Another of
our "sure things" in Charleston . . . The
food at Circa 1886 was excellent
and the service most attentive. For the first
course, we decided upon the Carolina Crab
Cake Souffle with Mango Puree, Pineapple
Relish, and crispy sweet potatoes. The quite
inventive combination was complimentary. The
sweet tanginess of the fruit preparations
succeed in drawing out the delectable crab
flavor. My wife ordered the Spicy grilled
shrimp over fried green tomatoes with
chow-chow and tomato sauce. This dish too was
quite lovely and tasty.
I am not
one to order salad that includes fruit; and I
was pleasantly surprised with effect of
watermelon and ginger along with Green Forest
Romaine Lettuce, 50 year old Balsamic vinegar
and organic olive oil. Cara was delighted
with her Field Lettuce and Heirloom Tomato
Salad with a Black Cherry Vinaigrette,
candied pecans and basil
cornbread.
The main
course was my favorite…the scallops
exploded with flavor gently accompanied by
asparagus, saffron corn, black chick-pea
sauce and fried sweet shallots. One of us, of
course, had to try the American Wagyu
(Japanese) beef selection of grilled strip
and flank steak, quenelle of celery root,
coffee onion jam and apricot yam sauce. The
beef was very tender and flavorful, and of
course was punched up nicely by the chefs
choices of accompaniments.
Well, maybe
the dessert was my favorite; it's so hard to
decide. I tried the Raspberry Soufflé
Hazelnut Tart and Cara indulged in the baby
banana fritter with golden pineapple upside
down cake served with maraschino cherry
mascarpone ice cream.
In fine
dining, sauces and presentation are often
what separates one establishment from the
other. Everything about our experience at
Circa 1886 worked together to create a
fabulous evening. Our sincere thanks to the
chef, management and staff for putting it all
together for us.
We both
agreed to add Circa 1886 to our list of "sure things" in Charleston
