It was a crisp Sunday afternoon in the city. I was delighted that a business meeting called for me to have brunch at a restaurant interestingly enough called Low Country. Now of course being born and raised in Charleston SC this absolutely peaked my interest. I told my friend I was with, up until that point, I had yet to find anyone that did Charleston/southern food REALLY well up here. However, with a name like Low Country, I was sort of thinking that it may have been a bit contrived in their derivation and presentations. Boy was I wrong. They have hit it on the head in every direction.
At my brunch table was a PR associate that actually attended USC and knew Charleston very well along with 2 other friends who were not at all familiar with the art form of southern cuisine. The PR associate made a comment to me that there was no where she had been that had gotten the staple shrimp and grits correct. She cautiously ordered it. It was served with cheesy grits, andouille sausage and a tomato based gravy. She was delightfully pleased with hers.
For any of you that know me on brunch. . . as with most things, I am a creature of habit. I always look for the Eggs Benedict. Theirs was served with country ham and a Texas Pete based hollandaise. It was quite savory. My one complaint when using country ham is that it tends to be so incredibly salty. Don't let the complaint fool you! I was hungry and ate every bite. I did however find it odd that no where on the menu allowed for hash browns, home fries etc. The only thing I saw was french fries.
My friend ordered the big breakfast biscuit that came with bacon and scrambled eggs. It was very big dirty biscuit-esque a la Hominy Grill.
the decor is quite interesting. It's low key with a big display in the back of various types of bourbon that they sell. The music could not have been any better in my opinion. It was Stevie Wonder into Diana Ross. I even heard a Chairmen of the Board beach music song. I looked up at my new friend who had attended USC and said "OMG they're so playing beach music in here!!!"
Lowcountry gets it right in almost every aspect of the word. I will say that service was a bit off. She was sweet. . . just not very attentive. I will also say that it was surprisingly slow and quiet in the restaurant today. I am not sure why people have not found the place yet. I can only bet that it will not be a secret for long.
When traveling to NYC and wanting some southern comfort food for brunch, give Lowcountry a shot.
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