BBQ action this evening was at Moose’s BBQ up in Moncks Corner. A bit of a drive out there from my place, but definitely well worth the 70km round trip.
This was actually my second trip out to Moose’s, and I was eagerly anticipating tonight’s visit out there. The buffet line is well stocked with a wide variety of items, but I think the highlight of the buffet is the brisket. Not that the rest of the buffet isn’t good, but for me, it’s the brisket that brings me back.
If you haven’t left Moose’s fat and happy, there’s something wrong with you.
Blend is back!
I was pleasantly surprised when I heard this morning that Blend had reopened, so I decided to stop in for lunch.
Blend has changed the menu and lowered prices by taking their sandwiches and salads and turning them into wraps. Sandwich wraps are $5.95 and the salad wraps are $6.95. They also have a selection of 3 soups you can choose from for $2.75, and you can get a wrap/soup combo for $6.95. If you pay with cash, they’ll also knock 5% off the bill.
I miss the proscuitto/cappicola sandwich, but the wrap versions are still just as tasty as the original sandwich versions. Hopefully the lower prices will draw more customers and help keep Blend around as a good alternative lunching spot to the cafeteria.
Blend is open from 10-4.
Bai bai Blend?
When Blend opened up across the street from MUSC a couple of years ago, it brought a nice refreshing change to the lunch and dinner scene around MUSC.
For being such a busy area, there is a significant lack of lunching spots in the hospital district that aren’t more than a 5 minute walk away. There’s Wickliffe House across the street or Hot Dog Cart guy, but the other options like Hominy Grill, Lana, Norms or the plethora of fast food joints on the Crosstown are a bit of a walk away if you’re limited for lunching time. When Blend opened, it became a very tasty and quick lunch alternative to the cafeteria Their Proscuitto/Cappicola ham sandwich and a root beer was my favourite lunch combo, and I usually managed to make it there every once every few weeks to grab one.
Now there’s a “Temporarily Closed” sign on their door, and their website (blendtogo.com) says the site is unavailable until further notice. Given the history of “temporary” closings for food establishments around here, I’m hoping to see Blend come back eventually, but not terribly optimistic about it.
Great American Grill
Tucked away in the back corner of the James Island shopping center at the corner of Maybank and Folly is a little family owned and operated diner called Great American Grill.
Over the years the location has been home to at least 2 other restaurants that I know of, none of which lasted very long. Great American Grill has been around for just over 2 years now, so they’re probably doing something right. It’s the kind of place where unless you work or live in the area, you probably wouldn’t know it’s there. There’s a pretty local crowd, and a lot of regulars.
It’s a diner, so the food is pretty basic and uncomplicated, but tasty. They serve breakfast (which you can get all day) and lunch. Everything is cooked to order, and if you sit at the counter, you can watch all the action. Portions are generous and as it says on the menus, “You’ll never leave hungry”. Service is always friendly, and you can pretty much order anything and get it cooked the way you want.
If you’re there on a weekend, the Country Style Breakfast is hard to beat. Two giant buttermilk pancakes, biscuits and gravy, eggs, and sausage links, patties or bacon. It’ll keep you going pretty much the entire day.
Great American Grill is located at 1739 Maybank Hwy on James Island.
JB’s for BBQ
Thanks to Chrys and LowcountryBBQ.org, a group of blogging and tweeting BBQ enthusiasts is starting to grow. Tonight some of us converged at JB’s Smokeshack tonight for good company, conversation and some mighty tasty BBQ.
Can’t really explain why I’ve been here so long without making a trip to JB’s until recently. Like most BBQ joints around here, it doesn’t really look like much, but what it’s lacking in appearance is more than made up for by the food.
The buffet comes in two sections, and it’s hard not to make at least two trips up to the buffet. Everything is drool-inducing good. At $8 ($11 for dinner), it’s tough to find a deal like this that’s much better.
To go along with the pile of smoked meat on your plate, there’s a variety of sauces on the table. The brisket carving guy recommended the mild sauce to go along with the brisket. Not too much of it though he said, or it will mask the flavour of the brisket. He was pretty spot on too, although I would expect that he knows what he’s talking about.
Definitely a place where you’ll never leave hungry (unless you’re a vegetarian).