The Gathering Cafe

Carrot Cake, The Gathering Cafe, Charleston, S.C.

I met with friends to try a new West Ashley restaurant this evening - The Gathering Cafe at Orange Grove and Sam Rittenburg. Now that I live West Ashley I am tickled to hear of tasty new places close to me with great food and plenty of parking. Thanks to my friends Kathy and Leah for the suggestion. From top to bottom although not in that order, we enjoyed the carrot cake, meatloaf, salmon, pork loin (mine) and a visit from chef/owner Nathan Conkle.

I notice that their web site offers printable coupons for a free dessert and glass of wine until 12/15. Go for it!

The Gathering Cafe in West Ashley is a casual, family owned and operated cafe-restaurant offering satisfying food choices to the community of Charleston. We strive to offer the freshest ingredients, and we strongly support the use of organic and local food sources.
Owner, chef and South Carolina native, Nathan Conkle, brings over fifteen years experience to the tables of this new cafe. The Gathering strives to create an atmosphere of comfort where  both individuals and families can gather and feel welcome. The Gathering also offers tasty, take-away choices for those on the move. Please join us in celebrating life's nourishing food!

Angel Oak Restaurant

Angel Oak Restaurant, Charleston, S.C.

It's hard to keep up with the new restaurants opening around Charleston and I've had my eye on Angel Oak for a while. I used to love Mias that was in this same location a few years ago so I was hopping the latest re-incarnation would do the spot justice.

I met friends at the cozy little restaurant out Savannah Highway just beyond Main Road for an early after work dinner and I'm happy to report that we were all pleased with our dinners. The appetizer had a macaroni and cheese mixture baked over barbeque - yum. Our table tried the planked salmon, stuffed ravioli and braised short ribs (me!). I am a sucker for anything braised. Mmmmm. By the time we left the place was packed. I don't think they are going to have any problems.

Neighborhood Dining - West Ashley

Taco Spot, Charleston, S.C.

I worried about leaving all my neighborhood gourmet grocery stores when I moved West Ashley but I am not exactly starving to death. I've been checking out all the local places to eat. Last week I went to Al Di La (not impressed this time although I have loved it in the past) with my son and Sunday night I walked around the corner to Taco Spot for a tasty black bean quesadilla. It is a tiny spot!

Hot Sauce at Taco Spot, Charleston, S.C.

This evening I met my friend Susan and we ate at a picnic table outside at the Glass Onion. Check out this feast! I have half of it in a doggie bag for tomorrow.  I just discovered that the Glass Onion has a blog and includes some recipes. Enjoy: The Glass Onion Blog.

Glass Onion,Charleston, S.C.

Where shall I go next?

Noodle Night

Tuesdays are Ramen Noodle Nights at Two Boroughs Larder just around the corner from me. Here is the noodly scoop from their web site: 

Ramen is a traditional Japanese staple and is more than just a bowl of noodles. There are four basic elements to every bowl - the broth, the tare (salty soy reduction at the bottom), the noodles and toppings (suddenly that spice packet included with the pre-packaged noodles seems much less appetizing).  In Japan most major cities actually boast their own signature ramen dish. Noodles can range from thin and curly to thick and straight. Toppings include (but are not limited to) bamboo shoots, shredded pork, fishcakes, chilis, eggs and spinach.
Every Tuesday night, starting around 5pm and in addition to the full menu, TBL is planning to hook up your ramen.  Pork. Chicken. Vegetarian.  Your choice!

I tried the spicy pork broth, mushrooms, poached egg and Kimchi. They are going to do Noodle Night every Tuesday. Yum, yum and the company was even better.  Happy birthday to my buddy Dr. G. pictured with Ms. Two Boroughs Larder, Heather Keenan.  Here is the Charleston City Paper review.

More good eating coming to Upper King St.

Old Bank of America, King St., Charleston, S.C.

I walked the upper peninsula this morning and walking back down King St. grabbed a "before" shot of the old Bank of America. I am so happy to hear it is going to be turned into a restaurant by Chef Mike Lata and partners. What an exciting use of the space! Some of the best food I've ever tasted was cooked by Mike Lata.  I can't wait to see what they come up with.

Charleston City Paper has more details: FIG owners opening restaurant on Upper King and I snitched this image below from their article.

After months of rumor, speculation, and innuendo, the deal is done and it's official. Mike Lata and Adam Nemirow, the duo behind the acclaimed FIG, have purchased the vacant Bank of America building at 544 King St. with plans to open a new restaurant in the space by Sept. 1. "We are so psyched about the concept," says Lata.

"It's the perfect idea for the perfect property." Just what is the concept? Lata's a little cagey about giving up too much information, but he did confirm that it's going to be an oyster bar. The vibe will be very high energy and casual. "The general feel is a community restaurant," he says, explaining that they want to be a place that folks can drop by for a snack, a drink, or a full-blown meal. "It'll be fun, energetic, and visually striking," he promises.

Cruising Charleston

Market St., Charleston, S.C.

Most cruise ship visits seem to happen during the week when I am at work and I've barely noticed the impact. It is a startling sight to see the huge Carnival Fantasy pulled up right at the end of Market St. Usually I can tell when a ship is in town by the huddle of people clustered on the sidewalks around places that have free wifi. I don't what the arrival and departure times are but the streets were packed and restaurants were full today. Was something else big going on in town?

I had to reward myself for my morning of hard labor cleaning out my attic so I walked down and enjoyed a chicken pita pocket at Tabbuli Grill's new outdoor patio. By the time I left every table was full. 

Up the Wall

St. Phillips St., Charleston, S.C.

Someone was clearly driven up the wall!


I spent the day in Leadership classes at Trident Technical College with hundreds of other leaders from my health system. When I finally checked my mail I had an email from a cousin I hadn't seen since I was about fourteen years old in Canada. He was in town to run the Charleston marathon this weekend and it dawned on him that he had a relative here.

I was out for my walk by the time we talked and stopped by Charleston Grill to see if they could sneak us in without reservations during restaurant week. What fun! If I was to land a surprise cousin - Tim Halls was very cool! I had a perfect evening with him and his wife Sharon and we sorted out our very busy family tree. Isn't he handsome? We are the same age.

We had a lovely evening. Live jazz and the shrimp and grits were some of the best I've ever had.

The Grocery - Oh Yum!

Pimento Cheese Bites, The Grocery - Charleston, S.C.

How cute are these little Pimento Cheese Bites on a melted Coke bottle platter? Pretty damn cute I say, and tasty! I went to the brand spanking new restaurant called The Grocery on Cannon St. last night with my friend Jo and we had a finger licking good time. Hallie had recommended the Crispy Pimento Cheese bite snacks so we started with them.


Everything was delicious but I could eat a plate of the sausage in this next image. It was so darn different and good. I loved it.  The sizes of the servings on the menu had to be explained. These generous servings were the "snacks", "bites" and "tastes". None of these were even the main entree sized portion or the larger platter to share for the table. Truthfully we were completely satisfied and couldn't manage dessert although we made our server recite them just for fantasy material.

We had a lovely evening. Thanks folks!

Boudin Blanc, Sweet-Sour Cabbage, Apple, Bacon wrapped Prune

Swordfish Crudo, Grapefruit, Avocado, Citrus Vinaigrette

Beef Short Ribs, Roasted Bone Marrow, Grilled Bread, Gremolata

Lamb Shoulder, Roasted Chick Peas, Sautéed Greens

The Macintosh

Burden Creek Goat Cheese Gnudi with Stone Crab

I want a restaurant named The Macintosh to have some Scottish connection but I guess the Scottish version is Mackintosh with a "k". Jeremiah Bacon is the executive chef at the latest new restaurant on King St. but I also keep my eye out for Chris Delaney in the kitchen who used to work at McCrady's. Chris came out to say hello to us last night when we stopped in for a drink and bite to eat at the bar.

I didn't do too bad considering I just had my little pocket camera. Everything we had was yummy - the scallops, the soup (licked my bowl thank you) but those Gnudi with the Stone Crab in the first photo are melt in your mouth deliciousness.  The giant bowls make the servings look small but they really were good sized portions. Not cheap but so very tasty. I want more.

Extra walking is going to be necessary tonight!

Chris Delaney & Andre' Guillet

Hot and Sour Pork Belly Soup

Cafe Fork - Let's Eat!

Cafe Fork, Hwy 61, Charleston, S.C.

When I take a friend to Cafe Fork for the first time I point out my favorite things - look at the color! the paintings! the white marble table!

It is a happy lunch surprise at the end of a strip mall on Hwy 61 and I want to move in and live there. The bathroom is big enough for a tub and I could chop off part of the kitchen for a bed. I'd need the kitchen staff to stick around and work quietly bringing me tasty treats one after the other just like they do when I go for lunch.

Seriously, isn't it pretty? They are getting great reviews on Yelp for their food and I want them to decorate my home.

Sadly they took my favorite dish off the menu (sob) so I am going to have to start all over until I find my new signature Cafe Fork meal. They were a catering company and only serve lunch and the occasional cooking class dinner. I'm thinking the cooking class dinner might be fun.

Mixology Magician!

Evan Powell, Fish Restaurant, Charleston, S.C.

I like it when something good is billed as the "first annual"!

This evening I went to what was called a Mixology Dinner at Fish Restaurant. Mixologist Evan Powell mixed the drinks and chef Nico Romo whipped up tasty treats to go along with them. The dinner was served in the upstairs room of the restaurant. I can't even guess all the ingredients that were in these drinks but I especially liked what Evan called the Rising Sun (described as being made with Aperol, Yuzu Marmalade, Brut sparking, and preserved orange slice) and his award winning winning Black Thai lemonade.

It was a lovely evening, good food, good drink and delightful company at our table. Thanks folks!

Deep South & Husky

Husk, Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

My birthday week festivities continued with my first visit to Husk Restaurant on Queen St. Chef Sean Brock from McCrady's opened Husk in November and after the recent publicity in the New York Times I felt lucky to finally have a chance to dine there. I'd been watching the progress that transformed the building that used to house the Gibbs Art Museum studio into this classy southern restaurant. I once took a calligraphy class in the main dining room.

Happily, I know good people who know good people and thanks to my friend Andre' Guillet, Debby and I never even saw a menu - Chef Travis Grimes simply sent out one delicious dish after another. Look at all this incredible food! It was amazing. My favorites were the clams and oyster stew in the most wonderful broths and sauces. We stopped by McCrady's after dinner to sneak into the kitchen and let Chef Brock know how much we enjoyed it. Thank you, thank you!

Sean is quoted as saying, “If it doesn’t come from the South, it’s not coming through the door,” but a Frenchman, a Canadian slipped in last night with a Lowcountry friend and we enjoyed ourselves immensely!

Eggplant Hopping

See Wee Restaurant, Awendaw, S.C.

I'll be happy to have input on this one but as far as I am concerned these are the top three places in the Lowcountry to take care of my eggplant needs:

SEEWEE Restaurant, Awendaw: the best melt in your mouth fried eggplant chunks. If you are going to go with fried, these are the most delicious lightly fried taste treat. I want to open the windows and have them throw them at my car when I drive 17 North. More info and pictures on SEEWEE on the Highway 17 Blog.

Hominy Grill: Eggplant sandwich with roasted red peppers and goat cheese. I can't order anything else for lunch at the Hominy Grill.

Alessandra's Italian Eatery, Summerville: Eggplant Parmesan - not breaded, skip the pasta, pile on the eggplant. Thank you very much!

Rain Walking

SNOB, Charleston, S.C.

Yum. Makes me hungry just looking at the picture and imagining what delicious magic is simmering inside. The expression South of Broad was in common use for the wealthy historical district below Broad St. long before Pat Conroy's book by the same title. Slightly North of Broad is a wonderful restaurant on east Bay St. just north of Broad St.

The folks at SNOB have their own blog which I've discovered includes a few of their famous recipes. I can swear by their shrimp and grits recipe. One entry even includes photos I took.

I live on the other side of the tracks and used to have an oval SNOC logo on my car for Slightly North of Calhoun. Heheh.

In other news, I went to work early and headed for home when it started to rain. With all the talk of more rain I was afraid I might not be able to get home at all. Now...shall I go out for a rain walk?

Rainy day lunch treat

Tabbuli Grill, 6 Market St., Charleston, S.C

What a perfect rainy day not to be at work stressing about driving the flooded streets of Charleston. I headed out walking in a break in the rain, was soaked through by King St. and it made complete sense to stop by the newly opened Tabbuli Grill on Market St. for an indoor lunch. Yummers! Their official opening isn't until this weekend but I can give my lunch the Charleston Daily Photo stamp of approval.

Check out their menu here. I had the chicken kabob pita. I licked the sauce off my fingers. I'll be back.

Now that I've showered and dried off it might be tea and nap time. How sweet it is having a sneaky day off when everyone else is working. Carry on kids!

Kinda Sorta

Sweetgrass Basket Fountain, Market at Oakland, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

I saw a little picture of this sweetgrass basket fountain in the Post & Courier recently and wondered where the heck it was. Now I can't find the original photo on the newspaper web site but I did find the real thing!

I was at our new Mt. Pleasant Hospital this morning interviewing potential volunteers and kept my eye out for a place for a late lunch on my way home. I turned into the Market at Oakland shopping area that has the Kohl's store and Walmart and had the most scrumptious lunch at Gringo's Fresh Southwest. It is described as "kinda, sorta Mexicanish". Heh.

What a great find! Owner Reggie Kinney had an amazing display of fresh ingredients laid out to put my order together and kept offering tastes of everything so I could make up my mind. Great find! The restaurant is a bit tucked away so here are the directions.

On the way out I practically walked into the fountain in one of the mallish traffic circles. Very cool.

Changes on Bogard St.

Bogard St., Charleston, S.C.

People used to express concern (not without good reason!) when I did my weekend walks and included pictures from Bogard St. I walked early in the morning when it was quiet and mostly church ladies were up waiting for their rides.

I never would have guessed that I'd see not only Trattoria Lucca in business but now a brand new wine bar called Enoteca ready to open this weekend. The times they are a changin'. Good luck folks!