As promised, Ariane and I (and our co-worker, Alice!) ventured to The Granary for a taste of their menu, and to reawaken the Restaurant Reviews column of The Fresh Beet. While at Taste of Charleston, we sampled their amazing Charcuterie plate (I can still taste the rillette), and we knew right away that The Granary would be our first stop.
Like many restaurants in Charleston, The Granary features a Lowcountry inspired seasonal menu, sourced with local ingredients from several South Carolina farms. Chefs all over are getting back to their roots and sourcing ingredients locally. Some see this “local” movement as a trend, but it’s a good trend and I hope it doesn’t die out. Local foods spend less time traveling, which makes for fresher produce (good for chefs), peak nutrition (good for consumers) and less of an environmental impact. It’s a win-win for everyone. Oh, and let’s not forget that eating local just tastes so damn good. Peak nutrition, peak flavor.
Signature drink: Moscow Mule.
This drink is ridiculously good. {For all you Charleston locals, I thought these Moscow Mules blew Rarebit’s outta the water} These Moscow Mules were oh so gingery, crisp and refreshing. I’m glad I had the right friends around to keep my alcohol consumption in check or things could have made a turn for the worse. I would have had several rounds of these mules to myself and then probably would have wanted to walk home (to downtown Chas) because taking a walk in a drunken state while the sun is going down is just plain old pleasant. Let’s just be glad that didn’t happen. It’s a long walk from Mt. Pleasant to downtown and I’m directionally challenged while sober.
I also tried the Fig Whiskey Punch. With flavors of fig, apple and pecan, it was so seasonal I couldn’t pass it up. However, the Moscow Mule out shined this bourbon cocktail so much that my attention was constantly drawn to my neighbors copper cup, wishing I had just ordered my own Moscow Mule.
Beet Salad. This is The Fresh Beet, after all.
![Charleston SC Healthy Restaurants](../wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Granary_Worked-8-1024x680.jpg)
Generous portions of these share plates are served and could easily be made into a meal. A healthy one at that.
Sweet and tender red and golden beets tossed with creamy and salty goat cheese is a combination that you just can’t deny. This side is topped with a little arugula, pickled onion and honey comb. The honey comb was a nice aesthetic touch. I enjoyed it because I know it - my dad raises bees and during the honey harvest, we chew on the honeycomb after sucking out the remaining honey. But people who aren’t familiar with this may find the honeycomb a bit off-putting. With that said, if you try this, be open to the comb.
Flatbread.
The carrot-curry puree in lieu of typical tomato sauce was, I thought, brilliant. And the butternut squash, cauliflower and brussels leaves are quintessential toppings of the fall season, and like none other I’ve seen on flatbreads lately. Between the vitamin A rich carrots and squash, and the cruciferous cauliflower, brussels and kale, I don’t think a flatbread can get any healthier. And let’s not forget that earthy, salty kale pesto, packed with a multitude of nutrients.God it’s good. Sure, it’s got some salt, but it’s not that salt that is killing you. It’s the salt in all that processed junk that will get ya.
I don’t really need to rave about the mozz and goat cheese - I believe we can all agree that most things are just better with cheese.
Kale. A take on the Caesar Salad, perfectly executed.
In the words of Ariane Shokri, they made something healthy taste sinful. And she’s right. This has to be THE sexiest kale salad my lips have ever touched. The housemade dressing concocted with spanish anchovies generously covered each lacinato kale leaf, bringing forth the stark contrast between this earthy green and creamy sweet anchovy dressing. Crispy pancetta and salty parmesan shavings took this salad to it’s ultimate level. I could have eaten 3 of these for dinner alone.
There were a few other dishes calling our names, but we didn’t have room for them. We look at it as an excuse to go back.
On second thought, we don’t need an excuse. The Granary has the best Moscow Mules around, and that’s reason enough.
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