Greenville, South Carolina

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

http://www.saskatoonrestaurant.com/

We had a wonderful dinner at Saskatoon Lodge in Greenville.  I feel like this would be a destination restaurant no matter where it was.  We have nothing like it here in Atlanta.  If we had a restaurant here that executed the fairly small menu that Saskatoon has as well as they do and varies it as much as the owner says they do I can only imagine it being a big hit here.  It is out in the suburbs in Greenville, but has a fairly large space, they have a very tight serving staff (we later learned that they hired their last server 3 years ago).

We started with an appetizer plate that they amped up to a 3way plate and it was superb with a taste of most of what is on always changing appetizer menu. Those bites set the tone for what was to come.  They did have real beer (almost) so I had a Sam Adams.  The pacing of the meal was just right our server kept an eye on our plates and let the chef know when to "drop" the meats.
My two dining partners chose the mixed grill, it was spot-on with 1/2 of a quail,  a duck leg and thigh and wild boar sausages with whatever salad they ordered.  I ordered the 2- 5oz. Elk rib eyes with a terrific Zinfandel demi-glace sauce and a Caesars salad, the meat could not have been cooked better nor tasted better, I did share one of them so I could score a bit of the mixed grill but I relished the other one and gnawed the bone.  The salads were as good as the mains and the desert, the three of us shared two desserts, they too were top notch.  The in-house pastry chef does all of the desserts. My caramel glazed carrot cake was a true winner and the three story chocolate mousse pie that we passed around and took some back to the room was also a treat.

This would be a destination restaurant in any town in my opinion, and though I know that a concept like it failed here, I can only imagine an Edmund Woo enterprise here in Atlanta succeeding.  In the 1950's his family had the only Chinese restaurant between Charlotte and Atlanta.  He has now focused on this one restaurant rather than running 6 restaurants under the Woo banner in the past.  We were fortunate on Sunday to meet him and his wife and family at the BBQ event and chat with him a bit, he is an interesting entrepreneur tightly focused on his one restaurant and now settled in for good family time and outreach to the community.  It is good to meet 2nd generation folks that have done well and have the focus that he seems to have.


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[KoPP]

Actually, I think it was the same restaurant that was in Buckhead - franchises are (or were) available...

http://www.saskatoonfranchise.com/franchise.htm

In the same vein (or artery), this place just west of Colorado Springs is a must-eat restaurant if you're into wild game...

http://www.craftwood.com/index.htm

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Actually, I think it was the same restaurant that was in Buckhead - franchises are (or were) available...

http://www.saskatoonfranchise.com/franchise.htm

In the same vein (or artery), this place just west of Colorado Springs is a must-eat restaurant if you're into wild game...

http://www.craftwood.com/index.htm 

It could have been.  From Mr. Woo's comments they are not actively seeking franchises at this time but knowing he is a businessman you can guess that if the right fit comes along it would happen.  Does anyone have any first hand experience with the one that was in Buckhead ?   Was it horribly managed, was the food awful, why did it fail.  I did not ever read the review about it.

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[jimmy]

Edmund was involved in the failed Buckhead location. That space seems to be doomed, but it was also blasted in every review.

I went and had an OK meal, though I wasn't surprised it failed. It just felt like a concept chain with gimmicky proteins. My kangaroo tasted fine and was cooked all right, but I really had no interest in ever spending $30 to try it again. (Same goes for yak, elk, rhinoceros, etc)

Though, Saskatoon in Greenville was the first restaurant where I ever spent more than $20, in 1996 when I had my first summer job, so I do have a fondness for the memory of that location.

http://clatl.com/atlanta/review-saskatoon/Content?oid=1432169

Random tid bit - my brother just married Edmund's niece, so I guess the Woo's are now my extended family.

[totm]

Actually, I think it was the same restaurant that was in Buckhead - franchises are (or were) available...

http://www.saskatoonfranchise.com/franchise.htm

In the same vein (or artery), this place just west of Colorado Springs is a must-eat restaurant if you're into wild game...

http://www.craftwood.com/index.htm 

It could have been.  From Mr. Woo's comments they are not actively seeking franchises at this time but knowing he is a businessman you can guess that if the right fit comes along it would happen.  Does anyone have any first hand experience with the one that was in Buckhead ?   Was it horribly managed, was the food awful, why did it fail.  I did not ever read the review about it.

....

I could have sworn I posted about it here but maybe it was on Cal's mother's ship.  I know we had a grope-on, so it had to have been after 285F was started but searching finds nothing (maybe Geo can search for me, he always had a knack for that).  Like Jimmy's experience, it was a major disappointment.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Though, Saskatoon in Greenville was the first restaurant where I ever spent more than $20, in 1996 when I had my first summer job, so I do have a fondness for the memory of that location.

I feel certain that had any of you folks been sitting at the tables with us on that past Friday night you too would have been delighted.  Now would I go back there every week, that is another question, but I could see it here as a place I took business clients and out-of-town guests for a different meal, much in the same way as Element was.  I still give the Woo family a big thumbs up and that particular meal more than just an honorable mention, it was terrific.

Random tid bit - my brother just married Edmund's niece, so I guess the Woo's are now my extended family.

You have a lucky brother, is he a hunter, as I hear Edmund does a couple trips a year and does include his extended family on the trips?  The photographs at the restaurant pictured he and ALL of his family in many places hunting and traveling.  It seems like a good thing.


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[uOTPia Dweller]

Oh. My. Effing. Gawd.

Do not even consider driving through or going to Greenville without visiting Bacon Brothers. http://www.baconbrospublichouse.com/#about

The food is better than the name and the slogan, “Powered by bacon.” Chef cures all of his meat in house. You can see Chef’s meat in the cure room glass display case.

I can’t make this any clearer. This is Food Network worthy, world-class run-don’t-walk grubber fantasy.

I got the B.E.T pork belly pastrami, Swiss cheese, fried duck egg, green peppercorn mayo, arugula, yellow tomato. They have an option for $2 to add bacon. Let’s see, it’s called “Bacon Brothers,” um, guess what I did?

My oldest is a ham and cheese addict. I think Wildflour has been knocked from the perch of his all-time favorite by “sugar cured smoked ham, BBPH bacon, horseradish cream, white and yellow cheddar.”

And next week we drive through again. It’s not easy being me.

[Northside Food]

I have a good friend in Greenville. It might be time to visit her...

[uOTPia Dweller]

I have a good friend in Greenville. It might be time to visit her...

I need to visit her and I don't even know her. As luck would have it, we should be driving through Wednesday for dinner. Verra convenient.