The Ordinary / Charleston, South Carolina

New York is known to always have a new restaurant popping up on every corner, but what about Charleston, South Carolina? Every time I visit Charleston there are at least 5 new places on King Street since my last visit or a new restaurant written up in Southern Living. In what feels like a few months, there’s a new “it” restaurant in town, and it is as good as you’ve heard.

 

The Ordinary is Charleston's new “fancy seafood and oyster bar." Mike Lata is the award-winning chef and owner of The Ordinary and longstanding Charleston restaurant FIG (Food Is Good). His new restaurant is located on Northern King Street in an old bank building from 1927. What I love about The Ordinary's design is the high 22-foot ceilings, balcony and bank vault door. The large oyster bar is also a great touch and looks like the perfect date spot for oyster lovers like me.

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What To Order?

Raw Oysters, clearly. 

They have selections from the West Coast and East Coast and varietals vary by the season. Our favorites are the East coast because they are larger, saltier and grimier than the creamy West Coast oysters.

{We love oysters so have found over favorites by trial and error, but if you're unsure of what you like, check out this guide!}

Oyster Sliders

This dish has been written up a few times and I can see why. They are great mix of unusual flavors like pineapple, pickled cabbage, sriracha hot sauce and cilantro with a fried oyster.

Black Bass en Papillote, Fennel, Sauce Mousseline

Our table ordered a few dishes and passed them around. This seafood dish was by far our favorite even over the whole fish which we normally love. The fish was cooked in parchment paper to keep it moist and topped with a creamy hollandaise like sauce. 

 

Been to The Ordinary? Share your favorites below!

Labor Day Eats

Labor Day Weekend is here. Thank goodness!
Today I’m heading to Charleston, South Carolina to meet CT and my parents for the long weekend. I'm super excited because we are going to be trying out a new restaurant in town, The Ordinary. If you've been to Charleston and are familiar with F.I.G. it’s a part of the same restaurant group, and its their new seafood and oyster bar.
A little preview of what I'm talking about...

Looks fantastic, right?? 

Don't worry, I'll be sharing photos and a recommendation from our visit next week! 

One thing I love about NYC is that people head out of the city on the weekends leaving some of the cities best restaurants with open tables! Check out my list of favorite NYC restaurants to try this Labor Day Weekend.

Latin American

Raymi or Yerba Buena

Seafood

Upstate

Sushi

Takahachi

Brunch

Boulton & Watt 

a new brunch favorite / boulton & watt

With there being a new and different restaurant pretty much every 10 steps you take in the city, I have to give Boulton & Watt credit for grabbing my attention when I walked by. The LES Gastropub's industrial design is cozy yet hip and exudes energy with the open air seating.

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At the top of my list of brunch favorites is the sautéed spinach, house-made chorizo and pork sausage, with siracha hollandaise. This is seriously the best benedict I've ever had (beating our Jane's and Friend of a Farmer's crab cake benedicts).

The cauliflower souffle and mixed greens are another favorite.

The mimosas are made with fresh orange juice and only $5 which is a nice treat from the usual $14 price at other places.

I also loved the cheddar grits and CT was obsessed with his braised short rib benedict.

I went the other night for drinks and discovered a new affordable great wine - Alta Vista Classic Malbec. Malbecs are a great choice of red wine when you're out if you want an affordable red with big taste. I loved this wine because it was jammy and juicy at first with a tannic finish.

LES Brunch Spot - New York

Macondo - This latino eatery is quickly becoming my favorite spot for Sunday brunch on the lower east side. I've now tried out a variety of things on the brunch menu now and have quickly found my favorites. I highly recommend the polenta con chorizo, huevos rancheros and the patatas bravos side if you like spicy, and the blueberry pancakes for something savory and sweet.

This is also a great place for a group. They have a deal where the table can get all-you-can-drink-mimosas for 2 hrs for $11, and you get to choose from three flavors - elberberry, orange-vanilla and blueberry mint. Keep in mind that your two hours start for the whole table when the first person sits down at the table, so they normally suggest you wait until your whole party is there.

Enjoy 

New York Spots To Try

One of my favorite things about being in a city like New York are that there are so many restaurants to try. Surprisingly, it's actually pretty hard to find a great restaurant based just upon Yelp and OpenTable reviews, which is why I've been relying on friends suggestions...and why I'm sharing my favorites with you.

Upstate (EAST VILLAGE)- I lucked out and this restaurant is right down the street from my apartment making it one of my go-tos. I love their fresh oysters, happy hour deal (1/2 dozen oysters and a beer for $12 from 5-7), and the fact that their specials switch up since they order daily from the market.

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My favorite from this visit were are of course the oysters, the 1/2 cheese and 1/2 meat plate, and the crab cake special. The special was TO DIE FOR. Which is huge for me to say, since I'm really not a crab cake fan.

Apotheke (Chinatown) - My very trendy friend (thanks Sarah) introduced me to this place in Chinatown. We went there first on a Wednesday during their Prohibition night complete with a password entry, jazz and classic drinks (highly recommend the Peg Flip).

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This past weekend, we went and got the Deal Closer. It was delicious, light and fresh and so delicious that we drank ours too fast for me to get a picture, so here's one from the bar's Facebook page. (Yes, it was that good)

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The Standard Grill (Meatpacking District)  - This last spot was a recommendation from a coworker.

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My picks from this spot - are the oysters , the scallops and the lamb paired with the Melville Pinot Noir.

Would love to hear if you have any recommendations of New York places to try!

Atlanta Seafood Spots

From left to right...

Atlanta Fish Market - 265 Pharr Road NE 

The Fish Market is a landmark in Buckhead (much like the Big Chicken in Alpharetta). You can't miss the big fish jutting out of the woodwork on Pharr Road. The restaurant is a part of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group (including restaurants like Chops, Pricci, the late Blue Pointe :(, etc). This is one of my favorite restaurants during months with "r" i.e. Oyster season. I highly recommend a glass of the Albarino or Muscadet and some oysters on the half shell. They also have great sushi (the chef was trained by the sushi chef at Bluepointe). I'd recommend the Lobster Maki Roll, the Volcano Roll or the Tiger Roll, and a glass of the Peter Friemuth Riesling.

Starfish Sushi - 2255 Peachtree Rd NE # E 

This is my go to sushi restaurant in Atlanta. The staff is super friendly, and the food is great. My order recommendation? Food: Edamame, golden pompano, spicy tuna sashimi, Sin City Roll, Kung Fu Panda Roll and the Iron Man Roll (pictured below). Wine: Hook and Ladder Chardonnay, Bear Boat Pinot Noir, or the Dr. Pauly Riesling.

JCT Kitchen - 1198 Howell Mill Road #18 

Whether you sit in the more formal dining room downstairs or at the casual bar upstairs, you have the option to get my favorite thing on the menu - the Angry Mussels. They are by far the best mussels in Atlanta, and come with toasted bread for dipping. Make sure you call before going though because the downstairs and upstairs restaurants are frequently rented out for private events.