Q&C Hotel/Bar
Q&C Hotel/Bar opened at 344 Camp St. late last year. Q&C occupies about half of the lobby of the hotel, and it’s hard to tell where the lobby’s seating ends and the pub’s begins. The kitchen is entirely open.
Josh Garic is the executive chef; his experience includes a position as chef de cuisine at Vega Tapas Bistro and he’s also one of the two founders of The Salty Swine, a catering company that started out doing private supper club dinners. (More on the other founder of the Salty Swine, Dayne Womax, right). Garic’s describes his food at Q&C as “upscale bar food.”
The menu is divided between “Bar Plates” and “Pizza Pie.” The closest thing the restaurant does to a standard pizza is the Margherita, which comes with tomato, mozzarella, Parmesan, roasted garlic, basil and Sriracha sauce. The muffaletta pizza features capicola, mortadella, salami, olive salad and provolone cheese.
I leave matters of drink to my colleague Tim McNally, of course, but I should at least mention that Q&C has an excellent choice of beers on tap and specialty cocktails. They take pride in
As I write, service is limited to breakfast (6:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and until noon Saturday and Sunday) and dinner (4-10 p.m. daily). Plans are afoot to open with an expanded menu of sandwiches and salads for lunch, which should have happened by the time you read this. Call 587-9700 to learn more.
Brown Butter Southern Kitchen and Bar
When chef Garic took the executive chef position at Q&C, Salty Swine co-founder Dayne Womax and partner/manager Simon Beck decided to open a restaurant of their own. That restaurant, Brown Butter Southern Kitchen and Bar also started serving late last year in a space formerly occupied by a WOW Café and Wingery at 231 N. Carrollton Ave. With neighbors that include a Subway sandwich shop, an urgent care center and a Papa John’s location, it’s a bit incongruous, but the exterior appearance is deceiving.
Womax’s food is Southern; starters include thinly sliced fried pickles on a bed of buttermilk dressing, and pimento cheese and deviled ham. I have had the chicken and waffle sandwich, which consists of chicken confit, cheddar and country ham between slices of sourdough pressed in a waffle iron and served with a Steen’s cane syrup sauce. I suspect it’s an acquired taste, but I’ve acquired it. The roast chicken with smoky creamed cabbage and Brussels sprouts and apple slaw was also good, and the braised greens were slow-cooked and meltingly tender.
Brown Butter is open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. as I write, with brunch and dinner on the way. Call 609-3871 to see if it’s happened.
Wood Pizza Bistro and Tap House
Chef Will Salisbury worked at Pizza Domenica when it opened; more recently he’s started baking pies at his own restaurant, Wood Pizza Bistro and Tap House, in the Warehouse District. True to the name, the oven at Wood is fired by wood, and while the pizza differs from those you can get at Domenica, it’s excellent. The main distinction is the crust, which is thicker and chewier at Wood, but no less blistered by intense heat. These pies cook quickly, and Salisbury pays appropriate attention to the toppings, which are of high quality.
Meat options include Italian sausage, pepperoni, coppa, prosciutto, anchovy, chicken and egg. Roasted mushrooms, eggplant, kalamata olive and arugula are available in addition to the standard topping choices. You can choose between tomato, pesto and garlic cream sauces, and there are several cheeses on offer in addition to those you’d expect.
There is one size for the pies; one should do if you’re hungry, two should work between three people, particularly if you also have an appetizer.
The restaurant seats about 20 inside, but the real show is on the patio, which has tables for another 70 or so. By the time you read this, the jasmine they’ve planted along the fence bordering the space should make it pretty bucolic.
The full bar includes an impressive 40 beers on tap, and the bar itself is deep enough for dining.
Wood Pizza Bistro and Tap House is located at 404 Andrew Higgins Drive, and is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Call them at 281-4893 to find out what’s on tap.