Painted hen tracks led us inside Fat Hen, a better than expected French-Southern bistro from chef Fred Neuville and wife Joan. For the past six years, Neuville was Partner and Executive Chef at 39 Rue de Jean, COAST Bar & Grill, and Good Food Catering, all based on Charleston’s increasingly trendy Upper King Street. The Neuvilles’ new, more rural space used to house Johns Island Café, a popular breakfast spot where I made the mistake of ordering a shameful shrimp Creole omelet. Happily, there’s nothing shameful about the Neuvilles’ new venture.
A blackboard menu above the kitchen listed Fat Hen’s cocktails and beers. It may have been on-the-nose, but I couldn’t resist ordering an Old Speckled Hen bottle from England. They also had two selections from Portland, Maine’s popular Allagash Brewing, including a dark Dubbel.
Blue Cheese Bacon Coleslaw ($3.95) was intriguing, with crisp cabbage, surprisingly muted chunks of cheese and limp bacon bits that could have been crisper.
Business must be good. Fat Hen was packed during our dinner, and the Neuvilles are planning to open an Italian restaurant down Maybank Highway. The restaurant was clearly an upgrade from the bygone Johns Island Café, so there’s reason to believe the Italian spot might also be worthwhile. Overall, this is a boon to island-based diners who don’t want to take the long drive into Charleston.
Blog Comments
Sheena
January 5, 2009 at 2:37 PM
I *love* Fat Hen. A friend took me there for brunch during a recent visit to SC. I didn’t try the burger, but I hear it’s good, too.
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