Have Cake, Eat it Too.

The last time I went to Charleston, South Carolina, was about three years ago. I don't remember many specifics about that trip, but one thing that stuck with me was a visit to this dessert place downtown. Mom and I walked from Barret's apartment, stumbled upon it and ordered alcoholic coffee and a brownie sundae so big that we had to call in reinforcements to eat it all. It was like Woman vs. Food, except we didn't get free T-shirts. Just a lot of chocolate.

The Charleston Museum is America's oldest.

During my recent trip Labor Day weekend, I had Sunday pretty much to myself. I had two things on the books that day - visiting the Charleston Museum, and eating at Kaminsky's again.

It's kind of funny. My geography of downtown Charleston is not very good. I knew the main streets were Market, King and Meeting, but that was about it. So I rolled into the visitor's center, got a map and took the tacky tourist route of figuring out my bearings. The map was one of those that had advertisements all around the border. But I didn't see one for Kaminsky's. I vaguely remembered it being on one of those three streets, and I was on no particular schedule, so I decided to walk aimlessly until I found it ... like we did three years ago.

The only problems with this plan were that it began to rain, my feet hurt after three hours of walking in really old tennis shoes that didn't have an inside sole and by 2 p.m. I was starving and wanted a destination, not a meander. I sucked it up and asked a shop owner, who gave me directions.

If a dessert cafe can be likened to a speakeasy (or, rather, what this 26-year-old imagines when she thinks of a speakeasy), Kaminsky's is one. It's dim inside - the brightest lights shine on the dessert case - and the furniture and walls are all made of deep-stained wood. It is exactly the type of place where you feel clandestine coming off the street and stepping in for an illicit chocolate beverage and sinful piece of cake without anyone noticing.

There are three types of things you can order at Kaminsky's: coffee, coffee with booze and dessert.
(Well. That is a bit of an exaggeration. A tiny bit.)

After scouring the menu for a solid 15 minutes (my poor waiter ... sorry!) I settled on the Thin Mint martini. Clearly it is impossible to go wrong if you have enough trust in your drink to name it after a Girl Scout cookie.

The Thin Mint lives up to its moniker. It's heavy on the chocolate, light on the mint. Strong on the liquor, but not overpowering. It's a little thinner than chocolate milk in terms of viscosity, so it makes a great accompaniment to the food you're getting. By "food," I most definitely mean "cake."

I took a gander at the dessert counter and after much thought and weighing of pros and cons, what arrived to my table was a giant slice of caramel pecan cake. The term "slice" is used vaguely. As you can see in the picture ... well. It's a hunka-hunka burnin', whole lotta lovin' on the plate.

Thin Mint martini + caramel pecan cake. What a lunch!

Texture-wise it was dense, yet still light in flavor. The buttercream icing (I am a major fan of icing and I will judge you if you choose whipped cream over frosting) was decadent and melted in my mouth. And in between the two layers of white cake - soft, salty-sweet caramel and chopped pecans. Had I not already promised Barret some of whatever I ordered, that thing would've been in my belly, crumbs and all. But since I swore I'd share, I did the classy lady thing and slowly savored each mouthful. The only thing that could have been added to it to make it better would be crumbled bacon.

One nifty thing I noticed about the layer cakes (and you can see it in the picture) is that instead of using a knife to slice the top off each layer and make them flat, the bakers at Kaminsky's invert the two domes on top of one another. This means 1) you save time baking cakes and 2) there are guaranteed two bites of basically just frosting in each slice. What a novel idea! I'm so using that.

There's a veritable smorgasbord of dessert choices, hot toddies and more to be had in this place. Kaminsky's is not for the faint of heart or the gluten intolerant. But for me? It was a sweet way to enjoy my cake, and eat it too.

More Photos!

Robert Lange Studios - my favorite place to spend an hour

Curiosity shop - best little hidden gem in Chucktown

Bay Street Biergarten - thanks for welcoming this
Georgia girl, even though y'all wanted to watch the
Clemson game

Pie for Breakfast

Have you ever had the intense pleasure of eating pie for breakfast? This decadent way to start off a day generally begins for me at Waffle House with my friend Laura, but over Labor Day weekend I got quite the treat in Charleston, South Carolina.

I spent the weekend visiting my brother, and we started off Sunday morning with a delicious brunch (we went so early it was breakfast, actually, but served off the brunch menu) at Bluerose Cafe. You wouldn't know it from the name, but I got the hint from the menu items and decor that the restaurant had Irish roots. According to its website, owner Denis O'Doherty came to the US in the 1980s, spent some time in Boston and then moved south to Chucktown. I salute you for that decision, sir!

The founding story behind the restaurant is on the homepage, and it's great. O'Doherty mentions that he mastered some of his mother's recipes for pastries and scones. I can attest to that, because when we arrived at Bluerose a plate of dense scones and airy cakes was placed in front of us. That was a perk of the full Irish brunch we were in for.

Really, the whole brunch was a perk. Barret (little brother) ordered the quiche and was presented with a huge hunk of eggy pie, which he proclaimed delicious. I wouldn't know, because he wouldn't share.

I may have taken a bite before taking a photo. Don't judge.

My brunch was crepes. Blueberry and cranberry crepes! Two of my three favorite berries, slightly crushed and stewed down with sugar until they delivered a sweet, syrupy filling spooned on top of a thin flour pancake. If you're not familiar with a crepe, the best way to describe it is a French taco (unsure why there was a French item at an Irish place, but I am not arguing; it was good). Instead of a tortilla, the crepe batter is poured on top of a big flat circular surface and thinned out with a fancy little squee-gee like tool (I'm sure there are industry standard names for these things). A good crepe like these turns out uniformly thin and flexible, able to be wrapped around that berry filling and then topped with a dusting of powdered sugar, and a drizzle of sumptious honey cream. I now understand why people talk about berries and cream like it deserves to be its own dish.

It was like eating pie for breakfast.

Each forkful was dripping with syrup. The juicy berries burst in my mouth, enrobing my tongue in a sweet and tart flavor sensation. There were two crepes and I could've eaten double that.

Thankfully my brunch came with a side of (you guessed it!) potatoes to tide me over! With a name like The Meatetarian, it's no shocker that my favorite food groups are meat, cheese, bread and potatoes. I am a huge fan of potatoes, because of their versatility and their ability to impart a salty flavor and starchy texture to balance out any meal. These home fries were bite-sized chunks of potato - official Meatetarian definition = took up two to three tines on the fork - and had crispy skin that hit my teeth with a satisfying crunch. Perfectly seasoned, lightly greasy (it is a diner!) and tender on the inside of each golden brown spud. I let Barret get a taste of the crepe, but man ... I hoarded those potatoes!

Bluerose's sign proclaims "Cead Mile Failte," which is Gaelic for "A hundred thousand welcomes." Whether you go in for a full Irish breakfast and fill up on scones or hold out for some shepherds pie at lunch, you'll feel right at home in this diner with a touch of Dublin, even all the way in the lowcountry.

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!