Park Circle Restaurants

If you haven’t explored Park Circle by now, you really should. It is this great neighborhood rife with great real estate opportunities and includes the Historic North Charleston district of East Montague. Food is a good catalyst to visit. So let’s explore the fare:

Sesame:

The newest venture from the locally popular Five Loaves team, Sesame is a burger joint first and foremost. They use quality beef that they grind in house, which means you can order to temperature; a rarity among local restaurants. If that in itself isn’t motivation to check it out, here’s the kicker - they make their own Ketchup, Mayo, Mustard, and Pickles.

You can get your burger as beef, chicken or bean. With over 10 burgers including the Gourmet (goat cheese and shitake mushroom), the South Carolina (homemade pimento cheese) and the New Zealander (fried egg and beets).Or, you can always build your own! The sliders (beef only) are a very popular choice as they allow you to sample 3 mini-burgers from their exciting burger menu.

Like Five Loaves they have great daily specials and salads. Among the menu highlights are chipotle wings, sweet potato fries, and grilled & seasoned corn on the cob. The beer selection is strong, though most of it is bottled.

They have trivia on Wednesday nights, all week/all day $2 mystery beers and $3 burgers with live Blues on Tuesdays.

Evo Pizza:

It started as a wood-fire oven on a trailer. It made appearances at farmer’s markets and coffee shops and catered parties. It became a local sensation. Then, thank jesus, it finally opened shop. The pizza that Evo serves up are hands down my favorite in town. They make their own mozzarella and sauce, they use local, organic ingredients.

The menu boasts a feature soup. I’ve had the mushroom, the roasted tomato and the cauliflower and they all were succulent. They currently offer 2 salads, 2 panini choices and pesto or margherita based pizzas. They serve Dead Guy on tap. For dessert, a Sublime-made chocolate covered keylime pie on a stick, adoringly referred to as “dirty pie”. Outdoor seating is available, friendly service and a newly renovated interior. A petite soup, petite salad and margherita pizza with custom toppings is my recommended way to go.

Park Circle Coffee and Cream:

A nice established local coffee shop that serves coffee, tea, and beer and cocktails. Bagels, egg sandwiches and muffins for breakfast. Sandwiches, salad, soup for lunch and dinner. Ice cream, homemeade cookies or brownies and killer shakes for dessert. If you are feeling sassy, you can get a scoop of ice cream on your waffle for an over the top breakfast or dessert. Offers wireless internet and a great cafe environment.

Madra Rua:

The best Irish pub in Charleston features a long list of layered pints, a great appetizer menu and some classics on the menu including Fish & Chips, Shepherd’s Pie, and Irish Stew. They have football (soccer) running on the many TVs, weekly live Irish Music, two bars and some great seating nooks and booths that provide a great social environment. There is a back porch that seems relatively unknown, but is a great place to sit at night or if you are easily overwhelmed by smoke.

By far the best beer menu and late night location in Park Circle, and the only place open for business on Sundays. Their brunch is pretty darn good, try the scone or french toast.

Aunt Bea’s:

To be honest I’ve never had a meal here, but you can get your standard Meat and 3 vegetable dishes in a very charming shop that quadruples as a restaurant, post office, alteration shop and gift shop. At Christmas time you can find Fruit Cake made by the mayor!