Al-Amir, 111 Sparkleberry Crossing (Clemson Road at Sparkleberry): 2003 6 comments
After establishing itself on Divine Street, Al-Amir opened a second location on Clemson Road at Sparkleberry (near the I-20 interchange). At the time, I was working in Augusta, and living in Aiken. Since I spent the weekend in Columbia more often than not, I was very happy about a location I could drive straight through to from Augusta and hit while it was still open on Friday evenings. I really liked the fare at Al-Amir, but it could be a challenge getting to the Divine location if I were running late. In my opinion, the Clemson location was very slightly below the Divine location in quality. The Damascus bread seemed thicker, harder and less puffy and the seating was less quirky and inviting than the wraparound booths in the back of the Divine building. Still, it was completely acceptable, and somewhere I liked going. However, the last time I went there, they were in violation of Ted's Rules for Restaurants #1: Honor your posted hours. I got there at 8:30pm on an evening when they were supposed to be open until 10:00pm and was told: "Well, it wasn't busy, so we closed the kitchen". Shortly thereafter, they closed.
After Al-Amir, there was a short-lived Mediterranean grill of some sort. Perhaps that was Mirage, or perhaps Mirage is the incoming operation which is now hiring. It appears they are keeping the nice fountain that Al-Amir installed. I wonder if the brick oven is still in there?
UPDATE 12 April 2010: Added full street address to post title.
6 Responses to 'Al-Amir, 111 Sparkleberry Crossing (Clemson Road at Sparkleberry): 2003'
Subscribe to comments with RSS or TrackBack to 'Al-Amir, 111 Sparkleberry Crossing (Clemson Road at Sparkleberry): 2003'.
-
fancylibrarian
7 Jul 08 at 4:12 pm
-
Did you live in Augusta, GA? or Augusta, SC?
James Greek
22 Jun 09 at 4:37 pm
-
Columbia SC.
ted
22 Jun 09 at 4:40 pm
-
you mean Augusta, SC right?
James Greek
22 Jun 09 at 5:28 pm
-
They have just opened an excellent cafe on S. Main, near
campus, a few blocks from the capitalReedrow
12 Sep 09 at 2:06 am
-
Al-Amir has re-opened in the NE Columbia area, this time in the Sandhills Shopping Center at Clemson and Two Notch Roads.
Paul
1 Apr 11 at 10:49 am
Ha! The Mirage was supposed to be some kind of fine dining spot. I knew it would not last when I heard a doctor and his wife opened it. I think it bit the dust soon after it opened in 2005 or so? They had the most laughably overblown menu I have seen in a long time, and the food was AWFUL! I miss Al Amir though - and you are right, it was never as good as the Devine St location, and the new St. Andrews location is not as good as the old Devine one Boo hoo.