TDM CCN Header

14 October 2011

Tonight's Episode: I promise, not one Jamaican me crazy joke

           You know what I love about Charleston dining? Beautiful old houses repurposed as stunning restaurant spaces. Stunning water views as you and your baby doll enjoy classic Jamaican dishes. Wait, what? Jamaican, in Charleston. No, North Charleston actually. Take the drive to the Navy Yard, pull up to one of the restored Officer's Quarters with a river view, and try Runaway Bay (http://www.runawaybayrestaurant.com).
         The space itself is down right gorgeous. With a huge patio feet from the boardwalk, a downstairs bar, and a fairly large dining space, Runaway Bay has a great set up to be a hidden gem. If you haven't been to the old Navy Yard, it is a photographer's dream (we actually had our wedding photos done there). The restaurant itself is at the massively under-utilized Riverfront Park. The dining space has a strong Caribbean feel, with charming artwork and original fixtures. The cheerful homeyness makes you wonder why this restaurant is fairly empty on a Friday night.

          The menu is fairly small, which is somewhat disappointing, but it changes regularly. For appetizers there were no beef patties (a personal favorite of mine), only jerk BBQ wings. We skip the app and go straight to mains. Here, again, I was disappointed to find no fish escovitch. Okay, the two Jamaican dishes I know I love are not here, so I'm not happy. There are some dishes on the menu that do sound pretty damn tasty, though.
           The entrees come with a tasty side salad. If the raspberry walnut vinaigrette dressing is available, go for it. Combined with the pickled cabbage and pineapple, this is a better than standard salad.

           The Girl decides on the Jerk Chicken Rasta Pasta ($14). I'm concerned that the heat level will floor her. Apparently that had been the case, and the chef has dialed the heat back from Jamaican standard heat, to American wimpy heat. If you like yours hot, ask for a side of the scotch bonnet sauce. The pasta itself consists of a blend of penne and another fun noodle, maybe a lantern, but I can't be sure. The jerk chicken had a deeply developed flavor, and mellows even more in the rich, creamy sauce. This is the kind of dish that you find yourself picking at long after you are full.
         I went a little more exotic in my choice, with the Curry Goat ($19), with beans and rice. Goat can be a very gamey, tough piece of meat. Runaway Bay's goat was mild and fork tender. The curry is a typical West African style mild and thick curry, balancing the slight game flavor of the goat brilliantly. Throw in scotch bonnet sauce to kick some heat into the dish, and you have instant flavor-love. The Girl scoots farther away from the combo of curry (which she hates) and heat (which she can't stand). I'm glad. I don't want to share.
           To accompany our dinners, we had a glass of Sorrel. This is a beverage made from hibiscus and ginger. In its normal state it is thick and syrupy, but this was blended with Sprite for a refreshing spritzer. Very delicious and refreshing.
        With only two desserts on the menu, we went with the Vanilla Pound Cake. The cake was soaked in rum, served with vanilla ice cream and a light caramel. Though dressed with way too much whipped cream, this little cake was tasty and satisfying. Nothing mind-blowing, but solid and homey.
         Runaway Bay has two main negatives. Getting out to the old Navy Yard takes you through a less desirable part of town, and the menu is very small, with few choices.  The upsides, however, are fantastic. The venue and its location on the river are ideal. The food is tasty and lovingly made. The service is friendly and prompt. Head out to Runaway Bay and enjoy a taste of Jamaica.

The Scores:
Ambiance: 4/5
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Overall: 18.5 out of 25, Not as spicy as I would like, but great flavors and a beautiful view.Runaway Bay Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Labels

Charleston dinning (26) Charleston Restaurants (19) Best Restaurants in Charleston (10) Charleston (9) Best of Charleston (8) Charleston Fine dinning (7) Tristan (6) BBQ (3) Charleston Wine + Food Festival (3) Instant pot recipes (3) Sean Brock (3) Seattle (3) The Green Door (3) The Lot (3) Angel Oak (2) Bacon (2) Big John's Tavern (2) Charleston Bars (2) Charleston Food Trucks (2) Charleston Wine and Food Festival (2) Chef Bacon (2) Garden and Gun (2) Guerilla cuisine (2) Hugh Acheson (2) Husk (2) Husk Restaurant (2) Instant Pot (2) James Island restaurants (2) Jeremiah Bacon (2) John's Island Restaurants (2) King Street Restaurants (2) Nate Whiting (2) Oak steakhouse (2) Perfectly Franks (2) Risotto (2) Sandwiches (2) Stars Rooftop (2) Sweetbreads (2) The 'Wich Doctor (2) Two Boroughs Larder (2) Vietnamese (2) Western Washington (2) 'Cesca (1) 200 Beer club (1) 2017 (1) 2017 year in review (1) 5 & 10 (1) Andrew Zimmerman (1) Angel Oak Restaurant (1) Angel Oak Tree (1) Anson (1) Anson restaurant (1) Asian travel (1) Athens Dinning (1) Athens Restaurants (1) Authentic Fijian food (1) AutoBanh (1) BORAGó (1) Bacon and Pear pizza (1) Banchan (1) Bar Marco (1) Barley Risotto (1) Batman (1) Batman v Superman (1) Batman vs Superman (1) BatmanvSuperman (1) BatmanvsSuperman (1) Bavaria (1) Beaufort Dinning (1) Beaufort restaurants (1) Beets recipe (1) Best Restaurants in Chile (1) Best Restaurants in Santiago (1) Best bites singapore (1) Best food in Singapore (1) BlackJack BBQ (1) Border Springs (1) Bourbon (1) Bourbon Ribs (1) Bourbon Sorghum Glazed Rib Recipe (1) Bread Pudding (1) Bread and Butter pickles (1) Breakfast Recipes (1) Brunch (1) Brunch Recipes (1) Bulleit Bourbon (1) CHSWFF (1) Callie's Charleston Biscuits (1) Captain Morgan (1) Caribbean restaurants (1) Carolina Panters Wings (1) Carolina's (1) Cascades (1) Challah Bread Pudding (1) Challah and Sweet Potato Bread Pudding (1) Charleston BBQ (1) Charleston Breakfast (1) Charleston Culinary Tours (1) Charleston Mixology (1) Charleston Spas (1) Charleston Thai (1) Charleston Vietnamese (1) Chase After A Cure (1) Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (1) Chef Alex Lira (1) Chef Collins (1) Chef Jamilka Borges (1) Chef Marc Collins (1) Chef Sean Brock (1) Chicago dinning (1) Chicago restaurant (1) Chicken Recipes (1) Chicken recipe (1) Chile (1) Chile Restaurants (1) Christmas (1) Chuck Hughes (1) Circa 1886 (1) Co Restaurant (1) Coda del Pesce (1) Cook it Raw (1) Cook it Raw Charleston (1) Cook it Raw Charleston 2013 (1) Copenhagen Street Food (1) Cork (1) Crab Mac n cheese (1) Crab and pancetta mac n cheese (1) Crab mac and cheese (1) Crock Pot Chicken (1) Crock Pot Recipes (1) Croque Madame (1) Croque Madame Muffin (1) Crown Royal (1) DC (1) DC Food (1) DC Restaurants (1) David Chang (1) Dawn of Justice (1) Denarau Island (1) Denarau Restaurants (1) Diners Drive-ins and Dives (1) Dinners Drive ins and Dives (1) DishCrawl Charleston (1) Downtown Chalreston (1) Easy Chicken Recipes (1) Eat Seattle (1) Eater (1) Egg Recipes (1) Fat Hen (1) Fat and Juicy (1) Fiji (1) Fiji Destination (1) Fiji Vacation (1) Fiji dinning (1) Fine Dinning Associations (1) Firefly Moonshine (1) Folly beach (1) Folly beach restaurants (1) Food Truck (1) Food Trucks (1) Fuel (1) Fuel Restaurant (1) Garde Manger (1) George Dickel (1) George Mendes (1) Glasgow (1) Glasgow restaurants (1) Good Eats (1) Grill 225 (1) Ground Turkey (1) Ground Turkey Tacos (1) Guerrilla Dinner (1) Guy Fieri (1) HCG recipe (1) Heart (1) Heart Woodfire Grill (1) Heirloom Book Company (1) High Cotton (1) High Wire (1) High Wire Distillery (1) Holiday Desserts (1) Honey Garlic Chicken (1) Honey Garlic Crock Pot Chicken (1) Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken (1) Hot 11 (1) Hot dogs (1) Icicle Canyon (1) Instant Pot Korean (1) Instant Pot Korean Recipes (1) Instant Pot Risotto (1) Instant Pot Shrimp risotto (1) Instant pot thai chicken bowls (1) Italian food (1) Italian food in Scotland (1) Jamaican restaurant (1) James Beard (1) John T Edge (1) John's Island (1) Josh Keeler (1) Kaminsky's. Charleston Dinning (1) Kitchen 208 (1) Korean (1) Korean Beef Bowl (1) Korean Recipes (1) Last Supper (1) Leavenworth (1) Liquor (1) Lowcountry Bistro (1) Mac and cheese (1) Mac n cheese (1) Magnus Nilsson (1) Manchester Farms Quail (1) Mango Salsa (1) Mango Salsa recipe (1) Mango-Avocado Salsa recipe (1) Mellow Mushroom (1) Mellow Mushroom Charleston (1) Mock Tacos (1) Montreal (1) Montreal Restaurants (1) Mornay Sauce (1) Mushroom Risotto (1) Nadina (1) Nadina Authentic Fijian Restaurant (1) Nadina Denarau Island (1) Nadina Fiji (1) North Charleston restaurants (1) O Paprico (1) Occidental DC (1) Occidental Grill Seafood (1) Othello (1) Othello Restaurants (1) Oyster Bay (1) Oysters (1) Pho (1) Pickled Red Onions (1) Pickled Red onion recipe (1) Pittsburgh (1) Pittsburgh Food (1) Pittsburgh Restaurants (1) Pizza (1) Pizza recipe (1) Porto Restaurants (1) Portugese restaurants (1) Republic Reign (1) Rib Recipe (1) Ribs (1) Rigs Pigs and Swigs (1) Robert Irvine (1) Robert Irvine's Eat (1) Roti Rolls (1) Runaway Bay Restaurant (1) Ryan Condon (1) Salted Bourbon Caramel (1) Santiago Restaurants (1) Scotland (1) Scott's BBQ (1) Scottish cuisine (1) Scottish food (1) Seafood (1) Seattle Food (1) Seattle Pho (1) Seattle Restaurants (1) Seattle Tourism (1) Seattle Tours (1) Seattle trip ideas (1) Sepia (1) Shrimp fried rice (1) Singapore (1) Singapore 2020 (1) Singapore Eats (1) Singapore food (1) Singapore restaurants (1) Singapore travel (1) Slow Cooker Chicken (1) Slow Cooker Recipes (1) Smoky Oak Taproom (1) Sorghum (1) South American Restaurants (1) South Bend (1) South Bend Wa (1) South Bend Washington (1) South Seattle (1) Southern Cuisine (1) Southern Foodways Alliance (1) Southern Soul BBQ (1) Stars Restaurant Rooftop & Grill room (1) Steak (1) Sugar Bob's Finest Kind (1) Sugaree's Bakery (1) Summerville restaurants (1) Super Bowl (1) Superman (1) Sweet Potato Bread Pudding (1) Taco Recipes (1) Taco Seasoning (1) Teriyaki chicken (1) Thai (1) The Cocktail Club (1) The Cooking Gene (1) The Fat Hen (1) The Grocery (1) The Macintosh (1) The Ordinary (1) The Pour House (1) The Southern General (1) The Warehouse (1) The Wich Doctor (1) The Woodlands (1) The strip District (1) Turkey Lettuce wraps (1) Vasa Museum (1) Vietnamese restaurants Seattle (1) Vitamix recipe (1) Wa Seafood (1) Washington DC Dinning (1) Weekend in Charleston (1) What to do in Seattle (1) Willapa (1) Willapa Bay (1) Wings (1) Zagat (1) bacon and pear pizza recipe (1) bacon recipe (1) burger cook off (1) butternut squash soup (1) cooking bacon (1) cooking bacon in water (1) curing bacon (1) fiji restaurants (1) gin (1) haggis (1) healthy risotto (1) instapot (1) instapot thai chicken bowl (1) intstapot recipes (1) low calorie (1) low calorie risotto (1) low sodium risotto (1) making bacon (1) mayo recipe (1) moto (1) mushroom and barley risotto (1) orzo mac n cheese (1) pear recipe (1) pickles (1) recipe (1) recipes (1) risotto recipes (1) rum (1) shrimp risotto (1) soup (1) thai chicken (1)