El Bohio (which translates to “the hut” and is pronounced el bo-ee-oh) is attached to the Pour House, a small music venue, and is located on Maybank Hwy on James Island and is right across the street from the Terrace. The dining area is pretty small with 6 or 7 booths lining the outside and a few small tables in the middle. We sat ourselves and after a brief wait were greeted warmly by the bartender who appeared to be the only person working the front of the house that evening. The menu is nice and concise, offering enough options to please a variety of tastes while remaining focused enough for them to do everything well. Our server was extremely helpful and answered all of our questions without seeming the slightest bit annoyed (which happens more than you would think).

For an appetizer we tried the Yuca con Mojo which was only $2.50. Yuca is the starchy, potato like root of the cassava plant, a shrub which is extremely prevalent in South America and the Caribbean. The yuca is sautéed with onion in El Bohio’s own house made mojo sauce. The mojo, which is an olive oil based sauce with lots of garlic, some lime juice, a little vinegar, and cumin, was absolutely delicious. The yuca was nice and tender, and when eaten together with the onion was just unreal. For less than $3, this is an absolute must.

For our entrees, we both chose to go with sandwiches. I had the Turkey Cuban which was house roasted turkey and pork mixed together with Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on Cuban bread. The Cuban bread is a white bread that is somewhat similar to Italian bread, but uses a bit of fat in recipe. It has a nice firm outside and is soft on the inside. The turkey and pork are marinated in the house mojo and the sandwich is pressed in a device that is somewhat similar to a Panini maker. The turkey and pork blend together exceptionally well and the flavor of the mojo comes through without overpowering the meat. The Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard finish the sandwich off with a really nice tang. The sandwich comes with another small cup of mojo for dipping, which I would fully recommend you do. My friend had the Cuban Sandwich which is the same as the Turkey Cuban except with ham instead of turkey. She loved hers just as much as I loved mine. Both of our sandwiches were reasonably priced at less than $7. My only issue with the sandwich was that it was supposed to come on Cuban sweet bread, which sounded awesome, but they were unfortunately out.

The sandwiches come with a variety of sides, but I, surprisingly, took the easy way out and ordered French fries. The fries were solid, but who cares, they’re regular fries. Another side option was tostones or fried plantains. You can get them ripe and sweet, or green and salty. My friend ordered the salty variety and wasn’t particularly impressed. I thought they were a little too salty for my taste and thought they could have used to be a little bit more tender, but they weren’t terrible. Next time I go back, I plan on either getting the sweet tostones or the tomato and onion salad.

El Bohio has a tremendous beer selection as well as a cocktail menu with several Cuban specialties. I tried the Cuban Especiale which was coconut rum, triple sec, pineapple, orange juice, and lime. The drink was really refreshing and the flavor combination of coconut, pineapple, and orange was fantastic. It seemed like the perfect drink for an afternoon spent hanging out by the pool. At $4, it really wasn’t a bad deal either.

El Bohio is a great little spot. The food is unique, reasonably priced, and above all else really, really good. It seems like a great place to head to for a cheap dinner with some friends, or as the start to a casual date before you head across the street to catch a movie at the Terrace. I’d recommend it highly and plan on going back sometime in the not to distant future.

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So, it has actually been a little over a week since I had the meal I’m reviewing, but it is still pretty clear in my mind. Good food tends to stick that way.

Anyway, the restaurant in question is La Norteña, a small, hyper-authentic Mexican restaurant in a shopping center at 3760 Ashley Phosphate in North Charleston (from downtown all you do is get off of I-26 W at the Ashley Phosphate exit, hang a left and after a couple miles start keeping your eyes peeled on the right hand side of the road). While I have been curious for a while, I admittedly had never actually made my way up I-26 to try out the real Mexican places that are all around the area. I decided to try this one out after reading a strong recommendation from another blog and already being desperate to try something new.

I was a little nervous on the way because the aforementioned blog led me to believe that I was going to need to call on my Spanish skills to make it through the meal. Unfortunately, even though I took Spanish for three years in high school and two semesters in college, mi Español no es bueno. The good news was that it really wasn’t an issue. English was obviously our server’s second language, but she knew the basics and was willing to put up with us butchering the pronunciation of her native tongue.

Anyhow, on to the food. In a pleasantly surprising twist from your typical cookie cutter Mexican place, La Norteña brings out 5 different types of salsa for their free chips. Be forewarned though, some of these pack some serious heat. I thought I had learned from experience that green salsas usually were safer to go ahead and dig into, but I learned my lesson pretty quickly. I didn’t love all of them, but one of the green ones (a more typical salsa verde) and a darker-red-on-the-verge-of-brown one really hit the spot. The chips were fine, but I’m still hoping that someday all Mexican restaurants will start learning from Santi’s and have the same big, thick, awesome chips.

The menu is pretty large and gives you all sorts of options. I had heard that things like cabeza (beef cheek) and lengua (tongue) were pretty common at the more authentic Mexican establishments, and although I consider myself a pretty adventurous eater, I decided to play it safe on my first visit there. That being said, I don’t think that either of the above things are gross, and I will probably try them both the next opportunity I have. My stance on foods I’m not used to seeing on a menu is this: if something is commonly found on the menus of a given type of cuisine, then that means that the restaurants sell enough of it for it to be worth it, which, in turn, means that there is probably a reason that so many people buy it.

Sorry, I went on a bit of a tangent there, but back to the subject. I ended up getting four tacos (which are sold at $1.49 a piece, an obscenely good deal). Two of them were carnitas, which just means shredded, braised pork, and two were al pastor, which is essentially the Mexican equivalent of gyro meat or shawarma. Wikipedia describes the preparation tacos al pastor as:

Usually pork, it is marinated during one or two days with a blend of different spices and herbs (such as adobo), and then slowly cooked on a vertical rotisserie called a Trompo (lit: spinning top), often with a pineapple on top. When ready, the meat is then thinly sliced off the spit with a large knife.

The tacos were prepared the way they typically (from what I have read) are prepared at most traditional Mexican taquerias, which means two small (slightly bigger than palm sized) tortillas stacked on top of each other, followed by the meat, chopped onion, cilantro, red or green salsa, and served with lime (this is pretty much what is represented by the picture at the top of this post, even though it’s not actually from La Norteña).

Now that we’ve got all of our explanations down, let me just tell you that if you haven’t had tacos al pastor prepared in this way then you are really missing out. The meat was amazing. It was tender and whatever spices they used to marinate it really brought out a great flavor. It was sort of subtly sweet and tangy with a hint of pineapple. Unlike most Tex-Mex American tacos, the meat is really the centerpiece of this variety. With a lot of the ingredients we are used to being in tacos (e.g. lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese) stripped away, your palate really gets to focus on what it is supposed to. You’ll wonder why you’ve been putting all of that other nonsense on your tacos all along (then you may remember, as I did, that you did so because the meat you’ll find at a place like La Norteña is prepared with significantly more care and skill, than the chunk of ground beef you throw in a pan with a packet of taco seasoning at home). The carnitas was also very good, but not memorable in the way that their al pastor was.

Another interesting item that we decided to try midway through our meal was a horchata a Mexican iced beverage derived from rice that is milky in appearance and also includes sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Sarah and I decided that this was some sort of Mexican egg nog equivalent. It was actually very good, and did nice job of taking the bite out of some of the salsas that came with our chips. One side note on this point, we decided to get the “grande” size since we were going to share it (and since it was only $2.29). This turned out to be totally unnecessary; the grande size seriously had to have been more than a liter. I felt like they gave us a gallon bucket with two straws.

All-in-all, it was a really great meal for a really great value. I plan on going back up that way soon and getting a little more creative with my ordering. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys Mexican food, or just enjoys good, simple food in general.

A few final points on La Norteña:
1. They get bonus cool points from me for having a delivery van outside that was like any normal delivery van, except it was sitting on chrome 20″ rims. Baller.
2. Do yourself and your server a favor and try to remember the basic rules of Spanish pronunciation: “H’s” are silent, “J’s” sound like the English “H”, fight the urge to roll your “R’s” unless there are two of them back to back, pronounce “A’s” like you would in the word “all”, and say your “E’s” like you would in the word “neighbor”. This will make things easier on your server and will make you look like less of a moron than I’m sure I did at some points.
3. Be a little adventurous. Don’t go to a place you’ve never been and get something you can get everywhere else. Getting a chicken burrito at a place like this would be like going to Blockbuster and renting Spiderman 2 when you know full well there’s a 50% chance it will be on TNT when you get home.

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1. Zia Taqueria - James Island Restaurant Review
2. El Bohio - James Island Restaurant Review

Let’s get started:

1. Papa ZuZu’s (pictured) - King St. near Burns Alley - Downtown: This is it. This is where you should be getting your gyros. If you’re a college student you have absolutely no excuse for not getting lunch here at least a couple times a month. Their gyro meat is the best, their tomatoes are always perfect, and the portions are big enough to satisfy all but the absolute hungriest eaters. Their tzatziki sauce is the best in town as well, if you want extra (which you will) it will cost you an extra .50, but it is well worth it. As far as prices go, it’s reasonable but not cheap (from a college student’s perspective). You should expect to spend between $7-8, which is up a bit from what it has been in the past. If you’re planning on getting takeout, it’s best to call ahead because the restaurant itself is pretty tiny and they are almost always busy. If you do want to dine in, you can always play Battleship or read a copy of The New Yorker which they have lying around.
2. Olympik Restaurant & Bakery - 1922 Savannah Highway (past most of the auto-mile on 17-S) - West Ashley: A pretty traditional Greek restaurant out amidst some of the worst traffic in the city. Their gyro is good, but a pretty distant second to Papa ZuZu’s. Their meat was good, but I wasn’t a huge fan of their tzatziki sauce. One area where they do beat Papa ZuZu’s though, is their side dishes. I know this list is only about the gyros, but Olympik has really good Greek potatoes (which are basically seasoned roasted potatoes). As indicated by the name, Olympik is also a bakery and has some deserts that all looked extremely good (most notably the baklava) even though I didn’t have the opportunity to try them. Pricier than PZ’s for what you get, but still not too bad. It’s mainly a sit down restaurant, so expect to spend around $10-12.
   
3. Old Towne Grill & Seafood - King @ Market - Downtown: The oldest family run restaurant in Charleston is basically tied with Olympik in my opinion when it comes to gyros. I liked their tzatziki sauce better than Olympik, but I think I would give Olympik the edge in meat. They are the priciest of the bunch, but if I wasn’t only craving a gyro or was with other people who wanted more options then Old Towne would be my top choice of the three. It doesn’t have a ton in the way of ambiance, but they have a pretty good selection of traditional Greek dishes.
4. Pita Pit - King near George - Downtown: I’ll say one thing as a precursor, I’ve been to Pita Pit once since they changed ownership and I used to go for lunch about 3 days a week. The new “adult” ownership really has made the place feel more corporate (basically they aren’t playing mid-90’s rap music and looking like they may have just smoked a J in the back room) and it generally has lost some of its appeal. They also raised prices. That being said, the place is a chain so I’m betting that the food quality is close to the same as always, though I’m betting portions are smaller as that usually happens when more business minded ownership/management steps in. Anyhow, the Pit’s gyro meat was decent and their tzatziki sauce was surprisingly good. It comes rolled up like everything else there and isn’t going to win any points for authenticity, but it’s not bad if you need a quick, cheap lunch.
5. East Bay Deli - East Bay in the Blockbuster plaza - Downtown: Gyro was pretty bad, I’m only mentioning them on the list so you don’t bother ordering it if you’re there. Some of their sandwiches there are okay though so the place does have some worth.
   

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Something to keep in mind here: I’m focusing on the quick takeout variety of burritos, not sit-down restaurant ones.

As far as I’m concerned Chipotle is the be-all-end-all of burritos. Unfortunately, the closest one to Charleston is three hours away in Charlotte. This means that many of you may never have had the joy of experiencing one of their massive creations. So the below list is really just the best of what Charleston has to offer.

Alright, rankings:

1. Barberitos (pictured) - 1739 Maybank Hwy (in the Piggly Wiggly shopping center)- James Island: As close to Chipotle as you can find in the Lowcountry. Barberitos makes huge burritos that will satisfy you no matter how hungry you are. If you’re a girl, one of these will probably get you through two or three meals. You start with one of three types of wraps to choose from (Spinach, Chipotle, or traditional white) and either steak or chicken for meat (you can also get tofu, but I have no idea why anyone would ever want to do that). For $5.99, you get meat, rice, beans, cheese, salsa, lettuce, guacamole, and whatever other extra veggies you would like from basics like olives, onion, and mushrooms to fresh jalapenos and parsley (you can subtract .50 if you don’t want guacamole, or add .50 if you want sour cream). Their steak and chicken are good quality and I’ve never had either overdone. It’s a good value, giving you about 50% more food than Moe’s for the same amount of money and tasting better by far. If you live downtown, it’s well worth the trip over to JI for a quick dinner.
2. Qdoba Mexican Grill - 4930 Centre Pointe Drive (near Tanger Outlets) - North Charleston: A huge chain, like Chipotle, that surprisingly does a pretty good job. They have a lot of pretty interesting “Signature Burritos” like the Poblano Pesto Burrito and Ancho Chile BBQ Burrito. Their cilantro-lime rice is great and everybody loves their queso. Price wise it will run you about the same as Barberitos, but you don’t get quite as much for your money and some of the extras will cost you. This is the problem with big chains, they nickel and dime you to death. If you’re out at the outlets and looking for lunch I’d definitely stop here over most of the other quick places in the area, but it’s probably not worth a trip from downtown by itself.
3. La Cocina - 2013 Folly Road - Folly Beach / James Island: A tiny little place off on the right as you’re heading down toward Folly that makes a pretty quality burrito. Their motto is “Roll’em Big” but I wasn’t particularly impressed by the size. That point aside, anybody who knows me well knows that I generally give non-chain places an edge over big corporate franchises, and La Cocina is the antithesis of a big chain. The chicken burrito I had was pretty good and reasonably priced (just a bit more than the first two), and if I was hungry on my way to or from the beach I’d probably stop back in again (especially given the overpriced alternatives for food the closer you get to the beach). It really seemed like beach goers were their target audience as well, a place for locals who hang out on Folly all day to come get something to eat and a beer after the sun starts to go down.
4. Yo Burrito - Wentworth/St.Philip - Downtown: Yo Burrito is much less of a burrito focused place than Barberito’s or Qdoba, operating mainly as a bar. The steak burrito I had there was good, but the smallest of the ones mentioned so far and the most expensive. If you’re downtown without a car and desperate for Mexican it’s not bad (and certainly better than what you’ll find at La Hacienda), but if you’ve got other options then you should probably take advantage of them.
5. Taco Bell - Spring St. / Folly Rd. - Downtown / JI: The only reason I mention T-Bell is for the Steak Grilled Stuft burrito, for $2.99 you can’t beat the price. Sure it’s probably not the best quality ingredients, but if you’re considering Taco Bell, you’re probably not also considering McCrady’s. It also tastes pretty damn good, and you can put the money you save on dinner that night toward getting something better the next day.
6. Moe’s - King/Calhoun - Downtown: Moe’s is pretty much the definition of mediocre. About the same amount of food as Yo Burrito, for a slightly smaller price tag. I’m not a big fan of their rice and I’ve had extra chewy meat on a few occasions. The one exception for when I would recommend going there would be Mondays if you are strapped for cash, because you can get any burrito and a drink for $5.

Ok, that’s it for now, I’ll probably do the Greek burrito equivalent tomorrow.

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