Serving too little of a good thing.
The North Main Deli is located a few minutes drive from the downtown area, but many office workers swear that it’s worth the trip. It was with great anticipation that Tank, myself, and our colleague Kali headed out there for a mid-week lunch. Unfortunately, we all left the deli hungry, and if you’re in the restaurant business, that is never a good result.
All of us entered with our minds set on sampling North Main’s “Hot Bar,” but after looking it over we all decided it appeared ... less than appetizing, so we opted to order off the menu. I went with a turkey-spinach wrap and pasta salad, Tank had a chicken salad croissant with potato salad, and Kali had a sandwich on pumpernickel so small that I can’t even remember what meat was supposed to be on it. Some of the items tasted good, but there just wasn’t enough of them to garner a positive eating experience. The pasta salad was adequate for example, but I only got about three bites on my plate. Tank described his potato salad as “warm.” I didn’t ask what that was supposed to mean, but I assume it’s not good.
One positive of the experience was our friendly, if clueless, waiter that hailed from somewhere in Scandinavia. He was fun to listen to, even if we couldn’t understand what he was saying. He was certainly more pleasant than the employee working at the register, who had an awkward confrontation with the customer in line before us that made us second-guess our lunch decision before we ever tasted the food.
On our way back to the office Kali said what we were all thinking when he bemoaned, “Damn, I’m ready to go get some lunch.” It is indeed a dark day when you return to your desk at One hungrier than when you left it at Noon. The meal, as George Clooney famously lamented in O Brother Where Art Thou, “only aroused my appetite without bedding it down.”
-Rabbit
Columbia's waterfront dining continues to fall short of impressive.
Being from the coast, waterfront dining is one of my favorites. When Mrs. Tank told me that Vista Events were serving lunch out their building right on the Canal, I was pretty pumped. I've tried to enjoy a meal across the bridge at New Orleans Restaurant several times, but the fare has disappointed so often that I've given up on the great location.
300 Senate is an out of the way location with a great building that features exposed bricks and rafters. Their porch overlooks a grassy expanse that leads to the canal. It is a serene venue. Since the August sun was unforgiving early this week, Mrs. Tank and I dined indoors. First impression - business was slow. However, the host and wait staff proved friendly and attentive.
We started the meal with a dip duo of chicken salad and jalapeno pimento cheese served with pita chips. The chicken salad was just okay, but the pimento was very good. The appetizer was massive, certainly more than two should eat on a busy weekday lunch. In retrospect, we should have eaten the whole appetizer, called it quits, and headed back to work happy.
However, with high expectations of the pricey lunch menu, Mrs. Tank ordered the crab cake sandwich while I ordered the fried green tomato BLT. To summarize the entrees, we were like Mama and Papa bear in the tale of Goldilocks. Her sandwich was too moist, while my sandwich was too dry. Her crab cake was undercooked, while my tomatoes were sliced too thinly, over-breaded, and over-cooked. Both sandwiches needed more aioli to lift the flat flavor.
Mrs. Tank was full and threw in the towel halfway through her sandwich. I, however, was not willing to give up. In the Goldilocks tale, had Goldilocks simply combined Papa Bear's "too hot" and Mama Bear's "too cold" porridge, I expect the result would have been "just right." Being the constant improviser that I am, I added some of her crab cake AND some of the pimento cheese to the remainder of my BLT. The result? A crab and pimento BLT that proved that a sum can be greater than its parts. Mrs. Tank was not impressed by my playing with my food, but I was thoroughly pleased with myself.
I used my 300 Senate comment card to call for improvement to the food and to praise my great waiter. I regret not suggesting that they add my creation to the menu. Ultimately, 300 Senate will need to refine its menu and its execution to stay competitive in Columbia's lunch market.
- Tank
Amazing Atmosphere. Average Food at Best.
The White Mule is Main Street’s newest lunch option, having just opened in June. The restaurant is below street level and features a cool atmosphere with a full service bar and modern art adorning the walls. There is a back patio that would work perfect for a spring or fall happy hour. Understandably, the Mule’s major focus appears to be on the night life. Dave Britt and Travis Maynard, two local booking agents previously associated with Sudworks Taphouse in Five Points, are working to make the White Mule the new destination for singer-songwriter shows in the evening.
While the Mule has lots of potential as an after work hangout or a good spot to have a drink while taking in a live show, we’re not sure if lunch is its strong suit.
The menu features lots of creative sandwiches and salads, and a customer can also build his own menu item by selecting from standard meats, cheeses, breads, and toppings. Our group of five tried different items including the Mexicali, the Italiano, and the Mediterranean. I opted to create my own sandwich and had a roast beef spinach wrap with a side salad.
No one was wild about their chow. While everyone agreed the food was serviceable, it was by no means memorable. What makes this place stand out is the aforementioned atmosphere that was further bolstered by management’s choice of music from Pandora that day – new wave. Being greeted by Depeche Mode at a lunch spot is a rarity in Columbia. The music was particularly enjoyable for our dining companion Pizza the Hut (so named for his love of the large chain’s all you can eat lunch buffet – which he has been known to eat solo), who came of age in the 1980’s.
Another particular disappointment was that the pizzas – what the place is known for – are only available during dinner. This further reinforces our position that the White Mule, while not a good lunch option, is probably best enjoyed with friends after a long day at work, when patrons can hoist a few adult beverages at the bar and enjoy a slice of homemade pizza while taking in some fresh music.
- Rabbit
The Food Network's television show hosted by Guy Fieri, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, is coming to Columbia. Rabbit and I have been contacted by the Food Network to recommend some unique spots to them that may be featured on the show. Specifically, the show's production team has requested:
"Restaurants that serve great quality, made from scratch
food in an interesting environment. We prefer that the restaurants be family
owned and operated and NOT A CHAIN!"
I have given them my input, but we'd like to pass along yours as well. Please post a comment to this blog so that we can show the Food Network viewers a taste of the best that Columbia has to offer!
- Tank
Pitas is a good example of the saying that we often throw around on this blog, "you can't judge a book by its cover." After it first opened, I drove past Pitas on my way home from work every day, and I wondered (with my head shaking in disapproval) why anyone would paint a building such an unappetizing yellow color. Based on this simple impression, I refused to give Pitas a try for the first few months of its operation.
Finally, when one of Rabbit's friends sang Pitas' praises, we agreed to give it a shot. The Mediterranean Tea Room has been one of my favorite dinner spots over the past six years. Pitas was opened by the Tea Room's proprietor, and the menu is very similar. To my surprise, some of my favorite Mediterranean standards are missing off the menu, such as spanakopeta and falafel. However, Pitas offers many of the classic Mediterranean dishes including baba ghanoush, delicious kofta, a fresh hummus similar to the Tea Room's, and not surprisingly, a variety of very nice pita sandwiches.
Rabbit, true to his name, has been to Pitas at least 6 times and continues to order the very same thing - a Greek chicken salad - which he thoroughly endorses. Unquestionably, he's a creature of habit.
I've yet to get the same thing twice at pitas, and I have never been disappointed in my selections, until today. This time of year, when fresh salmon abounds, I crave a nice wild Alaskan or Sockeye Salmon fillet. So today, I went willy-nilly and ordered salmon burger. At the outset, I want to say it is unfair for me to judge a salmon patty by the same standards I would a fresh fillet recently pulled from the cold streams of southern Alaska and grilled on a clean cedar plank (hmmm, doesn't that sound good?). Today, my taste buds just refused to be satisfied by the salmon burger. The fault was not the ingredients on the sandwich, which included freshly shredded romaine lettuce, crisp red onions, tomato, and a spicy mayonnaise that did its best to lift the salmon patty. I must take the blame for not sticking with one of Pitas' excellent gyros or fresh pita sandwiches.
Don't let the color of the building or my menu misstep deter you from trying Pitas. It is a nice, quiet spot to sit down and enjoy some fresh Greek classics for lunch. In the future, I'll have salmon at home on the grill, and I'll be going back to Pitas for the kofta.
- Tank
Located across from the Horseshoe – the historic and pristine heart of the campus of the University of South Carolina – is Beezer’s Gourmet Sandwiches. Ask anyone who went to USC and they’ll invariably have a favorite Beezer’s story that involves an overindulgence of alcohol and a late night delivery of some of the most delectable subs in town.
However, the Lunchmen wanted to know – is Beezer’s really that good, or does it just seem delicious at 3 a.m. when nothing else is open and your tastebuds are somewhat, shall we say, dulled? We decided to make the short hop over to campus during freshman move-in week for a lunch early enough in the day to ensure that we sampled the place with no alcohol clouding our judgment.
We arrived a little before noon and quickly ordered and had our food. Beezer’s prides itself on fast service, and you typically have your sub in hand by the time you finish paying. Tank and I found a table outside with maximum people watching capacity and dug in. The bread was soft, the toppings fresh, and the meat sliced thin. All in all, Beezer’s is a solid choice for sandwiches that can stand up to anyone in town. Add to that its low price tag (usually at good $1-1.50 cheaper than its competitors), ridiculously quick service (see above), insanely long hours (open till at least 3 a.m., 4 a.m. on weekends) and delivery, and you have a restaurant tailor-made for a busy college town like the Capital City.
Next time you are either up late and in need of an easy option, or you’re looking for a quick but hearty lunch that won’t break the bank, Beezer’s might be just the ticket. Also, try their homemade cookies, which are large enough to split and only a dollar a piece.
Editor’s note: Of particular significance is the fact that the lunch was so quick the lunchmen had time to cruise campus in search of new “talent” for the upcoming school year. Glory days…
- Rabbit
Swanson's is nestled back in the Arcade on Main Street, an often forgotten place in Columbia's uptown and a spot normally visited for tailor and cobbler services these days. Swanson's proprietors, however, have been located in the cool, marble corridor for the past year grinding out sandwiches for workers in the area, and their product has pleased my wife and her work companions on a hurried weekday lunch. Mrs. Tank requested that we try Swanson's out for ourselves, and we were in no position to deny the request.
We found Swanson's to be a relaxed, family-operated establishment. Mr. Swanson and his sons are in the Arcade five days a week making home-style subs, sandwiches, and salads with the care you would expect from a small, local deli. These sandwiches and sides are not excessive or particularly inventive. If you are looking for large portions or cutting-edge sandwich fare, look elsewhere. However, if you are in the mood for a good, reliable place to stop in and grab a bite near the State house, Swanson's is your place.
While enjoying roast beef and turkey sandwiches and some very appetizing pasta salad, our lunch crowd took in the local art that Swanson's features for sale on its walls. The combination of fresh, local art and fresh sandwich ingredients provided for a good overall lunch environment. If only we could find a way to make more money and buy some of that art for ourselves...
Well, in the meantime, Swanson's has made its way onto our list of approved uptown delis. Hope to see you in there soon!
- Tank
The hands-down, absolute best cheesesteak in town - we guarantee it.
Columbia has some eateries that serve up a tasty cheesesteak, including Paul's and Very's, just to name a couple. However, no place in the area approaches the cheesesteak with the artistry and skill of Tony's in Cayce. Now, don't be confused, I am not talking about the free-standing Tony's, which I happen to frequent for lunch with Mrs. Tank and her Grandma. I'm talking about an innocuous restaurant by the same name in the strip mall just over the bridge from campus.
What Tony's lack in ambiance, it makes up with their good, family cooking. Tony's has some decent Italian dishes, an average gyro, and the tastiest pizza in Cayce. You can even get that pizza on a generous buffet for lunch, along with a passable salad bar.
Our friend Kali had a cheesesteak on Tuesday that he described as just "okay." When we told him about Tony's cheesesteak, he was willing to throw prudent dietary restraint to the wind and go for back-to-back cheesesteak lunches. Needless to say, Rabbit and I were impressed by his boldness. As Kali learned, there is nothing too fancy about Tony's cheesesteak. The family operation just uses good, fresh ingredients and proper portions to sweep you off your feet. As he finished the last scraps of cheesy goodness off his plate, Kali readily admitted that Tony's was #1 in Columbia-area cheesesteaks.
If you are making your first trip over to Tony's for lunch, do us this favor - ignore the lure of the pizza buffet this time, and try the cheesesteak. We promise that it will make you an instant fan of Tony's, and it will convince you to come back to Cayce's best kept secret to try the rest of the tasty menu.
- Tank
The quintessential lunch. Be prepared.
In a non-descript stucco building at the corner of Elmwood and Marion sits the No-Name Deli, a true Columbia landmark. Everyday from about 11:30 to 1:00 construction workers, lawyers, nurses, and senators all flock to this local eatery to enjoy some of the finest sandwiches and salads in town.
Diners should be prepared to order as soon as they join the line that wraps throughout the restaurant’s entrance and sometimes out the door. Workers behind the counter quickly move customers along, taking orders in a manner that would make the Soup Nazi proud. I’ve seen several unsuspecting diners nearly have a heart attack under the pressure when called on by the employees. Often the only response questions about the menu will get is a terse “look at the [menu] board!” As a result, the place lacks a little ambiance, and patrons must bring cash or check, as No Name does not accept cards (there is an ATM on site).
If all this sounds stressful, believe me, it’s worth it. The chicken, tuna, and shrimp salad are all unrivaled in the Capital City, and each can be ordered as a meal itself. All your other standard deli options are available, and the No-Name also boasts two different pasta salads – one a mayonnaise-based option and the other a vinegar recipe. Both are delicious. My personal favorite is their famous Greek salad with chicken (“best in the Carolinas”), which may be too big for one person. While I’m not a soup guy, these are also highly regarded and the No-Name features multiple options every day, along with a very popular chili.
To give you an idea of the variety available when you make this trip, a recent outing saw a group of four Lunchmen take down an egg salad on wheat with fries, a Greek burger, the aforementioned chicken Greek salad, and a club sandwich with pasta. Everyone left happy and full. And lunch can be done in 30 minutes, door to door, even when No Name is busy.
I’ve tried to think of places to compare it to for those of you who have never been, but in reality, it is incomparable to anything else around. The combination of long lines, “intense service,” bare surroundings, and almost embarrassingly good food creates a luncheon tour de force that will leave you coming back again and again for more – often times the very next day.
- Rabbit
Location, Location, Location.
In the heart of uptown Columbia at the beginning of “restaurant row,” Greek Boys restaurant is a staple of area office workers looking for a reliable and quick dining option. Greek boys is a pretty standard lunch place - clean, sparsely decorated, and busy, but it has enough variety that folks from our office eat there as much as once a week without getting too tired of it. The entrees all come with a side Greek salad and yellow rice and if you go this route you can enjoy chicken or beef tips, tilapia, salmon, or grouper to name a few.
Also popular are the traditional Greek dishes like the Gyro, Souvlaki (beef or chicken), and Spanakopeta. For the truly bold, try the battered fish and chips, but plan on taking the afternoon off if you do. While not known as a cheaper option, I’ve never seen anyone break the $10 barrier, so its definitely reasonable. A hidden gem of the place is their cookies, which are two for a dollar and never disappoint. Another local secret is to ask for half beef tips, half chicken, which tends to double the amount of meat you get at no extra cost.
All in all, Greek Boys is a safe bet for any day of the week, with the potential to be truly bold if you think outside the box when ordering. It is a must in the rotation for any serious downtown eater.
- Rabbit
... and the 2009 Reader's Choice "Best of Columbia" award for the best lunch in Columbia, and the best business lunch in Columbia, AND the best hamburger goes to...
Hardee's?
I must admit, when I read these results in The State newspaper on July 19, 2009, I was shocked. Hardee's is not a terrible option for a quick hamburger when you have no time and an uncontrollable craving, but the best lunch in Columbia? Hardly. I grabbed Mrs. Tank today for lunch and went over to Hardee's to investigate these outlandish claims. Why no Rabbit on this trip, you ask? Well, Mrs. Tank is certainly better-looking company than my herbivorous friend, and she had coupons!
As we approached the Hardee's on Forest Drive - which I have been boycotting for quite some time due to an unpleasant chicken sandwich incident that does not warrant rehashing here - we noticed that the windows were advertising some extreme lunch options. Certainly, if Hardee's believed that the bacon ranch fries were good enough to warrant a three-foot poster, then we were in no position to argue. Mrs. Tank and I did not order lunch off the menu - we ordered lunch off the window.
We both had a French Dip Thickburger, which contains none of the usual ingredients like lettuce, tomato, or onions. It is 1/3 pound of ground beef, topped with a pile of sliced roast beef, topped with a slice of white (?) cheese, and served with au jus as a side for dipping. Thank goodness for the au jus. Without it, the burger was so dry I doubtfully would have been able to swallow it down. We were pleasantly surprised by the side of bacon ranch fries we shared, however. Healthy, they were not - but they did hit the spot for my french fry cravings.
I would like to sincerely compliment the staff in Hardee's today. We had plenty of "service with a smile," and I appreciated the fact that an employee brought the food to the table so that the wife and I did not hover over the checkout counter in anticipation of our bacon ranch fries. I must also report that, thanks to Mrs. Tank's coupons, we did get out of lunch for under a total of $7. Although I fully disagree with the accolades given to Hardee's by my fellow readers of the State - because I believe that Columbia has many eateries that provide better lunch atmospheres and tastier burgers - that is a price that's hard to beat in times like these. However, Hardee's is far, far away from being the best lunch spot in Columbia.
- Tank
Friday was an important day at our office, as J.B. and Tebow wrapped up their summer jobs with us as they head into the last year of school. In addition to completing their work for the summer, these guys also had a big decision to make -where they wanted to go to lunch. They did not let us down, and they made a call so strong that it even brought out our own Queen of Frozen Cuisine. The boys sent us to none other than the lunch buffet hosted five days a week at the Banquet and Conference Center at Brookland Baptist Church.
Brookland updates their menu weekly, and at our office, we check it every Monday. For an even $10 (they take cards, too) this Friday featured Southern fried chicken, baked chicken, country fried steak, fried flounder, and fried shrimp. The veggies included cabbage and fried okra, along with grits and fresh mashed potatos for those of us who aren't avoiding carbs. Notice a trend here? Lots of good, fried food awaits you at Brookland. However, if you prefer something lighter, Brookland has a fresh salad bar (with excellent cole slaw) and a made-to-order pasta station with a ton of options for you. Pies, cakes, and banana pudding are always available for dessert, and if you're lucky, you'll stop in on peach cobbler day. The cobbler is #2 in town, second only to Mac's on Main.
Brookland is a staple for us, and they helped us send our friends J.B. and K.C. back to school in fine fashion. If you want good, Southern comfort food in a relaxing setting served by smiling waitresses, then Brookland is your place, too.
- Tank
If you want the weekly menu, here it is! http://www.brooklandbaptist.org/menu_bbcc.htm
Pawley's is a great spot to go for lunch (when it is not too sweltering hot outside) because of its awesome porch on Harden Street. Yesterday was no porch day in Columbia, so the Lunchmen and their crowd chose to eat indoors. If you haven't eaten at Pawley's yet, I'll give you the highlights: great mahi tacos, massive, carnivorous salads, and more ways to make a burger (or chicken sandwich, if you don't feel like beef) than you can find anywhere else in town. Pawley's has a lot of pre-crafted pairings of ingredients for you that carry coastal South Carolina regional names like "the Sullivan" or "the Wadmalaw" - you just pick a region and say beef or chicken.
Many of our crowd were thrilled with their orders. Rabbit, true to form, ordered a salad - albeit one with fried oysters - that did him just right. Despite a reserved endorsement from our waitress, our man Tebow tried the pasta salad as a side to his chicken sandwich, and he was very pleased. Yours truly, however, was not content to order off the menu this day. Instead, I attempted to tackle the burger special, an unholy creation of beef, crab cake, pickled green tomato, lettuce, red onion, and a secret sauce. The flavors on this burger, when paired together, were delicious. The downside was that the burger was about 8 inches tall, and even though I am an accomplished burger-eater, I could not successfully pick the beast up and bite it. As a result of my attempts to do so, the burger fell apart on me, leaving me with two options: 1) simply enjoy my Frank's Red Hot onion rings or 2) attack the remnants of my burger with a fork and knife. Since all of the individual ingredients were so good, I chose the latter option. My new white dress shirt did not leave Pawley's unscathed.
All considered, it was a good trip. A burger at Pawley's will set you back a little over $10, which is high for the Columbia lunch market. However, if you want to kick back and have a novelty burger that is sure to impress, head down to Five Points and relax on the Porch.
- Tank
"For serious eaters only."
This place has been around for 21 years, but for whatever reason no one in our group had ever heard of it. The parking lot full of cars that greeted us upon our arrival showed that we may be the only ones in town unaware of this local gem. If you are willing to sacrifice a bit of ambiance and service in exchange for a high quality Philly Cheese-steak, Hoagie, or other Italian staple, then head over to Very's Great Philly Food. Located in a section of town normally reserved for car dealerships and cash-advance outlets, Very's offers a variety of items at a great price. Of particular note are the pizzas, which can be ordered for one or the table, as well as the Philly Cheese-steak Sandwiches, which feature authentic ingredients (rolls and meats ordered straight from Philadelphia, PA) prepared the old-fashioned way. They also have several traditional Italian dishes, which appear to be big enough to feed two people. Don't miss your chance to take in the salad bar either, which boasts a robust selection of surprisingly fresh veggies, cheeses and meats.
The only downside to this place is that it can be a bit slow at lunch (we recommend ordering your drink and meal at the same time), and it is a bit of a drive from our downtown locale (10-12 minutes by car). All in all, a great place to get away for some filling cuisine at prices that will make you think it's still 1988.
- Rabbit
p.s. Being the best place we've eaten so far this month, we've made Very's our Lunch Spot of the Week. Click on the top of the Blog for a link to the Website.
Columbia, South Carolina is not a city famous for fine cuisine. With Charleston's accomplished restaurants 100 miles to the east and Charlotte's innovative new eating spots 100 miles to the north, Columbia seems, at first glance, to be lost somewhere between the finer culinary destinations of the Carolinas. However, those of us who live, work, and play in Columbia know that you can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't dismiss a restaurant simply because it is not located on a pretty stretch of coast or decked out in the latest urban chic. Columbia, S.C., is a place where you can find some incredible, tasty fare - if you know where to look.
From 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 or 7:00 at night, we work on Main Street in downtown Columbia. When the clock approaches noon, we hear the sweet call of the city's restaurants beckoning us to hit the streets and enjoy the working man's greatest reprieve - Lunch. Columbia and the surrounding areas have so many great lunch locations that we often spend a good portion of the morning debating where the day's lunch trip will take us. Sometimes we will walk to a great sandwich shop just around the corner; other times, we will trek out to Lexington County on a tip that the best wings in the area await us. Either way, we have learned that getting out for a bite to eat is the best refresher to push us through the afternoon grind.
Lunch is, undoubtedly, the highlight of our workday, and we want to encourage our fellow Columbians to break free from the frozen Lean Cuisines and chalky protein bars that they choke down at their desk for lunch. Pick another meal of the day to deprive yourself if you are trying to cut back on the calories or the expense of dining, but do not forfeit your opportunity to take an hour of the day with co-workers, clients, and friends to get out and experience one of the best reasons to live in Columbia, SC - its great lunch spots!
In this blog, we will let you know what we uncover on these lunch excursions. Hopefully, we will find some places you have never tried and inspire you to patronize a new lunch establishment tomorrow. In the rare case we find a disappointing spot, we will be sure to let you know of this, too. If we describe an experience that is uncharacteristic of your own, please post and let all of us know about it. Through this blog, we hope to whet your appetites and to fuel support for our fine, local dining spots. Lunch is calling, Columbia!
