The Most Impressive Second Impression

Mama always told me to never judge a book by its cover. The same can be true in the restaurant business.

De Novo looks a little shy. First impression, you probably won't realize it's a restaurant. It's a lime green sign on a stark white background of a Fred's shopping center. If you don't know it is there, chances are you may not stop in. But heed my advice, people: EAT. HERE.

De Novo, located in North Augusta, South Carolina, is the type of fine-dining establishment the CSRA (for those of you who missed my post about Manuel's, this stands for Central Savannah River Area) has been missing. It's not as upscale as Augustino's (which the last time I went to, I was 12 and shared lobster ravioli with my Social dance partner) or Frog Hollow (never been there, but I hear it's classy). Forget the shopping center exterior. Once you step inside, you're in an intimate, modern minimalist setting with white walls, white tablecloths and massive black and white photographs of enticing food.

ProTip: Reservations are not required, but recommended. De Novo only seats about 40 people, which to me is part of its charm!

The third impression at De Novo: buttery
rolls served with tomato relish

If third impressions are a thing, mine is of the "free app" that some restaurants bring you. Sometimes it's chips and salsa (like that epic tomatillo!), sometimes it's a bedraggled basket of crusty bread with a ball of cold butter. Let me just tell you that this place scores major points on the third impression category: warm buttery dinner rolls with a crispy crust and fluffy bread innards, served with salted butter topped with a finely diced tomato relish. See photo to induce Pavlov's Dog Syndrome.

This is one of those places where the menu changes pretty regularly, so what I write about may not be on there when you visit. No biggie though, because my aunt and I scoured the menus for a while before finally ordering. Everything sounded unbelievable! We caved and got two appetizers since we couldn't decide.

Left, Corn Ho' Cakes; right, soft-shell crab and succotash

The Corn Ho' Cakes: Whoa. Buddy. I'm picky when it comes to cornbread -- I don't like it sweet, I don't like it dry, I don't like it bland. These dumplings were a knockout. They were hot, dense, contained corn kernels and had a delightful bit of char on top. Sadly I can't go into much further description because I ate it so fast that I didn't pay enough attention to everything on there. Suffice to say this means you should go try it immediately.

Our other appetizer was that night's special -- soft-shell crab. I've never had soft-shell crab before, and in pictures only seen it in sandwich form. De Novo served it lightly breaded and fried on top of succotash (which I didn't eat, because vegetables). Soft-shell crab is blue crab that's just molted its shell, meaning whole crab is edible. This was such an interesting texture to me: the shell was somewhere in between crunchy and chewy, but the meat was so soft and buttery that it almost oozed out. I'd never had anything that tasted like these crabs either -- almost fishy for a shellfish. Now, that may have had to do with where these blue crabs were caught, as fish and shellfish tend to be reminiscent of their environment. Not bad -- but a lot of things I wasn't used to all in my mouth at once! After eating them fried like this, I'm game for trying them in sandwich form.

Aunt Robbie with her Planter's Plate, or
"tower of vegetables"

Next up were our entrees. Aunt Robbie's was a culinary adventure all on its own. She ordered the Planter's Plate, which I refer to in the vernacular term "tower of vegetables." This was the most artistic presentation of healthy food I have ever witnessed come to a table. Grit cakes, peas, roasted things, cheese ... and the best part (in my mind; also this was the only bite I tried) was the pimento cheese sandwiched between two succulent, tangy fried green tomatoes. I told our waitress that the little 'mater sandwiches should be an appetizer on their own.

A homemade peppery spinach fettuccine

My plate, while less visually impressive, was on par being some of the best pasta outside of an Italian restaurant. The homemade spinach fettuccine had a peppery bite that was mellowed out by sweet, thick-quartered bright red tomatoes and these adorable tiny balls of mozzarella. It was a light meal, the perfect accompaniment to having eaten a roll, two corn cakes and a soft-shell crab moments before.

Eating a light entree meant that there was somehow room left for dessert. We sampled some incredible apple turnovers that were just little bites of Heaven, really. They were tiny empanadas, about two bites each, full of sweet apple and melted cheese. The turnovers were drizzled with a sweet, syrupy caramel and were served with just enough whipped cream to support each bite. Oh, what a rich end to an amazing meal!

The finale

I know, even after reading this, it's hard to believe that such a gourmet dinner can come from a Fred's shopping center. I dare you to go check it out yourself. Don't be surprised when you, too, manage to find an unforgettable four-course meal inside!