Marty's HHI Restaurant Thread [Ongoing - Post #896 Update]

[jme]

I got tired of searching and searching with no results about the Italian restaurant Gusto on Hwy 278 in Fresh Market Plaza
(whether it had closed temporarily or permanently),
so I did the only thing left to do-----
I called Michael who is the general manager of Nunzio, and formerly a longtime employee at Ombra,
and he said that Gusto had closed permanently. My heart is broken because Gusto was one of our all-time favorites anywhere.
He said "maybe, possibly" they could reopen later, but as of now it's officially closed permanently.
Can't understand because it was always packed with happy people who adored the food and the staff.
It's a huge disappointment, to say the least.

 

[JIMinNC]

I got tired of searching and searching with no results about the Italian restaurant Gusto on Hwy 278 in Fresh Market Plaza
(whether it had closed temporarily or permanently),
so I did the only thing left to do-----
I called Michael who is the general manager of Nunzio, and formerly a longtime employee at Ombra,
and he said that Gusto had closed permanently. My heart is broken because Gusto was one of our all-time favorites anywhere.
He said "maybe, possibly" they could reopen later, but as of now it's officially closed permanently.
Can't understand because it was always packed with happy people who adored the food and the staff.
It's a huge disappointment, to say the least.

I suspect they are a Covid casualty. Owners may not have had the cash reserves to survive the spring shutdown and the capacity limitations they had to deal with after the restricted re-opening. I fear as the summer tourism crowds depart and the island transitions over to the fall/winter, quite a few other HHI restaurants will suffer the same fate. I suspect many probably had the weakest summer on record and without the big cash boost from summer, they may be hard pressed to make it though until next season. I hope I'm wrong, but fear I may be right.

 

[Dean]

I got tired of searching and searching with no results about the Italian restaurant Gusto on Hwy 278 in Fresh Market Plaza
(whether it had closed temporarily or permanently),
so I did the only thing left to do-----
I called Michael who is the general manager of Nunzio, and formerly a longtime employee at Ombra,
and he said that Gusto had closed permanently. My heart is broken because Gusto was one of our all-time favorites anywhere.
He said "maybe, possibly" they could reopen later, but as of now it's officially closed permanently.
Can't understand because it was always packed with happy people who adored the food and the staff.
It's a huge disappointment, to say the least.

It looks like they may have had some other issues and they bought a condo in Sarasota in December it appears. It also looks like they were just renting on HHI and did not own there. Sorry to see them go, I wish them the best.

 

[jme]

It looks like they may have had some other issues and they bought a condo in Sarasota in December it appears. It also looks like they were just renting on HHI and did not own there. Sorry to see them go, I wish them the best.

Yes I saw that too......owners Giancarlo and Nancy Balestra.........it wasn't a good sign.
I also saw a couple of quotes using the phrase "semi-retirement" during the search, but couldn't decipher if that was after the closure
of the previous restaurant up north due to the nearby construction that affected their restaurant and led to the move to HH, or not,
but given all the tidbits of information, it all seems to be suggesting permanent closure.
Michael at Nunzio even commented on a couple of Gusto's employees coming by Nunzio to check into employment there.....
maybe the final nail in my hopes. I was hanging on by a very thin pasta noodle, but with that it suddenly popped.
So, last night I dreamed about my two favorite dishes, the Pappardelle alla Bolognese and the Osso Buco,
accompanied by a fine Brunello wine..... Sheesh.

 

[Dean]

Yes I saw that too......owners Giancarlo and Nancy Balestra.........it wasn't a good sign.
I also saw a couple of quotes using the phrase "semi-retirement" during the search, but couldn't decipher if that was after the closure
of the previous restaurant up north due to the nearby construction that affected their restaurant and led to the move to HH, or not,
but given all the tidbits of information, it all seems to be suggesting permanent closure.
Michael at Nunzio even commented on a couple of Gusto's employees coming by Nunzio to check into employment there.....
maybe the final nail in my hopes. I was hanging on by a very thin pasta noodle, but with that it suddenly popped.
So, last night I dreamed about my two favorite dishes, the Pappardelle alla Bolognese and the Osso Buco,
accompanied by a fine Brunello wine..... Sheesh.

I think the semi retirement info I saw was related to NY pre HHI. The feel I got was that this was a temp gig anyway and that Covid likely made it an easy choice to move on. No home bought in the county, previous full time restaurant going to seasonal then closing, opens a restaurant in HH, then buys a condo in FL. My guess is they'll end up opening a restaurant somewhere else post Covid. It'd be nice to get some closure, I wish them the best.

 

[jont]

Yes I saw that too......owners Giancarlo and Nancy Balestra.........it wasn't a good sign.
I also saw a couple of quotes using the phrase "semi-retirement" during the search, but couldn't decipher if that was after the closure
of the previous restaurant up north due to the nearby construction that affected their restaurant and led to the move to HH, or not,
but given all the tidbits of information, it all seems to be suggesting permanent closure.
Michael at Nunzio even commented on a couple of Gusto's employees coming by Nunzio to check into employment there.....
maybe the final nail in my hopes. I was hanging on by a very thin pasta noodle, but with that it suddenly popped.
So, last night I dreamed about my two favorite dishes, the Pappardelle alla Bolognese and the Osso Buco,
accompanied by a fine Brunello wine..... Sheesh.

This is a sad day indeed. salute!

 

[Fasttr]

Had another wonderful trip on HHI...we ate our way through another great week using Marty's guide as our food bible as usual. Never felt unsafe eating out, even in these crazy Covid times.

Mellow Mushroom on check in day (Outside dining) - Liquor store and Harris Teeter right next door for one stop easy villa stock up.
Frankie Bones (that garlic cheese bread is to die for) (Outside dining)
Skull Creek Dockside (Outside dining)
Nunzio's (Outside dining)
May River Grill (Bluffton) - one of our favorites each trip (inside dining....but decent social distancing)
Skull Creek Boathouse (Outside dining)
Wise Guys (Inside dining....but good social distancing)
Toss in a couple breakfasts at Palmetto Bay Sunrise Café (Outside dining), and a few lunches at some other Marty picks....and it was a great foodie week!!

Thanks Marty!!!!

Now its time to start dieting to get my waistline back to what it was before the trip. ;-)

 

[Big Matt]

Next time you are in that Harris Teeter area, buy your liquor and wine at Rollers. Great selection. Another Rollers at Coligny right across from the True Value Hardware store (another gem)

 

[JIMinNC]

Had another wonderful trip on HHI...we ate our way through another great week using Marty's guide as our food bible as usual. Never felt unsafe eating out, even in these crazy Covid times.

Mellow Mushroom on check in day (Outside dining) - Liquor store and Harris Teeter right next door for one stop easy villa stock up.
Frankie Bones (that garlic cheese bread is to die for) (Outside dining)
Skull Creek Dockside (Outside dining)
Nunzio's (Outside dining)
May River Grill (Bluffton) - one of our favorites each trip (inside dining....but decent social distancing)
Skull Creek Boathouse (Outside dining)
Wise Guys (Inside dining....but good social distancing)
Toss in a couple breakfasts at Palmetto Bay Sunrise Café (Outside dining), and a few lunches at some other Marty picks....and it was a great foodie week!!

Thanks Marty!!!!

Now its time to start dieting to get my waistline back to what it was before the trip. ;-)

Looks like a great list!

We've been on the island at our condo for the last 10 days and will be here until Sunday. This time we have been to:

Skull Creek Dockside (outside dining; been there three times since July because they take reservations on OpenTable whereas Boathouse is wait only)
San Miguels in Shelter Cove (Mexican, outside dining)
The Dunes House (burgers, fish tacos, and similar stuff outdoors beachside in Palmetto Dunes, a five minute beach walk from our condo)
ELA'S on the Water in Shelter Cove (outside)

I second Marty's recommendation of ELA'S from post #383. We ate outside tonight on a marvelous evening to be outside with an almost full moon rising over the harbor. Too bad I didn't have my real camera and only had my iPhone. Food and service was great. My Pan Seared Grouper with lobster butter topping was outstanding as was my wife's Salmon Rockefeller.

We've also dined at The Jazz Corner twice since June and do truly love that place, although we haven't been there on this trip. We dined inside there for the music, and they do a great job with capacity limited to about 33% of normal, temperature checks on entry, and a new HVAC filtration system. We'll be back on the island in mid-October for a couple weeks, so we'll probably queue up The Jazz Corner again then. Also need to try Nunzio, sounds wonderful!

 

[Bill4728]

We ate at Michael Anthony last night and had the best meal ever!! We did a chief's choice were the waiter and the chief choose a three course meal for us. the highlight was the pasta dish. "caprisse shrimp pasta" a linguine like pasta with shrimp, tomato, mozzarella and basil with a olive oil and balsamic sauce It was the best pasta dish we have ever had!

Lucy our server was great as well.

 

[dioxide45]

We ate at Michael Anthony last night and had the best meal ever!! We did a chief's choice were the waiter and the chief choose a three course meal for us. the highlight was the pasta dish. "caprisse shrimp pasta" a linguine like pasta with shrimp, tomato, mozzarella and basil with a olive oil and balsamic sauce It was the best pasta dish we have ever had!

Lucy our server was great as well.

Sounds a little more higher end than what we had last night. I picked up carry-out from Wayback Burger

 

[jme]

We ate at Michael Anthony last night and had the best meal ever!! We did a chief's choice were the waiter and the chief choose a three course meal for us. the highlight was the pasta dish. "caprisse shrimp pasta" a linguine like pasta with shrimp, tomato, mozzarella and basil with a olive oil and balsamic sauce It was the best pasta dish we have ever had!

Lucy our server was great as well.

The Caprese Shrimp Pasta sounds great, and btw........... I LOVE LUCY

(We'll be dining next week at Nunzio, Santa Fe, The Pearl in Bluffton,
and at least one seafood place--this time it's Skull Creek Dockside---they have an extensive, awesome menu,
far better than a few months ago, and nice water views if you lucky to get one)

 

[jont]

The Caprese Shrimp Pasta sounds great, and btw........... I LOVE LUCY

(We'll be dining next week at Nunzio, Santa Fe, The Pearl in Bluffton,
and at least one seafood place--this time it's Skull Creek Dockside---they have an extensive, awesome menu,
far better than a few months ago, and nice water views if you lucky to get one)

Is the Pearl in Bluffton a new find? looking forward to your review/pics.
the dude

 

[jme]

Is the Pearl in Bluffton a new find? looking forward to your review/pics.
the dude

We have come to love Ela’s— it’s truly a good one. —-and The Pearl is a sister restaurant to Ela’s in that Ela's owner’s son runs The Pearl. It is also a gem and adds to the small collection of superb restaurants in Bluffton. The Pearl is very small and intimate, very bistro-like, very comfortable, and just special. Bluffton itself is growing like gangbusters and has put itself on the map regarding fine dining spots, great shops and boutiques, and a great place to buy or build a retirement home... lots of beautiful property around. I’d say Bluffton has a real cool Village vibe, and apparently everybody else is discovering the same thing. Every time we ride through there, another building has gone up. Worth the ride over from HH Island... 15-20 min at most.

 

[pedro47]

Next time you are in that Harris Teeter area, buy your liquor and wine at Rollers. Great selection. Another Rollers at Coligny right across from the True Value Hardware store (another gem)

I have never notice Rollers near Harris Teeter .. Are their prices reasonable ?
Liked Costco or Sam Club ?

 

[Big Matt]

I have never notice Rollers near Harris Teeter .. Are their prices reasonable ?
Liked Costco or Sam Club ?

Yes, very good prices and you can join their buyers club to get discounts

 

[JIMinNC]

The Caprese Shrimp Pasta sounds great, and btw........... I LOVE LUCY

(We'll be dining next week at Nunzio, Santa Fe, The Pearl in Bluffton,
and at least one seafood place--this time it's Skull Creek Dockside---they have an extensive, awesome menu,
far better than a few months ago, and nice water views if you lucky to get one)

Sounds like a good list for the week. Dockside has become our go-to seafood place after we finished our condo renovation in May. I like being able to make a reservation on OpenTable rather than waiting for a table. We’re meeting some friends there for dinner next Thursday in fact.

We came in on Wednesday and had Mexican at Holy Tequila before stopping next door at Harris Teeter for our needed groceries. Had margaritas, burgers, and nachos tonight at Dunes House just up the beach from our condo. We’re doing Jazz Corner on Monday, then meeting the friends at Dockside on Thursday.

That was going to be it for dining out this trip, but after reading the post above about Michael Anthony’s and then your post reminding me we need to try Nunzio, we might just have to add an Italian night before we head home next Sunday. So much for the diet!

 

[jme]

Sounds like a good list for the week. Dockside has become our go-to seafood place after we finished our condo renovation in May. I like being able to make a reservation on OpenTable rather than waiting for a table. We’re meeting some friends there for dinner next Thursday in fact.

We came in on Wednesday and had Mexican at Holy Tequila before stopping next door at Harris Teeter for our needed groceries. Had margaritas, burgers, and nachos tonight at Dunes House just up the beach from our condo. We’re doing Jazz Corner on Monday, then meeting the friends at Dockside on Thursday.

That was going to be it for dining out this trip, but after reading the post above about Michael Anthony’s and then your post reminding me we need to try Nunzio, we might just have to add an Italian night before we head home next Sunday. So much for the diet!

Really looking forward to the cooler temps next week, plus our dining reservations....we crave Santa Fe all the time, that's a given.
Also looking forward to The Pearl and Nunzio...well, SC Dockside too.... Sheesh.... Very glad that thoughts don't add calories.

We much prefer Ombra and Nunzio (and Gusto prior to their closing) to Michael Anthony's, but some like MA's so that's fine...
we had two bad experiences so won't go back.
I know that several former MA staff members left to go to Ombra and Nunzio, so that tells me something too.
We do need to try Holy Tequila but just haven't had the opportunity, but we will definitely do that.

Enjoy your great dining options at HH---I wish we were there more often even though we're there 7-8 + times a year. Not enough, though!
I can hear it in your voice that you're living the dream at Palmetto Dunes, and that's awesome. Very envious.
If we moved there we'd go broke, so I must limit the temptations..... ....plus we want to stay near the kids and grands where we are.

 

[ilene13]

It looks like they may have had some other issues and they bought a condo in Sarasota in December it appears. It also looks like they were just renting on HHI and did not own there. Sorry to see them go, I wish them the best.

Maybe that will mean that they will open a restaurant in Sarasota. We have only a few good Italian restaurants here!!

 

[vail]

We ate at Nunzio's last evening and the meal was outstanding.
Food is superb, and it was a nice evening so we sat outside on the front balcony, which we were told will be covered in the very near future.
It certainly ranks with the best of restaurants....anywhere.

 

[Superchief]

We have come to love Ela’s— it’s truly a good one. —-and The Pearl is a sister restaurant to Ela’s in that Ela's owner’s son runs The Pearl. It is also a gem and adds to the small collection of superb restaurants in Bluffton. The Pearl is very small and intimate, very bistro-like, very comfortable, and just special. Bluffton itself is growing like gangbusters and has put itself on the map regarding fine dining spots, great shops and boutiques, and a great place to buy or build a retirement home... lots of beautiful property around. I’d say Bluffton has a real cool Village vibe, and apparently everybody else is discovering the same thing. Every time we ride through there, another building has gone up. Worth the ride over from HH Island... 15-20 min at most.

We discovered Ela's last year when staying at Harbor Pointe during restaurant week. We had an outstanding meal and look forward to dining there again this year. They had their specials the week prior to Hilton Head's restaurant week. Have you heard anything regarding restaurant week in 21?

 

[jme]

We discovered Ela's last year when staying at Harbor Pointe during restaurant week. We had an outstanding meal and look forward to dining there again this year. They had their specials the week prior to Hilton Head's restaurant week. Have you heard anything regarding restaurant week in 21?

Bill, hello my friend.
I have not heard anything about Restaurant Week 2021 as of yet.........I'll be inquiring more as the year winds down.
It's quite a popular time, and supported by locals and island visitors alike. We are sometimes there when it's happening and sometimes not,
but I hope we are this time. We've only participated on a limited basis, no real reason, but we'll do more of that this coming year.

As you know from last year's party that there are a LARGE number of our Northern friends with whom we hang out during January and February---
I'd say easily 20-25 couples. It's been going on for several years now.
Some are there as little as 2-4 weeks and some are there from December to March. A few of us have already been communicating
with emails and texts about this next time, and exchanging news and photos and updates, so it's safe to say that everyone looks forward to it
as the highlight of their year.
It's a fantastic time be at HH, and we all truly have a blast. The island is hopping, and Grande Ocean seems to be the epicenter!

Certainly hope to see you when you're around after the first of the year. You're welcome to join in the fun, no invitation needed.
But please keep it a secret........... Stay in touch.

 

[Steve A]

The NYC Pizza on Pope Ave is now open after some renovations. I haven’t been inside. The NYC Pizza in Shelter Cove is still closed with ongoing substantial renovations which, I have been told, will change it into a different type of restaurant.

 

[jmhpsu93]

We've mostly eaten in for the two weeks we've been here, but have managed to visit a few of everyone's favorites:

Coconutz - very convenient to Surf Watch and Barony; we ate there the night we arrived, nothing special (but it's the local Ravens bar, so there's that going for it)

Crazy Crab (278 location) - great view and the appetizers (bacon-wrapped shrimp and spinach/artichoke/crab dip) were excellent; decent happy hours prices, too

Hickory Tavern - good for what it is - a place to watch sports and eat bar food; good quality and prices were reasonable

ELA's on the Water - ate there for Sunday brunch and it was excellent; weather helped at 80*F; I had blackened grouper and the wife had blackened shrimp Caesar salad

Quarterdeck - grabbed lunch there and got a blackened redfish sandwich and the wife got a blackened shrimp po'boy; both very happy; beers were quite spendy; loved the view

For those of you that drive down from the mid-Atlantic area and need a pit stop along the way, there's a place called Burgers and Barley in Rocky Mount, NC that was great.

 

[jme]

We've mostly eaten in for the two weeks we've been here, but have managed to visit a few of everyone's favorites:

Coconutz - very convenient to Surf Watch and Barony; we ate there the night we arrived, nothing special (but it's the local Ravens bar, so there's that going for it)

Crazy Crab (278 location) - great view and the appetizers (bacon-wrapped shrimp and spinach/artichoke/crab dip) were excellent; decent happy hours prices, too

Hickory Tavern - good for what it is - a place to watch sports and eat bar food; good quality and prices were reasonable

ELA's on the Water - ate there for Sunday brunch and it was excellent; weather helped at 80*F; I had blackened grouper and the wife had blackened shrimp Caesar salad

Quarterdeck - grabbed lunch there and got a blackened redfish sandwich and the wife got a blackened shrimp po'boy; both very happy; beers were quite spendy; loved the view

For those of you that drive down from the mid-Atlantic area and need a pit stop along the way, there's a place called Burgers and Barley in Rocky Mount, NC that was great.

Hope you had (and are having, if you're still there) a great stay at Hilton Head!!!