Aspen you so hard you dizzy

Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab

Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Vacations mean eating out! Tom and I are never as relaxed and satisfied as we are when we are on vacation together. Our splurge night on our South Carolina trip was to Aspen Grille. We read some reviews on Yelp of surrounding restaurants and I knew right away this place would be perfect for us. Their menu is fancied up version of classic southern cooking.

Veal Aspen with Asparagus, Carrot, and Potatoes

We started with their fried green tomatoes with lump crab add-on for just $4 extra dollars. Then I got their warm goat cheese salad with beets and truffle vinaigrette. I’m a sucker for anything with warm goat cheese! Then Tom and I shared the special, fried soft-shell crab. Tom liked it a little more than I did, but the sauce was nice. We also shared one of their signature dishes, Veal Aspen. This was a good value ($29) because, along with veal, we got to see how the chef plays with shrimp and scallops. It was a rich dish, but the portions of vegetables with the meat balanced it out nicely.  We paired our meal with Sean Minor Pinot Noir from Carneros.

I finished off the meal with some Chambord and coffee (they didn’t have espresso, but then again, this is southern food!). Tom had a coffee with Sambuca.

Fried Soft-Shell Crab over Salad

Overall, the meal was very good and the service was good.  I wish they’d used more southern ingredients or methods in their menu to make it more consistent, but we would definably come back.