Vault & Vator - Greenville, SC

It was kind of funny to me that both friends that I visited on the East Coast decided to take me to a speakeasy.  I had mentioned going to Captain Gregory's in Alexandria, Va.  When we went down to Greenville, SC and we went out for the evening, my friend suggested we go out to this place called Vault & Vator.  I am always up for a good speakeasy, so I agreed that we should start our evening there.  Located downtown, my friend had a general idea where it was located, but as with a good speakeasy, the entrance was not obvious.  It was located in the back of a building in the basement.  We had to walk downhill to a wrought iron door under a metal deck with mirrored glass behind it and a small sign behind it with the Rules.

Looking at the Rules, I found them very familiar.  No cellphones, appropriate attire, no reservations, no standing at the bar, be respectful, I thought it sounded very much like the rules in Chicago speakeasy, The Violet Hour.  Entering, and finding my self behind a large and heavy velvet curtain, I was reminded further of The Violet Hour.  It was dark with a bar in the center of the back of the room with seats on three sides, lounge furniture, and some booths off to one side.  The walls were black and most of the lighting came from behind the bar.  We sat at the bar and talked to the bartenders.  The space was the location of a Dr. Pepper factory with the original storage (Vault) and Elevator (Vator).  It was started by a bartender originally from Chicago who loved The Violet Hour, hence the Rules.

While they had a set of rules similar to those of The Violet Hour, they weren't quite so stringent on their adherence, so I was able to take a picture of our drinks (though a flash would not have been permitted).  The drinks are modern takes on classic cocktails and styles, using small batch liquors and their own tinctures and bitters.  They also serve a small menu of Small Plates, mostly consisting of meats, cheeses, and dips, and a selection of chocolates.  For my drink, I ordered Don't Fear the Reaper, which contained Blanco Tequila, House-made Carolina Reaper Tincture, Grapefruit Sherbet, Lime, Honey, and Simple Syrup.  It was sweet, a little tart, and had a pretty nice bite to it (though it wasn't overwhelming).  My friend ordered a Caribbean Mule, which was essentially a spin on a Dark and Stormy.  It started with House Infused Pineapple Rum, Ginger Syrup, Fresh Pineapple Juice, and Ginger Ale, and was served in a Copper Pineapple.  With the Rum, and Ginger, it just needed Lime to go the Dark and Stormy route.  With the Pineapple, it was definitely Caribbean.  The place was a lot of fun and the drinks were very good.  We actually returned a few days later and tried a few more drinks which were equally good.  I would happily return if I was in the Greenville, SC area.  

Restaurante Central

In my planning to go to to Peru and Astrid y Gaston, I happened to notice that there was another great restaurant in Lima called Central Restaurante.  When I first started looking, Astrid y Gaston was rated much more highly than Central.  Astrid y Gaston was rated the 16th best restaurant in the world by The World's 50 Best Restaurants and Central was rated 50th, but by the time we went, Central had made a rapid rise on the charts to 15th and Astrid y Gaston had fallen to 18th (which is still great).  Despite this, I didn't plan on going to Central until we found out on the day after we went to Astrid y Gaston that we were staying on the same block where Central was located.  We didn't notice it the several times that we walked by it, so when I found out that we were as close as we were, I had to find it and decided that since we were as close as we were, that it would be a shame not to at least try to go.  The building in which Central Restaurante is located looked like any other house/apartment on the block with the exception of the very solid looking double door at the entrance and a small plaque in the sidewalk indicating that it was Central as well as the year 2008 which I had guessed was the year that it first opened.  Further research revealed that the restaurant didn't open until 2013, so I really have no idea what the 2008 meant.  Inside the formidable doors is the host station with the reservation book.  After checking in, we were guided to the main dining room behind another set of heavy double doors.  The room was done in a color scheme of greens and browns and had a banquette along one wall where we were seated as well as several round four tops in the center of the room.  The room was lit by natural light from skylights and a glass inner wall that looked into the kitchen on the other side of a narrow courtyard which was used to set the dishes up for delivery to the diners.  Through the window, we could see the chef, Virgilio Martinez, working at the front of the kitchen.

As dining here was not really planned, we decided to dine a la carte and go for non-alcoholic beverages.  They had a pretty good selection of non-alcoholic beverages, so it wasn't really an issue.  I ordered a Lemon Verbena drink with Key Limes and regular Limes.  It was carbonated, sour, and surprisingly green.  It had a flavor similar to lemonade although it was more herbal.  The other drink that we ordered was a Passionfruit Soda with Passionfruit, Tumbo (Banana Passionfruit), and Muña Mint (Andean Mint, used for it's medicinal properties).

We looked at the menu, made our orders, and while we were waiting, a bread plate was brought out.  It was actually three bread plates with three very different breads presented with two butters.  Our first bread was a small and pre-sliced loaf of Coca Bread with a greenish cast to it.  The bread was made with coca and reminded me, like the raw coca leaves that I had tried, of asparagus.  It had a crusty exterior and a soft interior like many good, homemade breads.  The other breads were presented as muffins.  The first being a Fruit Bread and the other a Potato Bread.  They both tasted very good, but the potato bread was softer.  The butter that was presented with the bread was also housemade, one standard butter and one smoked.  I preferred the smoked on the potato and the coca breads and the standard butter went better with the fruit bread.

Our appetizers were brought out by the chef who introduced himself and wished us a good meal.  I found this highly unusual, but I didn't mind, because it said to me that the chef was paying attention to our table and that we would have a great meal.  I am not sure why he did this, because after paying attention after that, I noticed that our table was the only one that got this special treatment.  I oredered the Charred Purple Corn Scented Octopus with Lentils, Botija Olives, and Tree Tomato.  It was a great presentation and tasted really good as well.  The octopus was cooked perfectly and went well with the lentils.  The olives were presented as dots of tapenade on the side and while I generally don't care for olives, it did did go well with the octopus and lentils.  The other appetizer was called Harvest of Scallops and in addition to the Scallops, it had Limo Chili Milk (a spicy ceviche sauce), Rocoto (pepper),  Sweet Root, Wildflower, Conch, and Caviar.

While we were eating our appetizers, a small course, unannounced and unordered was presented to us.  It was a simple plate of Glazed Sweet Potatoes which were presented on a stone.  They were sweet, simple, and satisfying, and it was a nice presentation.

For our entrees, I ordered Roasted Grouper with Black Quinoa.  A separate copper pan with Native Potatoes, Calamari, Squid Ink, and Peas was presented on the side.  The grouper was very tender and flavorful with a slightly crisp outside.  The black quinoa added a nutty and crunchy flavor.  I wouldn't have thought that calamari and mashed potatoes would go together, but surprisingly, it went together well.  When the other dish came, I wondered why I had ordered fish.  It was a  21 Day Aged Suckling Pig with Arracacha (South American Root Vegetable between Celery and Carrot) which was served on the side, Borage (Starflower), and Pickled Vegetables.  It looked really good and I was told that it tasted even better.  I did try it and did like it, but I couldn't really make an opinion with one bite.

While we were eating our entrees, our second unannounced and unordered course showed up and while it was very nice to look at, it was a bit more difficult to eat.  It was a place of thinly sliced hot peppers of various colors.  I did try several and determined that they all seemed to be hot peppers, the purple one was kind of sneaky because it started tasting like an onion and the heat didn't hit until I swallowed.  While the plate looked very nice, we were unable to finish this.

Finally, it came time for dessert.  I ordered Desert Huarangos (White Carob) with Peanuts, Palo Blanco Cacao (Cacao from the Palo Blanco region of Peru, an oasis area in the coastal desert) presented as ice cream, Lucuma (a subtropical fruit native to Peru also called eggfruit  for the dry flesh of the fruit similar in texture to a hardboiled egg yolk.  It has a flavor similar to maple and sweet potato), and Citrus Leaf.  It was rich, sweet, and very flavorful.  The other dessert was called Cacao Forest and it started with a scoop of Chocolate Ice Cream from the El Shunte region of Peru (in the Amazon) with Arcilla Clay, Yuyo Flower, Muña Mint which were powders to be combined with the chocolate.  The clay made the ice cream more smooth, the yuyo flower added some richness, and the mint was a digestive aid.  It apparently tasted good and interesting (as well as being very creative).  It seems to be a twist on quechua food.

While we were eating dessert, a small glass of very thick White Cappuccino came out for the Cacao Forest.  I assume to finish the dish.  It was very thick and tasted very creamy.

After the dessert in a fine dining restaurant and while the bill is being settled, many restaurants will bring out petit fours.  This was the case here as well, except that we were brought three plates of petit fours.  We were first presented with homemade marshmallows, we then received two different types of gelee, a Pisco Gelee and a Hazelnut Gelee, and we finished with chocolate.  All of the Petit fours tasted very good.  The texture of the chocolate took us aback a little bit because it looked similar to a scrubbing cloth, but it tasted very good.

The food and service at Central were very good and I am very glad that we were able to make it there.  The food was innovative and tasted good and used many ingredients with which I was unfamiliar, but I really enjoyed it.  I cannot say though, whether I enjoyed Central better than Astrid y Gaston because when you get into the rarified atmosphere occupied by these two restaurants, everything should be fantastic, which it was.                

Mindy's Hot Chocolate - Brunch

I have been to Mindy's Hot Chocolate several times, and have really liked what I had, but I have neither been since Mindy Segal won her James Beard Award for Best Pastry Chef, nor have I ever been for brunch, so I thought it was a good choice for my monthly brunch trip.  Very shortly after Mindy Segal won her James Beard Award, she closed the restaurant for a few weeks to do some redesign work.  Walking in, I tried to notice what had changed.  The first things that I noticed were that the sign had changed.  It is now a rusted steel sign with the long, thin letters that were ground through the sign invoking the look of dripping chocolate.  The front of the restaurant was a glass window wall that was framed to fold in several sections and open to the street.  Inside, the layout has remained the same with the bar to the right and the kitchen in the back so it wasn't a radical redesign.  The colors have changed, the room used to be brown on brown but is know an off-white with a brown trim.  Some of the seating has been changed as well.  There was some low lounge seating near the front of the restaurant where there is now a communal table that would seat 10.  The brunch menu frequently changes based on what is seasonal.  The standard omelettes, skillets, French Toast, and skillets are there, but what is used in them changes based on what is in season.  There is also coffee, juice, cocktails, and the Hot Chocolate for which the restaurant is named.  There were seven hot chocolates on the list ranging from light to dark.  I went with a mixture called Half & Half which was actually kind of like a Caffè Mocha.  It was half Espresso and half Dark Hot Chocolate and it was very good.  It was hot (of course) and pretty bitter from the Espresso and the 72% French Chocolate but it was also pretty rich and had a sweet finish.  There was also a Housemade Marshmallow that was served with it that was a world better than any marshmallow you will find in a grocery store.  While I generally split my brunch between sweet and savory, I figured that the hot chocolate, which everyone ordered was sufficient to fulfill the sweet side.  Mindy Segal creates some amazing sweets but there is also some very good savory food here, so we had to plan for that.

For my savory side, I went with some thing that seemed to have a vaguely Asian twist to it.  I had the Brunch Fried Rice which came with Hanger Steak, Broccolini, Green Eyes, Pea Shoots, English Peas, Carrots, a Fried Egg, and, of course, the Rice.  I tried it and it had a very fresh and green flavor.  It wasn't bad as it was, but it was much better after having added some Sriracha.  I really liked brunch here, but I think the dinner (and dessert) is better here.  I was going to grab a bag of cookies to go as well but I forgot.  It just means that I will have to return, but this is not a problem.

Katherine Anne Confections

I really like chocolate but I will say that I was glad that I had to travel outside my neighborhood in order to get good chocolate.  How does this make sense?  If I have a good chocolate place close, it makes it easier to stop by and puts a risk to my wallet and my waist.  For good or bad, a very good chocolate/candy/confection shop open in my neighborhood recently.  I have had sweets from Katherine Anne Confections before they opened their shop although I am not sure when or where that happened.  I was told when I went the first time that they operated at a couple of Farmer's Markets that I frequented so I will guess that that is where I tried their creations.  I have found that I have many friends and family that appreciate sweets as a birthday gift and I have several friends with fall birthdays so it was an easy decision to stop there for a gift for them because it allowed me to treat me as well.  As they make a variety of confections, I decided to get a variety and try each type.  I got three truffles, four marshmallows, and four caramels.  The marshmallows that we had were large and housemade (as one might expect) and all had other stuff besides the standard sugar and gelatin to enhance the flavors.  They were all very good and the extra ingredients really contributed to the complexity of the flavor.  The marshmallows were Salted Caramel, Lemon Ginger, Earl Gray, and Cinnamon. All of the marshmallows were really good although the cinnamon probably could have been a little less cinnamony.  The caramels were probably my favorite.  We had Salted Caramel, Rosemary Sea Salt, Chocolate Walnut, and Vanilla.  For the truffles, we had Sour Cherry Pie, Salted Caramel, and Hazelnut.  The Salted Caramel and Hazelnut truffles were easy to like but the Sour Cherry Pie took some adapting to.  As the name suggests, it was sour.  The sour of the cherries and the bittersweet chocolate used was not an easy first bite.  There was some Kirsch used so there was also a slight alcohol burn.  It had a good texture and a complex flavor so I am willing to try it again. 

Katherine Anne's Confections makes some really great sweets and for good or bad, I will definitely be back.  I will probably use the excuse of holidays or birthdays but I know that I will get more for me.