It's All Delicious

 

Luke and I had a really, really nice dinner on Saturday at Michael Anthony’s.  This is another favorite on the island for us but this time I went in with a more critical eye as opposed to just a great big “I love this place!”

 

The décor is nice about as metropolitan was you are going to get here on Hilton Head.  Check out the website www.michael-anthonys.com.  It’s comprehensive, informative and the pictures, I think, give a true depiction of pretty much the entire dining experience.  There’s a Chef’s Table up stairs and I am dying to have an excuse for booking that one-day! 

 

The place was jam-packed and we went early.  Our table was for 6:45.  The dining room and bar was hopping, not with “early bird specials.”  The main dining room, the quieter room in the back, the bar area and upstairs all full. 

 

We had our favorite high top in the bar area.  We were lucky to get that.  It was a busy place to eat, especially Saturday night.  Pretty much the main drag for customers and staff to get everywhere, so my advice for anyone who wanted an intimate quiet dinner…don’t sit there.  We didn’t mind, but I can see where it could annoy others.

 

 The service was outstanding!  Our waiter, Byron, was on top of it and as busy as it was the timing was excellent from start to finish.  Our check was delivered after a nice two hour dinner and there was still no rushed feeling, foot tapping or sighing to get us out even with the bar area now heaving. 

Here’s what we had:

 

Me:

Insalata con Gorgonzola, Pera e Pignoli

Baby greens with sweet Gorgonzola, pears and honey roasted pine nuts

sorry no pic, it was too dark...but it looked great!

 

A little boring on my part, just since I ALWAYS order it, but I like it.  The pears are poached so they are still firm and not mushy at all.

 

Luke:

Risotto con Asparagi, Funghi Selvatica e Tartufo Nero

Creamy Arborio rice with fresh asparagus, wild mushrooms and black truffle

 

A little boring on his part too.  He ALWAYS orders this, but again, he likes it.  He did say it was very hot (temperature wise).  I noticed that there was a pile of asparagus on the edge of the plate though…ahem.

 

Me:

Costoletta di Vitello ai Funghi con Salsa di Tartufi

Grilled veal chop with fresh herbs and sautéed wild mushrooms

in a black truffle, red wine sauce

This pic is directly from their website

This was good, not too much of a black truffle taste though.  I love veal chops, this was huge and filling with the mashed potatoes as well.  Perfectly cooked I might add.  But what I should have ordered was the branzino(Mediterranean sea bass) Why?  I love it and this is the only place on the island I know that even attempts to get it in. 

Luke:

Petto di Pollo alla Milanese

Chicken breast pounded thin, lightly breaded and pan fried,

served with arugula and shaved Parmigiana

The picture doesn't really do this dish justice...sorry

Here’s a direct quote… “Mum, was delicious and huge…I’m stuffed” Okay, I NEVER hear my nineteen year old son say that he’s stuffed.   He loved it, a little freshly squeezed lemon juice…perfect!  But again, I did note not too much of the arugula left the plate…hmmm. 

Me:

Dolce Mista della Casa

A sampling of Michael’s signature desserts.

Tiramisu, Panna Cotta and Profiterole

Okay, I had my Miss Piggy Hat on!  Here’s how this trio of delights went.  The Panna Cotta was hands down the best I have ever tasted! I loved the caramelized peel on top…  Gone in a flash.  The Tiramisu, was light and fluffy and delicious…a perfect amount and taste.  The profiterole, gone in one bite…

Luke:

Sformata di Cioccolata con Gelato Vanilla

Hot soft centered chocolate soufflé cake

served with vanilla gelato

Another dessert hit.  Didn’t see anything left on that plate…guess since there were no green veggies.

Our dinner bill came to $159.09 + tip.  That included a couple of rather expensive glasses of wine.   Not cheap, but you get what you pay for and this was well worth it!  The food is consistently good, the service consistently nice, the place is consistently busy…all in all…I really don’t think you can go wrong here…that’s if you can get in!  Advanced reservations an absolute must!

Michael Anthony’s

37 Orleans Road

Hilton Head SC 29928

843-785-6272

Usually a trip to Harbour Town in Sea Pines = playing golf or attending the PGA Heritage tournament that comes our way in April (Note to self:  don’t forget to get your tickets)

Wednesday night a few of us took advantage of the 1^st Annual Hilton Head Restaurant Week, stepped out of our same ole same ole restaurant boxes and hit the Harbour Town Grill.  It was…my friend Terri, her hubby our mutual friend David and me.

 We decided to give this one a go mostly due to the exceptionally delicious looking Prix Fix menu at $25.00

I can tell you every one of us enjoyed our meal!  It was such a nice surprise.  First off our waiter, James, was delightful.  He was attentive, friendly and happy.  The atmosphere is more pubby than restauranty which makes total sense considering the location. It was a little noisy since the tables are pretty close together.  But like I said…really not that big of a deal.

I like when a restaurant does the little things.  James started us with a little amuse bouche of pimento cheese and garlic cheese.  What was nice was that the pimento cheese actually tasted like it should rather than just colored orange.

Mic and David ordered the lobster crepes.  I usually stay away from lobster since I can’t stand it over done and rubbery.  I had a little taste and wished I ordered it.  The lobster was tender, the crepe light and a nice hint of Pernod…good choice!  Teri and I had the poached pear, walnut and Gorgonzola salad.  I love salads like this so I was sold right off the bat.  I would have liked a few more greens and a touch more Gorgonzola but that’s my personal preference and the salad was fine.

On to our mains.  Veal Oscar for Mic and me.  The veal was tender the portion generous.  The “crab crust” looked messy but was tasty the béarnaise sauce was runnier than it should be and the fries…not really many there but again, that was fine with me since the portion of veal was so generous.  In fact, the fries, not even necessary with a dish like this…in my opinion.

Veal Oscar

Terri had the Chicken Cordon Bleu (no picture since it didn’t really turn out).  Again a classic done well and a more than satisfying portion.  I think the only one who left the table hungry could have been David, he order the Grouper Royal.  He had trouble locating the grouper but the shrimp and scallops were very good and cooked well.

Grouper Royal

James, our waiter, informed us when we sat down that there were only two Trio of Crème Brulee left…Terri shot gunned one.  There were okay. They were more like a pudding than custard.  I know that might not make sense but they were dense rather than silky.  The Godiva chocolate brulee really didn’t have enough chocolate flavor.  The texture of the vanilla bean was like I said was thick not silky.  And the blueberry one…eh…okay. 

Trio of Creme Brulee

I had the Tiramisu.  It actually had mascarpone cheese in it.  So often tiramisu seems to be more whipped cream based with a hint (if at all) of mascarpone…this was different.  The ladyfingers could have had a longer bath in the espresso, but I was just happy for the texture and the mascarpone. 

Tiramisu

Mic and David had Deep Fried Tempura Strawberries…. they were…uh…interesting.  I think Mic said, “Why would you want to fry a strawberry?”  Not bad, very different…just okay. 

Deep Fried Tempura Strawberries

Now…all the above came at you for $25.00.  We thought it was very reasonable for the amount and quality of the dishes that hit our table.  Including our wine each of us walked away with a $51.00 bill.  Well worth it and the Harbour Town Grill is one for the list for good food…The dining room is small so I am sure you would need reservations and probably can even forget about it during the Heritage golf tournament. 

Harbour Town Grill

Harbour Town – Sea Pines

Hilton Head

843 363 8380

 

 

This has always been one of our favorite restaurants, but I thought a good one to review, as we hadn’t been here in forever it seems.

The one thing that I have always liked about this restaurant and hoped it still held true was its consistency.  I’m happy to say, that has not changed and really why should it?  Charlie has been doing this for a long long time.  He has a steady loyal (sometimes mature) clientele.  The dining room has a cozy feeling there won’t be any “new and trendy” music blaring from the speakers in the dining room or bar area.  That’s not a bad thing, it’s not a trendy place, and it’s a consistent good place.

  The menu is definitely varied but does slant more towards seafood.  The menu is hand written and prepared daily based on what is brought in.  It is a pretty classic type French country menu.  Charlie’s own take is this…simple meals with fresh ingredients…and that has been his recipe for success.

 The wine list is extensive and the restaurant has won all sorts of awards the most notable being twelve years in a row as a Wine Spectator favorite.  There are a decent number of wines by the glass that range from $5.50 for Tunnel of Elms Chardonnay to $11.00 for a Rutherford Hill Merlot.  I settled on the Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chardonnay at $9.50 a glass.

Looking at Charlie’s now with a more critical eye the first thing I thought was…I would come here on my own.  I don’t like dining out on my own unless I really know the place or feel comfortable and Charlie’s dining room is like someone’s home.  Not in a creepy way.  The bar area has lovely welcoming big cushy chairs if you want a nice cocktail and conversation prior to dining.  The dining room is spacious and eclectic but like I said, not in a creepy way.  It’s not cluttered and is interesting when you look around.  The tables are not crowded on top of each other and each of the tables are a nice size, so if you have four at a four top, you are not jostling for position with your wine glass, cutlery or elbows.  Nice!

So it was just two of us last night.  Luke ordered the Rack of American Lamb with Rosemary au jus.   The serving was three chops.  I’m sure he could have chowed down on a fourth as the bones were pretty much picked clean.  It was cooked to perfection for the rareish side of medium rare…. lovely.  The au jus was a little on the light (meaning quantity, but nice the lamb wasn’t swimming in a sauce either).  The Dauphinoise potatoes (which is a Charlie’s staple – served with just about everything – although I did notice a slight down sizing in the portion from before) were tasty and one of Luke’s favorite dishes.  He liked that they were cut really thin and layered.

Rack of Lamb

 I had the Flounder Sautéed Meuniere and as usual was consistent and good.  The portion I thought was actually larger than normal and possibly necessary.  I didn’t finish it all but that could have something to do with the order of Pate Maison we started with.  Luke never ate Pate before and while he liked it, he thought it too rich and not one for his hit parade.  I, on the other hand, loved, loved loved it.  It’s a nice sized piece with a creamy texture with not an over powering flavor and served with chopped onions, egg and cornichon.  Personally, I didn’t think the garnishments were necessary since the Pate is just so damn good on its own! 

Flounder Meuniere

On to dessert – Pave au Chocolat for Luke and I had the Blueberry Cobbler.  The Pave au Chocolat didn’t last long on the plate.  It was served with a light vanilla cream and a scattering of berries.  Rich smooth and chocolaty. 

Pave au Chocolat

 I hate to say this, but I was disappointed with my dessert.  For one thing, the plate was just too hot.  I am not talking warmed, I mean HOT.  So hot in fact that when the waitress came to clear it, she needed to use a napkin to hold it.  I thought the berries jelled too much into more of a paste and there wasn’t enough crust for the berry amount and to be honest…it didn’t look much on the plate…just a blob of berries and ice cream all melted together due to a too hot plate. 

 

Blueberry Cobbler?

Cost:  $109.55 + tip with two glasses of wine. One starter, two mains and two desserts. 

Over all, you can’t go wrong here.  Food good, service good.  Charlie has got his menu and wine list down.  It’s still a wonderful island favorite…In fact, we are lucky to have a place like this where you always know what you are going to get at Charlie’s Etoile Verte.  Reservations during the busy season a must.

Charlie’s Etoile Verte

8 New Orleans Road

Hilton Head, SC 29928

843-785-9277