Month: June 2017

Quick Bites: Kairos Greek Kitchen

Posted in Charleston, Quick Bites, Restaurants2 Comments

As the parents of a three-year-old whose energy levels equal those of a tornado, we are big fans of the fast-casual dining trend.  We’re fortunate that Charleston has several high-quality, locally-owned options in this category (see below for some of our favorites), but we’re always excited when a new place opens up.  So when we recently found ourselves in Mount Pleasant with a hungry tornado toddler, we headed to the recently-opened Kairos Greek Kitchen for a quick bite.

We’ll confess that we initially assumed Kairos was a chain, given its large size and location in a big-box shopping center (Bowman Place) – and we would have enjoyed it all the same.  However, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Kairos is actually the product of John Ondo, who was formerly the chef at downtown’s much-loved, now-closed Lana.  While Lana always had some Mediterranean-influenced dishes on its Italian menu, Ondo has now headed east and firmly embraced healthy Greek fare.

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Kairos’ concept is essentially Greek Chipotle: choose a base, protein, spread and toppings and watch as your meal is assembled in front of you.  Kairos offers falafel, lamb, chicken or meatballs in pitas, rice bowls and salads, which can be piled high with as many fresh, veggie-focused toppings as you wish – we recommend the red pepper feta and tomato cucumber salad in particular!  A deliciously lemon-y hummus (paired with crisp pita chips) can also be ordered as a side item, and there is a small beer & wine selection.

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The space is as clean as the flavors, with Aegean-blue chairs and light wood floors, tables and paneling.  Service is also very friendly, with workers patiently explaining the menu to first-timers and helping people who’ve ordered too much food (yes, it was us) get it all to their table without dropping any food (or their child).  High chairs are plentiful, and the reasonably-priced kids’ menu offers variations on the standard menu.  We’ll definitely be back the next time we’ve got a hangry kid and a hankering for Greek food!

Restaurant Info:
Kairos Greek Kitchen website
1100 Bowman Avenue, Mount Pleasant, SC
V-Dub Grub’s kid-friendly rating: A+

Other fast-casual favorites in Charleston:
Caviar and Bananas (downtown)
Zia Taqueria (James Island)
Joey Tomatoes (Mount Pleasant)
Verde (downtown and Mount Pleasant)

Charleston Restaurant List

Posted in Charleston, Restaurants2 Comments

Since one of us (ahem, Nina) likes making lists almost as much as she likes making dinner reservations, we’ve kept a running list of Charleston restaurants we’ve tried since first visiting the city in 2009. The list is far from scientific, but we have a few rules: (i) we include any restaurant we’ve tried in Charleston County, (ii) we don’t include bars unless (or until) we’ve tried their food offerings, (iii) we don’t double-count restaurants with more than one location or that have closed and re-opened (e.g., Taco Boy, The Granary), and (iv) we don’t include large chain restaurants (where we rarely eat anyway) but will include smaller chains with only one or two Charleston outposts (e.g., Mellow Mushroom, Urban Cookhouse).

Our pace has slowed since Jack was born (between restaurants 138 and 139, if we remember correctly), but we’re nearing 200 individual restaurants.  Our list ranges from the finest dining the city has to offer to the most casual dives and covers just about every price point and cuisine in between, which is as much a testament to the breadth and diversity of Charleston’s food scene as it is to our love of eating out!  Discussions as to which restaurant should be #200 are underway – hopefully we’ll hit that milestone later this summer!

We’ll keep this list updated on the “Charleston Restaurant List” page (see sidebar) – we like to add to it as often as possible!

1.  Taco Boy 101.  Mex 1 Coastal Cantina
 2.  SNOB 102.  Three Little Birds
 3.  Blossom 103.  Crave
 4.  Fat  Hen 104.  Xiao Bao Biscuit
 5.  Wild Olive 105.  Crust Wood Fired Pizza
 6.  Hominy Grill 106.  Liberty Tap Room
 7.  McCrady’s 107.  The Craftsmen
 8.  The Mustard Seed (closed) 108.  Butcher & Bee
 9.  Husk 109.  Lana (closed)
10.  Cru Cafe 110.  Barsa
11.  Social (closed) 111.  YoBo Cantina
12.  Poogan’s Porch 112.  Coda del Pesce
13.  Black Bean Co. 113.  Closed for Business
14.  Five Loaves 114.  Cory’s Grilled Cheese
15.  Zia Taqueria 115.  Charleston Harbor Fish House
16.  JI Pizza 116.  Black Magic Cafe
17.  Coleman Public House 117.  Opal
18.  The Glass Onion 118.  Sweeney’s (closed)
19.  Bushido 119.  Mercato
20.  Cork Bistro (closed) 120.  Al Di La
21.  Kaminsky’s 121.  The Rarebit
22.  Jim n Nick’s 122.  Graze
23.  Red’s Ice House 123.  CO
24.  Vickery’s 124.  Indaco
25.  Poe’s Tavern 125.  Verde
26.  East Bay Deli 126.  Mosaic
27.  39 Rue de Jean 127.  Early Bird Diner
28.  Woody’s Pizza 128.  Leyla
29.  Caviar & Bananas 129.  The Square Onion
30.  Melvin’s Barbecue 130.  SALT at Station 22
31.  17 North (closed) 131.  Madra Rua
32.  Old Village Post House 132.  Papa Zuzu’s
33.  Red Drum 133.  The Granary
34.  82 Queen 134.  The Obstinate Daughter
35.  Tristan (closed) 135.  Sunae’s (closed)
36.  Triangle Char & Bar 136.  Edmund’s Oast
37.  Jack’s Cosmic Dogs 137.  Egan & Sons (closed)
38.  Sesame Burger 138.  Mondo’s
39.  Osaka 139.  Boxcar Betty’s
40.  Coconut Joe’s 140.  Park Cafe
41.  High Cotton 141.  Whtie Duck Taco Shop
42.  Fuel 142.  Bowen’s Island
43.  Coast 143.  Brown Dog Deli
44.  Fish 144.  The Pickled Palate
45.  EVO Pizza 145. Pane e Vino
46.  Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar 146.  Brasserie Gigi (closed)
47.  O’Hara & Flynn Wine Bar 147. Chez Nous
48.  Heart Woodfire Kitchen (closed) 148.  Swig & Swine
49.  Carolina’s (closed) 149.  The Bluerose Cafe
50.  Sabatino’s Pizza 150.  Circa 1886
51.  FIG 151.  Leon’s Oyster Shop
52.  Oak Steakhouse 152.  Leelee’s Hot Kitchen (closed)
53.  Basil 153.  Two Boroughs Larder (closed)
54.  Eli’s Table 154.  Spero
55.  Anson 155.  Junction Kitchen
56.  O-Ku 156.  The Drawing Room
57.  Bull Street (closed) 157.  Basico
58.  Magnolia’s 158.  Island Grill & Bar
59.  Folly Beach Shrimp Co. (closed) 159.  Stereo 8 (closed)
60.  Nirlep 160.  R Kitchen
61.  Baguette Magic 161.  The Americano
62.  Monza 162.  Cafe Framboise
63.  JB’s Smokehouse 163.  Thai Elephant
64.  The Macintosh 164.  Burton’s
65.  Charleston Crab House 165.  Ellis Creek Fish Camp
66.  Boathouse at Breach Inlet 166.  Lost Dog Cafe
67.  Lucky’s (closed) 167.  Maybank Public House
68.  Tattooed Moose 168.  Apartment A (closed)
69.  Starfish Grill (closed) 169.  5Church
70.  Pick Thai 170.  The Watch
71.  El Bohio (closed) 171.  The Darling Oyster Bar
72.  Bin 152 172.  The Westendorff (closed)
73.  Tomato Shed Cafe 173.  Vintage Coffee & Cafe
74.  Athens Grill 174.  Congress
75.  Angel Oak 175.  Feathertop
76.  Peninsula Grill 176.  Parlor Deluxe (closed)
77.  Sunrise Bistro 177.  Bistro Toulouse
78.  Halls Chophouse 178.  Charleston Grill
79.  Pearlz Oyster Bar 179.  La Nortena
80.  Maria’s Mexican Grill 180.  Marina Variety
81.  Ted’s Butcherblock 181.  Jack’s Cafe
82.  Stars 182.  King Street Grille
83.  Lowcountry Bistro 183.  Little Jack’s Tavern
84.  Ms. Rose’s 184.  Le Farfalle
85.  The Sloppy Cow (closed) 185.  Artisan Meat Share
86.  Fire Street Food 186.  McCrady’s Tavern
87.  Mellow Mushroom 187.  Goat Sheep Cow North
88.  The Lot 188.  Joey Tomatoes
89.  La Fourchette (closed) 189.  Stella’s
90.  Bacco 190.  Hen and the Goat
91.  The Grocery 191.  Urban Cookhouse
92.  The Ordinary  192.  Kairos Greek Kitchen
93.  Cypress (closed)  193.  The Shelter
94.  El Mercadito
95.  New Moon (closed)
96.  Rosebank Cafe (closed)
97.  Southern General
98.  Rutledge Cab Co.
99.  Osteria La Bottiglia (closed)
100.  Trattoria Lucca