Eat

Saturday, March 3, 2012

CHSWFF: Sinful Soul

Food made with Love

Posted by Eric Doksa on Sat, Mar 3, 2012 at 11:33 AM

“I hope nobody ate breakfast,” were the initial words of food writer and City Paper contributor Jeff Allen on Friday morning as he addressed a group waiting to be schooled on Charleston’s Gullah and Soul food cuisine. The tour started at Marion Square where Jeff gave a brief overview of the area and the five restaurants on the agenda.

After a nice historical stroll through the neighborhood between King Street and St. Philip Street, the first stop was Dave’s Carryout. We could smell the fried food from about a block away. Everyone crammed into the small joint run by Sandra McCray and two family members. Small brown bags filled with fried shrimp, hush puppies, and tartar sauce were handed out to each guest. The shrimp was flavorful enough that it didn’t require any sauce.

Shrimp, hushpuppies, and tartar sauce at Daves Carryout.
  • Shrimp, hushpuppies, and tartar sauce at Dave's Carryout.

Jeff then led the group over to one of Charleston’s best kept soul food secrets, Ernie’s. A nice spread was setup that consisted of cornbread, a gelatinous okra soup, and butterbeans so good you could hear everyone in the room hum “mmmm” in unison. Ernie’s doesn’t advertise, the bowl of butterbeans speaks for itself.

Antuan Kinloch takes pride in the family butterbeans.
  • Antuan Kinloch takes pride in the family butterbeans.

A shuttle then took everyone up to “The neck” of Charleston, which is basically the border of Charleston and North Charleston, where the sisters of Bertha’s Kitchen cooked up a crispy fried pork chop, cabbage, and rice.

Pork chop, cabbage, and rice at Berthas Kitchen.
  • Pork chop, cabbage, and rice at Bertha's Kitchen.

At that point everyone was getting full and in need of a nap but two of the most important stops were still ahead, including the kitchen of a Charleston legend, Martha Lou.

Tables were setup outside and Martha Lou herself started carrying out trays of food that became part of a full-on buffet of rice, baked chicken, butterbeans, and mac n cheese. Word got out that Martha’s fried chicken is the best in town so she ended up bringing out a tray of that as well. It was agreed by everyone that Martha Lou was not messing around — this woman can cook.

Martha Lou
  • Martha Lou

Finally, the group was shuttled through some of the rough parts of Charleston on the way to Alluette’s holistic café for dessert. The good news was that Alluette uses almost all organic ingredients. We started off with a cup of decadent dark chocolate mousse followed by a plate of pound cake, bread pudding, and apple pie, which Jeff calls “the best apple pie I’ve ever had in my life.” I tend to agree.

Pound cake, bread pudding, and apple pie at Alluettes Cafe.
  • Pound cake, bread pudding, and apple pie at Alluette's Cafe.

After Alluette and Jeff made some closing comments the group applauded to the close of such a wonderful event. The stories about the rich soul food history that Jeff was able to share with everyone were truly amazing, and all of the food was cooked with pure love. The only thing that could make the event even better is a final stop at the battery where a spread of hammocks are lined up for an afternoon slumber.

Topics: Events, Local Chefs, Charleston Food + Wine Festival, Festivals, Restaurants

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Monday, January 9, 2012

House of Brews to unleash cask of COAST's Blackbeerd

Rare Beer Event

Posted by Eric Doksa on Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 10:15 AM

blackbeerd.JPG

Blackbeerd Russian Imperial Stout (9.3% ABV), COAST Brewing Company's winter seasonal, has become one of their most sought-after specialty beers.

On Saturday, Jan. 21 at 5 p.m., House of Brews in Mt. Pleasant will be tapping a rare 9-gallon cask of the 2012 Blackbeerd.

A cask-conditioned beer is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and naturally carbonated. No nitrogen or CO2 is added. What’s even more important is that this particular beer will be dry-hopped using Simcoe hops, adding a layer of complexity to the bouquet.

Hops are an essential ingredient in every beer recipe, adding flavor, bitterness, and aroma. Generally, they are added during the boiling process, which helps release essential oils. Dry-hopping is when they add more hops late in the fermentation cycle. Despite hops' bitter reputation, this process does not add much bitterness to a beer, if any at all. Dry-hopping adds some additional flavor, but mostly enhances the aroma of the beer.

And if a rare cask of Blackbeerd isn’t enough reason to head over to the House of Brews, live music will be provided by 17 South and Roti Rolls will be setting up shop in the lot for those that want to make this a foodie affair.

House of Brews is located at 1537-C Ben Sawyer Blvd on the way to Sullivan’s Island in Mt. Pleasant. Parking is limited so it would be a good idea to car pool. Visit houseofbrewsmtp.com or find them on Facebook for information on upcoming events.

Topics: Events, Beer

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Friday, March 5, 2010

wine and food!

Posted by jimihatt on Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 12:26 AM

this years event was a blast, thanks sean brock and staff for asking me to be on the team!!!
all you chefs out there in charleston should be so proud!!!!!!!
keep up the good work!


jimihatt

Topics: Events
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