Thirsty Beaver - Midwood

Biker Bar
beer = cheap

Though not technically a restaurant, this place is random enough to warrant special mention in the blog. This bright orange painted random cement block building is off of Central Ave and has an ugly giant beaver painted on the side. No food here (thank goodness), just beer and mixed drinks. Most beers come in a can (PBR anyone?) with 4 or 5 bottle options (Blue Moon, Heini, Heini Light and something else, Mic Ultra maybe). The mixed drinks included specialities like a shot of whisky chased by a shot of pickle juice and a beer mixed with Clamato Juice. The ladies room is three feet from the bar, literally and there's a couple of pool tables in the back. My one concern about the place is if there were a fire, everyone is screwed! However the best part about this place is the clientele. I was there on Saturday for the Habitat Young Prof Cornhole tourney and saw a new accessory that will be hot stuff this fall. I don't know it's technical name but I call it the Harley Davidson pony tail jacket. Not to be confused with a leather scrunchy, this hot new item actually covers the entire length of the pony tail much the way leather pants cover the legs. Not only does it come in black leather but you can actually get it with studs along the entire length of the pony tail jacket. Ladies, keep an eye out because I'm sure these will sell out quickly from the finer boutiques here in town. Now to be fair to the Habitat people, it wasn't someone from their crowd with this must-have item but one of the biker babes that likely frequents this joint. This place is a gem in the randomness that is Midwood. I'll be back soon with my pony tail jacket. Until then...
For your very own, check this out! Black Leather Pony Tail Wrap

Avanti - Arboretum

Italian
$50 - calamari app & pasta dishes for 4 ppl

This place is at the Arboretum and felt very...diner-ish. We were clearly the only ppl not in family units or high school students. It almost felt like an Italian version of McAllisters. So two of us ordered the Pasta Fiorentine and the other two ordered Chicken Romano, both touted as Avanti favorites. The Pasta Fiorentine was...not so great. The pasta itself was fine and the chicken was actually pretty good. It's just that the sauce was way too sweet and a little watery. As my friend commented, "every bite gets a little sweeter each time so that it's hard to actually eat it." "The sausage is just regular sausage, it's not Italian. It's bland." This was being almost complimentary. If I weren't running 9 miles tomorrow, I probably wouldn't have eaten it. My other friends LOVED their Chicken Romano. One was saying it was as good as Magianno's. There was some debate about this but one friend held firm. The calamari was...definitely out of a frozen food bag. It wasn't bad per se, it just wasn't that great. The one bright spot was our waiter who actually wasn't very good but had a great attitude. My friend found a coupon on Restaurants.com which helped enjoy the experience a bit more. My friends said they would go back, I won't be with them. Sorry!

Dean & Deluca Wine Bar

Wine bar
$99 - lots of wine and two apps for two people

The best thing about D&D wine bar is lots of amazing wines to try. It's not cheap but it's really good. We both tried wine flights (i.e. three small pours of three different wines) and our favorites were of course the most expensive ones we tried. The flight was around $14 and the glass of my favorite was $16. Ouch! The apps included Hummus and Pita and Brushetta with sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese. The hummus and pita were nice but just tasted like hummus and pita, an app I really like but a little overpriced at $9. The brushetta was good but the waiter made it sound better than it was. It was really good but based on his description, I thought it was going to be best brushetta I'd ever had. It does come in three huge slices of bread with lots of sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese but I like lots of garlic in my brushetta and this didn't have that. I'm sure my friend appreciated it but it didn't make for my favorite app. Just a heads up. It's definitely a great place to go, especially in the summer when you can sit outside. My only warning is it ain't cheap! But it's D&D and they can get away with it. :)

Room 112 - Uptown

Asian/Sushi
$7 - broccoli & chicken @ lunch

So this place is owned by the same fam that owns Fujo, Ginbu, plus a bunch of other asian themed restaurants around town so the food may seem familiar but the atmosphere is pretty "uptown." It's a small place but we're usually ordering take out for lunch from here so that doesn't matter. The sushi is really good and the chinese is yummy too. It's pretty much the same as Fujo with a more trendy feel. My only beef - pepsi! Yuck! Who drinks that stuff?? They are trying to be a fun place to go uptown before heading out on the town. Try it out and let me know...

Pizza & by the way...

Sorry for being MIA for so long. I need to start eating out more and posting again. I'll do better. Hope you check back and let me know if you have any suggestions for where I should go. Also, anyone have an opinion on best pizza in town? Here's what I know:

Libretto's is way better than Fuel for pizza by the slice but more expensive and only in the epicenter
Luisa's is supposed to be awesome but never been there
My all time favorite pizza is New Mexico at Wolfman
Revolution in noda has some weird pizzas (I had one with fig something and arugula) but it was actually really good.
Intermezzo and Hawthorne both have yummy pizzas but maybe not the best in town
Mezzanotte - blah
Papa John's is so much better than Dominos
Pizzaria Uno - one should never eat there
Brixx - I actually like their pizza but kind of burned out on it over the years. It's really good if you're new to town or haven't been there much. They also have a great Brixx salad. But after 10 years, I am ready for something new.
Pizza Peel - I've never been but hear it's a big hit with the District Attorneys in town. It's where the old Mellow was by Cotswold.

Hawthorne's - Elizabeth

http://www.hawthornespizza.com/
Italian/NY style pizza
$14 - salad and 2 beers

I've done a post on Hawthorne's before but they've updated their menu so I wanted to give them another shout out! I think Hawthorne's is a great restaurant. They have a separate take out shop next door which I frequent for salads. The chop, tuscan and hawthorne salads are my favorite and the Elizabeth special is my fave pizza. Their garlic knots are incredible but you need to order them "less burned/baked" in order to get the perfect consistency. Their baked ziti is really good too. They've recently changed up their beer offerings to more fall stuff (oktoberfest beer from Virginia and pumpkin something). No matter, it's a great neighborhood place and perfect for sitting outside weather. Maybe not the best pizza in town but very worth it!

Basil - Uptown

Thai
Pad Ewe - can't remember the price but this post is way overdue!
http://www.eatatbasil.com/

Heard great things about this place and went during Clt Restaurant week a while back with some friends. Most people got the Pad Thai but I went with a combination of things (basil roll, pad ewe, and glass of wine) and the food was awesome! The basil role was really good and fresh tasting. The Pad Ewe (I know I'm not spelling that right but you'll probably find what I'm talking about) was yummy; it's a noodle dish with veggies and your choice of meat. It's probably more chinese than most of the other dishes but I thought it was great. I'm not a huge pad thai person, but my friends were raving about it. The owner was there and making sure things ran smoothly which they did. The atmosphere is very trendy, uptown, where people go when they want to act like they've eaten Thai food since before it was cool. I give this place 5 stars. My only warning is if you go for lunch past noon, you won't get seated until 12:45 as this place fills up quickly. However, it is well worth the wait. The owners have a few restaurants in Charleston and they seem to know what they are doing as I think this place will be successful. It's right next to Latorre's on 5th and Church. Definitely check it out. Much nicer than Thai Taste but worth it for the food and the atmosphere.

Mezzanotte - Cotswold

Italian/Brick oven pizza
$25 - glass of chianti & mezzanotte pizza (italian sausage, mozzarella, four basil leaves)

Honestly, it was just okay. The location is pretty great if you live in that area because there aren't a ton of choices nearby but I thought the pizza was just plain. The waiter (who was a little weird) was talking up the incredible muscles and some yada yada entree but I went with the namesake pizza and was a little disappointed. The atmosphere too is a little odd in this place. It's like there are two restaurants in one. One room is more casual and families with young kids sit in there with the TVs while the back of the restaurant feels a little nicer/quaint but I don't know how they decide where to seat you. My friend wasn't eating so I don't have anything else to share but I doubt I'll go back unless someone else chooses it. It's also related to the main Italian restaurants in town (Luce, Toscana, Coco Osteria) but this one is definitely the weakest. Could be a good place for a mid-week reasonably priced group place to eat if you need it. Plenty of seats and choices on what to get. Personally, I'd rather go to Chipotle next door.