Butcher & Bee pickle plate and baba ganoush
One morning a couple of weeks ago, I was thumbing through my Instagram feed and saw one place popping up over and over. Several friends had all gone to the same restaurant over the weekend, all separately from one another. They were all raving about their meals at the new Butcher & Bee. In comments on Instagram, on Twitter, and here on Bites, over and over I was told, "You must go." My interest was piqued because the menu is very vegetable-centric and vegetarian-friendly, but not with any intention other than just to create the best food with the best ingredients available (the Charleston location has its own garden, which provides much of that menu's inspiration).
Needless to say, I had a tough time deciding what to order after seeing the full menu. The pulled-squash sandwich, the carrots and the butternut-squash soup were all recommended, but several other options were too intriguing to pass up.
My friend and I started with the pickle plate (“We Can Pickle That”) and the ba-ba ganoush. All of the “mezze” (small starters) are vegetarian and most are vegan, so it was difficult to choose just a couple. Pickles included cucumbers, raisins, garlic, beets, onions and peppers prepared in a quick pickle style and were delicious (though the portion size is a bit small; not quite large enough to share with more than two pickle enthusiasts). The baba ganoush was fresh and just the right amount of chunky.
For my main dish, I opted for the “You Gotta Burrata.” I am powerless against the lure of burrata. At $12, it was one of the most expensive items on the lunch menu, but burrata is a work of art and its treatment at Butcher & Bee is labor intensive. The burrata was served with chunks of ruby red grapefruit and persimmon, shaved fennel, a savory-sweet peanut granola and topped with a black sesame vinaigrette to pull it all together. It was very complex and very good.
Butcher & Bee burrata
My friend ordered the “Let’s Start With a Soup,” which is currently roasted butternut squash puree (much thicker than a soup or bisque, really), topped with whisps of parmesan, chives, pomegranate seeds, crispy sage and bay leaf milk foam. That’s a whole lot going on in a soup, which another friend called “life-changing.”
Butcher & Bee butternut squash soup
There is plenty to choose from for dedicated carnivores as well: Korean fried chicken, roast beef and pork belly gnocchi are just a couple of the non-vegetarian items on the lunch menu. Lamb neck and grits, trout, and octopus are on the everyday menu that is available from 5 p.m. until midnight on weeknights and until 2 a.m. on the weekends. Mezze can be ordered as a side with the sandwiches for lunch (different rules at dinner) and as we were finishing, we were eyeing a generous portion of what looked to be fantastic fries at a nearby table. It will be on the list (with the pulled squash sandwich) on my next visit.
902 Main Street
615-226-3322
Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Dinner: 5 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday; 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
