Roost

During my mother’s visit to Greenville we were lucky enough to get a table at Roost, the newest addition to the North Main Street culinary scene. Lauris and his father had tickets to the circus and after dropping them off the rest of us headed downtown. It was raining and it was cold, but from the moment we stepped inside we were enveloped in warmth; the smells, the lighting, the entire space is tasteful and hospitable with clean lines and friendly staff.



NOMA Square on North Main St.



 

Serving up  local, organic, and seasonal food, Roost offers “ a one-of-a-kind dining experience including outdoor seating in NOMA Square, an open kitchen with ringside seating along the Kitchen Counter, an open-air bar area, and a Harvest Table where guests can work with the chef directly to build their own meals.” (From the website, here) Since the menu changes, I’ll just mention that I enjoyed the duck and also the bite of my mother’s bistro filet, but the real winners were the smoked bacon & potato gratin, and the blue crab beignets. There’s a hint of bacon that complements the crab perfectly, as does the local honey served up alongside.

 

Mikus was very well-behaved, only scaring off two couples from sitting at the next table. When requesting a different table in both cases they looked directly at the baby sitting very quietly at the next table and asked for something “a little bigger”… It’s not that I’m offended, as I understand that every customer has the right to a lovely dinner just as I do, however I feel that a perfect evening was marred by having to experience this twice. As I mentioned Mikus in the reservation I feel that the whole situation could have been avoided by putting us in a spot where we wouldn’t be a bother. Maybe I need to grow thicker skin, and maybe the table was in fact too small, but it’s hard enough eating out with a child without getting grief from other customers. And I would like to emphasize he was on his best one year-old behavior. Enough said on that topic.

Mikus checking out the Hyatt lobby, photo credit: my mom

 

So Roost. Go for a romantic dinner, order the bacon-crab donuts, enjoy a glass of wine and stay for dessert. And smile at the mother and baby at the next table, it won’t be so bad, I promise.

 

 

Update 4/3/2013

Un a subsequent visit to Roost we were not served honey alongside our bread, nor our beignets. I was disappointed, as I had been looking forward to the wonderful local honey they served up on our first visit. However, I might have been partially mollified by the gluten free gnocchi - it was divine.