MacIntosh

The chef here is named Jeremiah Bacon... Yeah, I said Bacon. Hell, you gotta love this place already. The space is modern with lots of wood all around. The cuisine is modern southern or southern nouveau... Yeah, well, who isn't doing a modern spin on southern cuisine these days. But the real question is- who can actually make it work? Charleston has become a great little culinary town. They have access to a bevy of local ingredients, land and water. So, naturally, you would expect most restos to have the best and freshest on their menus.

The menu here is not extensive (which is a good sign) but if you look at all the ingredients in each dish, it is quite complex. It's quality. Let's see what they can do with it...

Sweetbreads, Thackeray Farm's Grilled Okra, Housemade Bacon & Sultana Jam, Smoked Sungold Puree. I love sweetbreads and I will eat it any way it's prepared. This one was battered and deep fried. It might have been in the fryer a little too long since the sweetbread was a bit tougher than I would have liked. A tender sweetbread is what most prefer but overall this was still a decent version.

Tempura Fried Kennerty Farms Squash Blossom, Burden Creek Goat Cheese, Greens, Petite Squash, Pecans, Peach Vinaigrette. A classic prep of the squash blossom but it kinda looks like the fried sweetbread doesn't it? It threw me off for a second until I cut that bad boy in half. It's a cute dish and tasty, too.

Pork Ravioli, SC Creamed Corn Puree, Tomatillo, Charred Corn and Onion, Basil. Puffy pillows of pork inside pasta, you can't get any better than that. There's a lot going on in this dish, a lot of moving parts that strangely worked well together.

"The Mac" 8oz. House Ground Burger, Aged Cheddar, Nueske's Bacon, Pecorino Truffle Frites.
Half brisket, half sirloin mix... Oh yeah, that's my kinda burger. Perfect medium rare and juicy, a very good burger but the thin cut fries were just aight even with the overdone truffle oil.

Crispy Duck Leg, Ambrose Farms Warm Early Summer Greens, Anson Mills Farro Piccolo, Peanuts, Charred Sweet Onion Vinaigrette. Oh, it's crispy alright... Just a well prepared duck leg with a nice thin crispy skin and flavorful tender thigh. A tasty earthy dish.

7oz. Grilled Deckle, Romesco, Roasted Caper Berries, Warm Fingerling Potato and Kale Salad. Ok, some hungry people got to it before I had a chance to snap a pic but you can tell from what's left that the deckle was cooked beautifully and tender to the bite. Love deckle when it's cooked properly because it is possibly be the best cut since the filet.

Bone Marrow Bread Pudding. Great bread pudding but needed more bone marrow!

Summer Succotash, Sweet 100's, Okra, Field Peas, Palmetto Sweet Onions. Fresh ingredients but still just a veggie mix... Needed some seasoning.

This is a great neighborhood joint... Very good cocktail program, well made drinks, great service, well educated on the menu, and the execution on the dishes were good. All that equals to a resto that works well and will last a long time. Definitely a keeper.

PS- the Cocktail Club upstairs is not part of the MacIntosh.. But a must for after dinner cocktails. 

3 Stars.

479 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 789-4299
http://www.themacintoshcharleston.com/