Eat

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Butcher & Bee pops up with authentic German fare

Championing ethnic flavors

Posted by Stephanie Barna on Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 8:35 AM

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If you've missed the last couple of pop-up dinners at Butcher & Bee, don't worry. They'll be doing more of them and regularly too. The Nguyen family will be back for Vietnamese dinners, most likely doing them every other Thursday. The next one is Feb. 16.

Owner Michael Shem-Tov is committed to giving the pop-up dinners an ethnic flavor. To that end, he recently took a road trip to Moncks Corner to the only German restaurant in the area (correct me if I'm wrong) called Carolina Doener, which doesn't sound very German. Chef Andre Beyer serves up housemade brats, sauerkraut, and doeners in his small café, and he's agreed to come downtown for a pop-up dinner on his only day off. If you want to try some of his brats, braised cabbage, and sauerkraut, make plans to stop by Butcher & Bee on Sun. Feb. 12. The dinners are alacarte. You stand in line, order from the menu, and try to find a seat.

They are taking reservations for the German dinner too. Call or email info@butcherandbee.com

Other dinners to note: Vegan Valentine's Dinner on Feb. 14 and in March they'll have a series of Lowcountry Gullah-Geechee pop-ups. I'll share more info as I get it on that one.

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Happy birthday to Social, now get drinking

Big Ass Wine Tasting

Posted by Stephanie Barna on Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 2:42 PM

Social, downtown's hottest little wine bar, continues to innovate. This time they're throwing themselves quite a big-ass birthday party featuring a 50-wine tasting for a mere $10. Happy freakin' birthday is right.

The event is Wed. Feb. 8 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Partygoers will get a wristband for access to the tasting in the dining room in addition to passed hors d'oeuvres and a DJ.

Congrats to Brad Ball and crew. Now get out there and help them celebrate in style.

181 Palmer opens for lunch on Wednesday

3 courses for $15!

Posted by Stephanie Barna on Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 8:00 AM

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The semester is gearing up over at the Culinary Institute. I know this because Scott Stefanelli just sent me the menu for 181 Palmer, and it's going to be a tasty few months in the student-run kitchen over on the Palmer Campus.

First off, Stefanelli was able to get his mitts on a lamb from Craig Rogers' Border Springs farm in Virginia. This is prime product that's being used by the top chefs in the country, which means his students are getting some seriously relevant experience. On the menu, they've got confit of Border Springs Lamb with smoked eggplant purée, Anson Mills farro salad, sheep’s milk ricotta, and pickled fennel. Sounds tasty.

Another nice entrée option is a market-fresh fish, which will change each day according to availability, providing a very real-world sort of experience for the young cooks over there.

Students will also prepare a grilled Keegan-Filion Farm chicken breast with whipped creamer potatoes, sautéed spring greens, and maple and bacon broth, in addition to housemade ricotta gnudi (yum) served with braised North Carolina rabbit, wild mushrooms, and baby artichokes. Sounds like something you might encounter on the Macintosh menu, doesn't it?

Stefanelli is also teaching his charges the art of pickling and curing. The appetizer menu has a charcuterie plate and pork rillettes that are made in-house. You can also opt for a blue crab and arugula salad or a salad of young spring lettuces with sunchoke puree and pickled Japanese mushrooms.

The third course, which is included in your $15 lunch, has some great options. There's a meyer lemon and pistachio cake, a chocolate and banana cream parfait, an artisanal cheese selection, and an Anson Mills cornmeal Baba au Rum. I can't say I know what that is, but I bet it's gonna be saturated in liquor. My kind of dessert.

Now if all this talk of student cooks has you skeptical, let me assure you that Stefanelli runs a tight ship over there at the Palmer Campus. The dining room is top-notch, run by students who are learning the art of hospitality, and the kitchen is as tight as any you'd find in town, but at this one, you get to watch what they're doing via closed circuit televisions in the dining room. And the kicker is that the three-course lunch is $15 and incudes a non-alcoholic beverage of choice.

Reservations are required. Call (843) 820-5087 or visit www.opentable.com.

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Monday, February 6, 2012

It's restaurant week again

Eat it up in Avondale

Posted by Stephanie Barna on Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 10:00 AM

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Charleston Restaurant Week was a raging success in January. People just can't get enough of deals on eating out these days. To that end, Avondale's eateries have teamed up to offer yet another week of deals to area diners.

Al di La, Mellow Mushroom, Triangle Char and Bar, Pearlz, and The Roost will be offering three courses for $20 all week long, Feb. 6-12.

We suggest you get out there and soak up the deals. The next restaurant week won't be coming around until September.

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82 Queen parties like it's 1982

All Hail the Queen

Posted by Stephanie Barna on Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 9:00 AM

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82 Queen will be stepping into the wayback machine this week, celebrating its 30th anniversary with classic cocktails, food specials, and nightly parties. (Fun fact: the 82 Queen bar was a regular hangout for Charleston's 80s-era gentlemen drug smugglers.)

On Monday and Tuesday, the drinks of the night will be ’80s-era Fuzzy Navels and Melon Balls. Ah, drinks made with peach schnapps and Midori. The 80s were sweet, weren't they?

In the ’90s, drinking folks graduated to Amaretto Sours and Bay Breezes, which will be the featured cocktails on Wednesday and Thursday. A Bay Breeze is like a Sea Breeze with a splash of pineapple. Refreshingly ’90s.

So, now, you're probably thinking what were the drinks of the millennium? Well, if you ever watched Sex in the City, you'll know that the Cosmo was the quintessential cocktail for a lot of years, with the Mojito a close second. I gotta say, I still like a good Mojito. You can't go wrong with mint and lime.

82 Queen will also be busting out some special dishes including Lowcountry gumbo, quail, cornmeal-fried clams, grilled shrimp, and bacon-wrapped filet of beef.

The big events will be Friday and Saturday night from 6-9 p.m. when they bring back the raw oyster bar, and will let Crab House proprietor John Keener guest-bartend.

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