This past Sunday, the lovely Sarah Jones of All Over It invited me join forces with her and review Carter’s Kitchen. Nestled in the I’On neighborhood, this charming little restaurant is a great spot for dining. My first impressions of the restaurant were how pretty it was inside and how welcoming the staff was. It was a beautiful day so we decided to sit on the porch and enjoy the sunshine.
Before we were seated, we ordered drinks from the bar. While waiting, I glanced over the menu and noticed one of my biggest pet peeves: the unnecessary apostrophe. Urrrgghhhh.
I let my pickiness for grammar go as soon as the bartender handed us the Bloody Marys.
The darker one to the left was made with a local product: the Charleston Bold & Spicy Bloody Mary mix. It’s thick and has a really nice kick to it. It made the second Bloody Mary taste watered down.
Then the ordering of multiple dishes began. We started with two recommendations from our server. Bruleed grapefruit with vanilla sugar:
This was as delicious as it was beautiful! The ratio of tart to sweet was perfect and I’m now inspired to make this at home.
Biscuit Sliders with country ham, bacon, sausage:
I had high hopes for these but the biscuits were very dry and the ham was extremely salty. The concept is cute though!
By this time, we were ready for round two: mimosas. We had a grapefruit and St. Germaine mimosa and a cranberry and Amaretto mimosa.They were both excellent. I now want only cranberry and Amaretto mimosas for brunch. See ya, OJ!
Out of all the entrees, my heart was set on the Seafood omelet with shrimp, crab, scallops, and lobster sauce with a side of grits and toast.
Both the texture and taste of the eggs made me question if they used eggs from a carton. Boo. The seafood stuff inside, however, was incredible. There was so much crab meat and the lobster sauce was divine. I’d eat this every weekend. The grits were fantastic – some of the best I’ve had in Charleston because of their perfect consistency.
We also tried the Orange-Vanilla French toast.
YUM! It had a slight hint of citrus and was perfectly crispy with a soft middle.
As odd as this sounds, one of my favorite parts of brunch was the home fries. They used red, white, purple, and sweet potatoes. So colorful and so tasty.
Carter’s Kitchen has really great brunch items at fair prices with an even charming atmosphere. I insist you sit on the porch! The food was prepared and plated well, aside from the dry biscuits and disappointing quality of eggs. My only gripe about our experience overall was that our server was inattentive and not very friendly. Maybe I should have given her one of my mimosas…
What’s your favorite brunch item? Do you prefer salty or sweet in terms of breakfast items?
Charleston friends: Where is your favorite spot for brunch?
