Spero - A review from Basil and Bubbly

Recently I have been losing faith in Charleston restaurants. New places pop up, I briefly get excited, and then I crushingly realize the truth about eating downtown:

Apparently I've been missing a whole category of alcohol : Radler. YUM.

the food may be great, but the bill will be greater.

There are, of course, places to eat here that are reasonably priced ... but are they really that good? The usual suspects are full of fried food, bar snacks, and generally speaking, a whole lot of "blah". The price gap between delicious gourmet food and meals I can actually afford has been too wide for too long downtown.

Cue Spero: a small eatery a little off the beaten path in downtown Charleston. Truthfully, I was hesitant to go here when I learned it was in the former "Hello, My Name is BBQ" slot downtown. I've never been a huge fan of that location, but after going, I now question why I didn't like it. There is free (freeeeeeee, people!) parking, none of the traffic pain of King Street, a decent sized bar, and a small but comfortable dining space inside. Seriously, why have I been avoiding this location for so many years?

Bread Flight - Beef Tallow Biscuits with horseradish creme, Cornbread with burnt honey miso butter, Sourdough Pretzel Bread with ham and mustard butter

The menu is to the point, but not lacking in choices. We started at the bar with a bread flight and some red wine while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive. We perused the menu, and made friends with the manager, who was super friendly and had some great suggestions for us. I must admit, we didn't plan on going there and ordering most of the menu; it just kinda happened. The prices are super reasonable, but the food is on par with what we've all come to expect from pricey "casual dining" restaurants downtown. Once we tried one dish, it felt like we simply had to try another.

I'm so glad we took the recommendations given to us, because I probably would not have ordered a few of the dishes that really delighted me with their unexpected flavors. At the top of that list is the raw oyster dish. Y'all, this dish is comprised of beautiful oysters on the half shell in the classic bed of ice with .... yellow mustard and chopped pickle on top. You can't make this stuff up. I was skeptical, to say the least, but I am so glad this dish made it to our table. It's such an odd combination -- you almost don't want it to work it's so odd.

Raw Local Oysters - bread and butter pickles, yellow mustard

Oh, but it does work, and it's killer. Tangy and salty, the mustard and pickles make a sort of redneck mignonette. Combine those bits with a glass of blanc de blancs and you've got an amazing start to the night.

On to the ducks ( Quack Quack!). My whole life I don't think I ever heard the word "duck" uttered in my family without someone consequently exclaiming "Quack Quack!", so I have to carry it on here. Uh, as I was saying... there are two dishes with this meat on the menu. You want them both. Do you hear me? GET THEM BOTH. If you are really sure that you hate duck, then maybe (maybe) pass on the duck confit, as it is decidedly more "duck-y", but I'm telling you, get the sausage dish regardless.

The Duck Confit is a salad of sorts, with roasted beets, strawberries, bleu cheese, and buttermilk. The texture of the beets, tangy but mild saltiness of the blue cheese, and light sweetness from the strawberries mix with the duck to make a plate that has none of the heaviness associated with roasting fowl in its own fat and all of the flavor. If that wasn't enough to temp you, just look at it (above), it's gohr-geous. It's the kind of dish that makes you feel special when it comes out; it's that pretty. My wine-laden photography probably did not do it justice.

Smoked Duck Sausage - cowpeas, butter beans, black eyed peas, lemon creme

On to the Smoked Duck Sausage: I'm going to try to talk about this dish reasonably here. Okay. Here we go... This dish is my new favorite dish in Charleston, a spot previously held by the Swordfish at Chez Nous. Just to be clear, a $9 sausage and bean dish has just trumped the $32 fish entree that has held the top place on my list of "If I Could Eat One Last Meal In Charleston Before I Die" since before Thanksgiving. The lightly smoky slices of duck sausage are meaty without being grease bombs, and they are served over a melange of southern beans. The starchy beans are topped with a light touch of something creamy and it's all balanced out with fresh herbs and a hint of meyer lemon to keep things fresh. Le sigh. I think I've probably talked about this dish every day since I had it for the first time. Do you believe me yet? Get the duck. Quack Quack.

Throughout our meal, much wine was consumed. Know that their beverage list is short by downtown standards, but it is just like the rest of Spero: well cultivated, and a little tongue-in-cheek. A few choice craft beers ( but also, Miller Highlife served in a champagne bucket ), a short selection of whites and reds, and a single sparkler ( a dry, bubbly blanc de blancs that I'd never heard of but was great nonetheless ). We finished it all off with every dessert on the menu ( not joking ). My favorite was the milk and cookies, served on a silver platter with mason jars of milk. I don't even remember the last time I had "real" ( as in not from some type of tree nut ) milk, so that alone was a treat, and the cookie tasted like a chocolate-chip-less chocolate chip cookie that reminded me of my chewy on the inside, crunchy on the edges "The Cookie" recipe. Fabulous.

TL;DR:

Here's the thing about Spero: it's delicious, it's farm-to-table, it's fresh. It's not fussy about any of those things, though. Don't be scared off by the location -- Spero's food is killer, service is friendly and on point, and their wine list is short, but good and super reasonably priced. Go here now, before the crowds discover it and take it over! I hope Spero is a good indication of what is to come over the next few years in the Charleston dining scene. Dum Spiro Spero.

Eat:

Bread Flight, Smoked Duck Sausage, Duck Confit, Raw Local Oysters, Red Russian Kale Salad, Cookies and Milk

Drink:

Blanc de Blancs, Grapefruit Radler, or the Champagne of Beers.

Wear:

Casual

Locate:

616 Meeting Street
Suite A
Charleston, SC 29403

Park:

In the gravel lot in front of the restaurant.