A Return to Nosedive

Waaayyy back in January, I wrote about our great New Year's Eve experience at Greenville's new restaurant, Nose Dive. This celebration included a small taste of Nose Dive's menu, but when we were considering dinner out this past weekend I couldn't pass up the good things I'd heard about their full offerings. So Saturday evening we headed out to a real meal at Nose Dive, which touts itself as Greenville's first "true gastropub".

One thing I love about Nose Dive is how simple the menu is. And I don't mean simple in terms of offerings, because those are varied! I mean that it is broken up into a few different categories, and everything within those categories is priced exactly the same. Starters are $6, for instance; sandwiches and burgers are $8; true entrees are $14; etc. My parents were with us as well and my mom, much as I love her, is a notoriously picky eater. I mean, she'll try just about anything, but she's an amazing cook herself and she absolutely can and will pick apart a meal that is even, in her mind, slightly sub-par. So imagine my relief when we were all extremely pleased with our meals!

For starters, my dad and Steve split the Scotch egg and my mom and I shared the Trio of Fries. She preferred the porcini-dusted fries; I, the sweet potato. We both agreed that the aioli dip was absolutely amazing! My dad simply wouldn't shut up about the Scotch egg, either - he'd wanted something different, that's what he got, and he loved it.

My sandwich - the Nose Dive chicken sandwich - was also delicious. Pulled chicken, tomatoes, basil, mozzarella...I had nothing bad to say! I also loved how they give you a choice of fries (regular or sweet potato), cole slaw, or a salad (Caesar or House) with the sandwiches. Thank you for not making me pay a $1 or more upcharge for a healthy scoop of Caesar salad rather than a pile of french fries! Right?

The parents both had the steak and were similarly impressed. For $14 they got a nice serving of quality meat with potatoes on the side, and trust me when I say that if my mom isn't impressed with a steak she will send it back...no such thing happened at Nose Dive!

Steve took a chance on the shrimp and clams basket and thought it was quite funny that he was "eating gastropods at a gastropub" (ha, ha, ha). He enjoyed his choice as well, and even though we were all extremely full, none of us could pass up dessert!

Mom and dad had the apple crisp and were pleased - not to mention the fact that the portion was huge! Steve and I shared the bacon brownie, but to be completely honest I wish I'd tried the Krispy Kreme creme brulee instead. The brownie wasn't bad by any means; I supposed I just expected more of an assualt (a-ssalt?) on my taste buds. I think they should have gone sweeter with the brownie itself and not candied the bacon, personally.

As a side note, a trusted friend of mine also strongly suggests the Pasta Bolognese...I just wasn't in the mood for pasta on this fine evening ;)

These are just the current taps at Nose Dive! (Sample beer list)

The consensus? Not only are the prices right, but the food is great. At Nose Dive, you truly get more than what you pay for, and you can bet we'll be back!

(And in fact, we stayed afterward for a couple brews. The beer list here may not be as extensive as it is at other Greenville bars, but this is also no ordinary "Dive". And I was very happy to see that they carried my favorite, RJ Rockers Son of a Peach!)