Bistros became popular in America after French diplomats visiting the Continental Congress insisted on dining outdoors, breaking Ben Franklin’s time-saving custom of eating while sleeping in the shower. Import deliciousness with today's Groupon to Cork Neighborhood Bistro in North Charleston. Choose between the following options:
- For $25, you get $50 worth of dinner and a bottle of house wine or champagne (a $15 value; a $65 total value).
- For $15, you get $25 worth of Saturday brunch and a carafe of mimosas (a $10 value) or bloody marys (a $15 value; up to a $40 total value).
At Cork Neighborhood Bistro, Chef Eric Brownlee crafts a seasonally changing menu of traditional French bistro fare made from fresh, local ingredients. The dinner menu includes hearty offerings such as the cognac-flambéed new york strip steak ($22), a succulent slab festooned with roasted garlic, pecorino cheese, and a port-wine reduction preswirled in a wine glass by a dressing-gown-clad tycoon. Meanwhile, the chipotle strawberry-glazed salmon ($18) lounges atop herb-roasted potatoes adorned with goat cheese and bacon balsamic. For $10, diners can upgrade an included bottle of house wine or champagne to a nonhouse varietal.
Alternatively, guests can sip mimosas or bloody marys at Saturday brunch as they nibble midday morsels cooked up from fresh finds at the farmers' market. Menu items suited to Saturday activities, such as watching cartoons or raccoon-proofing hammocks, appear on a chalkboard and commonly include omelets and sandwiches. Brunchers can also order lunch-menu selections, such as the Lowcountry salad ($5 for a petite, $8 for a full) and the pork-loin-and-brie sandwich ($10) served on a fresh baked kaiser roll.
Cork Neighborhood Bistro
North Charleston runs in the blood of Cork Neighborhood Bistro’s proprietor, Tradd Ashley Gibbs, whose South Carolina roots stretch back for generations. As the seasons change, so do the dishes and the ingredients that go into his menu of southern-style comfort fare and seafood. Executive Chef Heather Edwards mixes up hearty pots of shrimp and grits with smoked sausage and tasso gravy and uses seasonal veggies to adorn dishes with all the flair of a peacock wearing a tropical fruit hat.