Rise and Shine
When Sunrise Bistro owners Jessica Welenteichick and Brian Appelt worked at
Hege's Kiawah restaurant back in 2009, they pondered opening a place of
their own. Both Welenteichick, a Johns Island resident and graduate of the
Culinary Institute of Charleston, and Appelt, a Seabrook resident and
self-trained chef who previously had a restaurant in Costa Rica, had driven
across Johns Island's lazy macro grid of two-lane oak-draped roads and
pondered its limited restaurant options. Sure, you had your barbecue,
Mexican, Chinese, McDonald's, and Subway. You had upscale options, too, with
Fat Hen and Wild Olive, but they were only open for dinner (and Fat Hen for
Sunday brunch). But there wasn't much in the way of quality breakfast and
lunch options.
So, they thought, what if they opened an easygoing place that served
breakfast and lunch daily, along with fresh specials and the occasional
Friday night dinner? There's a need for breakfast and lunch options on Johns
Island, plus they'd have nights off — a nice perk. The food would be
satisfying and indulgent but also fresh and varied, with daily-made breads,
biscuits, bagels, pizza dough, soups, salads, sandwiches, and more, all made
with high quality, often local ingredients, fresh herbs, fragrant olive oil,
and good cheeses. Welenteichick would make the restaurant's pastries,
desserts, biscuits, and salad dressings. Appelt would make most everything
else. They'd call it a bistro so they'd feel free to change the menu
according to their, and customers', whims.
When they noticed a vacancy at the corner of the island's main intersection
at Maybank and Main, they could see it. The former nightclub space had
plenty of parking, great visibility, both a captive local and tourist
population at Seabrook and Kiawah, plenty of potential patrons living on
Johns and Wadmalaw islands, and in West Ashley, plus a constant stream of
people from all over passing through for whatever reason. Nearby you have
the Tea Plantation, Angel Oak, and Firefly Vodka, which couldn't hurt
either. After all, there are only so many roads on Johns Island, and these
are the main drags. So they opened Sunrise Bistro in September 2009, and
people have been stopping in hungry and leaving well-fed ever since.
My guess is there's no better breakfast value on the island, and locals seem
to agree. Welenteichick estimates that 60 percent of their patrons are from
Kiawah and Seabrook and, judging by the age of the patrons, that seems about
right.
Appelt is there at 4 a.m. every morning. There's the standard two-egg style
breakfast with sides, sandwiches for under $4, light and fluffy open-faced
omelets teeming with fillings (also under $4), french toast ($4.75), and
breakfast quiches and burritos ($3-$5). The copious breakfast pizzas are
built with fresh dough, a base of sausage gravy, and an omelet on top — a
lot of food for $4.95. Lunch-wise, I especially like the Bistro turkey
sandwich (6.95). Like all Sunrise sandwiches it comes with a choice of sides
like fresh fruit (seasonal and local when possible), pasta salad, potato
salad, soup of the day, coleslaw, and Sunrise's hummus. The sandwich itself
is smoked turkey, fresh mixed greens, red onion, pepper jack or cheddar,
tomato, and a fresh herb mayo, packed between two thick pieces of housemade
rosemary focaccia bread.
Another sandwich, the roast beef melt, was a satisfying recent lunch
special: thinly sliced meat, sautéed onions and mushrooms, and cheddar and
pepper jack cheeses melted within two thick slices of Texas toast. That, and
a few more melts and hot sandwiches, are about to become permanent menu
fixtures, along with more whole grain bread options.
The Sunrise signature chicken salad wrap (or plate — both $5.95) is one of
the most popular sandwiches.
"Everybody loves it," says Welenteichick. "It's probably one of our top
sellers."
Chunks of chicken are combined with bacon, pine nuts, celery, fresh onions,
mayonnaise, mustard, and honey. It's a bold chicken salad with the onions
and bacon, and the wrap went well on a recent visit with a side of tomato
basil soup ($3.95), another Sunrise favorite. Like the pizza, it's made with
fresh Johns Island tomatoes when possible, along with thinly sliced basil
leaves. The Cajun shrimp sandwich ($7.95) is another big seller, and the
Veggie Delight sandwich ($6.95), made with hummus, greens, red onion,
cucumbers, olives, tomato, and herb mayo, and the Hummus Platter ($5.95) are
lighter lunch options. The salads are good too, whether standing alone or as
a side. Paired with my roast beef melt, the spinach salad, tossed with
pecans, balsamic dressing, and clumps of Johns Island goat cheese from
Burden Creek Dairy, offered a pleasing contrast. The dressing, like all of
Sunrise's dressings, is made in-house with care; balsamic vinegar is reduced
on the stove to enhance its sweetness, and then emulsified with
basil-infused olive oil.
Welenteichick also makes a mean citrus lemon vinaigrette with fresh thyme,
lemon juice, and minced garlic, plus a little olive oil and honey. That
focus on ingredients is key. I'm hoping Sunrise incorporates more local
produce into the sandwiches and salads, things like radishes, carrots, and a
wide variety of greens.
Still, Appelt is always looking for something different, and the specials
often incorporate those.
"Today we found some really good mahi," Welenteichick says. "So our special
was a mahi quesadilla. Or we might find some good chorizo and do an omelet
with it. That's where [Appelt] gets most creative outside the menu."
Sunrise's lunch pizzas are a good combination of European and American
styles. The thin housemade crust is baked until charred and shatteringly
crisp, yet there's enough cheese to make you moan. The Rita is Sunrise's
take on the Margherita, topped with fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes (soon
to be local), and thin slices of basil leaves. There's also a Meatza Pizza
with sausage, bacon, and ham, and a Veggie Delight with seasonal vegetables.
So far Sunrise has served dinner the second Friday of every month, and
Welenteichick says they'll add another Friday each month soon (check their
website and follow them on Facebook). Dinners are a three-course prix-fixe
meal ($29.95/person), and they try to cover all the bases — vegetarian,
fish, chicken, something hearty (pork or steak), plus a range of desserts
from fruity to chocolate to cream-based.
All in all, I'd say that Sunrise's combination of food and value, given its
location, can't be beat — and I'd bet it'll get better and better.
Welenteichick says they love helpful suggestions, too, so let them know what
you think.
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