Since January 10th, Restaurant Week has taken over cities across the state of South Carolina for 10 days. But what is Restaurant Week?
Restaurant Week South Carolina gives local, regional and national food lovers the opportunity to enjoy amazing values during Lunch and/or dinner at a number of participating casual and high-end South Carolina restaurants. Restaurant Week’s goal is to position South Carolina as one of the top culinary destinations in the nation by increasing awareness of the many dining opportunities available in the state, as well as stimulating business and revenue for restaurants throughout South Carolina.
James from Creative Balance Photography had the pleasure of visiting 2 Upstate staples of the South Carolina culinary scene: Hall's Chophouse Greenville and Husk Greenville.
Hall's Chophouse Greenville
With their debut in January of 2016, Hall's Chophouse Greenville wasted no time upping the bar for fine-dining in Downtown Greenville, South Carolina. This is the second location of the nationally recognized Hall's Chophouse in Charleston, South Carolina. Hall's in Greenville brings the Hall Family brand to the Upstate with the highest quality cuisine and impeccable hospitality.
The value of the Restaurant Week menu for Hall's Chophouse Greenville is incredible and for what you can get, it is quite a steal. So...we stole it.
James was joined for dinner by Ms. Elise Lyles, Director of Marketing for Clayton Construction Company.
With quite a few available combinations, James decided on the following for his visit to Hall's (along with their perfectly assigned wine pairings):
First Course: She Crab Soup (with a sparkling wine)
Second Course: Filet Mignon with a bordelaise sauce, pepper jack creamed corn, and collard greens (with a pinot noir)
Third Course: The most delicious white chocolate and vanilla cake with raspberry (with a deliciously sweet port wine)
Aside from the perfectly constructed menu and wine pairing, the service was other-worldly. There were prompt greetings by the server, Taylor, and David, the sommelier. At no point was there a rush and Taylor paced the meal comfortably and efficiently. David applauded the wine pairing for the restaurant week menu and kept tabs on the table throughout the meal.
It was a fantastic experience and truly demonstrated the Hall brand and set a very high standard for quality across all categories for dining in South Carolina and particularly dining in the Upstate.
Husk Greenville
For our second Restaurant Week stop, we picked another Charleston, South Carolina institution that made the move to Downtown Greenville: Husk. Husk describes themselves best:
Located in the historic West End district of downtown Greenville, Husk transforms the essence of Southern food. Executive Chef and South Carolina native, Jon Buck, reinterprets the bounty of the surrounding area in the South Carolina upcountry, exploring an ingredient-driven cuisine that begins in the rediscovery of heirloom products and redefines what it means to cook and eat in the South.
Walking into Husk Greenville presents your mind with seemingly contrasting concepts: a classic public house look mixed with a fine dining spirit with a heavy dollop of Southern flavor on top. The rustic look and warm atmosphere essentially work as the first course where your nose and brain start to figure out what dinner is going to be like. As is the case with all restaurants participating in Restaurant Week, the special menu is unbelievable.
Joining James for dinner at Husk was his lovely wife, Ashley. Ashley is very private. So much that Ashley isn't even her real name. Okay, Ashley is her real name but that's all you get.
For this meal, James decided to step away from the continental menu and jump with both feet into the Southern cuisine offered by Husk (disclaimer, that's ALL that Husk does so if you step anywhere on the menu you will find yourself knee deep in Southern food):
First Course: Shrimp N' Grits with a Creamy Fennel Bisque and Tomatoes
Second Course: Tennessee Beef with Root Vegetables, Greens, and Jus
Third Course: Chocolate Cream Roll with Peppermint Ice Cream and Peanuts
The server for the evening was Tonya and really made James and his wife feel at home. By the time they left, the three were debating who would win this season of The Bachelor (Ashley will not confirm nor deny this as she is very private). But in between the television buzz were moments of prolonged silence due to the delicious symphony served up. The Husk flavors are not afraid to be bold and each medley of items on the plate harmonized in the most original and delicious ways. The food was as great as the service and the two go hand-in-hand as is becoming the standard in Downtown Greenville.
Restaurant Week South Carolina is a fantastic opportunity to explore local menus for businesses that are responsible for molding the food culture and hospitality tradition of the state of South Carolina. You have until January 20th to partake in Restaurant Week 2019 and please visit their website to see options in your area. Enjoy!
Comments