Critic Finds Chicken ‘Full of Fatty Flavor’ at Edmund’s Oast

Even though Edmund’s Oast switched its chef this summer, Charleston City Paper critic Vanessa Wolf finds that the restaurant is still superlative in her latest review. Wolf declares that new chef Bob Cook has taken the menu “in an undeniably upscale, ingredient-driven direction.”

The chicken liver parfait is “Smooth and airy — yet notably decadent.” The chicken in green Thai curry is “crisp and tender, while full of fatty flavor.” And while fowl was crave-worthy, Wolf finds problems with the sea items. The octopus is “slightly overcooked and chewy” and the tempura trigger fish and shrimp is a “mushy riff on shrimp and grits.” The poached shrimp, however, is “thoughtful” and “carefully executed.”

Post and Courier critic Hanna Raskin visits I’on newcomer The Shellmore for wine, oysters, and more. “On an early fall evening,” she write, “you could sit at a sidewalk table with a platter of raw oysters and glass of Muscadet, and know with certainty that your time wasn’t going to waste.”

Raskin urges readers to stay for more of the menu than the half shells, especially for the clams in the frogmore stew — “Brimming with oceanic salt, the meaty littlenecks are perhaps the most magical thing to ever exist in such close proximity to parsley.” Though, the small menu always changes, so those clams might not be there this week.

• Edmund's Oast Remains Superlative Thanks to Chef Bob Cook [ECHS]
• Neighborhood Bistro The Shellmore More Proof That Small Menus Can Deliver Huge Flavors [P&C]