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Just don't set the bar high; realize you are comparing apples to mandarin oranges (Greenville is a micro-city) and you won't be disappointed. It is within driving distance to big cities where you can have your big city experience.
There are plenty of chain restaurants here so you can always find food you are used to. The private 5 star "gourmet" restaurants in Greenville, don't even hold a candle to a 2 star restaurant anywhere I've ever lived or visited. So you won't be wasting money eating out if you are used to haute cuisine.
Instead, just cook at home. The weather is fantastic. Cook outdoors. (In fact grow your own food. We are zone 8B.)There are some great ethnic markets, Indian, Asian and Latino here (for a small city) close to me--- as well as Trader Joes and Whole Foods and a few farmers markets.
If you are a half decent cook and can follow a recipe, your home cooked meals will outshine even the "best" restaurant food in Greenville. I have sampled Greenville's "best" and it was bland as all get out. You don't have to take my word for it. Just check out the international "Chowhound" website.
If you are looking to downscale and for a simpler lifestyle, Greenville has lots of redeeming qualities.
LOL! I am glad I am not the only one that feels this way! Almost every time I go out to eat at one of the well-known, well-reviewed places downtown I think "I could have cooked that better and a lot less expensively", not to mention with less salt and fat! Now ethnic food is another thing- I do love to eat at the Indian and Thai places, as well as the Pita House- I can never make that food as good! One place I do love to eat is the Commerce Club- the food is good but the best part is the service- I feel like a queen there .
Here's a bit of how Zagat describes Greenville's atmosphere:
Greenville is often overshadowed by the Antebellum glamour and decadent Lowcountry dishes of South Carolina's major food center, Charleston. What it lacks in population and James Beard awards, it makes up for stunning Blue Ridge Mountain scenery, small-town charm and fantastic fare. It's like the perfect lovechild of Chucktown and Asheville.
Zagat gives nods to Greenville favorites like Roost Restaurant and American Grocery, Soby's, Nosedive, The Lazy Goat, and The Chocolate Moose are all mentioned.
Zagat even notes Greenville's ability to attract satellite locations of Asheville favorites like Tupelo Honey Cafe and the soon-to-open Biscuit Head.
Columbia also made Zagat's list.
LOL! I am glad I am not the only one that feels this way! Almost every time I go out to eat at one of the well-known, well-reviewed places downtown I think "I could have cooked that better and a lot less expensively", not to mention with less salt and fat! Now ethnic food is another thing- I do love to eat at the Indian and Thai places, as well as the Pita House- I can never make that food as good! One place I do love to eat is the Commerce Club- the food is good but the best part is the service- I feel like a queen there .
I agree as well about being able to cook it better. lol Most of the places we have tried are just average. Although, it is nice to go downtown and eat outside once in a while
Here's a bit of how Zagat describes Greenville's atmosphere:
Greenville is often overshadowed by the Antebellum glamour and decadent Lowcountry dishes of South Carolina's major food center, Charleston. What it lacks in population and James Beard awards, it makes up for stunning Blue Ridge Mountain scenery, small-town charm and fantastic fare. It's like the perfect lovechild of Chucktown and Asheville.
Zagat gives nods to Greenville favorites like Roost Restaurant and American Grocery, Soby's, Nosedive, The Lazy Goat, and The Chocolate Moose are all mentioned.
Zagat even notes Greenville's ability to attract satellite locations of Asheville favorites like Tupelo Honey Cafe and the soon-to-open Biscuit Head.
Columbia also made Zagat's list.
Well yes, places like Soby's and American Grocery are high-end; the issue with places like that for me and I would imagine others is that we don't care to eat sweetbreads of braised beef tongue. And pork belly-ugh!- don't get me started .
Just don't set the bar high; realize you are comparing apples to mandarin oranges (Greenville is a micro-city) and you won't be disappointed. It is within driving distance to big cities where you can have your big city experience.
There are plenty of chain restaurants here so you can always find food you are used to. The private 5 star "gourmet" restaurants in Greenville, don't even hold a candle to a 2 star restaurant anywhere I've ever lived or visited. So you won't be wasting money eating out if you are used to haute cuisine.
Instead, just cook at home. The weather is fantastic. Cook outdoors. (In fact grow your own food. We are zone 8B.)There are some great ethnic markets, Indian, Asian and Latino here (for a small city) close to me--- as well as Trader Joes and Whole Foods and a few farmers markets.
If you are a half decent cook and can follow a recipe, your home cooked meals will outshine even the "best" restaurant food in Greenville. I have sampled Greenville's "best" and it was bland as all get out. You don't have to take my word for it. Just check out the international "Chowhound" website.
If you are looking to downscale and for a simpler lifestyle, Greenville has lots of redeeming qualities.
Well this nailed things on the head.
One of the unexpected benefits of living here is that we cook almost everything we eat. I had been used to such a plethora of great restaurants, that it was easy to be lazy and order something or pick something up.
I can barely think of places where we do that here, Pita House and... Mekong when we are over on that side of town.
This ain't no foodie town, but there has been really good marketing for the downtown food scene and if you are willing to pay top dollar there are a few great options. But for everyday eating, the choices are slim for foodies. Plenty national chains, but those are everywhere, and generally suck.
I think that would be a bit of a shocker coming from California, where so much of our produce is grown and great, healthy restaurants are abundant.
I live about a mile away from Pita House - I dream about their falafel - I eat it once a week - I've had falafel in many other "bigger" cities and nothing compares - NOTHING
i live about a mile away from pita house - i dream about their falafel - i eat it once a week - i've had falafel in many other "bigger" cities and nothing compares - nothing
So a smaller metro than Greenville in Asheville has good restaurants but not Greenville? Seems doubtful.
-Asheville just has more upscale dining options.
-Tourists, Tourists, Tourists. Asheville is huge tourism town.
-More well heeled retirees with plenty of disposable income in the Asheville area. Greenville has only recently become a popular alternative to Asheville for retirees.
-Asheville's wealth is in a more condensed area. The Asheville MSA is 2000 square miles and the Greenville-Spartanburg MSA is 6000 square miles.
-In addition to the smaller area the Asheville MSA's population gets even more condensed by how hard/expensive building on the mountains is.
-Also, East Coast old money has been retreating to the mountains of NC, during the summer, for over a 100 years now.
-But mostly- Tourists, Tourists, Tourists. There are six 4 or 5 star hotels in Asheville and two in GSP.
Last edited by Clever nickname here; 04-01-2016 at 02:30 PM..
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