Every meal we ate in Charleston was fantastic, but The Glass Onion [1219 Savannah Hwy, Charleston, SC 29407] absolutely took the cake.
Thankfully I had made a reservation weeks before visiting, because the place had quite a queue, it was even hard to get a spot in the parking lot! Get there early even for your reservation. We were promptly seated and had excellent service. Our waitress took the time to talk to us, explain things, and make sure we were doing okay throughout the night – even though she had a million other tables. I loved the quirky atmosphere from the kitschy sign out front, to all of the mismatched funky art on the walls, and the fact that I got to color on the brown paper tablecloth as I awaited my meal.
The menu is ever changing and locally focused without a hint of pretension. At the top of the menu is an equation called a ‘POWERMOVE’ and on the evening of our visit it = Broccolini Ceaser + Fried SC Softshell Crab + Glass of Rose. That all sounded epic, but we had some ideas of our own. A promise of the restaurant is to serve high-quality food with affordable prices. We were amazed at this accomplishment. Appetizers were so fairly priced we were compelled to try some items just because we could. Neither of us had ever tried deviled eggs, and at $.75 a pop we figured, why not! They are a signature dish of the restaurant and so creamy and tasty. We also decided to try out the pig ear bite with buttermilk and thunder sauce, at just $2, why not try pig ear? It was actually really well made, completely melted in mouth, yummy.
Our appetizers came with thick slices of cornbread slathered in honey. Our main dishes were just as good. Jeff went for the blackened pork chip over chopped liver dirty rice with pickled peppers.
He said it was the perfect combination, I scored a bit of his rice to try out the liver. You would hardly think a strange (to me) organ was in such a succulent side of rice. My mouth is watering as I’m thinking of my own meal. When I looked at the menu and saw sheeps head I thought, well, that’s interesting. Wouldn’t go for that as an entrée, cool to see it on the menu though, I guess, it’s not going to waste! But when the waitress explained, without me even asking, that it was a local fish – I was all in! The pan roasted sheepshead with sweet potato casserole and red cress is what I would request for my last meal.
It was simple and healthy without lacking deep flavor. The fish was wonderfully light and flavorful. The sweet potatoes were airy and mixed with pecans – not overly sweet but expertly balanced. The red cress it what really blew me away. I was shocked at how this simply dressed green was so addictively divine. Dessert was definitely on the table. We decided to try two, actually. The smooth lemon panna cotta with fresh strawberries was the most luscious pairing of fruity flavors, while the hearty bundt cake with the crackling coconut drizzled was a tropical delight.
This is true soul food and I can’t praise the place enough. When visiting Charleston, make sure to book a reservation at The Glass Onion for a phenomenal experience.