Laura had an evening meeting, so I was on my own for dinner. You know what that means – time to explore the local cuisine. In this case, it was hardly local in origin. I decided to try the Korean BBQ place just off of Woodruff Road.  No catchy name here – just “Tasty Korean Barbecue.”

Atmosphere

It would be very easy to overlook this place.  On the corner is a Red Robin gas station and quickie shop, and it’s easy to think this is is all part of the same establishment.  The restaurant is small with utilitarian furnishings.  There are bits of Asian decor on the walls.

I got there at about 8:00 pm, a bit later than I normally dine. There was one large table with eight Koreans, and another with four.  I took that as a very good sign.  Two other tables were occupied besides my own.

Menu

I’ve never felt more ill-prepared for dining.  I’ve not had Korean food before, and the names of the dishes weren’t any that I recognized.  Therefore, I’m a bit uncomfortable commenting on the overall menu.  There were several types of bulgogi, and several dishes based on different types of kimchi.  Prices ran from $8 – $14 for dinner items, and $8 – $10 for lunch box specials.  There were several 2-person BBQ specials that hovered around $20.

Given my ignorance of the cuisine, probably the best thing I could do is just post a link to the menu online.

Food

I ordered the chicken bulgogi.  First to arrive were the kimchi sides that accompanied the dish.  There were six sides – the traditional cabbage kimchi, rutabaga, cucumber, bean sprouts, and squid, and one side of potato salad.

Of these, I liked the rutabaga best.  The cabbage, which the waiter had really talked up, tasted bitter to me.  The potato salad was bland.  The cucumber, squid, and bean sprouts fell somewhere in between.

Soon the main dish arrived. It was sizzling in a pan, similar to the way fajitas arrive.   For awhile it was difficult to eat because it was so hot.  There was a bit of spice, but not overpowering.  This also came with a side of rice.  Of course, the only utensils available were chop sticks and one spoon.

Things started off fairly well.  The flavors were unique and interesting.  However, there was a cumulative effect, and by the end of the meal it was tasting more bitter than I first thought.

Service

Service was friendly and efficient.  The waiter was kind enough to educate me on what I had ordered.

Conclusion

This is certainly a different option for cuisine in Greenville, and as far as I can tell, the only Korean option.  It doesn’t taste like any of the other Asian food I’ve tried in town.  I still haven’t decided if I like it or not.  I’d like to give it one more try with a different dish.  However, if they are promoting the cabbage kimchi as the most popular, I am a bit worried, as that was my least favorite.  I’ll see what the other options are.

One of my paddling buddies accused me of posting “food porn.” Sorry, James, but here’s some more…

For months now I’ve seen signs for Doner Kabob, and have wondered about the food being advertised. To me, a kabob is meat on a stick with vegetables, cooked on a grill.  Little did I know that it’s actually a type of German sandwich, in this case sold from a large trailer that moves from place to place.

One of our office co-workers offered to get sandwiches for everyone at lunch, and they were quite good.  Mine was a very spicy turkey on a flat sort of bun.  Along with the discovery of the sandwich came the discovery of a new German restaurant in the community of Pelham.  So, with Laura out of town, tonight was the perfect night for my sister Glynda and I to give Hans and Franz a try.

Background

First, the building – this was one of the original 1860′s buildings for the Pelham Mills.  It was a barn structure to support the main mill, which made Confederate uniforms during that war.  For awhile recently Rocky Creek Bakery occupied the building.  Glynda and I had a couple of lunches here, and loved the old structure and wonderful bread.  We were both thrilled to see the new restaurant here.

It’s my understanding that Hans and Franz is an enterprise by the folks that own Addy’s Dutch Restaurant in downtown Greenville.  They have been wanting to branch out into German cuisine, which has been sorely lacking in the area since the demise of Haus Edleweiss.  While not owned by them, the Doner Kabob trailer works in partnership with the restaurant in a symbiotic relationship.

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Laura had a Furman function, so I was on my own for dinner. I was in the mood something savory, but also something that would accommodate sore braces. I was on my way home, planning to do something simple, when I spotted Pho 99. Soup, noodles, and soft meat sounded pretty good, so I turned in.

Truth be told, I’d spotted a reference to Pho 99 in the blog A Greenville Life. The review in that blog was really about Pho Noodleville, but the comment was that Pho 99 was better. Having tried Noodleville and two other Vietnamese places in town,  I decided to give 99 a shot.

Atmosphere

Pho 99  is located on Wade Hampton near Bob Jones University, in a strip mall populated with other Vietnamese businesses.  The place isn’t large, but there are a fair number of tables.  The decor was clean and fairly modern.

There were two young American couples, possible college kids, but there rest of the patrons were Vietnamese. I always take it as a good sign that a particular ethnicity patronizes a restaurant with that food from that country.

Menu

While it doesn’t have a 35 page menu like on of the other Vietnamese places in town, the menu is quite extensive. It can be broken down in to several groups – pho, two types of rice dishes, and a couple of types of of noodles. I don’t pretend to be even slightly familiar with Vietnamese food, so I can’t really comment on the dishes. Prices ranged from $6.50 and up.

Food

Not knowing anything about Vietnamese, I ordered the first pho dish on the menu – “Beef broth with thin sliced raw premium tenderloin.” Yep, you read that right – raw. Don’t worry, though. This isn’t some weird sushi or steak tartar. The broth comes out very hot and the meat cooks as it sits in the broth, very much like Chinese hot pot.

The broth was quite savory. I added a touch of red sauce to spice it up a bit, along with a few bean sprouts. The noodles were light and cooked to perfection. They separated easily, and were no problem to manage. The meat itself was tender, and did, in fact cook through thoroughly in the hot broth.

Service

Service was passable. I was waited on quickly, and the food did come out in a reasonable amount of time. Beyond that, though, the waiter offered no help with the menu, nor did he come back to check on me or offer to refill my water.

Conclusion

All in all it was quite good and quite filling. I must say that the flavors were the best of all of the Vietnamese Pho places I’ve tried in Greenville. The food is relatively inexpensive. Service was a bit lacking, but I’m hoping that the waiter was just having an off night. He seemed to be very attentive to the other patrons. Pho 99 may be one of those places that you just drive past, but it’s worth a try.

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I was on my own for dinner tonight, so I decided to try the only German restaurant in town, Schwaben House.

Background

Annette Heilmann-Ferro and Karl Heilmann, a brother and sister team, opened Schwaben House a year ago in February of 2009.  It’s located on Pelham Road in what used to be the Kabob House.

Schwabia is a region of Southern Germany that includes Bavaria.  As its name implies, the restaurant features cuisine from this area.

Atmosphere

So many German restaurants have rich wood finishes and paneling for that “Bavarian” feel.  That’s just not the case here.  The walls are light with a aqua green wainscot.  There are bits of Bavarian decor, but these don’t dominate the place. (more…)

It started with a box of cookies…

A new bakery opened just down the road in Lyman. Its signs touting “gourmet cuisine” have been taunting me for the past couple of months. I’ve even stopped by twice, only to be told that they were not yet ready to serve lunch, but soon… The smells of fresh-baked goods made it hard to walk out the door unsatisfied.

Then this morning one of my tech team brought a selection of cookies from Nations Bakery and told me that they were now open for lunch.  The cookies were excellent, and I knew I had to give this place a try.

Background

Once upon a time this used to be a popular ice cream shop.  Many years later it found new life as Don Pedro’s, a Mexican restaurant with fairly good food, but a scary interior.  It didn’t fare so well, and the building has sat empty for the past couple of years.

As previously mentioned, work began remodeling the empty restaurant a couple of months ago.  The bakery opened first, and the restaurant opened just after Christmas. (more…)