Midtown Bar and Grill

Upper King restaurant embraces the urban lifestyle

The "eat street" of Upper King continues to grow. Late fall saw the opening of Midtown Bar and Grill at 559 King St. Brown paper wrappings went up on the storefront windows at 463 King (formerly Waterworks), soon to open as O'Ku, a sushi restaurant operated by chef Brett McKee and managing partner Steve Palmer.

Closed4Business opened in the Raval space, and a new concept Laundromat/full-service restaurant plans an August opening, bringing true meaning to "suds" with your dinner.

Midtown Bar and Grill is a joint venture of chef James Maybank, Thomas Shepard, Christopher Houston and Michael Shuler. Midtown is in one of the oldest buildings north of Calhoun Street. The structure was built in the 1700s.

As part of its restoration, the partners retained the original brick walls, fireplaces and pressed-tin ceiling. The heart-pine beams were salvaged and used to create the bar surfaces. The feel of a waterfront tavern pervades the space. Decorative adornment is minimal unless one counts flat-screen televisions.

The restaurant takes its name from the Midtown of Charleston development, an area between Spring and Cannon streets. Like this development of townhouses, condos and single-family dwellings, Midtown Bar and Grill embraces the urban lifestyle. It easily has become the satellite kitchen for many residents who pick up their orders to go or quickly grab a seat at the bar and know that the bartenders soon will be pulling a cold one for them.

Chef Maybank and his team have put together a menu that is affordable and accessible. They have taken the familiar, boiled peanuts, and created a signature boiled peanut hummus ($6.95). "Fish" tacos have a regional spin and are made with shrimp ($6.95) with the traditional shredded cabbage topping replaced by blue cheese coleslaw. A Cobb salad ($8.95) is made with pulled pork rather than the traditional chicken and is garnished with boiled peanut "croutons." Chicken wings are lightly smoked ($5.95, $8.95, $15.95) and finished with a crust of herbs and spices. Mayonnaise is flavored with "pimento" cheese, and they wisely brew sweet tea.

Burgers ($6.95-$8.95) are gut-busting half-pounders cooked to your degree of doneness, and two-fisted wrap sandwiches ($6.95-$7.95) can barely contain their ingredients.

Midtown has the quintessential bar food menu: the right amounts of fat, salt and carbs. Loaded fries park a mountain of shredded Jack and cheddar cheeses over a tangle of seasoned potatoes, anoint them with Ranch dressing and gild them with the emperor of swine, bacon. Smothered nachos ($7.95) get similar treatment with queso, pico de gallo, jalapenos, Jack and cheddar cheeses along with sour cream and guacamole.

They nail the combinations, such as grilled chicken with Caesar ($7.50), fried chicken with honey mustard ($7.50) and a BLT ($6.95) with that "pimento" cheese mayonnaise.

But they slip, slide away on the execution. A chicken noodle soup ($2.95, $4.95) was made with elbow macaroni so overcooked that aside from not being the "noodle" in the soup disintegrated with every spoonful. Not to mention served tepid.

A decent and "signature" pulled pork sandwich ($7.95) was served on a toasted bun. Only the cut surface of the bun was toasted; the top remained icy cold.

The kitchen makes the chicken salad ($7.50), and the grilled, charred flavors along with minced celery and onion made for a tasty sandwich. Yet it was garnished with an anemic winter tomato, pallid and tasteless.

The original shrimp burger, which the menu bills as a take on a po' boy, was well-executed on the cooking side, but the skimpy portion of shrimp coupled with the bready bun made for an uneven sandwich experience. The special sauce, a riff on remoulade, was balanced and tasty.

The sides ($1.95) were equally uneven in their preparation. The coleslaw was short on acid and mayonnaise; the blue cheese slaw generously seasoned with cheese yet remarkably bland as a slaw. Madeleine's mac and cheese had those same overcooked elbow macaroni, minimal cheese flavor, no sauce and the same tepid temperature of the soup. Fried okra was nothing more than the grocery store frozen variety, and the seasoned fries went quickly from crisp to limp.

In general, the Southern DNA that one would expect the kitchen to "express" when it labels its menu casual Southern food was repressed.

This same kitchen gets overwhelmed with large groups. Fortunately, you can entertain yourself with the liquid culture while you wait for your food.

This easygoing neighborhood spot employs a young wait staff eager to please and sometimes distracted.

The outdoor patio will be a welcome addition come warmer weather. The character of Midtown Bar and Grill morphs as the day grows long. This review cannot speak to the late-night experience, but night owls will be pleased to know that carryout is available until 3 a.m. and the bar serves until 2 a.m.

As the Upper King Street Design District continues on its path to creating a destination north of Calhoun, Midtown Bar and Grill is doing its part as a retropolitan watering hole with food.

Restaurant review

Cuisine: American/Southern

Category: Neighborhood Favorite

Phone: 737-4284

Location: 559 King St.

Food: xx

Atmosphere: xxx

Price: $

Costs: Appetizers $3.95-$8.95, soups $2.95-$4.95, salads $5.95-$8.95, protein add-ons $2.50-$3.50, wraps $6.95-$7.95, sandwiches $6.95-$7.95, sides $1.95, side salad $2.50, burgers and chicken $6.95-$8.95, kids menu $3.95, desserts $2.25. Brunch biscuits $3.95-$4.95, omelets $4.95-$7.95, daily specialties $6.95-$8.50, sides $1.50.

Vegetarian Options: Limited.

Bar: Full-service bar, single-malt Scotch menu, brunch Bottomless Mimosas $12, brunch Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar $6.50 pint.

Hours: Monday-Sunday 11 a.m.-2 a.m., late-night carryout until 3 a.m. available Thursday-Saturday, Sunday brunch 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Decibel Level: Moderate and up (live entertainment).

Parking: Street parking.

Wheelchair Access: Yes.

Other: Daily specials (meat and three), Sunday brunch until 4 p.m., late night carryout, live music, no cover charges, outdoor patio, second-floor private-event room, video games, ATM, on-site and off-site catering through Maybank Catering and King Street Beverage Co. Drinking and dining specials. www.midtownbarandgrill.net.