New shopping center houses four restaurants set to open in next two months
Columbia has become host to a new crop of retail, dining and culture — from the revitalization of Main Street to the city’s first Whole Foods. The intersection of Garner’s Ferry Road and Devine Street, home to the new Cross Hill Market, is the hub of the latest wave. Sleek and sharp-looking restaurants have popped up — Basil, Taziki’s and Smashburger — with ties to Charleston, Charlotte and other big cities, but have yet to open. Their design is impressive, and their menus boast delicious dishes and rave reviews from those who have dined in the franchises of the new players in Columbia cuisine. But, right now, they’re all just dark windows in construction. The opening dates still aren’t solid, but here’s a look at what’s coming and when it will be open.
Basil Thai Restaurant
early February
Basil has made its name in Charleston as a modern take on simple, high-quality Thai food. Its second location, in Charlotte, has continued the legacy of the coastal spot and, now, owner Chai Eang is looking to bring the same precedent for high-class dining to Columbia.
“We leap-frogged Columbia to come to Charlotte, because Charlotte was a bigger market at the time, but over the years I’ve met a lot of people from Columbia and have an established clientele,” Eang said.
He said he plans to make Columbia’s Basil exactly the same, from the menu to the ambiance. Appetizers start simple with fresh basil rolls ($5.95), with shrimp and rice noodles wrapped in rice paper, and scale up to stuffed shrimp ($9.95) with ground chicken and an egg roll wrapper. The house specialty seafood dishes are expensive — $25 for Basil duck and $22 for tilapia and shrimp — but green, red and mild curries stay at $15, as do the smaller-sized entrees, noodles and fried rice.
“I haven’t seen anything that is similar to what we’re doing (in Columbia),” Eang said. “The food is certainly a higher caliber, because we have such a great chef.”
As for the setting, Eang is going for modern, contemporary and a little hip. “I hope we don’t miss that mark,” he said.
The restaurant opening is the million dollar question, he said, but hopes to have everything up and running by early February.
“As far as fitting in, I’ll be the odd man out,” Eang said. “I think we’ll help elevate Columbia’s dining room.”
Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe
beginning of January
Taziki’s makes traditional Greek dishes, with a fresh and healthy focus in the Southeast. The first Taziki’s was founded in Birmingham, Ala. by Keith and Amy Richards after a trip to Greece. They’ve created an expansive menu of family-size meals, both take-out and dine-in, like roasted leg of lamb and pork loin, as well as chicken basil, grilled beef and lamb gyros. The family dishes serve four and hover around $26, while the individual wraps and roll-ups are between $7 and $9. The beauty of Taziki’s is the balance between dine-in and to-go options, with easy lunch items like the turkey and egg on buttermilk or spicy pimento cheese sandwich or the restaurant’s “feasts,” which add a salad and side to herb-roasted pork loin ($10) and chargrilled lamb ($12). The restaurant, on the Devine Street side of the Market, is set to open in the beginning of January.
American Roadside Burgers
end of December
Two burger joints, one shopping center — who will emerge as the best bite? American Roadside is pegged as an all-American burger place. The menu is inexpensive, like really cheap, and appealing to the college wallet. The classics are simple: hamburger ($4), double hamburger ($5), cheeseburger ($4.75) and double cheeseburger ($5.75). You can create your own classic, piling on condiments, sauces, jalapenos, sauerkraut and more for free — an extra onion ring, bacon or pimento cheese is 95-cents. The signatures are daunting, crowned with The Roadstar, a quadruple patty cheeseburger for $9. It’s not just burgers, either. They’ve covered their bases. Carolina style BBQ and grilled chicken sandwiches, turkey and black bean burgers are all under $6. Appetizers and sides are all off any American grill’s menu — popcorn chicken, wings and sliders — and each combination is cheap and classic. The new Columbia location will, barring any setbacks, be open by the end of the month.
Smashburger
Dec. 12
They smash their burgers. Each customer orders their burger, and a 100 percent Angus beef meatball is smashed and smothered with butter and spices before hitting the grill. Smashburger is based in Denver, Colo. and has franchises around the country that create a posh and refined type of on-the-go burger. It’s not Five Guys, it’s not Pawley’s, it’s somewhere in between. Burgers are separated into smash and big smash, between $5 and $7 each. The Columbia menu will channel some of the local trends to make South Carolina-specific sandwiches, while the classics and create-your-own will still stand. There are four buns: classic egg, multi-grain, spicy chipotle and lettuce. The cheeses lean toward artisan, with goat, blue and aged swiss all topping options. There’s also an offering of higher-end, for the same low cost, creations like the spinach and goat cheese chicken sandwich and truffle mushroom swiss. There are Smashfries ($2) and sweet potato Smashfries ($2.29) and Haagen-Dazs milkshakes, floats and malts. Smashburger is set to open beside the new Moe’s outside the Cross Hill entrance.