If you are ever visiting Greenville, SC (and many do, can you just believe how cute the downtown is!) here are three restaurants I feel confident in recommending to you, fellow eater.
A year ago I likely wouldn’t have sent you there, but The Nose Dive is really putting out some excellent food and beverage. A gastropub from restauranteur Carl Sobocinski of Table 301 (Soby’s, The Lazy Goat, Passarelle Bistro), I found my early visits to be inconsistent and lacking in some basics. After some time settling in, and bringing in new chef Spencer Thomson, the menu is much more intriguing, execution is spot on, and I sure enjoy settling in at their bar, sampling a few reasonably priced appetizers, along with a selection or two from the extensive selection of local and interesting drafts.
** update July 13 ** I have been informed that chef Thomson moved on to Stella’s a few weeks ago, apologies for the misinformation. I will report back on Nose Dive changes as I learn more **
Here are a few selections from a variety of visits. Above are the homemade tater tots. Below is Carolina Gold rice with shrimp, peas, morels, and ramp puree.
Carolina Gold risotto with melty tomatoes and scallops. $9.
Red snapper sashimi with pine nuts and cucumber – they’ve been mixing up the various sashimi and fish tartar dishes. All under $10.
Lunch – pastrami en crute. Like a chopped pastrami salad in rye crouton wrapper.
Other than the egregious sin of not melting the American cheese, the pub burger is the best I’ve found in town – straight forward in nature, the beef is ground in house, and happily cooked to a true bloody medium-rare.
Another frequent of mine, I guess a gastropub, if that’s what you want to call it, is Bacon Brothers Public House. Don’t miss the jalapeno boiled peanuts – super addictive. Last time I took a whole order to-go.
Ribs – very tasty, though they didn’t leave these in the smoker long enough, which was a shame. You could tell they were so close to being perfect and I think they rushed a batch.
“Greenville” hot chicken. It’s not hot enough for me, but it’s sinful and delicious, coasted with pimento cheese on texas toast.
BB deviled eggs
THIS was off-the-chain good – a southern porchetta with belly wrapped around loin, filled with sausage, topped with a maque choux-like mix of veggies and a mustard based BBQ sauce. It was just a great mix of crispy and tender, fatty and savory with acid and big flavors – very well composed.
Finally – Mekong is the best Vietnamese I’ve tried in Greenville. A very large menu, they have it all – bun (a mixed bun photographed below), pho, banh, and a variety of other specialities, including a strong array of soups, including the congee style (chao) rice soups with pork blood.
I’ve tried many things, most recently the shredded chicken and cabbage salad, with a side ($3) of creamy curry soup, a hearty side dish.
Happy eating.