"At the Chef's Table" Tour

I found out about "At the Chef's Table" Tour this past August after my boss posted about how good it was on Facebook and Twitter. The tour is lead by local author and historian John Nolan. John teamed up with the Table 301 restaurant hub and together they have come up with a tour that gives participants the chance to dine at five different restaurants over the span of a few hours.

After reading about it online, I knew it would be the perfect birthday present for Andrew. Unfortunately, his birthday is in December so I had to wait four long months to give it to him. We finally got to go on the tour today and loved it. At each of the five stops, one of the chefs came out and talked to our group and told us how the dishes were prepared. With the exception of Nose Dive, all of the restaurants were closed during the tour, so we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. Here's a little recap of the places we went and what we ate. 

We started out at Soby's on the Side, where we sampled several items from their catering menu. Here's what's on the plate starting with the metal cup and going clockwise: Passion fruit creme brulee, open face Reuben with slaw, BLT with candied bacon and sun-dried tomatoes, toast with brie and lingenberry jam, and portabella mushroom with curry chicken and arugula.

Our next stop was Nose Dive, where we were taken to the upstairs loft. We ate Minuto soup, which is somewhat similar to chili, but it's main ingredient is tripe. I found out tripe comes from the lining of a cow stomach. So that was...neat to find out. This was actually my least favorite stop, but not because I don't like Nose Dive. The soup was just way too spicy for me, but I think the restaurant is great. 

Soby's was next on the list where we were offered two different drinks along with an entree. The drink on the left is made from muddled strawberries, mint leaves and club soda. The drink on the right is a fig bourbon mixed with lemon juice and club soda. 

This is the snapper we had at Soby's. It was served over hummus, chick peas, kale and cauliflower. 

We headed over to Devereaux's and tried some grouper served with carrots, polenta and mushrooms. 

We finished the tour at the The Lazy Goat with some champagne and this lovely cake. It doesn't look like it in the picture, but it was a huge piece of cake. The pastry chef made a vanilla cake with a hazelnut filling. The cake was covered in chocolate ganache and topped with toasted almonds.

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who loves food or Greenville. Between stops, John would tell us about the history of Greenville. I found out some interesting things about some buildings downtown, and he also showed us old pictures of downtown Greenville. It was neat to be standing somewhere along Main Street and then see a picture of how it looked in the same spot a hundred years ago. 

I also really enjoyed being able to meet the chefs and hear about what goes on in the restaurants every day. Our tour group had 24 people in, but I think our tour was larger because they didn't have any tours during December due to holiday parties. The minimum people the tour needs is 6. 

If you decide to go on a tour, you may not eat what we ate today. There is no set menu, though the restaurants typically serve one of their famous dishes. Both Soby's and Devereaux's served some type of seafood today, but it wasn't planned that way. The cake we had at Lazy Goat wasn't even on the menu, it was just something the pastry chef was experimenting with. I would love to do the tour again and taste more menu items. The tour would be a great gift or creative date night to any foodies. 

Good Eats in Greenville

I love the town I live in. No, not Clemson, although I do love Clemson too. I grew up in a town called Greenville, SC. Although I have always loved Greenville, my love for it grew when I went to college and everyone else seemed to always talk about how much they love Greenville, particularly our downtown area.

Downtown Greenville has grown exponentially over the past 10 years. The renovation of Falls Park and the addition of the Liberty Bridge in 2004 opened the door for growth, and downtown quickly became the city's center of business, culture and entertainment. I could spend a whole day (and have) walking around the park, browsing through the stores and eating at the wonderful restaurants downtown. Greenville has become quite the culinary community.

I had the opportunity to work downtown this summer, and it has made me love the city even more. I recently walked to The Chocolate Moose to grab a cupcake and was stopped by a couple visiting the area. They asked if I was from Greenville and were hoping to get some restaurant suggestions for lunch. I was a little caught off guard and gave them a few options, but of course thought of 10 other places I could have told them after I left.

Although I didn't try as many new restaurants as I would have liked to this summer, I did have the chance to try a few and thought I would share a few with you.

• Soby's New South Cuisine. Soby's infuses food and Southern traditions, with a particular focus on coastal Carolina. The atmosphere is rustic and very warm and inviting, with exposed wooden beams and wooden floors and walls. If you sit upstairs, you can watch the chef prepare the food below in Soby's open kitchen. I had the pork tenderloin and the bf had their famous Gullah Shrimp and Grits. Both dishes were delish.
• The Lazy Goat. The Lazy Goat is a Mediterranean-themed restaurant that sits along the banks of the Reedy River. We chose to sit outside on the patio, and I am so glad we did. Unlike some restaurants downtown, their patio does not sit along Main Street where passerby's squeeze by your table and nosily glance what you're eating as they walk by. Instead, their patio is very peaceful and private. The Lazy Goat has an impressive tapas menu, but I was with the bf and tapas plates are never an option when I'm with him, as the thought of smaller portions scares him to death. So I had the Risotto Primavera pasta and he had the Steak Frites. We both loved our meals and the homemade ketchup is to die for (and I'm usually not a ketchup fan). 

Both of these restaurants are owned and operated by Table 301, which is an establishment that owns a group of restaurants downtown including Soby's, Soby's on the Side, The Lazy Goat, Devereaux's and Nose Dive. I recently ate at Soby's on the Side and Nose Dive too, but will share those in another post. So far, I have been extremely impressed with the Table 301 restaurants I have eaten at and would recommend them to anyone wanting to try something new.