Continuing
with our September visit to Charleston South Carolina… Once again it was
nearing time for dinner!
I
decided to take a walk in the area to photograph a couple of the historic
churches near our Hampton Inn. Laurie,
her sister Bonnie and Bonnie’s husband Bill wished me luck and they headed over
to “39 Rue De Jean”, a restaurant and bar just down the street from our hotel.
Following
my photographic trek, I met them at the bar at “39 Rue De Jean”. I found that they’d been charmed by the bar
tender, a young fellow of Irish descent.
We had a couple of drinks, checked out the dinner menu and decided that
we’d come back a little later for our evening meal…
“39” is
a large spacious restaurant and it offers an upscale menu. When we returned for dinner, it was early and
they weren’t very busy. The top photo
shows a separate dining area at the back of the restaurant. Our table was at the front near the windows.
“Rue”
as it’s referred to by locals, is a French Brasserie style restaurant... basically an upscale French Café and Bar.
This restaurant is located in a former warehouse that was built in the
1880s. As was our habit during this
visit to Charleston, despite the research I’d done before the trip, we just
picked “39” based on a whim…
Well
heck…we had to have something to nibble on to accompany our Jack Daniels Neat,
Citron Mojito, Westbrook Draft and glass of Malbec.
The
first plate was the “Charcuterie Assorties” with house made sausage, pate and
the chef’s selection of rillettes (a coarsely chopped pate). ($17.99)
The
second plate was the “Assiette A Fromage”. ($14.99) This upscale cheese offering is priced daily depending on the
cheeses chosen for presentation.
It was
all beautifully presented and these plates went well with our adult beverages…
I
ordered the Steak Au Poivres with roasted Brussel sprouts. ($27.99) This big
hunk of beef was top notch, it was broiled perfectly (medium rare) and the pepper
sauce was excellent! I also liked the
Brussel sprouts…even if my wife’s version is better…
Bonnie
kept it simple… She went with the Brasserie Burger topped with Roquefort cheese
and accompanied by pomme frites. ($11.99) The burger was very flavorful and it
was grilled perfectly. The French fries
were good too.
This
was the Plat De Jour for Tuesday evening, September 22, 2015. It was the Choucroute Garnie. ($22.95) This entrée
was composed of house-made jagerwurst sausage, braised pork belly, fried
Brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes and sauerkraut, and served with a side of
whole grain apple mostarda....another excellent entrée!
Note: My thanks to Andres Contreras, the
Manager of 39 Rue de Jean for providing me with the name and ingredients in
this entrée. My receipt only described
this offering as the Plat De Jour and I’d reached out for an assist.
This is
the Brittany Grilled Double Pork Chop with Calvados sauce. ($24.99) It was
accompanied with roasted red potatoes and cooked and seasoned red cabbage. Pork is always a little risky when ordering
it out…at least in my opinion. The main
problem with pork chops is that many, if not most, restaurants overcook
them. That wasn’t the problem in this
case. Another great entrée!
This is Megan. She was our personable and efficient waitress at 39 Rue De Jean. Here she was trying to sell us on a dessert…but after the appetizers and the meals we’d just eaten, there wasn’t a chance that we could indulge in a dessert and still walk back to our hotel!
Another
restaurant that was chosen at random as we explored Charleston South
Carolina…and yet another winner! I think
that there are more good restaurants in the compact old town area of Charleston
than just about anywhere else. Yes, New
York, San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago have a plethora of fine dining
establishment…but the concentration of quality food in such a small area of
Charleston is a bit mind boggling!
This
restaurant...39 Rue De Jean, is located at 39 John Street in Charleston. Phone: 843-722-8881. Website: http://www.holycityhospitality.com/39-rue-de-jean-charleston/. We
would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Charleston!
Just
click on any of the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks
for stopping by for a top notch meal!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
A very fine choice I must say, but you know I adore French food. I go for the Calvados sauce every time.
ReplyDeleteSam
great find. That is some fantastic looking grub and glad it tasted as good as it looked.
ReplyDelete