Before leaving our lodging quarters in pursuit of food and drink, we'd pretty much decided to dine at Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant in The Market Common to kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. You don't find good German sit-down eatery establishments anywhere, much less one also specializing in German beers.
But when we got to the mixed-use village on the city's south side, we were intrigued when we spotted the Tupelo Honey Cafe a block away from Gordon Biersch. Leading off the post is one view of the cafe's exterior.
Being a Van Morrison fan (he had a hit with the song "Tupelo Honey"), and learning that the cafe specialized in southern cooking, I felt it was a sign that we ought to change plans at the last minute. In hindsight, it was not a sign at all. And alas, I wish we would have stuck to Plan A.
Tupelo Honey Cafe is a beautiful establishment. We both liked the light-colored woods decor and interesting ceiling fan mechanism (see photos), which I'd never seen before.
I ordered an IPA draft from New South Brewery, a Myrtle Beach craft brewery, and it was refreshing and pleasing, and I'd definitely get it again. (A quick aside: We had contemplated going to New South for my brewery trip -- I say "my" because Lee Ann is not a beer drinker; she indulges my interest in it -- but that trip was put off a day, again at the last minute.)
It was not busy when we arrived. Our server was pleasant, cheerful and attentive. She told us her favorite dishes, and I decided to order one of the ones she favored, a slow-roasted pork grilled cheddar cheese sandwich on pumpernickel bread (left). I asked for the accompanying smoked jalapeno barbecue sauce to come on the side rather than on the sandwich.
For her main fare, Lee Ann ordered a lunch plate of sweet-tea-brined roasted chicken with honey lacquer (below) and two sides. In addition to the salad side, she also got some salt and pepper crispy brussels.
I had no qualms with my sandwich, and I liked the barbecue sauce enough that I needed a refill on the small sauce sample the server had brought me with the plate. Lee Ann wasn't as enamored with her meal, especially the brussels, which she normally likes. In fact, we have grilled brussels ourselves at home, but she said the brussels in her side were so crispy that they were dry. I'm not a huge fan of brussels, so I don't know for sure ... but perhaps some people like their brussels cripsy (kind of like some people -- myself included -- like their bacon crispy if not with occasional black).
We also received some biscuits served with honey (right). I asked the server if the honey was the restaurant's namesake Tupelo Honey, and she smiled and said no, Tupelo Honey is pretty expensive, and though the honey served with our biscuits was regular honey, she said the store sold jars of Tupelo Honey at the reception desk (I think she said the price was $5 or $6 a jar).
Liberty Brewery and Grill
Gordon Biersch was in The Market Common, and Liberty was at Broadway at the Beach, both places that we ultimately included on our itinerary. Liberty also had a taproom along U.S. 17 (King's Highway), Myrtle Beach's main thoroughfare, which we had passed several times on this visit alone. That put New South on the outside; to go there would require a separate trip at some point. For whatever reason, we decided to make a brewery trip at either Market Common or Broadway at the Beach.
When we decided to pass on Gordon Biersch after going to The Market Common, we were left with Liberty Brewing the next day, when we went to Broadway at the Beach. The photo above shows the brewery's front facade; the rear view can be seen in the final image below. The brewery also has an eatery -- the "grill" portion of its name -- but we had no plans to dine there.
The brewery offered generous samples of its eight core beers for $12, so I went that route. The brewery happened to be out of one of the core beers so they let me pick one from the seasonal menu, and I opted for a seasonal Wet Bandits Imperial IPA.
I was underwhelmed by most of the brews, and as the first picture below might indicate, a little perplexed that at least two glasses -- the lager and white ale -- showed bubbles, which to me meant carbonation. Sure enough, they tasted that way. Still, I managed to down the lager and almost all of the white ale before moving on to the other as quickly as my stomach could handle things.
Why the haste? Because I didn't want them to get too warm by the time I got to them. (A craft brew aficionado in Raleigh told me a year ago that good craft brews -- certainly ales and dark beers -- should be easy on the palate no matter if they are served cold or warm. In fact, he said, many porters and stouts taste better at room temperature. No wonder I'm not a fan of those coffee beers!). But I digress.
The Wheat the People I found light and citrusy, not a favorite attribute in beers I favor. The Honest I.P. Ale packed the hoppy kick I expect in an IPA, but it lacked crispness and, therefore, freshness that has made me gravitate to craft beers in recent years. Rocket's Red Ale is brewed with Vienna and caramel malts and hops from the Pacific Northwest, but I detected a discernible lack of malty notes.
The Broadway Brown Ale was akin to the red ale, except with the brown you could detect coffee notes. But like the red ale, it lacked a smooth maltiness, so I didn't care for it. I sensed very thin malt notes in the porter as well -- and a strangely hoppy kick, neither of which I cared for. But I did enjoy the brew's coffee aroma before ever taking a sip. I guess I was most disappointed with the Wet Bandits IPA, which when reading the beer menu, I hadn't noticed was heavily fruity. I don't like fruits in my beers. Wet Bandits is heavily fruity.
For the record, Lee Ann and I also stopped in at Duplin Winery's store in North Myrtle Beach, which we've visited a few times in the past. Because I've done previous posts about Duplin, I didn't feel compelled to do more pictures to include in the series from this trek.
However, after our tasting session at Duplin, we took our complimentary glasses of wine and sat with a nice couple from Williamsport, Pa. They introduced themselves as Barrett and Jackie (I thought they said Barry and Jackie, but Lee Ann tells me otherwise).
From them, I learned a bit about the international headquarters for Little League Baseball and Softball (which technically is located in South Williamsport, across the West Branch of the Susquehanna River from Williamsport).
End of series
Previously in this series:
