Starting tomorrow, the SeaBlue patio will be where refined bikers can get a cold brew and hot tapas.
Biker tapas
The gang at SeaBlue (the culinary gang, not a biker gang) normally doesn’t do much business during bike week, but this year they’re going to have a motorcycle mentality. Starting tomorrow, Friday, May 9, and through bike week SeaBlue in North Myrtle Beach is offering express lunches and ice-cold beers out on their patio from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
And even if you don’t have a motorcycle, chef/proprietor Kelly Graham says to stop on by for lunch and enjoy the fun.
Regular dinner service will start, as usual, at 5 p.m. Specials this week include a Sashimi Plate for Two featuring Kona Kampachi, Toro, Escolar and Maguro.
Also, here’s a reminder about SeaBlue’s upcoming Argentinean wine dinner. It starts at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 12, and for $50 per person the menu includes:
NQN Picada 15 White Blend Reception Wine
El Cipres Torrontes Tequilla Lime Poached Prawns with Nutmeg Peach Compote
Clara Benegas Chardonnay Grape Leaf Wrapped SeaBass with Caramelized Onion Puree
Finca el Reposo Malbec Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Buerre Rouge
El Cipres Cabernet Sauvignon Rye and Gorgonzola Encrusted NY Strip with Chever Leek Creamed Fingerling Potatoes
Benegas 'Don Tiburcio' Blend Dark Chocolate and Berry Tart with Plum Sauce
The number for reservations is (843) 249-8800, and you can click the banner below to visit SeaBlue’s Web site.
The back of the upstairs bar is made of rare striped African mahogany; you can't even buy it any more.
Upstairs jazz
Jazz pianist Pierre Fignole will set a sultry tone at The Brentwood Restaurant’s Wine Bar. At 7 p.m. on Saturday nights, Fignole will play from his extensive repertoire of jazz favorites, and is happy to take requests.
Fignole, a Haitian native, has performed locally at the former Jasmine Supper Club, Pawleys Island Tavern, the former New Orleans Connection and the Buddha Lounge, and with the Andrew Thielen Big Band.
Operating hours at The Brentwood Restaurant & Wine Bar will extend as the warm season progresses. Right now they are open for dinner starting at 4:30 Mondays through Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays for brunch. The wine bar is open starting at 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, with Pierre Fignole performing on Saturdays.
Broken connection
Did you catch the reference in the above article to the “former” New Orleans Connection? It is closed after one summer/fall season – the phone is disconnected and no longer in service.
On Jan. 25, we reported this:
“The other day I said when you call New Orleans Connection in North Myrtle Beach no one answers the phone, and there is no message indicating their hours of operation. I drove by yesterday, and there’s a sign on the restaurant’s door saying they’re closed for the season and will reopen April 1.”
And on. Jan. 21 we reported:
“New Orleans Connection, 1021 Second Ave., North Myrtle Beach: I’m not sure what the status is of this restaurant that opened in May 2007. I called when they were supposed to be open for lunch, but got a generic answering machine message. I left my number for them to call me back, but no one called.”
Up the creek
I may have visited Salt Creek restaurant on 17 Bypass in Murrells Inlet without my paddle, but I had a fork, and that’s all I needed to enjoy their lunchtime cuisine. We also took photos of their food for you.
A respectable number of tables were filled; several diners enjoyed meals both inside the tranquil dining room and outside on the shady patio under the live oaks.
Salt Creek Grits
Cobb Salad
Cookie Slop
The best dish we tried was Salt Creek Grits, which is their version of shrimp and grits. The fried grits cake had crispy edges and a moist center, and the light gravy was flavorful.
The Creek Cobb Salad was big, and comes topped with turkey, ham, Jack cheese, eggs, tomatoes, avocado, broccoli, apples, carrots and cucumbers. Remember a couple of weeks ago when I talked about how sometimes it is less expensive to eat at a restaurant than to buy the groceries and cook the food at home? This Cobb Salad is a good example of that…try to buy the groceries to make it for the $8 Salt Creek charges.
For dessert we tried the Cookie Slop. It is chocolate pudding, whipped cream and broken chocolate chip cookies mixed together, and the treat tastes marvelous.
Jicamaw Salad
Two more things: One of the side dish choices was Jicamaw Salad. That’s a creative way to spell jicama (and clever…think Waccamaw), which is a root vegetable. It’s a cross between a potato and a turnip and a Jerusalem artichoke.
To make Jicamaw Salad they grated the jicamaw and dressed it like cole slaw. It was tangy and delicious. I asked for some of my food to be wrapped up to take home, and the server put it in a neat little cardboard takeout box, and then used a Sharpie to write the dishes’ names on each box, and the dates the foods were prepared. Nice touch! Salt Creek Cafe is at 4660 U.S. 17 Bypass in Murrells Inlet, and the number is 357-2433.
