Unfortunately, Cleveland is a pretty frequent target. Our river caught on fire a few times 30 years ago and people never let us forget it. As a result, if you’re from a city that gets ragged on as much as mine you need to prepare yourself to defend its honor by being knowledgeable about all of its good traits.

With that in mind, when I learned that Cleveland’s own Michael Symon had won Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef,” I made it a goal to dine in one of his critically acclaimed Northeast Ohio restaurants. That way, I could reference my meal in any future arguments. It took me a while–700 miles and a tight budget didn’t help–but my mother and I finally had the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful dinner at Lola this past weekend.

Lola is located in the heart of downtown Cleveland, just a few blocks from Quicken Loans Arena and Progressive Field (the homes of my beloved Cavaliers and Indians). The interior of the restaurant has a very trendy, modern feel. The walls are dark, decor is minimalist, and even the faucets in the mens’ room look like they cost some serious coin. The bustling kitchen is open to the dining room and is even surrounded by a bar where guests can dine with a front row view of the action.

The menu reflects the atmosphere. There aren’t a huge amount of options to choose from, but each item is intriguing and unsurprisingly aimed at diners with deep pockets. Appetizers range from $10-$18 and entrees will run you $27-$32. The cuisine can only be described as modern American. I know that’s pretty vague, but I didn’t notice any other trends running through the menu to classify it more accurately.

To start, we opted for the Braised Berkshire “Bacon” over an apple-ginger slaw and parsnip puree. The “bacon” is actually slow cooked, melt-in-your-mouth chunks of pork belly. The meat, which was simply bursting with flavor, was complemented very nicely by the acidity of the slaw. The tangy ginger adds a unique hint of Asian flavor to an otherwise predominately American dish. I also enjoyed the pleasant, subtle sweetness of the parsnip puree.

For my entree, I (as I frequently do) went with the item I had never tried before. In this case, it was the Squab. For those of you who are unsure of exactly what squab is, it’s the meat of a young, farm raised pigeon. This may not sound inherently appealing, but you’ll have to trust me and just give it a chance. The dark meat of the bird was served along with rich, creamy foie gras and a fantastic sweet potato puree. Expertly cooked, the meat was tender and juicy. The foie gras, while not the best I’ve had, was a nice addition from both a flavor and textural standpoint.

As for dessert, we chose the Chocolate-Peppermint Parfait. The parfait combines dark chocolate cake, a light, whipped ganache, a thin hard chocolate layer, sea salt to maximize the flavors, and fresh berries. It would be damn near impossible to mess those ingredients up, so it’s not surprising to say that this dish was a tremendous success as well. It essentially tasted like the world’s greatest hotel pillow mint. I had to muster up some serious will power not to lick the plate clean.

Overall, I was very impressed with Lola. Prices were high, but the quality of the product and the level of service matched the cost every step of the way. If you happen to be visiting Cleveland (which EVERYONE should do, if for no other reason than to watch our homegrown hero LeBron James work his magic at “The Q”), be sure to treat yourself to one fantastic meal at the flagship restaurant of the Midwest’s only Iron Chef.

(DH’s note: I’ve got to stop trying to proofread things at 4:30 in the morning. I used “nice” three times in one paragraph here initially, yuck.)

Related posts:

1. Quick Report On the Festival Launch Party
2. McCrady’s - Charleston Restaurant Review
3. The Fat Hen - Johns Island Restaurant Review

In fact, I’ve recently thought a lot about writing up a post with my ideas. Turns out, however, someone who shares many of my ideas has saved me some time by writing a really great post for the RestaurantJobBoard.com blog. The post is by Scott Schnaars, a sales executive at SocialText.

All those included in the article are good tips (though Scott was writing from more of a marketing than public relations angle), but here are a few others that I would add:

Blogging: Knowing what I do about chefs, I can understand why a blog may seem like something you just might not have the time for. The truth is that you don’t have to spend two hours a day and write 500 word posts to have a successful chef’s blog. One of the best examples is right in our own back yard. McCrady’s Chef Sean Brock’s blog (http://seanbrock.wordpress.com) is currently ranked in the top 0.25% of all blogs tracked by Technorati and his posts are rarely more than a sentence or two with a picture.

What makes Sean’s blog so successful is not just that he’s become somewhat of a celebrity over the past year, it’s also the type of content he uses. His posts regularly include pictures of unique ingredients that he’s using, interesting tidbits about the people who produce those ingredients, and pictures and brief explanations of new additions to the menu. This is great because it gives interested customers a way to feel like they are getting “secret” or behind the scenes information about the food that comes out of the kitchen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to Sean’s blog, seen a picture of some great produce that McCrady’s was growing on their farm, and thought “Wow. I have got to go in once they have that on the menu!”

YouTube: This could be used in conjunction with a blog, but I think video offers a great way to grow the viral element of your Web site. How about, in addition to posting recipes, you record your chef offering 1-2 minute cooking tips at least once or twice a month. I’d avoid anything too intensive, but perhaps something simple, like how to make your trademark salad dressing. Not only could this bring some traffic to your Web site as customers forward the video to their friends, but if your chef has a decent personality it could also position him to make guest appearances on local TV. In addition, I would recommend doing a video tour of your main and private dining rooms. Video offers a much more complete vision of your space. There is only so much that can be gathered from still photos.

Chowhound: This is along the same line as Scott’s comment about Yelp, but I wish he would have included it as well. According to its homepage, Chowhound.com is a place where “Food-lovers worldwide gather to swap expert tips about restaurants, foods, stores, and bars.” Chowhound includes regionally focused forums where community members discuss the merits of local restaurants, recount horror stories and great meals, and recommend weekend itineraries to out of town visitors.

I’d argue that these are the people whose opinions you want to know about, even more than Yelp. This is a better group to listen to because these are people who make posts about restaurants on a regular basis, not just after they have a great or terrible experience. People who join a community like this are people who their friends go to for recommendations. In political terms, they are essentially the “super delegates.” One quick word of advice, Chowhound doesn’t allow customer service on their message boards, and they will not hesitate to ban you from the site if you try to respond to a complaint. This is a site for monitoring your reputation among key influencers.

Google Alerts/Other Blogs: Similar to the people who post on Chowhound, food bloggers (like myself) are people who take even more time to elaborate their opinions about local restaurants. You better believe that anyone who takes the time to write a blog post about your restaurant is likely to convey those same opinions to their friends/colleagues when your restaurant’s name comes up in conversation. In fact, in addition to the people who read their Web site, these are also almost certainly people who are sought out by their friends for recommendations.

A quick, easy Google Alert for your restaurant’s name can keep you abreast of every new post made about your establishment. Unlike Chowhound, most bloggers are okay with you posting a comment right below their review. If you want to take the more private route, almost every blog offers a way to contact the writer directly. Respond to complaints courteously and professionally. Make sure that the writer knows what you’re doing to address their concerns. If their experience was bad enough, it might be worth it to offer them a comped meal to prove to that you’re taking their complaints seriously. You’ll be surprised how much good customer service can improve your reputation within the community.

Twitter: While I certainly agree with Scott’s statement that Twitter is a great opportunity to have a conversation with customers, I don’t know if daily tweets before lunch and dinner is the way to go. I’d recommend tweeting when you have a really unique and interesting special, when you’re adding a new item to the menu, or when you get a particularly rare wine/beer in stock. You want your “marketing tweets” to present a value or opportunity to your customers. You need to give them a reason to follow your tweets.

Like any other social media platform, it’s important to remember to join the conversation. Talk to people, not at them. Respond to tweets about your community, about food in general, and try to make sure that you pay a little extra attention to those who you perceive to be community influencers.
——

So, if you’re in the restaurant business, consider putting one or two of these tips into action. With a little effort, you may see improved community perception of your restaurant become its own self-sustaining marketing tool.

(David’s Note: Yes, that is the most stereotypical “social media” graphic that I could find on Google Images)

(David’s Note: In retrospect, that post I found didn’t really save me much time, because I probably wrote more than he did. Oh well)

Related posts:

1. Congratulations to Chef Bob Waggoner of Charleston Grill for making the cover of Sante Magazine
2. Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s to Appear on Food Network Challenge
3. City Paper Reveals Other Contestants on Sean Brock’s Food Network Challenge Episode

In what was an extremely stressful competition by all accounts, Brock won the appetizer round with a shrimp carpaccio that he made with local Charleston shrimp, and then held on in the entree round making a seared Hawaiian tuna dish that incorporated greens from McCrady’s farm on Wadamalaw Island.

Although the judges repeatedly questioned Brock’s use of technology in his cooking (I’m trying to refrain from using “molecular gastronomy” after hearing both Brock and Richard Blais express their distaste for the term), they were brought around by the finished product. In what must be seen as an odd statement for anyone who knows anything about Brock, one of the judges, Chef John Besh of New Orleans, claimed that both of Chef Brock’s dishes lacked “soul.” Brock, who compared the comments to “50 punches in the gut,” had a response that’s difficult to argue with: he spends his mornings in the fields of his farm, on his hands and knees, planting the food that he cooked for the competition; what could be more soulful than that?

Regardless, the judges reservations about his techniques obviously didn’t hold much weight because they still awarded him the big prize: $10,000 and a title that is going to make his resume pretty tough to match. I thought this victory was particularly impressive because Brock beat out competitors from three of the United States most celebrated culinary Meccas: New York City, San Francisco, and New Orleans.

So, congratulations to Chef Brock, this is just the most recent in a long line of accomplishments that are really solidifying Charleston as one of the culinary destinations.

Related posts:

1. Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s to Appear on Food Network Challenge
2. City Paper Reveals Other Contestants on Sean Brock’s Food Network Challenge Episode
3. Congratulations to Sean Brock and Mike Lata!

Apparently Barna stumbled upon a May 1 post from a Denver based site, seeking audience members for the episode’s filming.

The other chefs will be:

Chris Cheung (New York)

Sue Zemanick (New Orleans )

Jonathan Leiva (San Francisco)

I’ve read a little bit about each of them, it should be interesting. Zemanick was a 2008 Food & Wine magazine “Best New Chef”.

Remember, the episode airs Sunday night at 8 p.m., let’s retroactively root Sean on to victory!

Related posts:

1. Sean Brock Wins Food Network Challenge: The Next Great Chef
2. Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s to Appear on Food Network Challenge
3. Congratulations to Sean Brock and Mike Lata!

He recently participated in a Food Network Challenge episode that is set to crown “The Next Great Chef.” The competition pitted Brock against three other young chefs (I haven’t yet been able to figure out who they were, however). “The chef who can deliver the complete package of creativity, ambition, and technique will win $10,000 and a career-making title,” says the Food Network site.

The episode will air Sunday, October 5th at 8 p.m. EST and again on Wednesday, October 8th at 7 p.m. The original Food Network site with information about the show and other air times seems to be down at the moment, but you can view the cached version here.

Related posts:

1. Sean Brock Wins Food Network Challenge: The Next Great Chef
2. City Paper Reveals Other Contestants on Sean Brock’s Food Network Challenge Episode
3. Congratulations to Sean Brock and Mike Lata!

It’s been anticipated for months, but tomorrow we will get to see the finished product. Trattoria Lucca, the new restaurant from Ken Vedrinski, chef/owner of Sienna on Daniel Island, will open its doors on the corner of Bogard St. and Ashe St., just south of the Crosstown.

Vedrinski plans for Lucca to serve as an affordable, neighborhood style restaurant with a casual atmosphere where you will be able to get quality Italian food late into the evening. In the City Paper article I linked to at the top of this post, Vedrinski states that Lucca’s late night hours are specifically targeted at the food and beverage community that doesn’t currently have a lot of options when it comes to grabbing a decent bite to eat after work.

I’m always excited for a new restaurant to open, but even more so when it’s right in my neighborhood. Cannonborough and Elliottborough are one of the fastest growing areas in Charleston’s food scene and Trattoria Lucca will be a more than welcome addition to the neighborhood.

(DH’s Note: The press release I saw claimed that they have a website, http://www.trattoriadining.com, but it’s not up. I suspect they are just waiting to open the restaurant, so keep your eyes peeled there)

Related posts:

1. Trattoria Lucca - Charleston Restaurant Review
2. Alluette’s Cafe - Charleston Restaurant Review
3. Poogan’s Porch - Charleston Restaurant Review

Jealous, Charleston?

I just did a McCrady’s review and this dinner had so many courses that I can’t even begin to write a full review. A couple quick comments though:

Top 5 dishes of the night (in no particular order):

Hamachi Sashimi + Crispy Sweetbreads + Smoked Mayonnaise - The hamachi was some of the best sashimi I’ve ever tasted. You wouldn’t expect it with the chefs that were cooking and the other items on the menu, but the smoked mayonnaise was one of the stars of the evening. If McCrady’s would put the smoked mayo from last night, use the pork jowl from the 2nd course as the bacon, and use some of their amazing heirloom tomatoes, they could make the world’s single greatest BLT. I would pay $15 for it, easy.

Foie Gras Rocks + Fig + Pancakes + Maple - My friend Sarah’s favorite dish of the night. The foie gras had been dipped in liquid nitrogen to freeze it and then crumbled on the plate. It absolutely melted in your mouth with that smooth, silky texture that makes foie gras so awesome. The tiny pancakes were topped with a wonderfully light foam/mousse that was packed with flavor but didn’t weigh you down like syrup. Putting a little of the maple on the foie gras was a unique, but beautiful experience.

Country Fried Grouper Steak + Potatoes - The grouper was just a great piece of fish with a light batter surrounding it and topped with a little sausage gravy. The potatoes were pureed and encased in a very thin crispy exterior. I’m not sure whether they were seared or very lightly fried, but the end result was what tasted like the worlds greatest home fries. I felt like this is what they would serve at the Cracker Barrell if they just opened up a new franchise…in Heaven.

McLamb Rib + Butternut + Peanuts - I love lamb and this was some of the best I’ve had. Right on par with how good it was the last time I ate at McCrady’s. The combination of the boiled peanuts with the lamb meat and butternut puree was out of this world.

Canned Soup - Interestingly enough, this actually did come served in a can (fully adorned with Trail Blais logo and nutritional facts). It was a smooth green tomato gazpacho with horseradish. Very refreshing. I wish more Southern restaurants would carry something like this.

Other interesting elements of the meal -

• The Oyster + Pearls remix was served with a tasty melon flavored “Dippin Dots” style ice cream.
• The cole slaw sorbet that was served with crab met mixed reviews. It definitely tasted like cole slaw, but I don’t think most people knew how to feel about that (although, I buy the 4.5 lbs econo-size tub of cole slaw from Sam’s Club every few weeks so it tasted good to me).
• The sweet tea ice cream on the dessert was top notch, why can’t I buy this at the Harris Teeter?! Southerners should have been making this into milkshakes and putting it on top of pies for generations by now!

Other notes from the evening -

• Got to meet Chef Blais and shake his hand which was very cool. My friends made fun of me for looking like a giddy middle school girl (that’s about as big a celebrity as I’ve met). He’s a very down to earth, very funny guy. He’s a little goofy, but he was a great host for the dinner. He came out every other course and described the reasoning and cooking process behind each dish.
• Spoke briefly to Chef Brock, he said they are planning to continue doing these guest chef dinners, although he didn’t mention any specifics. Seems like a win-win situation though; Charleston gets to try innovative new dishes by great chefs and, for the people in the kitchen, as Brock said, “It’s an excuse to bring my friends in to town and hang out.
• The Long Room at McCrady’s is a very cool place even with 125 people in it. Now I can tell people that I ate in the same room that George Washington did.
• I think we were the only college students there. One waiter apparently thought we worked for the Charlotte Observer instead of the George Street Observer. We should have played along. Probably could have got some nice perks.

All-in-all, it was a great meal, top three in my life from a pure food perspective (I don’t see anything ever beating my last dinner there). For overall experience, though, I’d have to put it at number one. If you have the opportunity to check out one of the next guest chef dinners, I’d definitely check it out. Keep on the lookout for pictures from this event by Paul Cheney over at LetsTalkCharleston.com and on the GSO website.

p.s. If you’ve got any other questions or info you want about the evening, leave me a comment and I’ll gladly answer.

p.p.s. I start my new internship at Leapfrog PR Co. tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Related posts:

1. McCrady’s - Charleston Restaurant Review
2. The Buccaneer Restaurant & Museum - Media Event Notes
3. Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s to Appear on Food Network Challenge

As I had known for a while, but hadn’t been able to divulge, they’ve managed to lure Food Network star and Iron Chef Bobby Flay to next year’s Festival. He’ll cook at a charity luncheon with some of the other chefs from his restaurants and also give a demonstration on how to create gourmet burgers. That was the major announcement, but I’m sure you all are equally interested to hear about the food.

My personal favorite dish was offered by chef Craig Deihl of Cypress. It was his rendition of a BLT that featured grape tomatoes, shrimp, and a lamb bacon mayonnaise on a crisp crostini. Other top offerings included shrimp and grits served with a corn fritter topped with sweet tomato jam (Locklear’s) and barbecued beef and pulled pork (care of Blackjack Barbecue/Food for the Southern Soul).

Really the only thing that didn’t work for me was Caviar & Bananas signature dish of, guess what, caviar on a banana chip. The chip just tasted stale and overpowered any flavor the caviar had.

The desserts were great too. There were grand marnier truffles, mango and passion fruit mousse cups, brownies, and a wonderful chocolate mousse filled chocolate ball on a stick from Cypress’s pastry chef M. Kelly Wilson.

If you’re a fan of the Charleston culinary scene there were all kinds of names you would recognize in attendance including Brett McKee of Oak Steakhouse, Bob Waggoner and Mickey Bakst of Charleston Grill, and Mike Lata of FIG.

It was a great event and I think I gave myself a cavity sampling all of the sweets. Now excuse me while I go brush my teeth ten times in a row.

Related posts:

1. Michael Symon’s Lola Restaurant in Cleveland - Out of Town Restaurant Report
2. Big Week for DH

1. I’m about halfway done with my review of the eco-horror movie The Last Winter, should be up this afternoon or tomorrow.
2. I watched The Bank Job, with Jason Statham last night and will be doing a review as soon as I get an opportunity.
3. Thursday evening I’ll be attending the launch party / summer benefit for my former employer, the Charleston Food + Wine Festival.
4. Sunday evening, if everyone doesn’t bail on me at the last minute, I’m going to the Richard Blais dinner at McCrady’s. I’m super excited about that. 12 courses from two of the most innovative chefs in the world.
5. If you’re a C of C student, look for an abridged version of my recent McCrady’s review in the next/current issue (I haven’t been on campus yet, so I don’t know if already out) of the George Street Observer.
6. I’m working on my first review specifically for the GSO, that issue comes out September 4th and you can expect it up on here somewhere in that same neck of the woods. The review on here may even have some extra info because I’ve got a word limit for the paper.

Related posts:

1. Richard Blais dinner at McCrady’s - Notes
2. DH Is Good is now DavidGHeiser.com
3. DH Is Good In Print Too…

McCrady’s has received some big time accolades in the past few months, most notably Chef Sean Brock’s “Rising Star Chef” James Beard Award nomination and their appearance near the top of Opinionated About Dining’s list of the Best Restaurants in North America and Europe, both of which I’ve previously discussed here. It is always a major name in the local debates about the best restaurants in the city and the structure itself is a landmark. It was built in 1788 and once hosted a dinner party for George Washington. I had never had the opportunity to dine at McCrady’s before (I’m a college student living on a budget after all), but I’ve always wanted to and was hoping to get the opportunity to do so while they still remembered me from Table Maestro. So, when I learned my mother was coming into town for a weekend I used my best PR skills to pitch her how great an idea having one really nice dinner on her trip would be. Needless to say, my pitch worked and I was granted an opportunity to embark on a three hour, nine-course journey that was unlike any other meal I have ever experienced.

When we arrived at the restaurant and seated, the perfect ambiance of the dining room immediately struck me. Everything from the lighting to the wonderful art on the walls screams of class and sophistication. Our waiter was exceptionally knowledgeable, answering any and all of our questions without more than a moment’s thought. The menu, while not particularly extensive, offers options to please any taste, and the nightly specials display the chef’s creativity (a word that you will find yourself using quite frequently after a dinner at McCrady’s). The menu is broken down into first, second, and main courses and the cuisine is described by the restaurant as “modern American with unique style and presentation,” a wording that really doesn’t give you much of an idea about what to expect. The food at McCrady’s is the result of a unique melding of Chef Brock’s frequently noted interest in molecular gastronomy and his commitment to using the very best and most local ingredients, which frequently come from the restaurant’s own farm on Wadamalaw Island (check out Chef Brock’s blog for pictures and more information).

After placing our orders, we were treated to two tasting dishes selected by the chef. First, an amuse bouche of chilled corn soup with a pickled chanterelle and grape tomato, an excellent, light start to the meal that would follow. Next, we were brought the chef’s rendition of chips and salsa, an item which I’m assuming was drawn from the current tasting menu which focuses on chips and salsa as its theme. This was truly an innovative dish which I couldn’t fully wrap my head around, let alone accurately describe, but in short it was two powders which distinctly tasted like and played the part of tortilla chips and a clear gel that they somehow managed to make taste like a full salsa.

For my first ordered course of the night, I selected the nightly special, sashimi bluefin tuna toro with a cucumber foam and soy glaze ($18). Toro comes from the fatty underbelly of the fish and is the most sought after (and expensive) part of the tuna. The texture of the toro was tender to a degree that you must experience to believe, it basically melts in your mouth. The taste of the tuna was complimented masterfully by the subtle cucumber foam and the soy glaze that packed quite a bit of flavor without overwhelming the fish.

Following our first course, we were pleased to be given another round of chef selected tasting dishes. The first of which was a prawn served with local corn, tomato, and bacon. The prawn was perfectly cooked and the combination of it alongside the corn and bacon made for one of the highlights of my evening. The final tasting course we received that evening was my mother’s favorite dish of the night, a thin slice of house cured meat, which I believe was a lonzino, over potato wrapped with truffle. The meat had a nice, delicate texture with just the right amount of saltiness.

My second ordered course was definitely the simplest, yet possibly best dish I tasted all evening: a salad of locally grown heirloom tomatoes and arugula over housemade ricotta, pine nuts, and raspberry vinegar ($12). I’m admittedly a little obsessed with tomatoes; I find it difficult to resist them when they are green and fried, and impossible to resist them they are paired with fresh mozzarella. This dish featured some of the very best tomato I have ever ingested. Bright, delicious flavor that gave the impression that this particular tomato had been hand picked by a farmer and handed to the chef 10 minutes earlier. The housemade ricotta was wonderfully creamy without any overpowering richness. These two elements paired with the raspberry vinegar forced my face into the same involuntary look of complete joy that Giada de Laurentiis gets every time she ever tastes something on TV.

Our entrees followed and did not disappoint. My mother opted for the local wreckfish($28),which is a white fish, similar to grouper with a nice meaty texture. My mother really enjoyed it, however, while I thought it was good, it didn’t blow me away like many of the other dishes that evening did, perhaps it was merely a victim of stiff competition. I decided to go with the spice roasted rack of lamb with local eggplant, pine nut puree, and golden raisins ($34). The lamb was cooked to an ideal medium-rare that left it wonderfully moist. The flavor combination of the lamb with the pine nut puree was rich and decadent, continuing the gradual, logical progression that the meal had steadfastly followed from the first amuse bouche.

In what may have seemed like an impossibility around the evenings fourth or fifth course, both my mother and I still had room for dessert. Being a sucker for all things chocolate, I chose one of pastry chef Winburn Carmack’s creations that seemed like it may have been designed specifically for me: crispy chocolate mousse topped with milk sorbet and accompanied by espresso and Irish cream glazes ($9). In case you thought there was any possibility that I would express any other emotion but love for this dish, you can go ahead and clear those thoughts from your head right now. The mousse was out of this world, the milk sorbet was light and refreshing, and, if McCrady’s wasn’t such a classy establishment, I would have been very tempted to lick my plate clean. One other interesting part of our dessert course was the sampling of McCrady’s famous liquid nitrogen strawberries that were brought out smoking and ladled onto our plates. Our server instructed us to eat them immediately and we quickly became the stars of our portion of the dining room. As soon as you bite into these ultra chilled fruits, smoke starts uncontrollably bellowing out of your mouth, which makes you look like you just walked out of Snoop Dogg’s tour bus. As we paid our check, we received one final treat, a piece of melt-in-your-mouth-chocolate covered in shredded coconut, a perfect end to a full on perfect meal.

A couple concluding points I really want to drive home: 1) the service at McCrady’s was far and away the best I have ever experienced in a restaurant. I loved Mickey Bakst and his staff at Charleston Grill, but the attentiveness and sense of pacing of McCrady’s staff is unmatched. If we ever had a need someone was available, but I didn’t once feel like I was rushed or smothered. Our courses were brought out in a smooth succession, with just enough time between them to allow for conversation breaks. General Manager André Guillet really has the restaurant running like a well oiled machine. 2) One of the most impressive aspects of my experience at McCrady’s is how they managed to provide us with so many courses over our three hours in the restaurant, but left us feeling merely full and satisfied rather than overwhelmed or stuffed. The meal started out light and, as I mentioned earlier, progressed smoothly through the final course.
All-in-all, my dinner at McCrady’s was, bar-none, the best meal of my life. While I understand that I received a few more items than the average diner would receive, my absolute favorite dishes of the night were those that I ordered off the menu, which you have access to as well. I want to personally thank Andre, Chef Brock, and wine director Clint Sloan for taking the time to come say “Hello” to me, I cannot recommend your restaurant highly enough. For the college students in my readership: start planting the seeds now, whether it’s for parents’ weekend, your birthday, or graduation, you want to convince your parental units to take you here, above anywhere else, if they can afford it. Hell, if you’ve got the money and a significant other who you really want to impress, start saving your pennies, eat ramen and Easy Mac for a few weeks and take them out for a meal they will always remember. Don’t expect to make it out of McCrady’s for less than $65 a person, but rest assured that you will not regret your purchase.

DH’s Extra Note: In direct contrast to my above advice, I will be investing a large portion of my expendable income for August at McCrady’s on August 31st for the 12-course Richard Blais (of Top Chef fame) dinner as he teams up with Chef Brock for what I’m sure will be a mind-opening culinary experience.

Related posts:

1. Richard Blais dinner at McCrady’s - Notes
2. Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s to Appear on Food Network Challenge
3. Slightly North of Broad (SNOB) - Charleston Restaurant Review