The Perfect Chicken Sandwich in the Perfect Atmosphere
I ate at the Bluegrass Kitchen shortly after they first opened, and while I enjoyed my bean burrito, my table mates weren’t as pleased with their meals. The ravioli was cold and the restaurant was out of several different menu items, which was annoying. I subsequently heard from other people about similar hit and miss experiences at this East End eatery.
I really wanted to like the place, since it has reasonably priced food and is conveniently located not too far from my East End quarters. Also, it has a really great-looking interior. I wish there were more places in Charleston that captured the kind of mood at the Bluegrass Kitchen. It has a wonderful tin ceiling, a large chandelier in the center of the room, hardwood floors, and an exposed brick wall lined with local artwork. There are vacant spaces all over town that could be transformed into coffee shops, diners, or bars with similar eclectic, mellow atmospheres. Instead, a new chain with cookie cutter decor seems to appear on Corridor G every other month.
Well, last night I decided to give the Bluegrass Kitchen another try. I’m so glad I did. What caught my eye on the menu this time was a sandwich called “The Perfect Chicken.” I joked that this was a pretty bold claim to make and that I might have to sue for false advertising if the chicken sandwich was not, in fact, perfect. Well, after finishing every last bite of this sandwich, I easily concluded that if they want to call this sandwich The Perfect Chicken, I’m not about to quibble with them.
I’ve eaten a lot of chicken sandwiches. It’s a standard item that I order fairly frequently — the Bluegrass Kitchen’s version is one of the best I’ve had anywhere. The hyphen-happy menu description reads: “Lemon & thyme roasted chicken breast layered with bacon, sun-dried tomato-mayo, and swiss cheese panini-grilled inside-out on artisan French bread with greens and tomato added.” The flavors were fabulous — I could really taste the lemon and thyme on the chicken and those flavors matched well with the tomato mayo and the gooey Swiss cheese.
Aside from the deliciousness factor (which gets a perfect 10 from me), two things stood out as making this a superior chicken sandwich. First, the chicken breast was sliced thinly instead of being placed on the sandwich in one whole piece. That made it much easier to eat. When the breast is served whole, it can sometimes be hard to bite through and can cause the sandwich to fall apart. Second, as the menu description says, the crusty French bread is served inside-out. That also made the sandwich easier to bite through, because the softer interior of the bread is on the outside. They flip the bread around to make it easier to grill the sandwich on a press, resulting in the aforementioned gooey cheese.
A note on paninis: I’m glad to see a proper use of the term on a Charleston menu. Other restaurants play fast and loose with the word “panini” by using it to describe just any old sandwich. If it’s not pressed, it’s not a panini. (I’m talkin’ to you, Soho’s — your sandwiches are mighty tasty, but they ain’t paninis.)
Needless to say, I’ll definitely be returning to the Bluegrass Kitchen to eat that sandwich again and to try more of their other offerings. I suspect the hit-and-miss experiences were the result of some kinks that had to be worked out in the restaurant’s early days. I hope so, because I would hate to see the doors to this unique Charleston spot have to close.
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IF YOU GO: Bluegrass Kitchen, 1600 Washington Street East (at the intersection of Washington & Elizabeth Streets)
HOURS: Mon. to Thurs. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. (brunch 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.), Sun. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. (brunch only).
WEB SITE: bluegrasswv.com (Includes menus and photos of the truly remarkable renovation.)
EXTRAS: free Wi-Fi access, brunch on weekends, wine and beer.
May 23rd, 2006 at 7:36 pm
Glad to see someone else loving the Bluegrass. I eat there a couple of times a week since they’re close (and I mean CLOSE. If I’d yell for a beer whoever’s on the bar could probably hear me.), inexpensive, and mighty tasty. I suggest blindly accepting the offer of any of their pasta specials, particularly if it involves their home-preserved lemons. They lend a very distinctive lemon flavor that makes what could be a very heavy meal a nice, light, summer dish. Follow it up with a Campari and soda and you will lapse into daydreams about white linen, green grass, hot weather, and sitting in the shade.
Add up the excellent food, great staff, best muzak in town, and friendly atmosphere, and you have the ne plus ultra of local restaurants.
May 24th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
They didn’t have a pasta special the night I was there, but I almost ordered the pasta dish on the menu. Home preserved lemons? Sounds intriguing.
May 25th, 2006 at 10:13 am
I’ve eaten there once and the chicken sandwich was so unperfect I haven’t been back. Also the soup I ordered wasn’t available, yet 15 minutes later someone else ordered it and got it.
As for the sandwich - no it wasn’t a panini either. Soho’s is not, and neither is this. The only real panini I’ve had in Charleston are the ones at the coffee place on Summers St. The Bluegrass chicken sandwich was just a sandwich with thin bread, not even pressed and toasted, and the bread had big holes in it so it didn’t even hold together. I left after my dinner and was so hungry still I had to go someplace else an hour later.
The only special was a pasta with cream sauce, which isn’t authentic Italian.
I’ll eventually give this place a second chance, but only before calling first to see what the special is.
May 27th, 2006 at 1:46 am
That doesn’t sound like the sandwich I had. As you can see in the photo, the bread was definitely not thin and it was definitely pressed. As for the pasta dish not being “authentic Italian” in your opinion, well, it’s not an Italian restaurant. I don’t think they claim to serve authentic Italian. I don’t know how long ago it was that you ate there, but you might want to give it another chance.
I’ve had one of those paninis at Capitol Roasters before, and I thought it was crap.
May 27th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
I admit to liking the panini at Roasters, but the only one thats really worth it is the Rustic Tuscan since it has enough pepperoni and peppers on it to cover the taste of the burned and squashed bread. As far as ‘not authentic Italian’, it doesn’t really matter to me, as long as its good. Now, if the place was called Mama Mascalzone’s House of Traditional Italian Comestibles it might be a bit more important.
May 27th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
I don’t remember which kind of panini I had at Roasters, I just remember that it tasted like the kind of sandwich you’d get out of a vending machine. It was a while ago.
May 30th, 2006 at 11:42 am
I wouldn’t normally feel the need to put in my 2 cents on something like this, but I have been repeatedly disappointed by this place. The food is not very good, the service is terrible and I don’t know what you all do for a living, but for the portion size I think the prices are too high. I gave the place 3 chances and every time the service was awful and the food was mediocre. I won’t go back, which is too bad since it is in such a convenient location.
May 30th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
I agree with brittany on the cost and service — both leave much to be desired. The food isn’t expensive, but nor is it reasonable, particulary for the small portions. The service is incredibly slow and the last time I was there with a group of mates, the waiter griped at us for not initially telling him we would all pay separately. We had told him twice, one of the times resulting in nearly the same arguement. As for quality, the chicken sandwhich is near perfect by my tastes and the meatball sub…drool…
May 30th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Hey, I welcome everybody’s two cents, especially regarding places that I haven’t eaten very often, so thanks for the comments. I have to say that I have kind of a bad habit of not paying too much attention to prices, unless I don’t like my meal. When I’m dissatisfied with my meal, I of course find myself saying “How much did I pay for that?” If the food is really good, don’t generally care how much I paid, unless it’s clearly overpriced. I went to Bluegrass Kitchen after a first-time mediocre experience, not really expecting too much, and I got a super delicious sandwich that filled me up for seven bucks, which seemed like a steal considering how much I liked it. It seems like the current verdict on this place is a solid hit-and-miss. I hope they can get their act more consistently together. The fact that they own the building rather than leasing it probably means they have a better chance of staying open. Of course, maybe they could use the extra motivation to be better.
May 31st, 2006 at 4:13 pm
I agree about the service being spotty. Perhaps they’re taking the laid back hippie vibe a bit too far. I can’t really complain about the portion sizes though. When I seek quantity over quality, I order Chinese.
May 31st, 2006 at 5:58 pm
There’s a reason we’re fat slobs. The portions are right on if you ask me and I’ve never had a sandwich that resembles anything Phyllis describes (thankfully). I agree the service is hit or miss, but it remains a local fave.
July 6th, 2006 at 8:20 am
This place is brought to you by the same people who brought you the Empty Glass for years. Cleanliness is not in their vocabulary. The food is unmemorable - the hippie atmosphere a bit grating - and the staff is not very helpful.
It will probably be open for years… If it was really good it would have already closed. We are so used to mediocrity we seek it out now.
October 20th, 2006 at 11:02 am
I would like to say that I am glad to see such restaurants around in the Charleston area, instead of the same old restaurant chains (applebee’s, friday’s etc). I tried Bluegrass for the first time last night & ordered the Perfect Chicken and loved it, absolutely loved it. It was very tasty & I liked it much better than the chicken provolone panani I had at Soho’s. I did end up getting the last of the chicken and it was only 8pm. My friends & I thought that was a little odd. I thought the price and portion sizes were great. I don’t think we should complain too much about places like this or they will end up closing and we’ll be stuck with Wendy’s down the block!
July 18th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
[…] That might be my favorite bit of quotable advice ever, food related or otherwise. And wouldn’t you know, Charleston has a selection of wonderful sandwiches for us to enjoy, from the near-legendary spiciness of the BLT at Cazon, to the aptly named Perfect Chicken at the Blue Grass Kitchen. […]