their final Esquenazi rating is a 7.8.
A while back Jerry and I, along with some friends, went to 82 Queen located at 82 Queen St., 723-7591. The food and atmosphere were both great. It was a little pricey, but it was an exceptional restaurant. The only problem was at the end they all but told us to leave! There were plenty of tables, so it's not like we were gumming up the works, and there were people left eating, so it's not like we were keeping them from going home. We finally got the hint after the third or fourth different person came in to ask if there was anything else we needed. That's too bad because it left a bad taste in our mouth after such great food!
Last weekend Jerry and I went to dinner with some friends at Hank's Seafood Restaurant, located at the corner of Church and Hayne St.. I was not impressed, but my evaluation of them is probably unfair because I don't eat seafood, and they are a seafood restaurant. The place is very nice inside and our waiter was friendly and accomodating. When I ordered the chicken, deboned and without the mushroom sauce, Jerry started to compare me to Meg Ryan's character in When Harry Met Sally..."high maintenance," but the server glady obliged. Without the sauce the chicken was boring, but the spinach and mashed potatoes were good. Jerry had the special, which was monk fish. He thought it was a little weird tasting. We had the creme brulee for dessert and it showed up slightly colder than room temperature! Our friends didn't seem to fare any better. One got cold fries and the other got a way over cooked steak (asked for medium rare, got medium well). We don't consider this restaurant a very good value, as our bill was the better part of $100.00 for this below average meal. Jerry was pleased with his meal when he went with some friends a few weeks ago, but on that evening they were an 8.0.
Last week my husband and I took my in-laws to Idlewild, located at 976 Houston Northcutt Blvd., 881-4511. We had a really nice meal. Our server was friendly and the murals on the back walls were wonderful, creating a pleasant atmosphere. I had a cup of tomatoe basil soup to start out with, and it was delicious. As a meal, I had the stir fried vegetables with smoked chicken, and it was very good. Jerry had the pan fried herb crusted flounder, which he also enjoyed. Everybody had a good meal, and the prices were very reasonable. For dessert we had the Chocolate and Then Some More Chocolate dessert, which is flourless chocolate cake served with a chocolate Bailey's mousse and raspberry anglaise. It was beautifully presented and plate licking good! We give it a 9.6 and add them to the top 5 list.
Recently we went to J. B!stro, which is located at 819 Coleman Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, 971-7778. Overall we enjoyed this restaurant very much. The atmosphere was nice, except I thought it was way too dark in there. At one point I was holding the candle over my plate so I could see my food! More importantly, the food was pretty darn good. I had the fried chicken breast with garlic whipped potatoes and chow chow (green tomatoe relish). This stuff was outstanding!! Jerry had the mahi mahi and garlic whipped potatoes. He thought it was excellent, but the portions were way too small. I would have to agree, I believe I would have walked away hungry with the amount that was put on his plate. The eggplant, goat cheese, tomatoe blintzes we had as an appetizer was average, as was the bread. We had a chocolate souffle for dessert, which was good. I thought they deserved a 9.2 and Jerry thought they deserved an 8.8, so they get a 9.0.
One other note. You can add consistency to the list of wonderful things about Brett's and Carolina's. My parents were in town all last week and we took them to both restaurants. They loved them both and we had a great time. Thanks Brett's and Carolina's!
Recently we tried La Carreta, located at 1280 Sam Rittenberg blvd., 763-8773. They were average. The atmosphere was the usual and the food was ok. Jerry thought his food was good. The problem was that I ordered Arroz con pollo (which I wasn't crazy about) instead of my usual burrito, chimichanga, or quesadilla. So, it was hard to compare it with other area Mexican food restaurants. They do get the award for serving me the worst Margarita I have ever tasted. It was jello green and not even near drinkable. On a more positive note, I do have to say that they have the best pico de gallo I have ever had! It's worth a stop in for that!!! They get an 8.9.
Sunday morning we went downtown to ride our bikes and have a bite to eat. We stopped at Le Crepe located at 215 East Bay Street, 720-8700. They are the same people who own Beaumont's. I had the crepe with chicken, mashed potatoes, onion, and cheese. It was very good. Jerry had the same thing except with ham instead of chicken. The food was fun and different and the atmosphere was pretty nice. Stop in for a change of pace sometime! They get a 9.0.
Last night Jerry and I went to Max & Moritz restaurant, located at 920 Houston Northcutt Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, 856-9511. It is supposed to be a German restaurant, and it was, sort of. The restaurant had nice atmosphere, considering it is located in a shopping plaza. The food was good, but not true German style, which was disappointing. I had Hungarian Beef Gulasch. Typically this is supposed to be stew-like with a tomatoe base sauce, but what showed up was pot roast. Delicious pot roast, but pot roast nonetheless. Jerry had Zigeuner Schnitzel, which was served with rice. Rice is not very typical of German meals,so he requested potatoes, which were very good. The bread was good, but again, not German style, and Jerry thought his wine selection was very good. Overall, we did enjoy the food because, although it wasn't what we expected, it was very good. This place took a major hit in the service department. I don't know if they were trying to give us the true European experience, or if they were just incompetent, but they were slow, and they weren't that busy. Jerry gives them an 8.7, I give them an 8.3, so they come out with an 8.5.