Butcher and Bee (Charleston, SC)

When you travel, how do you decide on which places you will dine at?  Is it word of mouth, pictures, or your mind wanders to the nearest restaurant with a fancy name?  For me, it’s the complete opposite.  I’m very meticulous in regards to where I’m going to eat when I travel.  The perfect restaurant has to be chosen because I only get to spend 48 hours and sometimes 24 hours in the area.  It’s important to me to order a great breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner when I travel.  But, what really sucks is when you do all of this research and the restaurant still isn’t as good as you’d hope it to be.  That’s the chance you take.  And I’m okay with that.

Butcher and Bee is the perfect restaurant to take a chance on.  It’s creative, innovative, and provides a quality atmosphere where you’ll be able to get a taste of Mediterranean inspired food to farm to table food.  The interior of this restaurant is beautiful with its high ceilings and huge windows.  It’s located off of Morrison Drive, and is surrounded by other restaurants.  I was able to dine here during my trip to Charleston and I chose this place based off it’s extensive menu.  I was able to order items that consisted of Squash Pancakes to Seared Quail.

I’ll begin this review talking about one of my favorite items.  The Whipped Feta was a dish that I generally wouldn’t order at a restaurant, but it was presented to me with fermented honey, black pepper, and a grilled pita bread.  The Whipped Feta made me question why I don’t order this type of dish more often.  It was creamy, delicate, and flavorful, and the fermented honey added the extra sweetness to the creamy texture of the feta.  Never in a million years would I say, “Hey, let’s order whipped feta”, and I still won’t, just figured I’d try something new.  Surprisingly, I was thoroughly pleased.

The next dish that was ordered was the Squash Pancake.  It was made with Jimmy Red cornmeal, smoked butter, spicy maple, and pecans.  This dish wasn’t my favorite, but I can see how it could be a vegetarians dream.  There was definitely creativity in this dish, but it was a little dry for me.  The Spicy maple dressing added a kick to the dish, but I didn’t agree with the pecans going along with this dish.  I’m all for trying new things, but this would be one that I wouldn’t try again.

The third dish that was ordered was the Seared Quail.  It consisted of Quail, turnip gratin, and a Asian pair glaze.  The turnip gratin was one of the best vegetables I’ve ever tasted in my life.  I was a little sad because the Quail was all bones, but if the Turnip Gratin sat on some Fried Chicken surrounded by the Asian pair glaze, I’m pretty sure I would’ve shed a tear.  I had to fight and dig for meat off of the Quail, and I understand that Quail isn’t necessarily a meaty bird, but damn, can I get a little meat?  The Asian pair glaze was surprisingly good.  At first, I looked at it as, “Why is there apple sauce on my plate?”, but after I tasted it, I asked myself if I could purchase this apple sauce at a local grocery store.  The presentation on this dish sucked, but it wasn’t half bad.

The last dish that was ordered was my “safe dish”.  Squid Ink pasta.  It was a simple dish that consisted of Squid Ink Tagliatelle, Grilled Shrimp, and Clams.  I chose this dish because the three other dishes were my wild card options.  This dish however, was slightly disappointing.  The squid ink pasta was a little tough, but the spices were too spicy.  The shrimp was over-cooked and the clams were a bit mushy.  Squid ink pasta are one of my favorite kind of pastas because it has a similar taste to a whole wheat pasta.  I figured if I’m going to eat healthy, I’ll at least convince myself that I’m doing it with a dish that has a similar taste.  Parsley was added to this dish.  Why?  I don’t know, but chef’s seem to love parsley.

Overall, this restaurant is a go-to if you have nothing else to choose from.  It wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst.  I’d like to see what other places in the area taste like before going back to this place.

OVERALL RATING : STUCK ON THE RUNWAY