'Gargantuan' Pork Shanks at The Westendorff; Wings 'Worthy of a Fan Club' at Smoke

"The Westendorff may well emerge as the Swiss Army knife of downtown dining," predicts Charleston Scene critic Hanna Raskin in last week's review. Raskin is referring to the fact that the St. Philip St. restaurant can be a big evening out destination or a casual brunch spot — it's there to fit your needs.

Here's the notable lines from Raskin's sampling of the elevated comfort food menu:

• The dish that most reliably incites conversation is a gargantuan pork shank that looks as though it was drawn by a cartoonist.
• The chicken wings are scrawny by sports bar standards, but their smoke-scented flavor demonstrates that meat quality shouldn’t be judged with a tape measure.
• The steak’s crowning egg is a bit rubbery, but the unpretentious dish otherwise tastes like a potential after-work tradition.

City Paper sends writer Vanessa Wolf to survey the meats at Upper King spot Smoke BBQ, and she's also digging on some wings. While Wolf goes through much of the menu, she has a recommendation to readers for their next order:

Pro tip: pair the hash and grits with the wings or the Reuben, Cuban, or all three. Is that a good idea? While your mouth will wholeheartedly agree, your ticker may have other ideas. We'll leave it to you to sort that out.