Shop Around: New year, new restaurants

In addition to welcoming in the new year, Columbia is welcoming new eateries across the area.

The War Mouth barbecue officially opened in a former auto repair shop at 1209 Franklin St. just before Christmas. In addition to its smoked and braised pork shoulder, War Mouth features chicken bog, vegetable purloo, mustard-fried venison and catfish stew, along with some down-home sides such as greens with smoked peppers and apple cider and Congaree Mill grits with smoky pork gravy. The restaurant is off Columbia’s Main Street near Elmwood Avenue.

Charlotte-based Midwood Smokehouse and BBQ Bar is prepping to open at Cross Hill Market at the site of a former American Burger. This will be the third location for Midwood Smokehouse, following the franchise’s original location in Charlotte and then in Ballentyne, N.C. Midwood features Carolina pork with an Eastern North Carolina vinegar sauce, chicken barbecue featuring a South Carolina mustard sauce, St. Louis-style pork ribs, smoked salmon and burgers. The Cross Hill location — near the intersection of Fort Jackson Boulevard and Devine Street — is expected to open mid-January.

Brick Town Bistro and Raw Bar opened a few weeks ago at 4561 Hardscrabble Road in Northeast Columbia with the goal of “bringing the coast inland.” The seafood restaurant features she-crab soup, oysters on the half shell, peel-and-eat shrimp, shrimp and grits, lowcountry boil and a crab and salmon BLTs.

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 12:48 AM with the headline "Shop Around: New year, new restaurants."