Craft & Barrel | Greenville Blog Society

In case you've missed it, once a month I post about my experience with the most recent Greenville Blogger Society meet-up. The Greenville Blog Society is a group of local bloggers and social media influencers who's mission is to bring exposure to the local restaurant or business. We 're those weirdos taking pictures of every dish put in front of us.

Marketing isn't what it used to be.

Eight social media influencers with thousands of followers on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook talking about your business can be more valuable and provide more ROI than any television ad or print mailer that you'll ever use.

This month, we were hosted by Craft & Barrel. Craft & Barrel is a locally owned gastro-pub located just off of Wade Hampton Boulevard, behind the Planet Fitness across from WHHS.

Their owner and our host for the evening, Ritch, has been in the food industry for over 17 years. It shows. I was super impressed with the diversity of the menu. There is so much more than your typical pub-food. Some of it was borderline eclectic!

We started off with some Risotto Balls, which were deep-fried balls of Risotto cheese, dipped in house made marinara sauce. Ritch told us that almost everything is made from scratch. Sauces, dips- you name it. All is made fresh in their kitchen.

I've never been a fan of Deviled Eggs, but my fellow bloggers convinced me to try one of the Bacon Jalapeño Deviled Eggs. I'm glad I did. If I ever have to eat a deviled egg again, it'll probably disappoint me because these were the best I've ever had. The final appetizer was Fried Green Tomatoes. This was another dish that I've never really thought to try before. That's also going to change. Not only were they delicious, the presentation was beautiful as it was topped with a creamy remoulade sauce.

For the entrees, we tried several different staples dishes. This included their pesto and heirloom flatbread, buttermilk fried chicken, and shrimp macaroni and cheese. Once again, my fellow bloggers had me stepping out on a limb with things I would be hesitate to try in a pub. My go-to is usually a burger, or, of course, wings! It's not that I would never eat these things- I would! Just not at a pub setting. Right? Well, I'm glad that I did. Each bite was a flavor filled experience. The flatbread was crisp, light, and actually very refreshing. The fried chicken was extremely unique. It had a sweet (literally) aftertaste that really left me wanting more. The shrimp macaroni and cheese was mouthwatering. I'm a sucker for anything with gooey cheese. At that point, I wanted to keel over from being so full, but I couldn't stop.

*Butter Milk Fried Chicken and Fried Okra*

Beyond their food they have a great craft beer selection and several house cocktails that you'll want to try. I myself had the D-9 Brown Sugar Brown Cow (6.9%) beer. They have a rotating and regularly scheduled events on almost every night of the week. Tuesdays is swing dancing night, Thursday is karaoke night, and Friday/Saturdays have live music.

Craft & Barrel is a place I'm so glad I found. They put a lot of hard work into each of their plates, and it shows. Go check them out!

Jonathan AndersonJune 6, 2017Comment