Wow, it's been a while since I wrote on this blog BUT I'm determined to start it up again! I had the pleasure of dining at two of my personal favorites in Cannonborough-Elliotborough this week. The first was Fuel on Tuesday. And yes, I'm still ordering the Bison BBQ burger with sweet potato fries on the side. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I've ever ordered anything else there! And then tonight, we went to D'Allesandro's. BEST PIZZA IN CHARLESTON. PERIOD. NO EXCEPTIONS. (And sorry to Nick & Ben for breaking the glass on your poster. My son got a hold of it and pushed it off the ledge. Amazingly, he didn't cut himself when the glass fell and he actually held the glass momentarily from falling on his baby brother. Crazy. No lawsuits promise!) Anyways, I am really excited about restarting this blog and keeping an eye on the restaurant scene in Charleston, SC from VERY NORTH OF BROAD!

Pane e Vino

Let me start by saying that the Spaghetti al Checa at Pane e Vino (on Warren Street between King & St. Philip) is really tasty. It is a wonderful spaghetti with fresh grape tomatoes and fresh slices of mozarella mixed with spicy hot peppers. I know spicy and pasta don't really belong together, but trust the VNOB - it's good.

But also place your trust in the VNOB when he says that this restaurant has other issues which outweigh the Spaghetti al Checa. Here goes:

Firstly, our reservation was for 8:30PM - we didn't sit down until 9:30PM. I can deal with a 5 or 10 minute delay, 15 or 20 minute is ok as long as you bribe me with a drink on the house, but seriously - you are going to make me wait ONE HOUR for a RESERVED TABLE and not even distract me with free food, drink or an apology? Yeah, right- we'll see how long our relationship lasts...

Secondly, when we were seated, we waited another 15 minutes for service. That's right - no wine, no bread, no "welcome to Pane e Vino, here are our specials for this evening...". And it gets better - when we finally sat down, our server was the bartender from the outside bar that had refused to give us a free drink. So needless to say, because our "server" was also the "bartender", our "service" left a lot to be desired.

So, it was about 10PM by the time we got our first bottle of wine. And even when the bread was served, we had to ask three different times for salt and pepper. You can take that with a grain of salt, but I really had to ask three times?

But the piece de resistance was the bill. We were a party of six and gave three credit cards to split the bill evenly. You would think that this would be an easy task for our bartender friend. Nope. She proceeded to automatically add a 20% gratuity onto the bill without showing it to us. ARGH.

And bad service at Pane e Vino was not a one off experience - I talked to a colleage and he and his wife had the same experience there too.

And finally, one more gripe - the wine is really expensive. So, if two people go, it's hard to walk out of there for less than a Benjamin.

So, all in all, it was a very frustrating experience at Pane e Vino. If you want great Italian, I strongly suggest Bacco on Coleman Blvd in Mount Pleasant. Not only is the food awesome, but the service lives up to the word. In Bacco the VNOB trusts.

A Sad Obituary

Did I just use a double negative in the title of my blog? I guess I did. And really, has anyone evern written a happy obituary?

Anyways, I know it has been a long time since I have written, but c'est la vie. And let that French phrase be my segway to this obituary for Rue de Jean in Charleston, SC - one of my long-time favorite restaurants.

The mussels used to be devine, the sauces scrumptious, the bread to die for and the Rainbow Roll delish. But no longer. I have been twice and the food horrible, the service even worse and believe it or not, the cleanliness left a lot to be desired. It really is troubling to me how one of Charleston's high flyers could nose dive so quickly. But it has happened - and no, I am not the only one it has happened to. I put an update out on my Facebook Status (does Status need a capital when used in a Facebook context now-a-days?) and heard about similar experiences from several others.

So, this pains me to say it, but avoid Rue de Jean for the forseeable future. And if anyone from Rue is reading, please get your act back together! Just thinking about dipping that bread in that vegetable cream sauce is making my mouth water.

It had been a while since the VNOB had visited D'Allesandro's. I swear that they just keep getting better and better. And they have now returned to their roots - and have Hoegarten ON TAP! Yes, you read that correctly - it is ON TAP and COLD too! Yum. All I can say that heaven involves D's pizza and Hoegarten on draft. 

Ben & Nick have the formula. Trust the VNOB. 

And now they are getting into homemade ice-cream? I didn't try it last night because they was no room left in the VNOB's personal pizza oven, but it is definately on the menu for a future visit. They have "peanut-butter" flavored ice cream.... need more be said ?

Elliotborough is Hot

Elliotborough has some hot places to eat. Tis true that they aren't Peninsula Grill (and never likely be), but they are pretty awesome - and there is certainly no shortage of good restaurants in the lowcountry overall to compete against. So the comment is not made lightly. Gosh this area is super cool. I may be biased, but seriously, it is a great part of Charleston. 

We have Lucca (which has just been nominated for a James Beard Award), Fuel, Lana, Hominy Grill (best brunch in the area - and Anthony Bourdain would agree), D'Allesandro's, Five Loaves and let's not forget Mia Pomodori - the new pizza place across from Fuel in the old Dave's Seafood building. 

A word about Mia Pomodori. That's some good za (it is no D'Allesandro's from a food quality perspective quite yet), but the atmosphere is cool and the wine is cheap, yet good. You will definately spend a lot less on alcohol at Mia that at D's and walk out just as toasty. And most importantly, the owners are cool (I see they have even hauled their son into work!) The VNOB will be back to support - and you should too. 

And finally, the VNOB paid another visit to Fuel again last week and it was really good. Food was great and the service speedy. Fuel will always have a special place in the VNOB's hungry heart beacuse it was the first review. Fuel was given some direct advice on how to improve and it has done just that. So my congratulations go out to Justin & his staff. Keep putting fuel on that there fire! 

No specific restaurant update tonight, but a couple equally important facts to share: 

One, Trader Joes is the best store ever. Would someone please explain to the VNOB why there is not a store in Charleston? I even have the perfect place picked out for it - the old Jabbers on Rutledge Avenue complete with parking. Alright, I just decided, I am starting a Facebook group to bring the masters of food to Charleston. 

Two, Lucca has been nominated for a 2009 James Beard Award. Um, rock on?! 

http://www.jamesbeard.org/files/2009_JBF_RESTAURANTCHEF_AWARD_SEMIFINALISTS.pdf

Seriously, the food is amazing (even though Ken does have to do something about the sound so that you can hear your dinner companions speak.) But that's a nit. Go Elliotborough! 

And three, D'Allesandro's has Hoegarden on tap. White light is shining down from heavan, dogs and cats are sleeping together, let the world ring out in praise. Halle - FRICKIN - lujah!!

Refueling

Just a quick update to my first post a few months ago which had some "constructive" feedback on Fuel. 

I love Fuel - the ambiance, the location, the concept are all great. In the first six months after they opened, they had some issues with service. That's the summary of the first post.  

But I went back with four people on Friday night - and it was amazing. Service was prompt and attentive and the food was hot and yummy. I had my usual Buffalo Burger (it is made with bison meat) and it was cooked to perfection. 

Go back and check it out. 

And to Fuel (if you follow the VNOB), a job well done and keep it up!