The FARMER'S TABLE

The Farmer's Table, 401 E. Kennedy St,
Spartanburg, SC 

The Farmer's Table is located in an office park, which in years past was an actual farmer's market. This is one of the strangest places I have ever found a restaurant, but boy, was it worth finding.  Over the past few weeks, we had already made our rounds of our favorite Spartanburg restaurants (Holmes Hot Dogs, Bubba's BBQ & Bash, and Wade's Restaurant), so we decided to seek out some place we hadn't eaten before in Sparkle City and ran across The Farmer's Table while doing some Google research. 

Above are views from our table looking outside and from our table toward the front of the restaurant. Before I get to the food, let me say a word about our waiter, Jason. Either we got lucky or all the waitstaff here is really good, something that will have to be decided on future visits. Regardless, Jason was top notch, knowing how to be personable, unobtrusive, and attentive all at the same time.  Now on to our meal.

My wife chose the Smooth Cajun – Boars Head Salsalito turkey, Split Creek Farms goat cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, sriracha mayo & fried onion strings on Great Harvest Bread Company popeye loaf with a side of house made broccoli salad (a side equal in taste to the sandwich). Both items were so good and so tasty that I almost wish this is what I had ordered, until I tried my own meal.

I ordered Shrimp & Grits – house made chicken Andouille sausage, peppers, red onions, tomatoes, Farmer’s Table Signature spice blend & shrimp served over Charleston style cheese grits with a side of house made red skin potato salad. I rarely order shrimp and grits finding it to be sort of a blah dish, but seeing the ingredients in this version, I thought I would give it a try, and it turned out to be anything but blah. A perfect blending of flavors with the potato salad a perfect accompaniment, adding a cooling element to the spiciness of the Andouille.

The Farmer's Table has an extensive menu of lunch and breakfast items. I can only assume everything will be great, since our first two random selections were so good. We'll definitely be going back and adding The Farmer's Table to our rotation of Spartanburg restaurants. 

Updated visit on 4/23/2015. My wife once again ordered the Smooth Cajun with a side of broccoli salad, I tried the HBLT - Boars Head maple ham, 3 strips of apple wood smoked bacon, romaine lettuce, 2 fried green tomatoes and house made shallot aioli on grilled wheat bread. Another good sandwich, although not as good as my wife's Smooth Cajun or as good as the shrimp and grits I had last time; however, I'm already planning what to get on my next visit in a couple of weeks, that's how much I like The Farmer's Table. 

VELO FELLOW

The Velo Fellow, 1 Augusta St, Greenville, SC 

While I will have a couple of negative things to say about Velo Fellow in this review, I'm saying up top that I had a fun time going there and would definitely go back.

We arrived a a little after 2pm on a weekday, so the lunch crowd (I'm assuming there was a lunch crowd) had already cleared out and went back to work. Being mostly retired, we usually eat lunch later than most folks. The hipster (handlebar mustache was the dead giveaway) bartender asked us about beverages and when I asked him what type of ales they had on draft, he sorta sneered and said "lots". When he listed them there was a pale ale and I ordered that one (I must remember to include the word "pale" next time to avoid being looked down as some type of beer commoner...LOL). My wife, on the advice of the bartender, ordered the above Hefe Weissbier, which she liked so much, she's carrying a photo of it around on her phone. 

For our meal, we both ordered the fish and chips, which is supposedly their most famous menu item. For my taste, the fish was way over battered and over fried (might be authentic, but not for my taste); however, my wife thought it was great. The chips (sliced lightly fried potatoes), I really liked, although the wife said she would like them fried a little more.  She would order the dish again, I would order something different. A little pricey for lunch (42.00 pre tip, of course half of that was 4 beers).  My final verdict, I am looking forward to another visit to the Velo Fellow, and will write the word "pale" on my hand, so I will be able to remember to include it when ordering a beer, I just don't think I could stand being looked down on by a hipster twice in my life...LOL!

ANOTHER COLLECTION

I didn't mean to start another collection...I swear I didn't...but if 3 makes a collection, I have already passed that point, mostly due to thrift stores. My first find was the above LP - Making Love - that I found at a Miracle Hill Thrift Store.

Next I found the sealed soundtrack to The Devil In Miss Jones at a Goodwill Thrift Store. 

The next LP, Lessons in Love,  was scored at another thrift shop, but I can't remember which one, but this made 3 and started the collection. 

My fourth find was at an estate sale instead of a thrift shop and is titled Erotica, The Rhythms of Love, which turned out to be bongos with some moaning and groaning in the background.

And finally (so far), I found The Way To Become The Sensuous Woman at another Goodwill Thrift Store.

So, that's my unintended collection so far of erotica LPs, but who knows what oddball vinyl record I'll turn up in another thrift or estate sale to add to my unintended collection. 

Update: Found the below at Salvation Army in Greer, SC
Another Update: Found a second copy of the below LP, approximately 2 miles up the road at the Goodwill in Greer, SC.

The CLOCK on CONGAREE

A year or so ago, the Wade Hampton Clock Restaurant was on the verge of closing due to a raise in rent. A panic went up among all their long term customers and the landlord made a deal with the owners instead of becoming one of the most hated men in Greenville. We went more frequently, since we realized how an institution we grew up with could become "Ain't Dere No Mo". During this renewal the older co- owner, George, decided to retire and he sold out to the younger co-owner, John. Unfortunately, this gradually caused a slip in the quality of the food - dry chili on the hot dogs, hard onion rings, under cooked french fries, and reports of super thin hamburgers. Regretfully, we just stopped going, even though John is a nice guy, the food was no longer up to what it used to be. 

Well, the grease is back, because George came out of retirement and opened another Clock on Congaree (just behind Haywood Mall). Finally, all the old favorites: hot dogs, chili cheeseburgers, 1/2 and 1/2 (onion rings and fries) are being served once again with the taste we remember.  How good was it.....well,as soon as I walked out the door, I was thinking about how soon I would be back! I guess the only drawback is the sweet tea is just barely sweet, but then that's the way The Clock has always served it. 

Just like the old Saturday Night Live skit...this Clock....like the Chicago restaurant spoofed in that skit, has "NO COKE, PEPSI!" 

MAD CUBAN CAFE

Mad Cuban Cafe
699 Fairview Rd # C, Simpsonville, SC 29680

Mad Cuban Cafe is tucked away in a strip mall just off Fairview Rd in Simpsonville.  We saw their roadside sign on our way back from Southern Catch. Since I'm always looking for a good empanada, we thought we would give them a try. 

We ordered two empanadas (a Cuban stuffed with ham, pork, Swiss cheese and a Carne), plus we split a Croquetta Preparada Cuban sandwich which had pork, ham, Swiss cheese, smashed croquettes (breaded deep fried minced ham balls), mustard and pickles. My wife really liked the Cuban empanada, and I really liked the Carne (ground beef), both were excellent. The sandwich, on the other hand, even with all those ingredients was pretty bland, if it hadn't been for the mustard and pickles, it would have been fairly tasteless. We also split an excellent tres leches for dessert. The staff were friendly, greeting everyone on arrival and thanking everyone on departure, which is always nice to see a restaurant appreciate their patrons. Would we return? Well, if we were already in Simpsonville and wanted empanadas (and some of that great tres leches), the answer would be be yes, but I wouldn't make a special trip to eat there.

FLAT ROCK WOOD ROOM

Flat Rock Wood Room
1501 Greenville Hwy, Hendersonville, NC 28792

Flat Rock Wood Room is one of those places that we've driven by, but never gave much thought about visiting. A couple of weeks ago, on our way back from Asheville, we noticed how crowded the parking lot was for a late Sunday afternoon and decided it might be worth a try.....and was it ever.

My wife ordered an Under The Tuscan Sun Pizza (Fior di latte mozzarella, basil, fire roasted garlic and sliced tomatoes) and since my order was taking a little longer to arrive I was able to sample several slices. After the first bites, we both agreed that this was one of the best pizzas we've had and would definitely be coming back soon for another. Below is a photo of the pizza oven and without his hat,  we really thought the pizza chef looked like Rupert from the Hello Deli on the David Letterman show.

Even though I was happy noshing on my wife's pizza, they brought me a piece of cornbread, since my sandwich hadn't arrived. It comes with a smear of honey pecan butter. It was so good, almost half of it was gone before I realize I should take a photo.

I ordered the Barn Yard sandwich (Sliced beef brisket, maple pepper smoked bacon, fried egg, provolone cheese, cajun ranch, served on a bialy bread). This is in my top three sandwiches of all time. The other two being the Fried Green Tomatoes with Shrimp Remoulade at Crabby Jack's in New Orleans and the Steak Sub at Zorba's here in Greenville, SC. 

The service was casual and the prices were a couple of dollars higher than might be expected for a pizza and a sandwich, but even with four beers, our total was only $40.00 before tip, and I felt it was worth every penny. Thankfully, it's only about a 45 minute drive from our house to Flat Rock and we'll be able to enjoy more great food with only a short ride, which we'll be doing very soon. 

SOUTHERN CATCH

Southern Catch, 1122, Fairview Rd, Simpsonville, SC

I can't remember where I first heard about Southern Catch, but wherever it was I want to thank them because this is one more fine seafood restaurant.

We happened to go while they were celebrating their one year anniversary, and they gave us a free order of fried pickles, an item we often order elsewhere, and we both agree these are the best we've ever had.

I ordered the catfish basket (3 catfish fillets, fries, hush puppies, coleslaw). These rank with some of the best catfish I've ever had, and maybe even rank as the best, might be because they were breaded with corn meal. We also requested our fries be made extra crispy and they arrived as ordered.

My wife ordered the small shrimp basket (6 shrimp, coleslaw, fries, hush puppies). I traded one catfish fillet for 2 shrimp and was blown away at how good the shrimp were. My wife concurred. She stopped eating shrimp for a few years because no place seemed able to cook them right. Her only regret today is that she traded away two of hers!

Not realizing that the baskets came with hush puppies, we ordered a side of hush puppies. These are some great tasting sweet hush puppies, which appeared to have pieces of pimento in them. Sadly, we had so much other food, we really couldn't make a dent in the extra hush puppies. We also were given a couple of pieces of cake in celebration of their anniversary. 

The restaurant is small (I counted 24 seats inside and there's a couple of picnic tables outside). Southern Catch is a pretty good drive from Taylors...but well worth that drive and We'll definitely be going back.