Monday, July 28, 2008
Restaurants Edisto: First Impressions
Posted by Carrington Fox on Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 5:00 AM
Earlier this week the Stepford Wife and I took Mr. Pink to the newly opened Edisto to celebrate his birthday. It was hot, so instead of bellying up to the smoker on the back patio, we sat in the dining room and ordered from Edisto's menu of South Carolina-style cuisine.
The former Patrick's has been recast with dark wood ceiling fans and rouille-colored walls, and with the jazz wafting through the room it makes a peaceful retreat for toasting a birthday with tall glasses of watermelon iced tea, Sun Drop and RC Cola.
Anyone who knows Mr. Pink knows he's a slut for elotes—Mexican-style grilled corn sprinkled with salty cheesy dust—so we ordered an appetizer of Edisto's grilled corn lollipops. Three cross-sections of corn—skewered, grilled and sprinkled with cotija (grainy white cheese similar to feta)—were succulent, smoky and delicious.
The birthday boy enjoyed a catfish BLT with blackened buttery fish on a French roll with garlic herb tartar, though we all agreed the bacon was a little anemic and soggy. I ordered crab cake salad on a fluffy bed of field greens, which were marginally overdressed with a light vinaigrette. The two sweet crab cakes had a texture that was more stringy than lumpy and a nicely pan-seared crust.
The Stepford Wife took a risk ordering a pimento cheese sandwich, which came with a matching pale-orange side of sweet potato salad. We were all put off by the odd tags of pale meat layered on the cheese, which our very friendly server identified as a tasso ham. We all applauded the unpretentious choice of Sun Beam white bread.
For dessert, we shared a fried turtle pie, which looked like a giant fried oyster, but whose deep-fried coating burst with gooey chocolate and nuts. Drizzled with richly burnt caramel, it made for a nice birthday-cake proxy.
Before leaving, we swung around to Sweetgrass Smokerie on the back patio, where a Vivaldi concerto was circling the umbrella-covered tables like a mellifluous musical smoke. Mr. Pink ordered a sandwich. When it was ready, he opened the cardboard to-go box to find a generous mound of freshly pulled pork on a bun, along with small containers of barbecue sauce and hot boiled peanuts. Happy birthday, Mr. Pink.
Located at 1711 Division St., Edisto serves lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and brunch on Sunday.
Comments (13)
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Mr. Pink is a slut for lots of things, not excluding his lunch companions.
I'll add that Edisto and Sweetgrass Smokerie are actually two separate restaurants, though the owners are the same. (They also let me eat my Sweetgrass barbecue on Edisto's shaded patio, which was a major blessing.) Drew at Sweetgrass also passed along the good news that they plan to stay open late, long after midnight on weekends. You have to get there fast to try the brisket, which has run out now on two consecutive visits.
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I would like to point out the fact Ms. Fox did not mention a thing about the building or about the extremely tacky umbrellas on the patio. She must have something against T's. THAT is my point mr. pink! If Carrington decides that she is going to write a bad review, she does. It has absolutely nothing to do with the food, atmosphere, or anything relevant for that matter, but merely if she doesn't like the proprietor or if it is her time of the month. I'm getting together with several of my friends, all of which on the Nashville Originals, and we're going to take this to the next level. We won't tolerate the Nashville Scene's choice to employ a food critic who knows what she's going to write about a place before she even sets foot in the door. The money put out for advertising by local restaurants pays Carrington's salary, without them she does not have a job and we're going for just that. Watch out Carrington, you may be writing your last review for the Scene...
You, sir, are a horse's ass. Fire away. I'd say do your worst, but you do that every time you write a sentence.
You'll also note that this is not a "review" but a blog post. Ms. Fox is professional enough not to give a restaurant a full review during its first week open for business. As the headline states, this is merely meant to be a few first impressions.
Let me tell you about Edisto: the "chef/owner" couldn't cut it at Lime as a line cook and was fired from the hideous T's Tuscan Bar and Grill. He lucked into a situation where someone fronted all the money to open a restaurant, and let him do so. His food at Edisto and Sweetgrass, is, like his food in Chicago, creativly distinct but lacking in cohesision, and being kitschy doesn't mean it's good.
damn i really dont understand what all the fuss is about... i am a friend of chef conn and have been working with him for quite sometime, and i gotta say... he is a stand up guy... he puts his people before himself and really cares about his food. and so do i. the man has a vision to bring more intelligent food to nashville. never have i seen people lick their plate, never have i seen one single table order plate after plate, after plate, after plate of shrimp and grits.... or any other dish for that matter, in any place i have ever worked... untill i actually cooked them the other night. look all im sayin is the food is freeken great...so why dont ya just stop haten mr bill and come over and eat... im sure chef conn would love have ya over for dinner.... i would too!!! and by the way the shrimp and grits is the bomb diggity!!!!
For the record: I was well received at Lime (ask the Chef). T's liked me, but wanted a different concept. And if Bill ever went to Chicago to eat my food, I would be surprised. Just keep it honest and clean here...that is what helps future clientèle.
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Just had lunch today at the Sweetgrass. What a disappointment. I ordered the turkey barbecue and my friend had the pulled pork sandwich and 2 sprites. Before the food arrived we noticed dozens of flies eating the meat on the meat slicer behind the order person. We decided that our's wouldn't be sliced on that machine, so we were probably ok. When the food arrived, it was COLD out of the refrigerator. The sprite was flat as well ($2 each for drinks). I asked the guy at the fly counter if it was supposed to be cold and he said no.... so he opens up a warmer and prepares to slice my turkey on the fly machine. Enough said. I think I'll call the health department. Definitely not going back!
I'm a fairly picky Nashville diner-outer who's not usually so impressed that I feel the need to post about it on the internet, but I've been to both of these places several times now and must say... two thumbs waaaay up for casually classy Edisto, and the fun-like-a-party Sweetgrass bbq place next door.
The food at Edisto is delicious, interesting without being pretentious, and beautifully presented. AND served by truly warm and attentive staff. No robots, git'r duns or snotty disinterested hipsters to be found, what a nice surprise. Also, the Chefs are always out and about saying hello, you get to feel special, even when you're "just" a solo diner ordering a sandwich (which is why I'll come back with a group when I have time for a wine, appetizer and dessert kind of evening.) try the crabcakes, the green BLT, the catfish n grits, try ANYTHING, omg.
Sweetgrass has a good thing going too, I had a superquick lunch there on a workday. The brisket was the best I remember having, and I met a cutie in line. Not bad use of a lunch break, eh?
I'm a fairly picky Nashville diner-outer who's not usually so impressed that I feel the need to post about it on the internet, but I've been to both of these places several times now and must say... two thumbs waaaay up for casually classy Edisto, and the fun-like-a-party Sweetgrass bbq place next door.
The food at Edisto is delicious, interesting without being pretentious, and beautifully presented. AND served by truly warm and attentive staff. No robots, git'r duns or snotty disinterested hipsters to be found, what a nice surprise. Also, the Chefs are always out and about saying hello, you get to feel special, even when you're "just" a solo diner ordering a sandwich (which is why I'll come back with a group when I have time for a wine, appetizer and dessert kind of evening.) try the crabcakes, the green BLT, the catfish n grits, try ANYTHING, omg.
Sweetgrass has a good thing going too, I had a superquick lunch there on a workday. The brisket was the best I remember having, and I met a cutie in line. Not bad use of a lunch break, eh?
Seriously? Was I eating at the same place as you? Not a chance would I ever go back to Edisto's. I ate inside which was so dark we had to use the light from our cell phones to read the menu. We ordered a white wine that wasn't even cold (we ended up adding ice to our glasses). The service was non-existent. I mean, really, it was bad and the restaurant was practically empty but I never saw the server. We were sitting twenty minutes before she even showed up with water. Anyway the "crab cake" wasn't so much as a crab cake as it was a bunch of crab thrown on a plate -- so presentation-wise it was a joke, but it wasn't bad except all the shells that I kept finding. The brie and apple salad was ... well, it wss greens, with 2-3 slices of green apple and a cracker on top where they microwaved some brie on it. Not what I was expecting and pretty boring. The portions are relatively small. And, did I mention how bad the service was? We ordered a second bottle of wine (red, since they don't know to serve white wine chilled). And the server brought out new glasses for everyone but me. I'm not sure why she thought I should drink red wine from my white wine glass so I asked for a new one. Instead of just grabbing a new one, she gave it to the bartender who washed it and eventually brought me back the glass while it was still hot! So yeah, maybe the food wasn't terrible - not like this is supposed to be a fine dining restaurant but with service like that and hot things that should be cold and cold things that should be hot (my rice dish was cold) - no way would I ever recommend this place to anyone.
I have to give Edisto a big thumbs up, too. Sorry if you had a bad experience, but ours couldn't have been better. They took our party of 8 on short notice last Saturday night. It was a wonderful summer night and were seated on the patio. It was a littl dark for reading the menu, but we made do. Everyone in our party raved about the food, the service and the value. It's nice to go to a place where they don't feel they have to "pile it on" in order to make their customers happy. The portions were perfect and priced accordingly. I had the Flat Iron Steak and my wife had the Shrimp and Grits. Both were great. We also shared the Fried Green Tomatoes for a starter. Don't know what everyone else had but they were as happy about our meal/experience as we were. The owner/chef came out as we were finishing to check on our meal and seemed very sincere about his guest. We will all make a point of returning. Can't wait to try the BBQ at Sweetgrass. Smelled great as we were leaving.
I have to give Edisto a big thumbs up, too. Sorry if you had a bad experience, but ours couldn't have been better. They took our party of 8 on short notice last Saturday night. It was a wonerful summer night and were seated on the patio. It was a littl dark for reading the menu, but we made due. Everyone in our party raved about the food, the service and the value. It's nice to go to a place where they don't feel they have to "pile it on" in order to make their customers happy. The portions were perfect and priced accordingly. I had the Flat Iron Steak and my wife had the Shrimp and Grits. Both were great. We also shared the Fried Green Tomatoes for a starter. Don't know what everyone else had but they were as happy about our meal/experience as we were. The owner/chef came out as we were finishing to check on our meal and seemed very sincere about his guest. We will all make a point of returning. Can't wait to try the BBQ at Sweetgrass. Smelled great as we were leaving.
