It's a sad day on Quarrier Street: Blossom Deli is closing Saturday. I really liked that place. The lunches were fantastic, the dinners were amazing and elegant, and the service was stellar.
Bill Sohovich runs Blossom and Soho's in Capitol Market, and once upon a time, Billy's at Southridge. Billy's was kind of eh. It was ok, but it suffered an identity crisis from day one. It's comfort food, it's gourmet, it's Cajun. It didn't last long... maybe we just weren't ready for it.
Soho's is good, and though it's a bit highbrow for lunch, their dinners are nice, and I like that you can eat outside when the weather is conducive.
Blossom was awesome. For lunch it was just a deli with soups and sandwiches, and everybody ate there. The place was always packed, and if you didn't get there until noon, forget it — you were going to be waiting at least fifteen or twenty minutes before you were seated. And it was always worth the wait.
In the evening, Blossom turned into a candlelit restaurant with tablecloths, wine lists, and gourmet selections. It was staffed by the same people at lunch and in the evening, and they transformed as well — changing from rushing around serving Charleston's lunch crowd to amiable and unhurried hosts and hostesses offering wine, bread, olive oil, Parmesan.
The closure happened very suddenly — announced this week, in fact, though I suspect it's been building for awhile. Late last year, Blossom stopped offering dinner. I hoped that was maybe just a seasonal thing, but looking back on it, I think it was a sign of things to come. Blossom finally reopened for dinner again this summer. Martha and I went there for dinner last weekend, but the menu was completely different, the rolls had been replaced by flat crackers, and the crowd and selection seemed thin. Something was definitely afoot.
Well... now we know.
Some things I'll miss: the wild mushroom salad in the evening. The plethora of choices in the "create your own pasta" dinner. The chocolate mousse. The Dinsmore. Rows of plates with chips on them just waiting for a sandwich. The transformation of a streetside deli into an elegant after-hours restaurant. The excitement of getting ready for dinner at Blossom with Martha, like we were grown up or something. The Cobb salad. Pretending like I was going to get something different for lunch, but always ending up with either the Dinsmore or the Cobb salad. Occasionally getting the dinner special merely because it was described so well, and being happily surprised when things like acorn squash stuffed with rice tasted even better than they sounded.
Rumor has it the Reuben and the Dinsmore will be migrating to Soho's, as will most of the staff. But beyond that, there won't be much left of Blossom after Saturday except memories and an empty building. I'll be getting one last Dinsmore on Friday. I will bring it back to my laboratory for a thorough analysis before eating... just in case the rumors are false. The Dinsmore is something that should not just die and fade away.
Neither is Blossom, but reality is, unfortunately, what it is.