When Recovery Sports Grill first opened in downtown Charleston years ago, I had a ball making light of the restaurant’s name. A bar called Recovery? The hangover-fueled jokes practically wrote themselves.
So imagine the major mea culpa – the massive amount of crow I had to eat – when I learned the small chain restaurant’s name came from its first location’s proximity to a local hospital.
And that its owner, Don Duke, wanted the restaurant to be a sanctuary where folks could escape for a quick bite while their loved ones were recovering in the hospital.
There may have been tears when I heard this, as I suddenly saw the place in a whole new light – not as “just another sports bar” but also as a business worthy of my support.
So support it I did, quickly discovering that Recovery’s food was also more than just your average pub fare.
The burgers and wings and nachos were all good, but so were more creative items like truffle fries, Buffalo wontons with bleu cheese crumbles, the seared ahi tuna salad and more.
We visited frequently in the years to follow, but then much less so when a COVID-induced limited menu put a damper on food choices. Now, more than two years later, Recovery has launched an updated menu featuring more than 20 new, revamped or returning items.
Among the fresh choices are pan-seared pork potstickers with Asian sesame sauce; firecracker shrimp with sweet chili aioli, green onions and sesame seeds; and crispy Brussels sprouts with honey mustard, smoked cranberries and candied pecans.
There’s also a new crispy Nashville hot chicken sandwich with hot sauce, coleslaw and pickles on brioche; a smokehouse BBQ chicken sandwich with bacon, cheddar and an onion ring; a steak sandwich with sliced sirloin, sauteed onions and melted gorgonzola sauce on garlic-toasted country white bread; and a Sante Fe turkey burger with pico de gallo, avocado, pepper jack cheese, lettuce and mayo.
New entrees include a popular sesame garlic grilled salmon with mashed potatoes and veggies; flatbreads ranging from BBQ chicken and shrimp Bianco to spicy jalapeno and sesame chicken; plus a trio of taco choices: spiced shrimp, chipotle ranch chicken and carne asada with Thai chilis.
While I haven’t worked my way through the entire new menu yet, I can personally vouch for the delicious and fresh Mediterranean bowl piled with grilled chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, pickled red onion, feta cheese, Romaine and Greek dressing over a blend of nutty ancient grains.
The half-rack of slow-roasted and barbecue-basted Memphis ribs served with sweet potato fries and coleslaw was pretty good, too, and those new pork potsticker and firecracker shrimp plates I mentioned earlier were passable apps.
But as I also mentioned earlier, Recovery’s food isn’t the only reason you should pay the place a visit. Any restaurant with good intentions like this one is well worth your business.
IF YOU GO: Recovery Sports Grill at 600 Virginia St. East in downtown Charleston inside the Four Points Sheraton is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 681-205-8395, check out the restaurant’s Facebook page or visit www.RecoverySportsGrill.com/Charleston.
• • •
Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national culinary publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or at wvfoodguy@aol.com.