By J1 Reporter Mallory Mowat

On Nov. 30, I went to Charleston Restaurant on 76th & Dodge. My brother is 23 and he lives and works in Las Vegas, so we don’t get to see him much. My brother had come to town for Thanksgiving and we decided to go for a casual family dinner on his last night in town. This was an important dinner because this visit back was the first time my brother had been back in town since July. We also knew that he wouldn’t be coming home for Christmas, so this would be the last time we would see him until spring break or maybe even summer break. 

I thought it was going to be busy because it was a Saturday night, so I was not even sure if we would get a seat. When my family and I arrived at the restaurant, we parked right away. There was not any seating in the main part of the restaurant, but there was seating in the bar area open for us. The atmosphere in the restaurant was welcoming and comfortable, perfect for a casual dinner. 

The thing that really just made the night spectacular was our excellent waitress. She had a good thing to say about everything on the menu. Her patience was greatly appreciated, as she never sounded irritated when we weren’t quite ready to order. She was exceptionally nice and checked up on us throughout the night.

Towards the end of the night, my family and I talked to her for a bit. The waitress we had made it better than we could have ever expected it to be. Her joy brought all of us joy. This night was special because my brother was leaving the next morning to go back home. We weren’t sure if he would come home for Christmas, so this time together was important.

The food was delicious. We ordered the Dynamite shrimp for $16 as an appetizer. It was the perfect size for the four of us. I could have eaten that shrimp for the rest of my life. It was amazing.

After our appetizer we got our main course. My meal came out a few minutes after my family’s food, so I was a bit disappointed because I was worried it would be cold. I got the Hickory Burger with a side of fries for $17. It included Canadian bacon on it and came with a side of barbecue to dip it in. When my meal arrived, it was not cold at all. The cooks finished my fries before my burger, so the fries were apparently cold. They decided to make me new fries so they would be fresh and hot. That for sure made up for my food coming out a bit later. Other restaurants I have been to would not remake the fries out of their own choice. I thought that it was very thoughtful of them to do this. When it came out, our waitress was letting me know how amazing it was and how she was sure I would love the burger. She was right. The burger was big, so I had some leftovers for the next day.

We weren’t planning on ordering a desert, but our waitress convinced us that we just had to try the bread pudding. We were full from our main course, but we couldn’t resist. When she brought it out, the satisfactory smell of the dessert filled our noses. It was mouth watering. We were so full, we didn’t eat all of it but we wish we could’ve. 

Overall it was a wonderful and memorable experience at Charleston Restaurant. It was the perfect dinner we wanted and received. The food, workers, and atmosphere was overall remarkable. I would definitely give this restaurant a rating of 4.7 stars out of 5.