back to At the Table with LPC
We’ve got two reviews for the price of one this month. A recent weeklong trip to Isle of Palms, South Carolina the lovely Jan and I to sample the island’s two top-rated venues, #1 Acme Low Country Kitchen and #2 Long Island Café. The most important thing we learned is that the rankings should be reversed. We enjoyed our meal at Long Island Café much more than the more highly touted Acme Low Country Kitchen. Here’s why.
We started with a weeknight visit to the Long Island Café. An unpretentious storefront location hides a true hidden gem within. The light and bright décor is welcoming and low key. The place was busy, with wait staff bustling between tables amid friendly banter and chatter from the guests. Staff was very attentive and made some great suggestions from a varied menu.
Long Island Café lays claim to the freshest seafood on the island, and it is hard to dispute that assertion. We started with Rhode Island-style calamari, shrimp scampi and crab cakes that rivalled my favorites from Legal Sea Food in Boston. I ordered snapper, which was delicious, while Jan went with locally caught, pan fried flounder, which was out of this world. We finished with a flourish, enjoying carrot cake topped with vanilla ice cream.
Price points at Long Island Café were very affordable, and the flounder alone is worth the trip. In fact, we made a point of going back later in the week for a second meal.
The top-rated Acme Low Country Kitchen, however, did not live up to its promise. From the moment we walked into the low, rambling building our experience was less than enjoyable. When I asked for chilled, peel-and-eat shrimp, I was told they only served shrimp hot. OK then, how about a chopped salad? Sorry, we don’t chop our salads. Seriously?
If we had not already ordered two glasses of wine we may have bolted from the scene right then and there. But we decided to stick it out. We should have chugged the wine and left. An appetizer of “East Coast” calamari reminded me of the little elastics the orthodontist put on my braces when I was a kid – small and rubbery, and served over a bed of blackened kale. No thanks.
My haddock, served with red beans and rice, was pretty good. But Jan, trying to be “safe” with her entrée, ordered the fried seafood platter. But it was very dry, even after she doused it heavily with lemon juice. Not the kind of service or cuisine that would rate such a high ranking.
South Carolina’s Isle of Palms is one of our favorite destinations for kicking back and relaxing. On our next trip back (our 11th) the Long Island Café will be our first stop. But we’ll have to think long and hard about giving Acme Low Country Kitchen a second chance.
Acme Low Country Kitchen
31 J.C. Long Blvd.
Isle of Palms, SC 29451
843.886.FISH (3474)
Long Island Cafe
1515 Palm Blvd.
Isle of Palms, SC 29451
843.886.8809