May 23, 2011

Frickle Fest 2011: Midtown Bar & Grill

About a week after making a list of restaurants that served frickles (see the post here and new tab here), Jess and I decided we needed to continue our adventures. We had both sampled the frickles from Leaf and the frickles from Cinebarre, so we decided to check out Midtown Bar & Grill next. DSC_2982

Although frickles aren’t on their current menu, Luke told me he had them before, and Amanda sent Austin a heads-up message saying we wanted to come taste test. I also messaged Fred on facebook telling him they better start preparing!fredpickles

Amanda, Jess, Mary, and I met at Midtown last Thursday with just two things in mind: alcohol and frickles. We had no idea that our frickle testing adventure would actually turn into a fried food extravaganza.

Apparently neither Austin nor Fred took Amanda and me very seriously, because when we came in demanding frickles, they kind of just laughed at us and asked us what we’d like to drink. After a couple minutes of convincing them that this was serious business, we four lucky ladies were presented with  two plates of frickles! DSC_2951

Wearing the name tags that Jess made us, our tasting began.

me, Jess, Amanda, MaryDSC_2954

Amanda absolutely loved the frickles:DSC_2959

Jess thought they were delicious:DSC_2960

I was also very pleased:DSC_2961

Mary, who doesn’t even like regular pickles, was a bit skeptical. She ended up loving them, too!DSC_2958

After pretty much inhaling them, James Maybank, executive chef, brought us out a second type of fried pickles. These used the new pickles they just purchased from Charleston Pickle Company. Holy heck, these were even better! They were thicker slices, so they had a better pickle to batter ratio. And such zing!DSC_2956

James must have loved how much we were enjoying his food because he brought out two more experiments: fried okra and fried jalapenos. We were in absolute grease heaven. Both of these were awesome – the okra was sweet and crunchy and the jalapenos were super spicy. A couple Happy Hour beers ($1 off!) were necessary to wash it all down.DSC_2965

Despite all this food, we still ordered dinner. Jess and I shared the Turkey Avocado Wrap: roast turkey, avocado, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, crumbled bacon and pimento mayo, and a side of sweet potato fries. DSC_2967

Amanda and Mary split the Fried Chicken Wrap: strips of fried chicken, lettuce, tomato, crumbled bacon, jack and cheddar cheese and honey mustard, with a side of mac & cheese. Look at all that cheese!DSC_2968

We were in pain from so much good food, but it was totally worth it. Right as we were about to leave, James asked us if we had ever had their wings. We all moaned out a “Mmmm no” and he asked if we had just a couple more minutes to spare. Oh holy heavens, he was bringing out wings.DSC_2973

These were hands-down the best wings I have ever had. We four girls all took a bite at the same time and looked at each other, wings hanging out of our mouths. Our eyes bulged from the flavor. The wings on the left were their signature smoked flavor that had been dry rubbed, smoked for two hours, cooled, fried for extra texture, and tossed again in the rub. No wonder they were so flavorful! The wings on the right were the teriyaki flavor that won best wings in the 2010 Lowcountry Wingapalooza contest. DSC_2969

We absolutely had to take a pictures with James – he deserves so much credit for his culinary skills. DSC_2976

We were stuffed to the brim but oh-so happy. Jess summed up the evening by saying, “I’m all frickled out.” Mary said, “I don’t even eat pickles, but I enjoyed it. The thicker the better.” Bahhaha. My Charleston friends need to go to Midtown for some good eats. You can check out the rest of their menu here but I’m telling you to GET THE WINGS. And 5 or 6 beers. :)

P.S.: On the weekends they have awesome live bands. You can get your dance on to burn off all the frickles and beer!

Special thanks to Mike, James, and Austin for showing us a DILLicious time!

Midtown Bar & Grill on Urbanspoon