Long Point Grill Mount Pleasant SC

On Friday I met my friend Julissa for lunch at Long Point Grill right off of I-526 on Long Point Road. (Hence the name!) I have not been here in quite sometime but the gentleman, Sal, who owns this one has many restaurants in the area. All of his restaurants are quite different from each other and are local favorite spots. For a listing of each location and menus visit www.dinewithsal.com.

Julissa and I ordered our drinks from our server and eventually read over the menu. This is a restaurant I recalled having no trouble requesting food with no milk products as they cook all their food to order and use fresh ingredients. The menu also mentions to ask about non-gluten foods.

Normally I select 2-3 items on a menu for the server to inquire about so that I am not running them back and forth. So I asked about the seafood po boys (knowing that was a long shot) and the

Tangerine Stir-Fried Pork. She returned quickly and informed me that the po boys were out as the breading is buttermilk based. So I ordered the pork stir-fry. Julissa ordered a Grilled Chicken Club. It wasn't long before our food arrived....I think! Julissa and I had not seen each other in quite a while so we were "overloaded" with conversation so time was irrelevant. My food presentation was beautiful.

Our server even reassured me without my asking that the shrimp that topped my dish were done differently than the other seafood so they would be fine. I appreciated that she told me that. And the shrimp were delicious. Very light, sweet and crispy! As I continued to eat Julissa noticed that I seemed to be searching around my bowl. She asked me if something was wrong and I said that I could not seem to find any pork! She called our server over and I asked should I be able to SEE the pork in my dish. She said, "Oh, yes you should. Do you want me to get them to heat up some pork to put in there?" Well, not to sound particular, but I do not think think that was a valid question! Of course I would like some pork for my PORK stir fry! It took about five minutes to get a side dish of pork to add to my dish. Now I do really find it slack for the kitchen not to put the main ingredient in an entree. But I must say the dish was very good after I stirred in my pork. Maybe I just had them confused after being concerned over milk products! And my friend Julissa said her sandwich was good but she eventually took it apart and left a lot on her plate, leading me to believe she wasn't all that crazy about it.

Now that Mount Pleasant has gotten so many good restaurants to choose from I will probably put this one on my back burner for awhile.

Mosaic Cafe Mount Pleasant SC

Mosaic Cafe is located in Mount Pleasant just off the Isle of Palms connector on Hungryneck Boulevard. I have visited this restaurant since I have become allergic to milk but had not been there in well over a year. It is a popular lunch spot East of the Cooper.
I met my friend Nancy there. We ordered our waters as we were looking over the menu. I try to check a restaurant's menu and website on the internet before I go to see that the menu looks like it has menu choices that will be alright for me. On the Mosaic site it says, "We offer healthy, eclectic, world cuisine designed to appeal to a broad range of tastes. Featuring local, seasonal ingredients whenever possible, our menus and specials are ever changing." That is usually a good omen for me when they use fresh ingredients and have a changing menu. As I looked over the menu I felt like there were several good choices for me. http://mosaicedibles.com/pdf/mosaic-cafe-lunch-menu.pdf  I narrowed it down (which I do not get to do often!) to either Lemongrass Chicken Roller or the Crab Cake Pita. I asked Andi, our server, if she would mind checking on those selections for me. She did so with a smile! She returned and said both would be fine for me. I decided to go with the crab cake since I eat chicken quite a bit anyway. Nancy ordered the Pita Nachos. Our food arrived in no time. Nancy's nachos looked great and so did my crab pita.

It tasted yummy too. What really made the sandwich was the chipotle tartar sauce. It was creamy with just the right amount of spice. My only complaint, and this is just a personal pet peeve, is that nothing comes with the sandwiches. I always feel it would be nothing to the restaurant to through a few chips on the plate. I don't want to have to "purchase" a side for an additional fee. That reminds me of how I feel about the airlines- if you want to charge me for my luggage I have to bring with me just add that in the price of my ticket! Okay, I don't need to get off on that subject as this would never end!

Anyway, it was an enjoyable experience and I will eat there again.

Fuel (A Caribbean Cantina Downtown Charleston)

A few nights ago I met my friend Shelby downtown for dinner. I have to admit that Fuel was not our original intent. We were actually going to Moe's Tavern on Rutledge Avenue but it was closed for remodeling when I got there. So Shelby and I, in our separate cars and via phone continued back into town on Rutledge. When I mentioned I was now passing Fuel she said she had been there several times and that it was good. So Fuel it was!  Now I already loved it from the outside... an old gas station turned into an eclectic restaurant. (Hence the name!) I always like that places that look intriguing and "not touristy".

We choose to sit outside where most of the seating is anyway. It was a great night for that weather wise.

Our server came promptly and took our drink order while we perused the menu. http://fuelcharleston.com/assets/Uploads/FUEL-Menu.pdf

There was even a note at the bottom of the menu that said to alert your server of any allergens you may have. That was quite promising to me! And the menu choices looked great. When our server returned with our drinks I asked about a couple of  menu items that I may be interested in ordering (black bean cake and fried flounder sandwich) and asked if she could check on these foods for me. She came back and said that I would be safe (no milk products) with either entree. Well, I was a bit excited about the fried flounder sandwich as I have not been able to eat any fried seafood out anywhere since being aware of my allergy 5 years ago. It's funny because I never really ordered fried seafood before but now that I usually can't have it, it's like the "forbidden fruit" that you just really want to eat! Shelby had suggested we split the seafood bouyan (and yes, that IS the way it is spelled!) as she said it was delicious and we could also split the flounder sandwich and sweet potato fries. I was excited! The server brought our food shortly. We started on the bouyan. This is the description: " a stew of fresh shrimp, mahi-mahi, tomato, onion,peppers, garlic, COCONUT MILK, and rice." Doesn't that sound wonderful? And it was! And it was such a treat for me to get something CREAMY. Then we split our flounder sandwich and it was delicious too.

So I am actually really happy that Moe's was not open that night because I loved Fuel. It was just a great combination of cool, laid back, and charming.. Our service was friendly and so nice to have places that do not make me feel like a pain in the #** to take of me. And thanks to Shelby for the recommendations!