Is Greenville the next big food city of the South?
That's the question Esquire magazine asked in March 2013, saying that Greenville is quickly gaining on Charleston in becoming the South's best food city.
Food and travel writer John Mariani writes that while Charleston is steeped in "antebellum charm," Greenville is a city of the future, home to BMW, Michelin, the International Center for Automotive Research, The Center for Emerging Technologies and much more.
In the blog "Eat Like A Man," Mariani writes about the more than 110 restaurants lining Main Street, most of them locally owned and excellent.
I think Main Street is probably the biggest surprise for anyone visiting Greenville for the first time in years. This is one of the liveliest downtowns you'll find in a city of this size. You can walk a few blocks on Main and have your choice of many great spots to eat and almost any ethnic choice of food.
Here are a few must-try restaurants in Greenville, SC:
Soby's, one of the catalysts for change in the city when it opened 15 years ago, "made a stand for Southern traditions honed to a casual, fine-dining glow, as in lobster mac 'n' cheese with truffled Parmesan streusel, and shrimp and grits with Low Country ham and creamy wine sauce."
Passerelle Bistro serves french-influenced cuisine and al fresco seating.
The Lazy Goat is a popular West End restaurant that serves mouthwatering Mediterranean dishes.
The gastro pub Nose Dive at the Westin Poinsett Hotel "does a sensationally good housemade pretzel lavished with devilled crab and white cheddar." (Soby's, Passerelle Bistro, The Lazy Goat and Nose Dive all are owned by the Table 301 restaurant group.)
The Roost, where "just about everything is as locally sourced as possible, from lettuce to pigs, from mustards to grits."
