Seafood and grilled specialties, including venison osso buco with asiago saute and Block Island swordfish with poached clams in saffron broth, blend eye-catching presentation with sublime flavors.
More than 400 choices line the vast wine list. |
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(Feb. 2006) Sometimes it takes years for a restaurant to reach a level of excellence that is acknowledged - not only by patrons - but those who evaluate and rate restaurants. Charleston's Tristan Restaurant began receiving a string of accolades shortly after it opened in May 2002.
Located on the entrance level of the French Quarter Inn in the heart of Charleston’s immensely popular historic Market Street area, Tristan has, in under three years of operation, earned:
- a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2002, 2003 and 2004
- the coveted AAA Four Diamond rating twice (2003 and 2004)
- an International Award of Excellence as a new top-ten restaurant for 2003 by the International Restaurant and Hospitality Rating Bureau
Guests choose from three entrances, with the main one a trellised, ironworks walkway flanked by potted plants at 55 Market Street next to the brick, three-story French Quarter Inn.
Entering through a wooden door inset with glass, guests first arrive in a small alcove with 3-dimensional glass art on the left along with four chairs small tables. On the right is an oil on linen featuring a panoramic view of Charleston as seen from Tristan’s rooftop and painted by Jennifer Smith Rogers.
The art-deco maitre’d reception desk hints of a modern, stylish interior decor that soon dazzles with a simple, yet elegant, contrast of white tablecloths and settings with charcoal gray carpet, navy blue and rust patterned upholstered chairs and rounded glass walls muted with sheer curtains.
The waitstaff wears black shirts and drape black - not white - napkins in the laps of anyone wearing black so as to eliminate the possibility of white napkin lint hangover.
 The extensive (400 labels) wine list comes with silver binding and the wines, located in the bar area, can be viewed in their sealed, temperature controlled environment through a glass door.
A black baby grand piano sits in the middle of the 150-seat restaurant; the kitchen is off to the left, open for all to view. A special “chef's booth” with its back to the rest of the room faces the “exhibition kitchen,” an intimate yet open area that allows the booth diners to view the artistry of food preparation.
The chef
The chef is Jimmy Sneed, a graduate of Charleston's James Island High School.  He was studying political science and in Paris working as a translator at the famed Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, when he was inoculated with the passion for food and cooking all great chefs possess.
After returning to the United States, Sneed worked in Washington, D.C. with Jean-Louis Palladin at the Watergate and Guther Seeger at the Regent Hotel, the only Michelin-rated chefs in the states at the time.
Before returning to Charleston as Tristan’s chef in late 2003, Sneed operated restaurants in Urbana and Richmond, Va.; earned two James Beard Award nominations for Best American Chef, Mid-Atlantic; was featured chef twice at the Masters of Food and Wine in Carmel, Ca. and in April 2003, was one of 15 chefs named as an “Icon of Gastronomy.”
The owners
The owners are Sharon and Eddie Toporek, who have owned and operated several businesses in the Charleston area during the past four decades.
The Toporeks owned and ran MBT International, the largest privately held distribution company in the music industry, for 20 years. Eddie also has worked as a professional musician with the Charleston and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras and the Miami Philharmonic. Eddie’s talent showcases itself many nights when he accompanies Tristan’s soft jazz playing pianist, Bill Aycock, with his trumpet and flugel horn playing.
Naming the restaurant after their grandson, the Toporeks wanted to create a relaxed, friendly ambiance.
”We didn’t want to just create another fine Charleston restaurant,” said Eddie. “We wanted something different, something unique, that wasn’t stuffy but would have fine food, a fine presentation and be a place where diners would have fun.”
They selected Bill Johnson from Atlanta, Georgia, as the designer and architect. Johnson used large ellipses on the ceiling, curved banquettes in the dining and bar area, and rounded glassware sculptures to give a subtle impression of water that is most evident by unique lighting in the 45-seat bar that creates a waterfall effect on one wall.
Soft curtains follow curved walls, and in the bathrooms, sinks are like glass trays with water flowing into troughs - not drains - again creating a waterfall effect.
The bar, at the far right end of the restaurant from the Market Street entrance and reached via a curved hallway, separates itself from the restaurant with curtains covering a glass wall with glass shelving to support the illuminated liquor choices behind the bar's white finished concrete counter.
Patterned charcoal gray carpet graces the floor everywhere, and in the restaurant, booths line two walls. Tables are topped with crisp white linens and chairs are gray, leather-like vinyl. White dendrobium (orchids) sit in white or blue square vases on the table, set with Gingko/Helmick silverware and European crystal.
Along with various choices of water - sparkling, bottled - lemon and lime slices are offered. Bread is served on depression-style hand made colored glass plates.
The sounds
Acoustics come into play with a sound system designed around the piano, allowing the sound to be heard equally anywhere in the restaurant, often sounding like a joyous †Italian trattoria, alive with conversation and music.
The end result is an atmosphere that generates adjectives like snazzy, cosmopolitan, modern, cool, trendy, relaxed and romantic.
“We offer a fine dining experience in a fun atmosphere that is friendly and intimate - with a few surprises (like complimentary cotton candy at the end of the meal),” said Eddie.
While the atmosphere can be enticing, it is the food and wine that provide capstones to a Tristan experience.
Exotic drinks include a special “Tristini” cosmopolitan with blue cheese olives, a strawberry lemon-drop or a mojito, ranging in price from $7 to $11.
The food
 Chef Sneed's menu changes nightly, depending on the freshest ingredients available. Appetizers start the culinary journey with choices including pan seared fresh sea scallops over a bed of creamed leeks with a lobster coral sauce ($14), sautéed fresh grouper cheeks with wild mushrooms and a sundried tomato butter sauce ($12), steamed fresh mussels in a light saffron broth ($9) or seared Hudson Valley foie gras, lentils and a sweet beet sauce ($17).
A number of soup choices include cream of red pepper soup with fresh crabmeat, cream of sweet onion soup with duck confit and wild mushrooms soup with garlic chips ($7 to $9).
For those who want to begin less traditionally, Tristan offers a tempura selection of colossal shrimp ($12), sweet potatoes ($6), and grouper fingers ($8), a choice of “Deep South” creations ñ the Awendaw roll (shrimp and pickled okra), a McClellanville crab roll (lump crab, red peppers, chives, sesame remoulade; “Far East” creations - smoked oyster nigiri ($7-$12) - maki and sashimi ($7-$8), and a colossal dragon roll (spicy tuna, cucumbers, unagi, and avocado) ($15).
 Entrees include (to name a few) seafood ranging from $20 to $32 and include Sneed's “finally famous” crabcakes, fresh "hook'n line" east coast halibut topped with fresh crabmeat & shallot sauce, sautéed “velvet” softshell crabs (in season) and grilled tuna with parmesan butter sauce. Beef choices range from $20 to $30 and feature a pan seared fresh buffalo hangar steak with shallots “ciselees”, rotisserie leg of baby lamb infused with garlic and rosemary with sautéed wild mushrooms, sautÈed fresh duck breast confit leg with a fig sauce, pan crusted rib eye steak with maitre d’hotel butter. Entrees are served with a daily vegetable and a choice of interestingly prepared fresh pasta, potatoes or rice. A vegetarian entree is available upon request.
Tasting menu
Chef Sneed prepares by table request a nightly tasting menu of soup, appetizer, fish course, entrée (meat or fish choice), and dessert for $50 per guest.
The wine
Wine connoisseurs will appreciate the robustness and uniqueness of the wine selection, with more than 12 different choices each of reds and whites by the glass. Prices for whites go from a low of $7 for a 2001 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to $15 for either a 2000 Sonoma Valley Chardonnay or a 1999 Monterey Pinot Blanc. Reds range from $8 for a 1999 French Bordeaux to $14 for a 1999 Napa Valley Zinfandel or a 2000 Napa Valley Merlot.
Bottled wines are international with wines from Germany, Italy, France, California, Washington, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and Spain. Domestic wines are mostly from California and Washington states. You can buy an Italian red varietal for $24 or splurge for $380 for a 1991 chardonnay from the Burgundy region of France.
The penultimate eating experience comes from the ten desert choices ñ old fashioned pearl tapioca pudding for $7 is on the low end and the exquisite choice is the $12 Tristan assortment French Quarter Portrait, a tasting sampler of dessert choices with a chocolate easel and white chocolate canvas replicating the Tristan painting of the French Quarter at night.
After coffee, port and after-dinner drinks, first-time customers are often surprised by Eddie Toporek’s signature delivery of the check along with a fluffy ball of refreshingly flavored cotton candy, just like you get after an evening at the country fair.
Has designing, opening and operating a restaurant been worth it?
“Its harder work than I thought it would be but also more fun than I ever thought it would be,” said Eddie. ”Come visit. I promise you a fun and memorable dining experience.” |
