Third Thursday's

Another great summertime activity in this area is a once a month mini-festival in Historic downtown Summerville called Third Thursday's. Every third Thursday during the summer/fall months the shops stay open late till 8pm, there are two or three bands playing in different areas, an art show with local artists and crafters, as well as an antique car show. It's a wonderfully relaxing and social experience. The Art Walk takes place on Short Central Ave. a street that oozes charm and grace. The street is set with brick in a herringbone pattern, probably original. Since the street is closed to traffic there are tables outside for the restaurants. Unique and fun shops line each side, two of them had just opened this week. The Candy Bar, a welcomed candy store, and Four Green Fields, a local artisans shop.

We chose a table and had dinner at The Eclectic Chef, while our pooch Katey soaked in the constant attention from passing families. The Eclectic Chef is a great lunch or dinner spot serving, salads, paninis and other sandwiches, but also gourmet-to-go dishes that you can take home if, like me, you sometimes can't come up with the motivation to cook. A little further down the street there is also an Italian restaurant, I haven't yet sampled, as well as an Irish Pub.

My favorite shop is called Marigolds, which is a virtual treasure trove of gorgeous antiques, vintage dishes, accessories, even cabinet pulls. It's the kind of store you take at least a half hour to make sure you haven't missed a corner or sparkly bauble. It makes me itch to buy the house we want, apartment life really cramps my style.

Supporting local businesses is what it's all about, and it's just an excellent opportunity to get the family or just yourself out of the house. Strolling along and striking up conversation with business owners or neighbors is always entertaining as well as a way to glean the community gossip! Get out there!

Strikes

Well it can't all be wine and roses here. There have been a few places we've been to so far that have decidedly not been worth our money. Although I approach everywhere and everyone with a positive attitude, sometimes pointing out the negative is necessary, if only to save someone else a bad experience. There are three restaurants that do not have my pineapple approval.

• Hibachi Fusion, Ladson Rd. Summerville, SC

The other weekend I was dying for hibachi. I did a quick search online to see what we had close to us. Off we went to another end of town we hadn't been to yet. Now as we all know, hibachi style restaurants ought to be entertainment as well as delicious stir fried awesomeness. Sadly, Hibachi Fusion is none of those things. By the time we got there, it was too late to scout out somewhere else to go. It's location could be ideal for this type of restaurant, it's next to a movie theater and residential apartments. However, this place seems to be a converted plain old Chinese restaurant. There's absolutely no atmosphere. The grill, that should be the main feature is tucked away in the back, you can't even watch your food being made, which is the whole point of Hibachi!! We ordered two bowls, one rice and beef and one shrimp and rice. Ho hum. You can bet the shrimp is frozen. I have a good imagination for re-purposing spaces, and as I ate I thought of how it could be overhauled to be a true hibachi experience. Step one, clear out all the tables, and tacky Chinese décor. Step two, build the grill in a square shape with seating all around. Step three, get rid of the grill in back, put the drink area, and cash register there. Step four, bring in natural Japanese zen décor. Of course there's the small matter of menu refinement and hiring chefs with personality. If they have any hope of staying in business they should consider it.

• El Rosarito, N. Cedar St. Summerville, SC

We went here on a recommendation from another local who said it was great cheap mexican. Well, they were only half right, it was cheap. We were the only ones there during the dinner hour, that should have been a strong sign to leave. This place had lots of personality, maybe too much, every wall has a different wall mural. We ordered the taco and enchilda combo. Unfortunately, the enchilda tasted like cardboard, and the sauce was barely more flavorful. The taco meat seemed to completely lack any seasoning. Where was the zip of cumin and chili powder? The tacos at Taco Bell are better! I drenched everything with the homemade salsa (pureed tomatos and onion and not much else) and made the best of it. Take my advice and go to Margarita's on N. Main St. instead. It's probably where everyone else was that night.

• Saffron's Cafe and Bakery, East Bay St. Charleston, SC

This weekend we left Libery Square after getting off the Fort Sumter ferry. The National Monument was terrific, why couldn't history have been this interesting in school? At any rate, it was closing on 2:30pm and we hadn't had lunch yet. Saffron's is a short walk from the dock. I had actually heard good things about this place, but the food and service was very inconsistent. We had a total of four waitresses. With all that service you would think getting our order in quickly would have been easy. Not so. The hostess seated us, another girl took our drink orders but not food. The waitress that was supposed to take our order was too overwhelmed by the other tables even though it was not packed. After waiting 15 minutes the hostess had to come back and take the order. I went for the She-Crab soup with a grilled cheese, my husband ordered a Chicken Gyro. The simple fare should have taken a short time to come out, but we waited at least 20 minutes. I saw a couple people who ordered after us, get their food first. The soup was pretty good, although I must admit it's my first time trying She-Crab soup so I have no basis to judge on. There were a few pieces of shell I encountered. I give benefit of the doubt on this though as I imagine its very difficult to de-shell all the crab needed for a soup. Other food critics would tear them apart for it though. The grilled cheese was nothing special, needed more cheese and the edges were really dried out. Clayton did not enjoy the gyro, because the chicken and pita were very chewy. The pita was not the traditional soft flexible wrap. It was thinner than usual and really took a lot of effort to chew.

I would say if you go here, go only for the desserts which are all tantalizingly displayed in front. I tried an eclair, my favorite type of pastry. Although, again I was plagued by a slightly negative experience again. I specifically asked the waitress if the eclair was custard or cream filled. I am very partial to yellow Italian custard and not the whipped cream filling. She assured me it was custard. I ordered it to go, to have later that evening. Sure enough when I cut into it later that day it was cream filled!! Argh! I wanted to run back there and throw it at their window. Is it too much to ask that people serving food be well informed on it's ingredients?


Well that's three strikes by my book. Try them only if you're desperate. Cheers!

Isle of Palms

Took another drive to the beach this past weekend, this time to the Isle of Palms. It's a bit further out than Folly Beach, but not inconveniently so. A very different atmosphere than Folly Beach....a good description would be upscale minus the snootiness. Beach houses line the coast of course, and there seems to be a contest of who has the brightest house. Pink, yellow and lime green most stand out but it's charming in that Caribbean way. We especially appreciated the very civil parking system. You can either park in the county park lot for $7 for the day or continue on to the Public Parking area that is metered, $1 per hour. We've usually had our fill in 3 or 4 hours.

Had to cut the actual beach time a little short this time, it was a very windy day and the sand blew on us the whole time. I felt like a powdered doughnut with none of the pleasantness. The beach itself is not as wide as others. The waves are a little more aggressive here, not sure if that is the usual. Parents should keep a sharp eye on their kids though. We saw one child get swept up by a large wave and was being pulled away, but luckily a surfer saw it happen and scooped him up. Phew!

There are beach volleyball nets that seem to be very well maintained, great for a pick up game. You can also rent bikes, umbrellas, etc. at a local shop. Not to be missed is the Windjammer bar which has a killer deck over looking the beach, a great place to chill and sip your Corona. They also have a variety of live music every Friday and Saturday night. All in all worth the trip!
 

 
 
 
 
 
I want the green one!