Cook Out comes to Greenville!

I like a good cheeseburger as anyone. If you make a good cheeseburger, people will come. North Carolina has been lucky. For years, North Carolinians have had an excellent chain called Cook Out. This place offers burgers, bbq, hot dogs, chicken and milk shakes all of which are excellent. Within the past two years, Cook Out has been aggressivley expanding south of the border into South Carolina.

The latest addition in SC is their Greenville location, right next to the Cherrydale Shopping Center. We've enjoyed Cook Out before, but are excited that they are located down the street from our house, which is dangerous in itself. What's good about Cook Out is not just their food, but their prices as well. You can get a lot for a little, especially with their Cook Out Tray combo's.  (See Below)

Cook Out Tray = Lots of  Quality Food and Little Price

Cook Out offers many different options for their burgers. My personal favorite is the Steakhouse Style, which consist of a hamburger, cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, A-1 sauce and mayo. I love this burger because it's what my Dad called a three napkin burger because of how messy it can get.

While I am a big fan or Cook Out's burgers and shakes, I must say, their fries aren't as good as say, FIVE GUYS, but that is another story in itself. If you are looking for a tasty burger with some interesting choices for sides, head to cookout.

SNarolina Foodie 2011 Year in Review.

2011 was the launch of SNarolina Foodie and with random postings and the realization that updating a food blog takes time and effort, if you want quality. I am excited about 2012, with a new camera, new logo and the potential to take SNarolina Foodie to a new level.

Highlights from 2011:

·         Restaurant of the year: HUSK, Charleston, SC, Bon Appetit Magazine’s 2011 New Restaurant of the Year.  A cool restaurant and cool concept that stands apart. A whole posting will be coming in January, in addition to my second dinner there.

·         Restaurant with the absolute best Service: Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC. Hands down, food is excellent, service is absolutely tops. Mickey Bakst, the General Manager has to be one of the best restaurant managers in the country. Watching him work the crowd is entertaining enough.

·         Best Steakhouse Overall: Grill 225, Charleston, SC. Excellent choice in meat and sides and a great atmosphere with old school steakhouse service.

·         Best Steak: Rick Erwin’s, Greenville, SC. I’ve tried some good steakhouses in 2011, including Del Frisco’s, BLT Steak, Chophouse ’47. Erwin’s invests in good steaks. Unfortunately, their service and sides aren’t up to par to their beef.

·         Best Mac n Cheese: Youssef 242, Hickory, NC. Mac n Cheese is my favorite food of all time. Here they call it, Mac n Cheese Loaded, and it certainly is loaded with tons of cheese. Honorable mention and a very close second is, Solstice Kitchen (Columbia, SC)’s Skillett-Baked Smoked Gouda and Bacon Mac n Cheese.

·         Best Fried Chicken: Jestine’s Kitchen, Charleston, SC. If you like crunchy fried chicken, this is the place. I’ve been going to here for over 14 years and the chicken is still excellent. Close second place, Esso Club, Clemson, SC.

·         Best Ice Cream/Yogurt/Gelato: Luna Rosa Gelato, Greenville, SC. They make their gelato every day onsite. I can say without a doubt, this is the best gelato in the United States. More places are now offering gelato, none come close to this place, except maybe Paolo’s Gelato Italiano in Charleston. Paolo’s is good, however he is cash only and sadly, I never carry cash.

·         Best Pizza: Tito’s Pizza, Greenville, SC. There are tons of excellent pizza places, but Tito’s is the best in New York Style.

·         Best Lunch: Dellz Deli, Charleston, SC. This tiny (5 seats) hole in the wall, off upper King Street, quickly won me over in late 2011. I first heard about it, after reading about the rice and bean bowl (excellent). Lately, I’ve been ordering the popular Beach Bum wrap (spicy shrimp  with rice and vegetables and something called da sauce), which I’ve had a hard time venturing away from.

·         Best Beer List: Trappe Door, Greenville, SC. My favorite restaurant in Greenville has the best beer list. Grant it, I love Belgium beer and their Belgium beer list is like most restaurant wine lists.

·         Best Cheeseburger:  Poe’s Tavern, Sullivan’s Island, SC. This is a burger joint that wins the best overall burger category. Great location, atmosphere, beer list and of course large, mouth-watering, flavorful burgers. I personally like the “Tell-Tale Heart” which is a burger with Fried Egg, Applewood Bacon and Cheddar Cheese. A close second is their “The Sleeper”, which is a large burger that also includes Roasted Garlic Blue Cheese and topped with Buffalo Shrimp.

·         Best Italian Restaurant: Wild Olive, Johns Island, SC. I was determined that another restaurant in Charleston was going to be a hands down favorite, then I read about Wild Olive and a dish that some people couldn’t put their fork down when eating. I went, I ate, I loved. The meal that won it all was the “Garganelli with milk braised pork ragu, caramelized onions, rosemary, parmesan.”

I look  forward to sharing much more and really bringing the quality of SNarolina Foodie up a notch.

DEL FRISCO'S - PRIME "DF" Burger

Del Frisco's is probably one of my favorite steakhouses! The atmosphere, service and food are all top notch! I like a good steak, however that is for another posting. Today, I want to rave about their burger, also known as the PRIME "DF" Burger, which is out of this world. Priced at $8.95 at the bar, it is a deal!

Here's a hint, on Wednesdays, it is 50% off all night at the bar. Your paying $4 and some change, the same price at some fast food joints, but your eating at one of the best steakhouses out there. I didn't know the Wednesday special until I sat down.