Stuffed

Thanksgiving.  A time for us all to give thanks for what we have in our lives no matter how big or small.  This year I was happy to spend the holiday at home with family, cooking at our house for the very first time.  We got an organic bird and dry-brined it with just salt for a couple of days in the refrigerator and I made the decision to not stuff the turkey.  My mother, who always does Thanksgiving at her house, usually buys a 20 pound (or bigger) turkey since there are so many of us and makes enough dressing to go into the cavity of the bird as well as a separate pan to cook on its own.  She does this because some people in our family eat the "wet" dressing and others only eat the "dry."  The only person eating Thanksgiving at our house this year that eats the wet dressing is my stepdad, so with a little debate between my mother and me, she relented to let me cook Thanksgiving how I wanted.  I didn't stuff the bird but did compromise and stuff the bird for 30 minutes with a little dressing after the bird came out of the oven to get some of the flavor and juices from the turkey while it was resting.  It seems like it takes forever to cook that huge bird because of the size but also because it's stuffed.  The reason I didn't want to stuff the bird was because I didn't want to get up at the crack of dawn to put the bird in the oven or deal with the dressing that could be like salmonella soup.  And....to answer the question about whether it stuffing or dressing, in my family we call it dressing versus stuffing, even though once it goes into the bird it's technically stuffing.

Inevitably, my family always makes too much food, and this year was no exception.  We had broccoli casserole (a favorite of mine), mashed potatoes and giblet gravy, brussel sprouts gratin (a new favorite of mine), and my mother's recipe for cornbread dressing.  I had made this recipe last year for the first time since I wasn't home for Thanksgiving.  Just the two of us celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving in Oregon wine country.  My mother uses pecans in her recipe, but I used hazelnuts (known as filberts in Oregon) in mine so you can make this with a nut of your choosing or not at all.  Whatever you choose, just know it will be delicious.  The recipe is best when the cornbread is slightly stale, so go ahead and make cornbread the night before so it has time to dry out and go a little stale.  If you want, it can be made a couple of days in advance.  

Hannah's Cornbread Dressing
1 cup Cornmeal
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda 
1/2 tsp Salt
2 eggs 
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
4 Tbsp Butter

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Once oven has come up to temperature put butter in a cast iron skillet or a 9x13 pan and melt.  
2. While the butter is melting, whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.  
3. Whisk buttermilk and eggs together in a separate bowl.  Once the eggs and buttermilk are combined add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix well but do not overmix.  
4.  Remove the skillet from the oven and add the hot butter to the wet mixture.  Add the mixture back to the hot skillet and cook until the cornbread is springy to the touch or insert a toothpick in the middle of the cornbread and comes out clean.  

1 pound Breakfast Sausage
2 Tbsp Butter 
4-6 Slices of Day Old Bread
1 diced Onion
5-6 Stalks of Chopped Celery
1 pound Mushrooms
2 Apples diced
2 Tbsp. chopped Sage
1/4 cup Italian Parsley
1/2 cup Pecans
3 Tbsp. Poultry Seasoning or enough to make the dressing fragrant
1 cup Chicken or Homemade Turkey Stock 

1. Preheat oven to 350.  While the oven is preheating, heat a saute pan and cook sausage, breaking it up into bits.  Cook sausage until browned and crispy then drain onto a papertowel lined plate.
2. While sausage is cooking remove the cornbread from the skillet and crumble into a large bowl.  Pulse the bread slices in a food processor until fine and add them to the bowl of cornbread crumbs.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan and cook onions and celery until soft, about five minutes or so.  Add this to the bowl with the cornbread and breadcrumbs.
4. Melt another tablespoon of butter in the pan and add mushrooms and saute until the liquid has gone from the mushrooms.  Add the mushrooms to the cornbread mixture.
5. Chop apples, sage, and parsley an add this to the cornbread mixture.
6. Measure pecans and the poultry seasoning and add them to the bowl. 
7. Mix all the ingredients together and put the cornbread mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish.  Pour chicken stock over the dressing and cover it with foil.
8.  Cook covered for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and cook uncovered for an additional 30 minutes or until the dressing is lightly browned on top. 
9.  Enjoy this warm with turkey and gravy! 

In Memoriam

I have been mourning the loss of one of the restaurants that made a difference in the culinary scene here in Greenville.  That restaurant is none other than the late Devereaux's.  I find it completely ridiculous how this restaurant came to a close but that isn't what this blog post is meant to be about.  It's meant to be a celebration of the restaurant and my own personal experiences there over the years.

The first time I dined at Devereaux's was shortly after the restaurant opened in 2005.  My friend Beth Callaway asked me to come to Greenville for the night so she could show off the town she grew up in.  I remember being so impressed with downtown and wondered why my native Charlotte hadn't done a better job with making the "uptown" more of a destination spot like Greenville had.  We stayed at her parents house in Greer and made the trek downtown for dinner at Devereaux's for what would turn into a wild evening on the town--little did I know it would be the first of many the ended up at either Connolly's or the Cazbah.  I remember dining on duck and drinking Chateauneuf du Pape that first experience at Devereaux's.  Fast forward two years later, my husband and I moved to Greenville and I started my job selling wine and beer with a distributor then called Piedmont Beverage now known as RNDC.  I was two weeks into my job and I had been tasked with tasting wines with Steven Greene and Justin Tilley so they could write a menu for the upcoming Fisher Vineyards wine dinner.  I received the samples late one afternoon, my boss frantically drove them back from Columbia on a particularly hot June day.  The samples were warm when they arrived at Devereaux's, both the reds and the whites and had no time to cool them down, I had to taste them with Justin and Steven as they were.  Needless to say I was embarrassed!  Justin didn't say much, but Steven was very vocal stating that the wines clearly were not a fit for the kind of food that he cooked.  Me, still being pretty inexperienced at that point didn't know what to do, I had nothing to offer other than I had been instructed to taste the wines because the dinner had already been set up and was being held the following week.  Juelle Fisher, one of the founders of Fisher Vineyards was coming into town to work the market and then to host the wine dinner that evening at Devereaux's.  After working the day with her I rushed home to freshen up for my first of many wine dinners to come at Devereaux's.  That evening the guest chef was friend and former mentor to Steven Greene and Spencer Thomson, Michael Kramer from McCrady's in Charleston.  Albeit a rocky start, the dinner thankfully turned out to be a smashing success!  The sold out dinner was held in the restaurants' private dining room, always a tight squeeze for popular dinners.  That evening I fell in love with Steven's cooking as well as the wines from Fisher Vineyards.  I ate everything on my plate and drank everything in my glass.

In July 2012, I hosted my own sold out wine dinner at Devereaux's but this time the wines featured were wines from the Gallo portfolio, but once again the guest chef was Michael Kramer.  Very cyclical and somewhat poetic for me since I started my career at RNDC with a dinner at Devereaux's and basically ended my career with RNDC with dinner at Devereaux's.  Two months later I was driving across country to Oregon after the conclusion of Euphoria. 

I missed all of the excitement of the 2006 Leatherheads filming in Greenville with George Clooney and Renee Zellwegger while they frolicked about Greenville at night with the commoners.  Both George and Renee were often regulars at Devereaux's and other fine dining restaurants in town.  I did, however, stalk Thomas Keller, Michael Mina, and Grant Achatz one evening at Devereaux's when they were here on a BMW/Michelin tour.  I had dinner in the dining room with my husband Alan but barely paid attention to him while we ate because I was so star struck by the chefs dining across the restaurant from me.  I never had dinner at Devereaux's during Euphoria, but it was always the hot ticket in town each year, being the VIP ticket holder dinner featuring most notably chefs such as Thomas Keller and Guy Savoy, and many others as well.

Last week my husband and I dined one last time before Devereaux's closed its doors to the public the following day.  We shared wild mushroom risotto to start, and for our entrees he had the Bethel Trails lamb with cumin scented pearl pasta, carrots and eggplant fries and I had the stuffed rabbit loin with fava beans, carmelized onions, and cauliflower puree.  How fitting that we drank Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape over dinner and finished with the cheese plate and over-sized profiteroles for dessert.  We went out in style....just like the restaurant deserved, because dining there was always dining in style.  Devereaux's will always have a special place in my heart having made a lot of professional memories there as well as personal ones, dining on some of finest cuisine in town while sharing lots of wine.  Cheers to you D Unit!

Fisher Vineyards wine dinner menu from June 14, 2007 featuring guest chef Michael Kramer and proprietor Juelle Fisher of Fisher Vineyards. 

TBO Wine Pick of the Week #3

Time for a new wine pick of the week!  I'm trying so many new, lovely wines but have little time to write about them.  My wine pick for this week is COS Frappato coming from Sicily.  This little varietal often doesn't get the opportunity to shine on its own since it is one of two grapes that make up the only DOCG wine in Sicily--Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the other being the islands most planted red grape: Nero d'Avola.  The winery founded in 1980 by three school friends Giambattista Cilia (C), Giusto Occhipinti (O), Pinuccia Strano (S) make up COS.  When they first started out they didn't have the money to purchase new oak barrels, so they bought used barrels and vinified grapes from their parents vineyards.  In the late 1980's they felt the influence of growing popularity of New World wines that used a lot of new French oak and they began to use new oak for their wines.  After comparing older bottlings that didn't have a lot of oak and the newer bottlings that did, the friends preferred the older bottlings that didn't have the heavy oak influence, and from there their style was born.  Today they use a combination of some old and new, large and small barrels, and even concrete tanks for their wines.  The COS Frappato is light-bodied and is made of 100% varietal biodynamically farmed grapes and is bright ruby in color with a hint of cloudiness.  This wine tastes as it looks, bright and fresh with sweet berry and cherry fruit and a pop of acidity just like biting into a fresh cranberry.  Interesting and certainly terroir driven with that indicative Italian funk, coming from the clay and tufa soil combination the grapes are planted in. This wine doesn't touch any oak as 50% is made in concrete tanks and the other 50% is made in clay amphorae.  Does this pique your interest yet?  Ask your retailer for this wine and discover this little gem!  Or if you're in Greenville stop by SIP and grab a glass and see for yourself.  






At COS, we are not interested in representing our land by cabernet or merlot, but by grapes that, for centuries, have represented our territory. Producers should not necessarily follow what the market is asking for, as the market tends to homogenize. Wine is life and for this reason, diversity.” -Giusto Occhipinti  





Read more by clicking on the link below:


 http://www.bkwine.com/features/wine-producer-profiles/cos-occhipinti-in-sicily/

TBO Wine Pick of the Week #2

 

Now it’s time for my new wine pick of the week!  I didn’t choose a wine from last week since it was Euphoria, and I was busy with the festivities of the weekend.  I have tried many wines over the last couple of weeks that are new to me, but probably the one I have been most surprised by is the Groth Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 vintage.  It has been years since I have tried this wine, since I used to sell it seven years ago when I first started in the business.  I am so glad I pulled a bottle to show in the market because it is drinking beautifully.  Comprised of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot aged for 22 months in 65% new French oak, the Groth 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon drinks like the Napa Cabs of days gone by.  The story of Groth winery is not unlike other wineries established over the years in Napa Valley.  They made some money in another business venture and had become regular wine drinkers along the way, and thought what better way to celebrate their love of wine than to have their own winery.  Once they had the money they were able to realize this dream, and the means that gave them this was Dennis’ involvement with Atari.  Dennis and Judy Groth received the call about a 121-acre Oakville estate in 1981 from grape grower Ren Harris.  Lucky for them they hadn’t made the offer on the Sonoma property they were looking at first, since this was really where they wanted to be--Cabernet Sauvignon country.  The land located in the heart of Oakville was originally planted in the early 1970’s by Napa valley pioneers Justin Meyer and Ray Duncan of Silver Oak fame.  In recent memory I haven’t had a Cabernet Sauvignon of this caliber that wasn’t some over extracted grape juice with throat burning alcohol.  It’s soft and restrained, but very classic in style with black cherry, blackberry, vanilla, and cedar. To me this wine is what Cabernet Sauvignon should taste like.  Groth Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is available for purchase at Northampton Wines and Bouharoun’s Fine Wine and Spirits as well as a few restaurants in downtown Greenville.  

Euphoric Portlandia

Euphoria is over and I am thankful that I actually got to enjoy the weekend with minimal stress.  I got to see some old friends, meet some new ones and celebrate a weekend filled with lots of wine and food.  I had a nice dinner Saturday night supporting my friends' restaurant Stella's Southern Bistro.  Chef Clay Miller (and new chef) from the much talked about Yardbird in Miami, James Boyce from the Cotton Row restaurant in Huntsville, Alabama were the guest chefs with Jason Scholz that night, but the home team proved to be my favorite of the evening.  My favorites were duck bacon on a sweet potato biscuit to start and a duo of rabbit; one buttermilk fried and the other a stuffed loin with African squash puree, Scarlett Queen turnips, grilled burgundy okra, and pickled coriander and bourbon barrel jus was the best course of the night.  This morning I have quite the food hangover from the lauded Sunday Supper last night, which is probably the best event of the weekend.  A family style event that has been graced with such notable chefs like Sean Brock from Husk, Joseph Linn from Blackberry Farm and last night Mike Lata from FIG.  Other great chefs from the event include whoever is the current chef at High Cotton, which this year longtime chef Frank Lee from Maverick Southern Kitchens lead the culinary team and Mike Davis from Terra restaurant in Columbia assisted in the event again and has done so for the third year now.  It's hard to believe that it's almost been a year since I left my distributor job to work crush in Oregon.  It was this day a year ago that the news broke I was leaving RNDC.  The time has absolutely flown!  I have driven across country twice, traveled to some beautiful spots in the U.S. and achieved my goal of becoming a certified sommelier.  I am happier and less stressed than I've ever been, so needless to say it has been a good year.  

In August, my husband and I traveled to Portland to celebrate the marriage of one of my favorite people Rebekah Bellingham and her long time boyfriend Colby.  Family and friends gathered for the intimate garden party they planned for the most heartfelt ceremony filled with much love and joy.  I am happy that we were there to share this special day with them.  While we were there celebrating I got the official offer to go to work for Ben Arnold.  Honestly, I was shocked that I was offered the position because I had been out of the game for a while and really thought someone internally would get the job.  Until then, I didn't have a plan for what I was going to do but had considered going back to work harvest again or I was going to try to get a tasting room position in the Willamette Valley.  When this opportunity came up I was happy to explore it, and even happier that I got the job.  Sometimes things work out differently than you expect.  

Rebekah and I were fast friends from the start being the only two girls working harvest for R. Stuart & Co. in 2012.  On our second day we were to clean three of the stainless steel tanks by ourselves, only having been briefly shown how to do this the day before.  We didn't have it down, and were given very long instructions on how to do it the "right way" by the jack of all trades curmudgeon (deep down sweet) cellar master.  Fortunately we got through it and with lots of laughs.  Over our time working together we experienced even more laughs, and have shared many wonderful meals at the Stuart's house for harvest meals and many on our own with others in Portland.  She's such a great person inside and out and she also has such a great sense of humor.  Sharing lots of laughs and some tears, I am a better person for having her in my life and I miss her dearly.  She's introduced me to some fantastic people in the industry, all of which make the Oregon allure that much more for me. 

Portland will continue to be one of my favorite cities to visit until we move there one day.  I am confident that it will happen but it's not the right time and as with everything else, timing is everything.  If you ever find yourself in Portland or in McMinnville, there are numerous places to eat and drink but here are some that I've been to and absolutely love.  Honestly, I've never had a bad meal in the city. 

Portland
Ava Gene's-voted one of the best restaurants per Bon Appetit magazine 2013 and with good reason.  Delicious pasta dishes and notably a salami spread called nduja (pronounced IN-DO-YA).
Laurelhurst Market-Atypical Steaks and chops with wonderful sides.  Last visit we enjoyed fried green tomatoes with chow chow and crispy pork cheeks.
Tasty N' Alder-One of the hottest brunch spots in town.  Breakfast sandwiches, and fried potatoes done papas bravas style with eggs.  The 90's playlist had me dancing in my seat during breakfast. 
Por Que No-Tacos and Agua Fresca's in the Hollywood district.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters-Great coffee in town surrounded with great coffee roasters.  Hairbender is my favorite, especially blended with hazelnut milk.
Lardo-Killer sandwiches and best of all the "dirty fries" with lardons, fried herbs and hot peppers.
Clyde Common-Barrel aged cocktails and a great late night menu.
Tanuki-Sake and izakaya.
Pok Pok-Thai street food at its best.  The wings are fantastic as is the dungeness crab fried rice.
Aviary-Eclectic small plates.  I had crispy pig ears with Chinese sausages and rice that was fantastic.
Apizza Scholls-Monster sized pizza.
Oven & Shaker-Radicchio salad and thin crust pizza.
Le Pigeon-Highly awarded and much regarded restaurant. Get the tasting menu and you won't regret it.  We enjoyed rabbit pot pie with dijon ice cream and foie gras sponge cake with elderflower.  

McMinnville
R Stuart & Co. Wine Bar-enjoy some Rose d'OR or a glass of rose with pate or roasted cashews.
Nick's-Panzanella salad and pizza were my favorites.  THE place to see and be seen during harvest hanging out in the back room.  
Thistle-Great cocktails at the bar with the bar keep Patrick.  The interesting menu changes often and last time dining there was a great salad with Green Goddess dressing. 
Community Plate-love the breakfast here, especially the breakfast burrito and also sausage gravy biscuits.  They might be the best outside of the South that I've had.  Also, here is where I would get my hazelnut milk latte before going into work every morning.  
Las Ramblas-tapas done Pacific Northwestern style.

TBO Wine Pick of the Week #1

Since I have just started a new job this week I am going to incorporate a segment for my blog for weekly wine picks.  AND since I have a whole new portfolio of wines to play with, I have decided to choose one wine a week to write about.

Fall will soon be upon us, and what better way to celebrate cooler weather than by drinking Pinot Noir.  I never need a reason to enjoy a glass of this fabled and delicate varietal; it is after all one of the many reasons I took off to Oregon last fall. 

My first wine pick of the week is Sanford Winery Sanford and Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sta Rita Hills California 2010.  Sta Rita Hills was officially established as an AVA in 2001 and located in dreamy Santa Barbara County.  Soil structures, microclimates, and East/West valleys that draw cool air from the Pacific come together to make the Sta Rita Hills appellation unique and one of the longest, coolest growing regions in all of California. Sanford winery is one of the oldest wineries in the area established in 1971, and, along with that fact, the winery was used in the filming of the movie Sideways (the film that catapulted Pinot Noir into stratospheric popularity).  Most importantly, Sanford winery can also boast quality production of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay like their cult neighbors in the Sta Rita Hills such as Seasmoke and Brewer-Clifton, but has the benefit of being readily available and at a lower price tag.

With 2010 being a very challenging vintage for some producers of California Pinot Noir because of unusually cool weather and reduced yield, it did not pose a problem for Sta Rita Hills producers.  The 2010 Sanford and Benedict vineyard Pinot Noir is bold in style with luscious flavors of cola, rhubarb pie, overripe black cherries, savory herbs and spice.  Retails for around $60 a bottle and would be delicious paired with seared duck breast or wild boar sausage ragout.

If you want to read more about Sanford and Benedict Vineyard click link below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-jennings/sanford-benedict-story-of_b_3350715.html

Southern Fried Friends

Fried chicken is one of my all time favorite Southern dishes but certainly one of those dishes I don’t eat or cook very often (or ever cook) because of the obvious time commitment it takes and because of the caloric density.  I love it though, and the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten was last year at the Sunday Supper event at Euphoria.  The Sunday Supper event rounds out a fabulous weekend of lots of eating, drinking and working but is overall one of the best events of the weekend.  A time for those of us involved with the event to celebrate and relax with our peers.  Chef Joseph Lenn of Blackberry Farm fame served up the most amazingly flavorful, juicy and crispy fried chicken I’ve ever had and all for 150 dinner guests.  Pretty amazing.  

Really excited to eat fried chicken at Euphoria's Sunday Supper

Since our anniversary weekend in June I have been on the hunt for fried chicken.  We dined around Asheville for the weekend, finishing up with brunch at the Blackbird restaurant, which is a new spot, located in the bottom of the Aloft hotel.  I always check out restaurant menus online before we go eat anywhere because I have such a hard time deciding what to eat, so it helps me get some ideas in my head of what I want.  Well, I checked out the brunch menu for the Blackbird and decided on the fried chicken with biscuits and gravy.  When we arrived at the restaurant, looked over the brunch menu there was no fried chicken to be found.  I asked our server about the fried chicken, and he apologized, but there was no fried chicken on the brunch menu today.  I settled on the fried shrimp po’ boy instead, which was delicious, it just didn’t satisfy my craving.  For two months I couldn’t get fried chicken out of my head, and I finally decided I would make my own.  It has been a while since our supper club gals have gotten together, so I decided to invite them over to catch up over a fried chicken dinner.  Growing up my mother and grandmother used a simpler preparation of dredging the chicken in flour before placing it in the hot oil resulting in a lighter crust.  I knew that brining would create the result I was looking for and decided to give it a try instead.  I adapted a recipe from a recent issue of Saveur magazine to make it my own, and it is the best fried chicken I’ve ever made.  Make and enjoy with friends!

Crispy Fried Friend Chicken

½ cup kosher salt

2 Tbsp whole black peppercorns

4 Tbsp honey or agave nectar

2 Tbsp sugar

15 allspice berries

8 bay leaves

6 sprigs parsley

12 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

Zest and juice of 1-2 lemons

12 cups of water

2-3 ½ to 4-pound chicken cut up or 12-16 pieces of bone in chicken pieces

4 cups of flour or soy flour

4 cups of buttermilk

2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika

2 tsp granulated garlic

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp kosher salt

Canola oil

Cast iron skillet

1.     Bring water, salt, peppercorns, honey, sugar, allspice berries, and the zest and lemon juice to a boil until salt is dissolved.  Remove allspice berries and allow to cool completely.  If you need to speed up the cooling process, add some ice cubes to the liquid.

2.     Add chicken pieces, bay leaves and herbs to a brining bag as well as the cool brining liquid and brine 12-24 hours in the refrigerator.

3.     Remove chicken pieces from brining bag.  Pat dry and place on a large platter.  Blend spice mix together and sprinkle over chicken pieces. Meanwhile heat enough canola oil to about 1/3 of the way up a cast iron skillet to 325 degrees and set up breading station with buttermilk and flour.

4.     Dip chicken pieces into buttermilk then flour, shaking off the excess.  Carefully place chicken pieces into the hot oil, working away from you and making sure not to crowd the pan so not to drop the oil temperature.

5.     Fry chicken pieces until golden brown, about 6 minutes per side and drain on a paper towel.  Work in batches until all the chicken pieces are done.

6.     Best served with traditional Southern sides and friends with healthy appetites.

Serves 12-16 people

Wine Pairing Suggestions:

Sokol Blosser Pinot Gris Willamette Valley, OR 2012

Dirty & Rowdy Skin and Concrete Egg Fermented Semillon Yountville, Napa Valley, CA 2012

Robert Sinskey Vin Gris of Pinot Noir Carneros, CA 2012

If fried chicken at home isn’t your thing here are a few places to check out here in town and other spots:

Bacon Bros Public House Greenville, SC-Buttermilk fried “Hot Chicken”

Soby’s New South Cuisine Greenville, SC-Crispy Fried Chicken

Price’s Chicken Coop Charlotte, NC-Nationally recognized fried chicken!

Blackberry Farm Walland, TN-Spend a weekend away in luxury accommodations tucked in the picturesque Great Smoky Mountains.  This might be the most expensive fried chicken you’ll ever have! 

(Note: I haven’t been here but it’s on my bucket list) 

Six Degrees of Bacon Bros

If you haven’t been to Bacon Brothers Public House on Pelham Road, do yourself a favor and go make a reservation and eat your face off.  The menu isn’t just a celebration of bacon, but a celebration of all things pork.  You will find an array of pig parts from house-cured meats, sausages and hot dogs, headcheese, all the way to pig trotters.  Vegetarians and dieters beware: this restaurant is not for the faint of heart.

Bacon Brothers Public House opened in May with a bang by the new duo running Coal Fired Bistro, Chef Anthony Gray and Jason Callaway.  The two are backed by a team of both front and back of the house industry vets, several of whom are formerly of Maverick Southern Kitchens along with my friend Christina Blackwell.

Start your meal with a craft brew or a cocktail from the bar while making the hard decision of what to order for dinner.  The cocktail list is a mix of well thought out original cocktails and a revival of classics from Jason Callaway and team, some of which people may have never heard of like the Corpse Reviver #2 (gin, Cointreau, Lillet blanc, lemon juice and Absinthe) or the Blood Sand (scotch, orange juice, cherry marnier, and sweet vermouth).  The wine list is short but appropriate for the fare and atmosphere; however, some usual suspects do appear.

On each occasion I have visited I have tried different items, but the one menu item I can’t get away from each time I dine is the “potater tots.” This delicious appetizer is a gut-busting, sinful amalgamation of pit cooked pulled pork shoulder combined with potatoes, then formed into tots and deep fried to perfection, topped with shredded American cheese, crispy buffalo pig ears and sorghum vinegar.   As previously mentioned, I have ordered these each visit to BBPH and have enjoyed these each time, even though each time it’s a little different than the last while the kitchen still figures out the right heat level for the buffalo sauce.  The devils dust eggs are tasty with country ham and pickled mustard seeds as well, but beware of the ghost pepper spice flecks on top, as they can leave your lips in a state of numbness throughout the rest of the meal.  The trout dip with house made saltines is another great option to start, along with the Bethel Trails Farms chicken wings with Southernyaki sauce and benne seeds.  Be careful when eating the wings; overzealous diners can end up burning their fingers and/or mouths, as the sticky sweet sauce is hot like molten lava. 

Sandwiches range from more in-house items like the fried bologna and pimento cheese sandwich to the eponymous burger.  The new favorite among diners and staff is the BET: a pork belly pastrami sandwich with Swiss cheese, green peppercorn mayo, arugula, yellow tomato, and to top it all off….a fried over easy duck egg! If your mouth isn’t watering yet then it should be, because it is as great as it sounds and it’s no wonder why it has quickly become a favorite.  If that’s not your thing you can always go with one of the dogs, sandwiches or the burger.  As a fan of corn dogs I was anxious to try the house-made all beef hot dog breaded with Anson Mills corn flour, served with sorghum ketchup and mustard.  It didn’t disappoint! For the burger, Chef Gray blends his own ground meat mix of bacon, smoked brisket and chuck for the double patty burger.  The mix of meat makes for a juicy and smoky combination that is set off by the pickles, American cheese, and special sauce.  Really it’s like a grown up and much better version of the Big Mac. (Remember two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun?) The burger is real steal for ten dollars since you get two double burgers on the plate instead of just one, but if your appetite is on the smaller side just one burger is still a filling option for six dollars. For something on the lighter side, there are salads, but none have been on my radar just yet since there have been so many other menu items I have wanted to try first.  They all look great though, and just know that there are some in case you feel the need to save a few calories, but it may have bacon on it. 

Selections from the “Classics” portion can vary, but a couple that I have loved were the pig trotters (or pig feet) with succotash and surprisingly the shrimp and grits.  This ubiquitous Low Country dish is not one that I ever order any restaurants because it can be found on almost any menu in town.  Chef Gray has managed to breathe some new life into the dish with the addition of tomato gravy and shitake mushrooms.  Just try it and you’ll see.  The rotating sides are a la carte and can range from butter beans, onion rings, french fries, skillet cornbread, and chicken n’dumplings to name a few.  I suspect they could be a meal in itself as all of the portions are extremely generous and most of all damn good.   

There are so many options on the menu it seems like you can’t go wrong at BBPH-- and you can’t. Chef Gray and his team have very little missteps here, which can be hard to do while finding one’s culinary footing in a new restaurant. I’m glad to have this restaurant as a part of my dining repertoire now and have already found my own favorites from the hearty menu and many more I can’t wait to try.

What Next?

I finally passed my certified sommelier exam.  And, I say “finally” because I have been putting it off for years, having taken the introductory course in 2007 when I first moved to Greenville.  Every September three master sommeliers come to town to participate in Euphoria and to give both the introductory course and the certified exam.   For the last few years I have wanted to take it because, why would I not its offered here in Greenville? And well it just makes sense.  But every year for the last three years I have been responsible for the planning and execution of Euphoria on the distributor side, which is an immense amount of planning that is months in the making.  I knew I couldn’t handle the pressure of the test as well as the stress of getting through the event without any issues. 

After coming home from Oregon, I vowed I would do it.  I would study for that test and I would pass it, and hopefully on the first try.  In February, I began blind tasting with some others in town studying for various levels of the sommelier exam as there are two levels after the certified: the advanced and the master level.  It gets increasingly more difficult as you move up through the Court of Master Sommeliers, as you would suspect.  It has been a challenging and humbling experience blind tasting at times, the moment you think you’ve got something down it never fails that you get it wrong.  It’s been great to taste wines other than what I sold for many years.  I had developed what they call a “house palate,” the dreadful and dangerous problem of drinking only things you sell (or make) and believing that everything that you do sell (or make) is superior to what else is out there, specifically the competitions wines.  There is a world of wine out there that is lovely and interesting and I have been drinking some of it, getting my palate back.  You could call this post “How Erin Got Her Groove…er Palate Back”. 

So, in addition to blind tasting since February, I have also been working part time at Bouharoun’s Fine Wines and Liquors in downtown Greenville since March.  I committed to working two days a week, which would give me the flexibility to do what I wanted while I wasn’t working like Pilates, blind taste, or study for the theory portion of the exam.  Perfect.  So now that the test is over, what next?  I’m just not sure.  I gave up a great job to work harvest in Oregon, knowing that I didn’t have a job when I got back, but I was okay with that situation. I entertained the thought of managing a restaurant, but decided after talking to a couple of people that was not something I wanted to do.  I also entertained the idea of getting back into wine distribution, the business I had just gotten out of only months before.  I decided again that is not something I wanted to do even though it would be like riding a bike.  Thankfully, I received a call from Peter Bouharoun asking for some help at his store and as it turned out I was free.  I have been moving, cleaning and organizing the wine side at the store, getting to taste with wine reps, but most importantly of all those things to me is that when I leave the store the work doesn’t follow me home.  I don’t have phone calls or emails to return or do paperwork at 10:00 at night.  But, I know that this is a temporary situation and now that I have successfully passed the certified exam and completed one of my short-term goals, I need to start looking for full time work, but with one caveat: it needs to be something I am passionate about.  I would like to stay in the wine business, but I don’t know that it will be something here in Greenville.  So where?  Back to Oregon?  We would love to, but I’m not sure it will work out.  So what next?  That my friends is the question lurking about at every corner of my mind.  What next? 

In Bloom

Spring is officially here, but only according to the calendar.  We all know it doesn’t feel like spring just yet, and I must say I will be so happy when the warmer weather actually arrives for good.  We had a couple of days where we got just a taste of the warm weather and then the wind quickly blew the cold air back, reminding us how unpredictable spring really can be.  I’m not only looking forward to warm weather but also the lovely and delicate flavors of spring produce that warmer weather brings.  We are coming out of the culinary doldrums of stews and heavy meals, and spring is the first bounty of more to come.  I savor each day of the soft warmth before summer brings on the unbearable heat and humidity us Southerners know so well. 

Taking a peek at restaurant menus this past weekend it is evident that spring is here in full force with the debut of green garlic, spring onions, asparagus, spring peas, and artichokes.  Soon there will be ramps, and in about a month or so we’ll see my most favorite of all: soft-shell crabs.  I look forward to soft-shell crab season much like a kid looks forward to Christmas day, or you could say I liken my enthusiasm for soft-shells the same as a kid in a candy store.  I anticipate this time of year each spring, scouting who will have them on their menus, making a reservation anywhere I can get my hands on these elusive little delights.  My first taste of a soft-shell crab was during my culinary internship working at a restaurant in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  My job was to prep the soft-shells for frying, scraping out their gills and cutting off their little faces, placing them in rows on a tray for the pantry chef to dredge in flour and cornmeal to fry for a soft-shell sandwich.  The experience didn’t turn me off, but rather intrigued me and I was lucky enough to try one after lunch service one day, and have been hooked ever since. Soft-shell season only lasts about a week, maybe two if you’re lucky (at least here in the Upstate).  To me there’s an art to eating soft-shell crabs just like eating blue crabs in Maryland, just less complicated.  I like to pull the legs off first, eating them one by one, leaving the meaty body for the last bites of consumption.  I’ll be on the lookout for these guys, and as soon as they are ready, the soft-shell frenzy will commence.

One of my best spring memories is from a trip taken four years ago in early spring to Spain to visit Catalonia and the Basque Country.  The weather wasn’t warm quite just yet, actually it very cold and snowed on our last day visiting Rioja.

Tempranillo vineyards at Ysios winery in Rioja

Snowy front view of Ysios winery

After being in Barcelona for a few days visiting La Boqueria (the sprawling outdoor food market), the Picasso museum, and countless tapas bars we took a trip to Sant Sandurni d’Anoia just thirty minutes northwest in the Alt Penedes region to visit the birthplace of Cava.  As a lover of all things bubbly, I felt compelled to visit the region.  Cava is the famed sparkling wine of Spain made the traditional way like Champagne with the secondary fermentation done in the bottle, but with different grape varieties than Champagne with the exception of Chardonnay.  Typically, cava is aged on the lees for a minimum of nine months, while the non-vintage cuvees of Champagne are aged on the lees for fifteen months before disgorgement.  We set up a visit with the producer Recaredo, a small cava producer (and I say small compared to Codorniu and Freixenet who produce millions of bottles every year) that makes only single vintage and brut nature cavas, which is a stark contrast to some of the larger producers in the area.  Recaredo was established in 1924 right in the heart of town by Josep Mata Capellades and named in honor after his father Recaredo Mata Figueres.  On the way we stopped and overlooked dormant vineyards of gnarled vines of Macabeo, Parallada, and Xarel-lo, taking in the view of the rolling hills and Montserrat Mountains on the horizon.  After being welcomed at the winery, we toured the cellar where thousands of bottles were being aged on their lees, passing dusty bottles waiting their turn to be made into finished wine.  Once we came to the bottling area, we were given a demonstration on disgorgement, my first before doing it myself this past harvest in Oregon.  Everything here from riddling to disgorging is all done by hand.  Finally, we were able to taste these wines and were presented a flight of four cavas: rose brut nature cava, brut nature cava, brut de brut nature cava, and a gran reserva brut nature cava.  Spine tingling delicious.  All of these cavas were bone dry, complex and distinctive because of the aging and care put into making them.  Far superior to any other cavas I’ve had before.  I asked our guide Alex if these wines were imported into the United States.  He replied that they were looking at Neal Rosenthal, one of the best wine importers in the country, period.  I felt like we had discovered a hidden gem there in the cava world and selfishly wanted to keep this place just to ourselves. 

After our winery visit it was time for lunch.  Our guide gave us two options and we chose a country restaurant whose specialty was calcots (pronounced call-shots).  I was so excited because I had seen this on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations where a party gathered to cook spring onions over a fire then buried them in the ground to get the bulbs tender, and devoured the spring delicacies.  The calcots we had were charred on the outside and then wrapped in newspaper to steam and get soft, then placed before us on a small platter with a small cup of romesco sauce.  When they arrived I could barely contain my excitement.  We were instructed on how to eat them and quickly dove in.  We pulled the charred outside downward, exposing the tender bulb and dipping the onion into the romesco sauce.  A bolt of sheer enjoyment surged through my body.  By the time we were done our hands and mouths were black from eating the calcots but didn’t care because this messy treat was well worth the effort.  More food came of once the calcots were gone; we dined on braised pig’s feet and finished drinking Moscatel from a porron.  Careful trying not to miss my mouth, I still ended up pouring it down my face onto my sweater.  I felt content as we headed back for Barcelona in fog of too much wine and too much food.  So far, it has been one of my most memorable and pleasurable meals of my life.

Drinking from the porron at the Andre Tamers dinner at AGR

Unfortunately, we discovered that pictures from this trip are currently MIA after I began looking for some to use for this blog post.  For now, all I have are a couple of pictures taken from a disposable camera and one from a dinner here in Greenville.

Dear Asheville

Dear Asheville,

I think we’re going to have to start seeing a lot more of each other.  I think I really like you and I don’t want to wait too long to see one another again.   I find your Portland-esqe vibe very attractive and love your quaint funkiness.  How long do I have to wait to see you…Wednesday?  Should we make a date at The Admiral or perhaps Curate?  What about that new restaurant Seven Sows Bourbon & Larder?  I would be okay with going back to Limones again for a blood orange margarita and some mushroom enchiladas with poblano mole, but maybe we can go somewhere new or even some place I haven’t tried like Jerusalem Garden Cafe?  Oh, and I can’t wait until Buxton Hill opens either, we will definitely have to go there.  Please let me know when you have time for me because I want to see you again soon.  One more thing.....don’t tell Greenville right now because I’m not quite ready to break up. 

Thinking of you,

Erin

Prepping for Passover

After reading the January issue of Travel and Leisure magazine, which I picked up for my cross-country journey back to South Carolina, it has me daydreaming of New York City.  As you can tell I’m a little behind on my magazine reading as usual, but that’s a whole other story.  In the issue it covered such topics as the 500 best hotels in the world—a dreamy list that included small little waterside bungalows in Bali to all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic.  The issue also covered a good article on the growing problem of the rapid decline and bankrupting of English countryside estates, interesting for those of us who are fanatical about Downton Abbey.  But, what caught my attention was the article “For the Love of Latkes,”where the author discussed the culinary delights of the Jewish-American community in New York City.

For such a long time I have been slightly (and when I say slightly I really mean extremely) obsessed with New York and all of the culinary treasures the city has to offer.  One of these culinary treasures is the iconic New York deli. The city certainly isn’t without its fair share of delis, almost one on every corner it seems.  The famous ones such as Carnegie Deli and Katz’s Delicatessen are only two out of many that most tourists know.  Carnegie Deli in Midtown is loud and crowded and has some of the largest sandwiches you may ever put in your mouth.  Katz’s on Houston Street has been a Lower East Side staple for nearly 100 years, which became even more famous after the movie scene where Meg Ryan gave Billy Crystal an unforgettable performance in When Harry Met Sally.  If you want to sit at the same table where the scene occurred, there’s a sign that points you to there. In “For the Love of Latkes” the author goes on to describe some of the dishes at lesser known Jewish delis and restaurants in the city. Most of these restaurants mentioned are offering a different spin on traditional fare ranging from what we know as Jewish-American cuisine like matzo ball soup (Jewish penicillin) and the renowned Reuben sandwich, which was adapted from the food of German and Eastern European immigrants.  Matzo ball soup is traditional for the Passover table; during this time no breads or cakes are consumed with leavening agents.  Eating unleavened bread during this time represents the hasty exit of enslaved Israelites freed from Egypt during the Exodus.  There was no time to let their bread rise and had to be eaten flat.  Jewish cuisine also has influences from the cuisines from the Mediterranean, Middle East and Northern Africa, or anywhere large populations of Jews have lived at one time or another.  Adaptations on all of the original recipes were all built out of necessity and strict dietary laws. 

Pastrami on Rye and Half-Sour Pickles at Katz's Delicatessen

I haven’t had the pleasure of dining at any of the restaurants mentioned in the article such as Balaboosta (which means perfect housewife in Yiddish), Mile End Delicatessen in Brooklyn, Kutsher’s in TriBeCa, or Russ and Daughters on the Lower East Side.  The last one on the this list I have actually walked into, twice actually—staring at all of the different types of smoked fish and caviars behind the counter, too paralyzed to order anything for fear of making a fool of myself in front of people far more familiar with how and what to order.  Both times I have walked in and then walked out with nothing, but each time found the flurry of activity in this small little shop very exciting.   

Russ and Daughters on The Lower East Side

Growing up I wasn’t exposed to this type of food and didn’t have any have any experience eating food like this, with the only exception being an occasional pastrami sandwich or bagel.  I have been interested in exploring deeper into a small piece of my family heritage, since my great-great-great grandfather Carl Goldberg emigrated to the United States, leaving Prussian Germany in the 1800’s seeking both social and economic opportunities, leaving his roots behind.  My first real experience with Jewish cuisine was on a trip to New York City a few years ago right before Passover.  We took a food tour through the “Enthusiastic Gourmet,” a company that offers food tours on the Lower East Side through Chinatown, Little Italy and “noshes” of traditional Jewish fare.  We chose the tour called the “Melting Pot,” where you get to sample food from all three cultures in one tour.  The tour took about four hours and started on the Lower East Side in the Essex Street Market.  At first I was a little nervous because our first stop was at a stall that made birthday cakes, and had recently ventured into the world of making red velvet cupcakes.  We tasted them and neither of us said anything.  Both us clearly didn’t like the cupcake.  Growing up in the South, you come to know red velvet cake very well and this cupcake wasn’t cutting it.  I was worried we had made a mistake by going on the tour, but thankfully our next stop made up for the first disaster.  Next stop was Saxelby Cheesemongers, a little stand that specializes in American farmstead cheeses.  Let me just say, that I don’t think I’ve ever met a cheese I didn’t like.  Things were looking up.  On the way out we passed Shopsin’s, a place I had only read about in Saveur magazine just before our trip.  Owned by the curmudgeon Kenny Shopsin, the menu offers around 900 or so items and if you don’t know what you want when you get up to the counter he yells obscenities at you.  Our tour guide even commented that she had tried to set him up as a stop on her tour, but he wasn’t even remotely interested to put it nicely.  I don’t know this to be true from my own experience and it doesn’t deter me from wanting to still eat there.

Next on the tour were kosher pickles from the Pickle Guys.  Three different pickles in varying stages from new, half sour, to full sour.  All considered to be a revelation in my book, but this is also coming from a girl who packed a Mt. Olive pickle in her lunch everyday for three years in high school.  Because of the time of year we were visiting, the Pickle Guys were grating fresh horseradish for people to use at family dinners during Passover.  I learned that horseradish is used as a part of Passover Seder plates to remind Jews of the bitterness of slavery.  I couldn’t resist purchasing a jar since I’d only had the store bought stuff.

New, Half-Sour, and Full-Sour Pickles at The Pickle Guys

Kossar’s Bialys across the street was our next stop where we had our first bialy.  Bialys are similar to bagels, but for those of you who haven’t had a bialy, the differences between the two are that bialys aren’t boiled before they are baked and instead of a hole there’s a medium-sized indentation in the middle.  We then made our way through Chinatown where we sampled pork buns and ogled the fresh and unusual produce and seafood placed in terraced bins out on the sidewalk.  Then made our way through Little Italy sampling on Sopressata and Piave cheese (a cow’s milk cheese similar to Parmigiano Reggiano), finally ending at an Italian bakery where we stuffed our full bellies with mini cannolis.  To this day it was one of the coolest things we’ve done when visiting the city and in my opinion, a very fine way to spend an afternoon learning and eating my way through one of my favorite places on earth.  

Chinese Cabbages on the Street in Chinatown

A Shop in Little Italy Prepares for Easter

In theory, I like to get up to New York City a couple of times a year but that doesn’t always happen.  So, since I won’t be getting up to New York City any time soon, and since Passover starts next week, I will start by making Ruth Reichl’s Matzo Brei recipe as well as a Passover feast on Sunday.  I can also head over to Greenfield’s Bagel and Deli to get lox and bagels, a liver or tongue sandwich to satisfy my kosher cravings, and most of all fixate on what I would order at Russ and Daughters.

Sopressata and Other Salami in a Shop in Little Italy

Love Letter to John Mariani

Although I am extremely pleased that my adopted hometown of Greenville, SC has gotten some well deserved culinary press from John Mariani of Esquire magazine, he has failed epically by not mentioning some of the other restaurants in town that make the culinary scene here truly great.  These are the restaurants that prevent me from dying of boredom every time I think of going out to dinner, even if it means that I have to drive twenty minutes away from downtown to get a great meal.  I don’t want to cry foul play, as I’m sure he had a limited time to visit all of these restaurants, but there are definitely others worth mentioning if Greenville is getting national press, which it has.  Some even more deserving than others mentioned in the article. 

Greenville is a great place to be.  We have all the international businesses Mariani mentioned like BMW, Michelin, and General Electric.  All of which aided our local economy during the Great Recession.  We endured a little less pain than some of our other friends from around the state because of them.  The only other exception of this barely felt recession of course would be Charleston, which is always able to rely on its old Southern charm, and the constant national press it receives to keep it as one of the most beloved cities in the country for travelers.  It’s well deserved I might add, but that’s for another time.  Since I have lived in this town for almost six years now, I consider myself very well experienced when it comes to dining out here.  I have been an active part of the food community during my wine career and have seen most of these restaurants start from the ground up, growing and changing into what they are today.  I have my favorites, just as everyone else, so this is my opinion.  BUT, I am consumed by giving credit where credit is due and upon doing a bit more research, Mr. Mariani would have found some of these other gems as well. 

American Grocery Restaurant-Opened in 2007 by husband and wife team Joe Clarke and Darlene Mann-Clarke in the West End of Greenville, AGR focuses on seasonal American cuisine.  With Joe leading the kitchen and Darlene leading the floor and beverage program, they were one of the first restaurants to really focus on “farm to table” eating in town and their menus show it.  Touting one of the best cocktail menus in Greenville, a small well thought out wine list with small producers, and an ever-changing food menu with influences ranging from Spanish cuisine to the great American South.  Darlene’s cocktail creations change almost as often as the food menu, but the “Pig on the Porch” made with house-infused bacon bourbon, Bleinheim’s “Not So Hot” ginger ale, garnished with a pork rind stays on the cocktail menu year round.  The pig is king at American Grocery but offal has become one of the stars here also.  Favorites that can be seen on their menu from time to time include cured lamb belly, fried chicken livers with chow chow, different setups of sweetbreads and Joe’s now signature beef tongue.  Joe braises the beef tongue for hours until tender, then pulls the tongue apart almost as if it were pulled pork, forms it into little puck-sized cakes and then sears them on each side. My mother, who is often less adventurous in the food department, loved the beef tongue.  Together with lots of collaboration and experimentation Joe and Darlene are consistently pushing the envelope and have developed a very loud culinary voice in the process.  A voice that has been recognized by both Garden and Gun and Saveur magazines, and it’s one that deserves more local attention as well as national attention. 

Stella’s Southern Bistro-Opened in 2008 in the chain-driven town of Simpsonville by husband and wife team Jason and Julia Scholz, both formerly of the Maverick Southern Kitchens group in Charleston and Greenville, they too are using local artisans and purveyors presenting classic Lowcountry flair and high end Southern cuisine.  With Julia running the front of the house and Jason manning the back, this restaurant is one of the best in the Upstate.  Fine examples of the menu include the ever-popular classics such as shrimp and grits, crab cakes with Savannah red rice grit pirlau, fried green tomatoes and chow chow.  Other fine Southern selections include menu items like the giant Eden Farms pork chop with bourbon smoked peppercorns, barbecue greens, and Adluh Mills cheese grits.  They always have fantastic appetizer and entrée features for the evening, which often have fresh fish and usually some decadent pork or beef, in addition to the menu mainstays.  This is where Chef Scholz really gets to play.  For instance my first taste of beef deckle, an often forgotten and often underused cut of meat, was on a menu feature at Stella’s.  A bite of the deckle, with its tongue melting fat marbled throughout gave me one of those pure dopamine inducing culinary moments that I live for. At High Cotton Chef Scholz gained recognition from such publications as Bon Appétit, Southern Living, and the New York Times to name just a few.  We are proud to have them representing the restaurant community.  They are consistently turning out meals worthy of press here at Stella’s, especially worthy of Esquire’s attention.

Takosushi-Opened in 2007 by another husband and wife team on what could be considered downtown’s “Sushi Row” on Main Street, Shelby Stone and Linda Mayes from New Mexico partner with Kevin Goldsmith in this fusion restaurant.  It’s not typical to find both sushi and Southwestern items on the same menu, but you do at Takosushi.  This concept always has people scratching their heads before they eat here, but it works.  I don’t usually dine on sushi here in town, so I wouldn’t be the best candidate to speak on that subject, but I have eaten most everything on the Southwest side of the menu.  As for the sushi, many people come only for the sushi and not for the Southwestern items. Favorites of mine include: posole, a comforting concoction of red chile, pork, hominy served with all the fixings you could want; the gut busting chile rellenos; carne adovada anything; and the fried fish tacos with spicy Sriracha bok choy slaw.  If you really want to do it as a true New Mexican would, get your burrito with “Christmas” sauce, a delicious mix of their green and red chile sauces, which are made with Hatch chiles coming from none other than New Mexico.  This restaurant has become a Greenville favorite for many reasons.  

Coal Fired Bistro-Located off the lonelier side of Pelham Road, this restaurant originally opened in 2007.  Now under the powerhouse duo of Jason Callaway and Chef Anthony Gray (formerly of this past season of Top Chef), this restaurant has taken shape into what it should have been all along.  With their own farm now being cultivated, the two plan on using their produce for Coal Fired as well as their new venture Bacon Brothers Public House, slated to open by the end of this month.  I’ve always felt that the food at Coal Fired was substandard before Chef Gray took over the kitchen, but I will now gladly make this part of my dining out repertoire.  On a recent dining experience, my husband I enjoyed one of the best butcher plates I’ve had in recent memory.  The board had the beautiful artisanal raw milk cheeses of Thomasville, Georgia’s Sweet Grass Dairy as well as a dizzying array of house made charcuterie.  The cheeses featured were Camembert-style Green Hill, Asher Blue, Thomasville Tomme, and spicy house made salami Calabrese, Brasiola, pork county pate with pistachios, sour cherries, and veal sweetbreads, pork rilletes, and duck liver mousse with accompaniments of fig jam, gherkins, and local honey, all of which totally rocked my world.  House made pastas such as squid ink tagliatelle with shrimp and sauce puttanesca and gnocchi with lamb meatballs, olives, and “lambcetta”—a play on the delectable Italian bacon made from lamb belly instead of pork belly.  Chef Gray has an ambitious plan for both restaurants and it’s really exciting to see where else these two will go. 

The Owl-This new kid on the block just celebrated it’s first year anniversary of being in business and boy are we glad to have them.  Instead of just another Southern restaurant these guys and gals are serving up contemporary American cuisine in an old Pizza Hut located just minutes away from downtown along the wasteland of strip malls on Wade Hampton Boulevard, and just before the infamous Bob Jones University.  This restaurant crept onto the restaurant scene waving their culinary middle finger in the air.  In fact, just this week they hosted a food truck rally in peaceful protest to the latest ridiculous ruling that food trucks have to be 250 feet away from a brick and mortar restaurant as well as on private property, making it nearly impossible for these trucks to park anywhere.  The Owl, which is run by another husband and wife team Aaron and Justi Manter, offers an abbreviated yet very affordable global food menu, a well-priced wine list, and Portland-style cocktails.  Changing the menu almost weekly, the Owl goes a little way down the molecular gastronomy road without veering off course.  I loved the deconstructed Cuban sandwich they did with pickled onions, gherkins, pork rilletes, grilled bread, and a melty mix of mayonnaise and Swiss cheese, and a brush of whole grain mustard. They are rebellious and daring at the Owl and that’s why we like them. 

High Cotton-The New Southern restaurant opened in the spring of 2007 by Maverick Southern Kitchens, the folks who brought us the Charleston restaurant of the same name.  Located in the heart of downtown just across from Falls Park, High Cotton is one of the most expansive and impressive restaurants in town boasting an outstanding view of the Reedy River.  With both Chef Jason Scholz and Chef Anthony Gray as alums, the kitchen is now under the helm of Chef Greg McPhee, formerly of the nationally adored restaurant Husk in Charleston, SC.  On a recent night out, I was able to sample some of the new menu items. Standouts included the oyster gratin, a take on the Oysters Rockefeller with Benton’s bacon, onion confit, creamed spinach and smoked hollandaise—surprisingly light for a dish that can be so heavy.  Other selections the group enjoyed were the butcher’s plate with a boiled peanut country pate, roasted brussel sprouts and cauliflower, and seared scallops with pea risotto and a small spring salad.  We are glad to have Chef McPhee and have full confidence that he will find his own culinary footing here in Greenville.

The biggest thing in all of this for me is that I believe in what these restaurants are doing here.  I also agree that we can be the culinary juggernaut that our Coastal sister has become.  I challenge and strongly encourage Mr. Mariani to come back and give these restaurants a try, and he will see what else our little town has to offer—even if it means venturing away from Main Street.