The Block (Charleston, WV)

Overall                          * * * * *
Flavor                           * * * * *
Uniqueness                   * * * * *
Price                             $$$
Comfort/Convenience  * * * * -  (Minus one star for downtown parking)

Price Ranges:
Appetizers      $7-16
Drinks            $8-? (I was scared to keep looking)
Entrees           $13-36 (I counted the flatbreads)
Desserts         $8-12

Located right in the heart of downtown, The Block is in what should really be the perfect location.  After a series of fairly quick flops in the same location (the French restaurant that was around so shortly few remember the name, the Bus Station Grille, and a McDonalds) it's clear you need more than just location to stay afloat downtown.

I'm pleased to say I think The Block has it.

The inside is a little intimidating: pristine hardwood floors, almost floor to ceiling windows on the street side, a large open-fronted wine vault in the middle room, and high ceilings with dangling lights.  Ah, and they're still very busy, so you may want a reservation at this point in the game (but don't be bothered if they have to look for a seat for you or there's a wait: it's worth it and they're not mean about it)  It's a place you want to dress up for, but not one that you necessarily need to.

The host was very pleasant and found us a seat quickly, even without reservations (I'm sorry, host, you're the one person whose name I didn't get!) and we sat down to review the drinks list and menus.

Hands down (and pages turned.  Twice.) The Block has the largest wine list in Charleston.  No exaggeration needed.  It is literally a three page, legal paper size, front and back menu of wines to choose from.  This also includes flights, offered nowhere else in Charleston, of roughly 1/3 glasses of wine that run in the range of 10-16 dollars for three samples.  Confused by the options?  Off to the side of each wine is a number which corresponds is also seen next to one of your food menu items.  Or you can ask the server.  (Ours was very knowledgeable and happy to find out anything he didn't know) Individual glasses start at about $8, but can get very pricey depending on what you want.

Lest you think the poor beer drinkers are forgotten, they also have about 10 beers on tap.  Nothing to sneeze at for any establishment, let alone one that focuses on wine.  Bottled beers and ciders are available as well (including very nice specialized glasses for Lindeman's)  Prices are reasonable, running around $8 for a pint.

And cocktails can't be forgotten either.  I tried both the chocolate martini and the Island Colada.  Both were made well and well worth the 8-13 price range.  Plus the dollop of whipped cream on the chocolate martini...mm...

Finally, the food.  This particular time we were going right after work, so we just stuck with something "light", but I feel like we got our value. 

First was a watermelon and feta stack with mint, balsamic reduction, and walnuts: I admit I was a little hesitant.  It sounded not particularly unappetizing, but certainly strange, and yet it was delicious.  I feel like a tangier cheese might have brought the watermelon flavor forward a little more (or possibly a very light sprinkle of salt?), but overall it was just light, refreshing, and very pleasing.

Then came bruschetta that came out as the toasts and you put the topping on yourself (actually a very bright idea: keeps the toast from getting soggy)  The flavor on this was a little disappointing for me: it wasn't bad at all, just a little bland compared to everything else we ate and not as adventurous.

Our "main" meal was flat breads.  The further one is the Santorini and the closer one is the Paizano.  Both were amazing, lip-licking, eating-far-too-much experiences.  The Santorini is Manouri cheese (a slightly tangy goat cheese), artichokes, kalamata olives, dates, and fig balsamic glaze: slightly smokier and sweeter flavor (also stickier).  The Paizano is pesto, truffle oil, artichokes, roasted red peppers, purple onion, portobello mushrooms, golden raisins (I didn't taste any of these, but they were supposedly there), and Manchego and Parmesano-Reggiano cheeses-deeply savory and slightly earthy from the mushroom. (Umame, as the Japanese would say)  Flat breads, by the way, are very much are enough to be a meal, possibly even for two depending on how hungry you are.

Finally, we ordered dessert, already too full, but determined to have the full experience.  My friend ordered the Tres Leches and my husband and I ordered the Bailey's cake.

Hm.  The Tres Leches (thank you, dear friend, for letting me try!) was very good, but the Bailey's cake (above), which had been described as a kind of tiramisu, was very dry and dense.  Possibly just because we were thinking of it in the mindset of a tiramisu rather than a cake, but it was too thick and not very Bailey's-ish.  It was still a good flavor, but the texture was not right.

And, in contrast to my last review, I'd like to say we had some of the best service we've ever had here from the server, Scott.  Our drinks never ran low, we never had to do more than glance up to have a question answered, he never pushed us to order (or to leave, and I know we committed the cardinal sin of lingering.  I hope we tipped well enough, Scott), and he was just so darned pleasant!  Bless you, Scott, and may this bring you many customers.  We also got a buzz by from the manager, Brittany, making sure everything had gone well (to whom we also mentioned the fantastic food and service).

Overall, kudos for a meal I am more than willing to pay the price for.  It was delightful and the service was impeccable.

Words to the wise: Beware your seating in the late evening.  As the sun comes in those big windows, you may find yourself with it right in your eyes.

Bricks and Barrels (Charleston, WV)

Overall                          - - - - -
Flavor                           - - - - -
Uniqueness                   * - - - -
Price                             $$$$ ($40-50 per person or more for appetizers and drinks)
Comfort/Convenience  * - - - -

This place has been on my best friend's radar for months now.  So when it opened and we both had time off, we gathered family in town for the weekend and went.

Well.

Let's start off by saying that you will not find parking if there's a game going on at the Power Park, because the 20 spaces they have are already taken (questionably by diners) and all surrounding parking is taken by people going to the game.  So you're taking a hike in an area that most Charlestonians would acknowledge is really not the best late at night to get here.

Then you step into a (very) dimly lit interior of hardwood floors, black walls and ceilings, and a few sparse pendant lights.  Thank heaven the menu print was large because I was having problems reading it well and I'm nowhere near bifocal age yet.

The beer and wine lists are fairly extensive, but also fairly expensive.  You could pay much less at half a dozen places downtown (Pies and Pints, Blacksheep, Celsius) for similar selection.  No specialty cocktails here yet, though the waitress said they're going to make up a few soon.  After seeing the prices on the wine and beer menus, I wasn't interested in trying for liquor.

But I really came to this location to try out the food: menu descriptions were intriguing, although I was again thrown by the prices (appetizers were already approaching the $20 threshold and several of the entrees were $40+).  Entrees do not include anything extra, and by "anything" I mean a bread basket, a salad, or a side.  You ordered a steak?  Here's your steak.  By itself.

Not to be deterred (after all, we knew it might be expensive and we'd even dressed up for it), we got drinks and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

About half an hour to forty five minutes after we'd gotten our drinks, the waitress came back to take our orders for food and one of our table mates had to remind her to get the frosted glass for her shandy (which she said she'd bring when she dropped off the drinks, but it never came).  No refills on water for anyone.  When she came back with the glass, she refilled waters, but didn't ask my husband if he'd like a new beer.

Thankfully, we were having a good time and in good company because it was another long wait for the food with only one quick flyby from the waitress (who got another beer this time, but didn't refill waters or tell us anything about the status of our food) before the final "It's plating now" right before they brought the food out.

And the food we paid so much for?  Utterly unimpressive.

With five of us ordering different things each, I think I can give a fairly good representation of what they have to offer: the Mediterranean chicken was the only thing that got an unreserved thumbs up and the only thing that kind of came with a side (served on a bed of couscous), then there was a grilled portobello and tofu that was flavorless and watery, a very undercooked and flavorless tuna steak that was unfortunately a little gamey as well, a ceaser salad with what appeared to be Italian dressing (what on earth?), a "steak on steak" (beefsteak tomatoes on filet with mozzarella and a drizzle of balsamic) ordered medium rare and arriving on the more done side of medium well, and an altered Cobb salad that arrived incorrect but they fixed.

To top off the insult of bland food, as the girl who ordered the tofu and I were getting down to the last bits of ours (or, in my case, the last bit I could choke down), we saw a waitress going around with a pepper grinder that ours had never offered.  No salt or pepper on the table and no offer of the pepper grinder.

Now irritated, we had to wait for her to come back to flag for our checks and wait another several minutes for her to come back and (we had our cards ready so we could just leave by now) take the cards.  Wish we'd looked a little more carefully at the bills before we paid because we were overcharged $6 for a bottle of wine.

Long story short?  Bland food, bad service, outrageous prices, and terrible location.  Go elsewhere.

Bricks and Barrels
1214 Smith Street
Charleston, WV