rotten oysters

I grew up in west ash so needless to say, avondale and other old neighborhoods make me nostalgic with their grit and non-pretentious old Charleston character. West Ashley Bait and tackle was also around in my youth and was a good place to get fishing and crabbing supplies or even a sandwich if you so dared. Anyhow, my point is that I am biased towards this place and I think the new owners have done a great job preserving its old charm while converting it into a great restaurant/bar.

As a bar, B &T is superlative; it is smoke-free, has good, inexpensive beer and liquor, good live music (mostly bluegrass) and a truly friendly, down-home staff. Strike up a conversation with any of the barteders and if you are not freaky or disgusting, you will find them to be charming, witty, and friendly. The crowd is clearly local and seems to gravitate around the music playing on any given night (blue dogs’ member projects are a good example).

As a restaurant, B&T does a great job as well, serving the highest quality bar food that has quite obviously been prepared with care. One of my favorite parts of this rustic and rewarding eating experience is the message from the chef on each table that basically says cool-out while I spend time making you a generous portion of delicious food. The eastern NC style bbq plate is great, though they often run out of it. The pork stands up to any place that “specializes” only in bbq. The burgers are also up there in the local burger realm (poes, gene’s, apparently o’malley’s, ac’s…) The sides are uniquely good too–the collard greens are perfectly balanced with pepper vinegar and ham-hock and are a truly soulful and proper rendition. The tater-tots are deep fried to crispy perfection and seasoned with sea salt and make me dread the day when the ban on trans-fat reaches Charleston and all crunchy fried goodness disappears from our restaurants (the anti-trans fat movement deserves its own discussion). Anyways, definitely a great neighborhood bar and well worth a try.