My new Favorite Restaurant: Publico

 

Once upon a time, Neil and I ate out all the time.  We weren't parents then.  Yes, parenthood has a tendency to curtail a lot of that spontaneous eating out.  But needless to say, I'll take my baby girl over a good steak any day!  

You all may remember how long time culinary citizen Garibaldi's suddenly closed up shop.  I think with something like a whopping 24 hour notice to their employees. I know I was shocked when I heard.  Just a few months before, Neil had taken our daughter there for a daddy-daughter date night and made a fan out of her. Then, they were gone. 

If you have been paying attention, that building has been under construction lately.  Lots of activity over there and then the sign went up.  Publico. Hmmm!  What could it be? What will it be like?  What can we expect? 

Neil and I decided to head over there on New Year's Eve for lunch.  He had already stopped in one day last week for a beer and tried their bacon-wrapped jalapenos and was impressed. He told me about the menu, which I pulled up online and out the door we went.

Neil is in a happy place

Publico's menu features a large selection of specialty tacos with an emphasis on Asian flavors.  Example? How about a Bahn Mi taco: crisp pork belly, jalapeno, cucumber, carrot & daikon.  Or, what about a Pad Thai taco or Avocado Crunch? Wait, there's more!  How does a burger made from ground chuck, brisket and short rib grab you?  Of course, you may opt for a Carne Asada puffy taco (remember that episode of "Beat Bobby Flay"?) or a Korean influenced tostada?


Neil and I opted for their special, which is 5 tacos and 2 sides. Our plan was to share so we could get a good sampling of the menu.  

Isn't that beautiful?

We chose the Plum Chicken, Sambal Fish, Cilantro-Lime Shrimp, Classic Carnitos and Bahn Mi taco.  For sides, we chose the Mexican street corn and edamame.  Simply put, this food was awesome.  Man, I don't even know where to begin...

Plum Chicken Taco

 I think the Plum Chicken was my favorite. The chicken is nicely seasoned and the plum sauce gives it a little something extra, without adding too much sweetness. It's dressed with a bok choy slaw, the plum sauce and black beans.  

Sambal Fish Taco

Neil's vote goes to the Sambal Fish, which I am a fan of too.  The fish is tempura fried: nice and light. The sambal aioli is awesome and the pickled red onion and kim chi give this taco crunch and tang.  

Bahn Mi Taco

I liked the Bahn Mi a lot but think it may need a little more zip to it; perhaps just a little more of the red pepper aioli. But, I loved the crispy pork belly and crunchy vegetables. 

Classic Carnitos Taco

The Classic Carnitos was also high on our list.  Smoky, pulled pork with jalapeno, guac, pico...delicious.  My least favorite was the shrimp. I expected more flavor from the cilantro and lime but found it rather bland.  But, of course, I am a shrimp snob.  I would order this again, but think I'd add more chipotle crema to jack up the flavor.  

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Taco

The sides are notable too: the Mexican street corn is out of this world.  The corn was smoky, tender and spiced with chile and cheese. We are both big fans of edamame but Publico serves it with Ponzu sauce, which we had never had before.  You dip the pod in the ponzu and then pop the beans out of the pod, you know, the same way we eat boiled peanuts. I had just never thought of or seen anyone serve with ponzu.  I like it!

Ok, I know this post is long, but there's a lot to say!  Publico is just cool.  They took out the windows that overlook Greene Street and replaced them with roll up doors.  (Anyone remember Hannah Jane's?) The walls are clad in recovered wood, food is served on flat, stainless plates, like pizza pans. If you choose to sit at the bar that separates the dining room from the actual bar, note the purse hooks, A/C and USB outlets.

 Someone is quite talented at chalkboard penmanship.  I always marvel at that...how does someone not only write so artistically that big and with a stick of chalk?  We had the pleasure of having the owner, Mike, stop by our table and talk. He's new to Columbia and excited about being here.  He shared with us his experience in the restaurant business from Houston to Nashville and now here he is in Columbia. He's interested in local sourcing and creating a quality upscale casual environment. Matt was our server and he was fantastic: answered all my goofy questions without rolling his eyes (at least not in front of me!) and he really knew the menu. He and the bartender Lilly, both came by our table to check on us and we talked about the menu, their favorites, our favorites.  

The Carnage

We loved our experience at Publico and can't wait to go back.  In fact, we've already decided what we're going to try on our next trip.  Highly recommend that you check out this new addition to our culinary scene.  Mangia!

Cantina 76

When this place first opened,  Neil and I checked it out.  We enjoyed it, but I remember thinking that it wasn't exactly my favorite.  Anyway, we got busy with having a baby and all that that entails and our dining out schedule was drastically altered.  I've been back to Cantina 76 a few times with friends for drinks and a snack, but not for a proper meal.  

Yesterday, my daughter and I decided we should eat lunch out.  Since the Vivver has recently became a queso fanatic, I thought, hmmm let's try out the Cantina again.  It's a local joint, it's close to home, they have queso.  Off we went.  

First, the server informed us that margaritas for two for one, so naturally, we couldn't pass up a deal like that.  Neil ordered his on the rocks, no salt.  This is important to remember.  He hates salt on, in, or near his margarita.  Next, we ordered chips with salsa, guacamole and queso.  Let's start here.  First, the margaritas arrived and after our server left the table, I realized Neil was muttering under his breath.  Yep. you guessed it.  Salt on the rim of his glass.  

Something else to remember about Neil.  Most of the time, he doesn't want to waste time calling the waitress back over, sending it back, waiting for a new one.  Waiting is not his strong suit.  So, he wiped the salt off the glass, but still wasn't a happy muchacho about it because, as I'm sure you can imagine, some of that salt always finds its way into the drink.  ~no bueno~

Now, the appetizers were a different story.  The salsa tasted very fresh; light bright fresh tomato flavor.  It had all the usual players: onion, cilantro, garlic and it was nice and spicy too.  The guacamole really surprised me because I've come to expect restaurant guac to disappoint me because I think my homemade guac is beyond compare.  This was pretty darn good for restaurant guacamole, however.  It was seasoned well and had nice, big chunks of buttery avocado in it!  The queso was also quite good...when I could manage to slide a chip in there, as the little queso afficianada was dominating the bowl.  The chips were a little thick for my taste and seemed as though they'd been made yesterday, but not inedible by any means.

I was starving, so I ordered two tacos:  the roasted chicken ( Roasted chicken with shredded cheese, pico de gallo and southwestern ranch) and the Peruvian shrimp ( Lightly fried shrimp, sweet sesame chili sauce, topped with a jalapeño cole slaw.)  Neil had been snacking earlier in the day, so he opted for just one fish taco (Fried tilapia with pickled jalapeños and a roasted poblano tartar.)  

This was my order

Mine were both very good but I think I liked the shrimp the best.  The shrimp were crisp with a light batter and the flavors of the chili sauce were very nice together.  I didn't pick up any jalapeno at all, but the slaw was still flavorful and worked well with the sauce.  I also enjoyed the chicken but I added a touch of salt and some Cholula hot sauce.  I felt like it just needed a little extra punch of something.  And, serving the roasted chicken at a hotter temp would have improved it as well.   

Peruvian shrimp taco

Roasted chicken taco

Neil's fish taco was a little lackluster in his book.  He's a jalapeno fanatic so he always asks for heavy jalapeno and usually asks for some on the side too, because rarely does anyone really understand HOW MANY peppers he's talking about.  So, his taco was fish, peppers and the poblano tartar.  Just as an observer, I bet adding some of the slaw from the shrimp taco would have added some crunch and personality to this one.  I asked Neil how it tasted and his reply was "like it looked."  You can draw your own conclusions from that...

Fish taco for Neil

 Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Cantina 76.  I see some small adjustments in their menu items I'd make if I owned the place, but no major overhauls are needed here.  The cool thing about this restaurant is their creative taco offerings.  They remind me of the Taco Boy at Folly Beach in regard to the different and interesting tacos that are featured.  Not many other places in Columbia are thinking outside of the taco/burrito box!  

I think sometimes being a home cook (who actually enjoys cooking) can be a little bit of a curse, because you become so analytical and if you make a dish at home that you love, then rarely does a restaurant version stack up.  But, don't get me wrong...I'm not gonna quit cookin' and I'm not gonna quit going out either!  (I do make a mean shrimp taco, though, if I do say so myself.)

 

Hungry Ladies Who Lunch

I had the great pleasure recently to meet up with my food-lovin' blogger friend Laura, -aka- The Hungry Lady. Laura is significantly younger than me, but she tolerated a lunch date with me nonetheless!  It was great to spend some face-to-face time talking about restaurants, her New Year's resolution to start cooking, and other food/wine stuff.  But, more importantly, I got to know more about her besides her love of food.  If you haven't read her blog, do yourself a favor and check it out. 

So, on to the food.


We met at MoMo's Bistro on Devine Street.  I had not been to MoMo's in years and never for lunch.  This was Laura's first time there ever.  The lunch menu was impressive.  Upscale sandwiches, deliciously described salads, a lobster quesadilla.  Laura chose the fish tacos and I opted for the French dip.  I'll start with Laura's...

Let me start with a familial aside.  My father hates tilapia.  I mean, HATES it.  He's sick of hearing the name, sick of seeing it on every flippin' menu, sick.of.it.  So, I couldn't wait to report back to my dad that MoMo's fish tacos are made with a real fish...Grouper.  When the plate arrived, all that I could utter was "wow, how pretty." 

The Hungry Lady sez "Yum Yum"

 It was a fantastic presentation.  Bright purple cabbage, beautifully grilled fish, bright green lime.  While I didn't taste, Laura said these were some of her favorite fish tacos and that the fish was cooking to perfection.  Thumbs up.

My choice sounds as boring as they come.  But, this sandwich will change your mind. What really caught my eye and convinced me that a French dip was in order was that it's made not with sliced roast beef, but with POT ROAST.  Hello?  Is this mike on?  Can you hear me in the back?  POT ROAST.  I have never seen this nor has it ever occurred to me to use this type of roast beef on a sandwich such as a F.D.  Sheer brilliance!  The meat was tender, juicy, flavorful...in a word, perfect.  But that's not all.  It was topped not with a food service-grade bland provolone or swiss. No, no.  MoMo's tops this baby with gruyere.  As it arrived at the table, it just looked dreamy with this soft, fresh hoagie roll with gooey, melty cheese cascading over that awesome meat.  And wait, there's more.  The French dip always comes "au jus."  For those of you who didn't major in French, this means "with juice."  (Ha Ha...I bet you figured that out when you were about 6, right?).  Well, it's been my experience that usually the jus is a sidecar filled with some run-of-the-mill beef broth.  This jus blew the doors off any French dip I've ever had.  Seriously.  Rich, deep flavor that just added that ideal finishing touch to this beautiful sandwich.  

I forgot to mention the fries..homemade and awesome!

So, folks, the bottom line is this.  I really like MoMo's for lunch!  I had a great meal, I got to learn more about a bloggie-friend who I really admire and I got to spread the word to you fine people.  Make a lunch date and enjoy!

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