Carolina Lowcountry Kitchen — Restaurant in East Grand Rapids

I'd heard good things and was looking forward to adding to my limited experience with southern cooking (despite some snacking during times in North Carolina, Missouri, and Kentucky). The Carolina Lowcountry Kitchen, founded in 2017, makes up for the lack of generational on-site experience with enthusiasm and a pretty wide menu.

We were given hush puppies to taste after we were comfortably in our spot. Great texture and taste, with a lot of the corn flavor and a bit of the sweet coming through. The were so good that I only got a photo after we ate them all.

The crab puppies were even better: the umami, moist crab center perfectly balances the sweeter corn dough! A punch of flavor, immediate win. Only nit, inconsistency in execution - some had far less crab than did the others.

The highlight of the meal was the She crab soup - a flavor-filled bisque on par with any lobster bisque in New England. Our taste buds were dizzy with joy while we were greedily spooning, supping, and moaning. Four thumbs up!

Next up were fried green tomatoes, something I make at home. I'm more used to a skillet-fried tomato, cooked to softness, gussied up with salt and seasonings. These were batter-coated and done in a deep-fryer; new to me. Rather flavorless, especially compared to the two previous dishes, with a simple fried texture, I'm really unsure what to think of these. Were these unremarkable, a downward blip to be avoided, or merely competent and paling in comparison with the big flavors of the crab puppies and the She crab soup. Still don't know.

The Southern Pot Roast was a good execution of a core favorite of many cultures. The square of cornbread was the only hint this wasn't my German grandmother's pot roast from my childhood. Solid dish, will satisfy almost everyone.

The Delta Catfish was the best preparation of this dish I've had (with great apologies to the excellent evening I spent in Atlanta at Miss Pittypat's Porch). The catfish was bright, clean, moist, and flavorful. Better than my previous bests, and far and away better than most catfish I've been offered.

Full of spices, way too full of food, we passed on desserts on this visit and slunk out into the night, already plotting our eventual return and another slice...

Not impressive.

OK, OK, the she crab soup was spot on, but honestly everything else we had was just slightly at or below par. I mean OK, but not at that price point good.

Oysters were what they were, and it's understandable that the best oysters are not to be found on the shores of lake Michigan. Just that they had them is tremendous. So points given for that!

Anyway, everything else was kind of "Hipster went to Charlotte". I mean, Buffalo Okra? Fried Okra is a southern staple and needs no such embellishments.

They had catfish, and it was good catfish. Not the kind that tastes like mud, that even real southern Docksides serve at times. The breading was good, and the fish cooked proper. Like I said, it was OK, but not $21 OK. The slaw.... it also can be done better, cheaper, and simpler, like the okra.

Don't talk to me about the "succotash"! I'll forgo the rant and let the ancestral grave spinning speak for itself. Was it good? Why yes. Yes it was. Was it succotash? No. No it was not. Think corn chowder went to prom with Wisconsin cheese soup and had a child that grew up running with the bad beans. More of a soup than a side.

For all my gripes, I would give the place 4 stars for the food. It's catering to Michigan tastes, I get it; enjoy! But the bar tender, Butch? Bern? Something? Ignored me for 10 minutes after sitting at the bar. Also ignored the guy next to me for 20! After giving me my beer, and ignoring the guy next to me, he IMMEDIATELY left, and it was another 10 before coming back and helped the other guy then asked if I wanted anything. Yes please, a table.

Next fiasco, getting a table... THEN placing a food order... it was another 25 minutes after getting a table! "Oh, it was busy", right? NO! There were maybe 6 tables! And not even half a bar!

Enjoy the food. It's not authentic. It's overpriced and presumptuous, but not bad. Bad is the service.

Oh. And I still tipped 20%. Good tip, bad review....

Something should have told me that this place was not good. It was 12pm (lunch time) in East Town and this place was EMPTY. My girlfriend and I bot ordered soups to start. I had clam chowder and she had crab soup. Both were very good. The3 chowder was very spicy. Had my nose running. Which I don't mind. We also shared a biscuits basket which was good as well. The menue was very limited. It had a few food options and TONS to drink. The whole back side of menue was spirits. I ordered the chicken and waffles. It was not good at all. The chicken though cooked perfectly, had no flavor at all. The waffles were vland and did not stand up to whatever sauce they poured on the dish. Leaving the waffles soggy and slimy and unedible. I only ate the xhicjw4n. I explained this to the server and did not comp anything. The dish was 18 bucks. Not worth it at all. My lady had the shrimp po boy. The shrimp had no flavor at all and the sandwich was dry. Just not good.

Response to owner: 1st off there wasn't a complaint about the chowder. Just an observation. Secondly. To have not made a dish for a guest when you only had 4 would have been crazy. I did not wait to est my food. I dug right in as it arrived to the table. Even the edges of the waffles were soft and not up to standard with the dish. Popular doesn't mean we'll liked either. Chicken and waffles is a POPOULAR dish at most places. Which is why we decided to visit your establishment in the 1st place. Your sever who was great by the way did not even give me the option of getting another waffle. Buy seeing that I did not even est any of it should have offered something. Lastly I don't spend close to 100 bucks not to like food. And for damn sure won't visit a place who gaslight reviews instead of customer service. Lol. You're correct. I won't visit again nor will I suggest your establishment to anyone who wants...