04/30/2007
High tech dining
There is a sign on Restaurant Row in Myrtle Beach (north of the Dixie Stampede on U.S. 17) next to where the old Sugami was torn down announcing an internet bar called iBAR will be built this summer. I heard from a couple of people it will be a restaurant/bar with free Wi-Fi, and have an electronic menu with touch screens.
iBAR has a Web site, and I found it at www.ibarusa.com.
All the Web site says is “It’s time for an upgrade,” and that iBar Myrtle Beach is coming in summer 2007. I didn’t see signs of construction at the site.
The other thing the Web site says is “IG Development Inc. Concept Engineering.” So I looked up IG Development Inc., and found www.igdev.com. All that Web site says is that details are coming soon about iBAR.
Thai one on
I love how the restaurant called Thai Cuisine has desserts listed on the first page of its take-out menu. They all sound great, too: Ice Cream Tempura, Cheesecake with Ice Cream, Thai Donut, Sticky Rice with Ice Cream and Green Tea Ice Cream.
The rest of the menu is extensive and includes:
Appetizers:
Thai Fries – Deep-fried bonito mixed with coconut and Thai batter
Satay Beef or Chicken Barbecue – Served with peanut sauce and cucumber salad
Fried Tofu
Thai Spring Roll – Filled with crystal noodles, cabbage, carrot and celery
Todd Mun Pla – Also known as Fish Cake, it is deep-fried ground fish mixed with red curry and Thai herbs and served with spicy cucumber sauce
Soups:
Tom Yum Seafood – Contains crab, shrimp, squid, lemongrass, galangal (similar to ginger), mushrooms, chili paste, scallions and cilantro
Wonton Soup
Tofu Soup
Tom Ka Kai – Chicken Coconut Soup
Thai Cuisine Noodle Soup
Salads:
Thai Salad – Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, bean sprout, scallion and carrot with peanut dressing and potato sticks
Papaya Salad
Yum Pla Murk (Squid Salad)
Crystal Noodle Salad
Seafood Salad – With shrimp, scallops, mussels, crab and squid
Entrees:
Pad Thai
Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodle) – Stir-fried rice noodles with egg, veggies, chili and basil leaves
Pad See-iew – Stir-fried wide rice noodles with egg, Asian broccoli and Thai soy sauce
Pad Prig Khing – Stir-fried curry paste, green beans, lime leaves, herbs and coconut milk
Pad Preow Wan (sweet and sour) – Stir-fried cucumber, tomato, onion, baby corn, mushrooms, bell peppers, pineapple and Thai sauce
Garlic Fish
Duck Basil
Ginger Fish
Whole Snapper Curry
Curry Duck
Spicy Basil Fried Rice
Thai Cuisine is at 1210 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach, and the phone number is 946-7475. They deliver!
04/29/2007
Up for grabs
A couple of restaurant closures are:
Tony’s Homemade Italian Food at the north end of North Myrtle Beach on the west side of U.S. 17. Soon there will be a final hearing on zoning for what type of use the property will have. It consists of 6.3 acres, and it is for sale.
Also Portofino Italian Restaurant in Little River is closed, and it is for sale or lease. It’s located on the east side of U.S. 17 in the middle of Little River.
New name, same bagels
You may remember it as Benjamin’s Bagels, when Lee Zulanch and his father owned the bakery/café in Surfside Beach. However, now Bagels & More has a new owner.
Lee Zulanch’s bagels are still sold at Bagels & More. Lee moved about two blocks away to a bigger space where he would have more room to bake bagels at Benjamin’s Bakery, which he sells wholesale to area restaurants and grocery stores. He also has a little retail coffee shop and internet café in the front called Jacob’s Java.
Not much has changed at the Bagels & More. They still serve breakfast and lunch seven days a week, and still have great food.
For breakfast you can have bagels with cream cheese, bagels with lox, Bagel Benedict and bagel sandwiches. They serve plain grits, cheese grits and home fries, pork rolls and a New Jersey Slider, which is a pork roll with egg and cheese. The kitchen staff will also whip you up an omelet like feta and tomato or one with jalapenos and salsa; or heat up the griddle for pancakes or French toast.
The deli side of the business comes more into play for lunch, when you can get deli meat sandwiches hot or cold on fresh-baked bread, bagels, rolls or in wraps. They also have eggs salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, broccoli salad and potato salad, and hearty hot lunch entrees like Chicken Gyro, Philly Cheesesteak and Reubens.
There is a back room perfect for club meetings, and the outdoor deck is pleasant.
Bagels & More is right behind Legends in Concert, at 531 U.S. 17 Business South in Surfside Beach. The number is 238-2922.
04/28/2007
Ciao, Steve!
Steve Martin is now the executive chef at Ciao! Italian Restaurant and Deli at 5223 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach. Steve is an expert Italian chef; he was a partner at the former Café Lucia in Pawleys Island that earned high praise for its authentic Italian cuisine.
The chef is also the current president of the Myrtle Beach chapter of the American Culinary Federation.
Maybe today
Charlescelia McCleon, owner of New Orleans Connection at 1021 Second Avenue North in North Myrtle Beach (on the west side of U.S. 17), says she hopes to be ready to open for business today. If you want to call and see if it happened, the number is 663-1255.
UPDATE!!!! I spoke with Charlescelia today (April 28), and she said they WILL be open for dinner tonight.
European flavors
Werner and Martina Horvath do a great job running Café Old Vienna. Customers feel welcome and they are served excellent food.
I stopped by the other day to pick up a few desserts made by another Austrian, Petra Jerabek. She and her husband, Michael, opened Café Vienna in 1996, and they now provide desserts for Café Vienna and dozens of other area restaurants through their wholesale dessert company called Bake and Cake.
In addition to fantastic desserts like White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, diners can enjoy Café Old Vienna’s hugely popular Chicken Curry Salad with apples, pineapples and walnuts, and the Austrian Country Salad with breaded or grilled chicken on greens with their wonderful Austrian Potato Salad.
Mmmmm, I should have picked up lunch while I was there. I could have had Veal Wiener Schnitzel, a Bratwurst sandwich with Swiss cheese, Pork Cordon Bleu with Black Forest Ham, Hungarian Gulasch or their famous Styria Plate with one Wiener Schnitzel, one Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, mustard, potato salad, tomato and cucumber.
The bread they serve with meals is great – it’s crusty and chewy – and one of their side dish choices is a light and quite wonderful Spatzle. They also have exceptional European-style coffees and beer and wine, including Austrian wines.
Café Old Vienna is at 3901 N. Kings Highway, behind East of Chicago pizzeria in the Village Square Shopping Center. The number is 946-6252.
04/27/2007
Out with the bad fat
Divine Dining Group has started using a new cottonseed/canola oil blend at their fine dining restaurants including Divine Fish House, City Bar, Latitude 22, Umi Pacific Grill and Bovine’s Southwestern Grill.
The reason for the switch, according to Divine’s Director of Cuisine Kurt D’Aurizio, is because the new blend does not contain trans fats.
Another place I know of that does not use oils containing trans fats is Frank’s Restaurant in Pawleys Island.
Great sax
Live entertainment in restaurants is cranking up for the season, which makes for very merry or, depending on the music, quite sexy and sultry meals.
Research has shown that lively and energetic music increases restaurant revenue and makes tables turn over faster. Slower music, such as classical, encourages patrons to linger.
If your restaurant has live music, I’d like to know about it. However, please don’t just tell me the name of the performer(s) and what time they take the stage. Readers want to know a few of their signature tunes, what style of music they play most, what instruments are played and what kind of audience participation is encouraged.
In other words, why should we come hear them?
I’ll get the ball rolling by saying I’m excited about Dan O’Reilly playing his sax at the Rosegarden Restaurant from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday night. When my husband and I moved to the Grand Strand in ’96, we discovered Dan playing with Chicago Bob at Froggy Bottoms at Broadway at the Beach. We went there almost every weekend to dance to their swinging, bluesy rock ‘n’ roll.
In recent years we’ve enjoyed hearing Dan in connection with his work in the Coastal Carolina University jazz program. If you like great sax, you’ll love Dan.
Another popular gig is 7 p.m. to midnight Mondays at Liberty Taproom and Grill when guitarist/singer Sean McKenna plays for the weekly Service Industry Night, a.k.a. SIN Night.
While members of the local service industry enjoy discounted drinks and appetizers, Sean plays his soulful style of music. He says his influences are Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, The Eagles, Metallica, John Mayer, Keller Williams, Howie Day, B.B. King and Santana.
04/26/3007
Rosegarden rocked
My husband and I dined at Greg Rose’s new Rosegarden Restaurant on Monday night and were extremely impressed. I tried the Cajun Barbecue Shrimp appetizer on the recommendation of a friend and was glad she spoke up.
I know, I know, Cajun is not Italian; Greg has a few American specialties on the menu. But I don’t care what type of cuisine those shrimp are, because they were perfectly cooked and had a wonderfully light spicy flavor.
For entrees we had Fettucine Alfredo with Blackened Chicken and Veal Naples. The veal dish features onions and prosciutto sautéed with the meat, which is served on a bed of sautéed spinach, olives and roasted red bell peppers. It’s topped with mozzarella and marinara.
The veal came with garlic mashed potatoes and the best glazed carrots I’ve ever eaten. Normally I would eat about half of such a meal and save the other half for the next day’s lunch, but I couldn’t help myself and ate almost every bite - including a crispy, lemony Caesar salad.
Rosegarden Restaurant is on Seaboard Street in Myrtle Beach, across from Coastal Grand Mall. The number is 839-4949. From 7-11 p.m. Saturday night, local famed saxophonist Dan O’Reilly will perform his swinging jazz.
Around the ‘hood
We all have our little neighborhood eateries where we often head for a quick bite, and I’d love to tell you about two of my favorite local spots over here in beautiful downtown Socastee.
The one closest to our house – we sometimes walk there – is Flavor King. They call themselves “Your Local Full Service Dairy Bar” and “King of Soft Ice Cream,” but there’s a lot more to them than just ice cream.
Once in a while I must have one of Flavor King’s Flounder Platters. You can get it English-style or Southern-fried, and two filets come with fries and slaw and costs only $7.
Flavor King also has thick hand-patted burgers, fried shrimp, chicken tenders, foot-long hot dogs, grilled chicken salad, chili cheese fries and sweet potato fries that can come topped with cinnamon sugar if you want.
The soft-serve ice cream can come in 60 flavors, from almond or amaretto to caramel cheesecake, English toffee, Oreo, peach, peanut butter, peppermint, praline, pumpkin, root beer, teaberry and white chocolate. There are sundaes, cones, blasters, dream shakes (a slushy with ice cream) and malts.
A specialty of the house is Deep Fried Oreos. They’re a rich, gooey and decadent treat.
Flavor King is at 4989 Socastee Boulevard (S.C. 707), right across the street from Socastee High School. They are open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and the number is 294-4422.
Great service
Another favorite neighborhood spot is Great Wall, a Chinese restaurant in Socastee off Dick Pond Road in the strip mall by the Bi-Lo grocery store. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two more hard-working people than the husband and wife who own it.
The menu is like a thousand other quick-service Chinese restaurants, but these folks make sure their food is prepared well with fresh ingredients, and when you get it home it’s piping hot. They package the food conscientiously with little hand-cut pieces of cardboard between the foil trays with plastic lids and, once in a while, if they know you’re a regular customer, they slip a little something extra in the bag like an orange or a cookie other than the usual fortune cookie.
Great Wall’s address is 5022 Dick Pond Road, and the number is 293-9543. The doors open every day at 11 a.m. except Sunday, when it opens a half-hour later at 11:30 a.m. It closes at 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and at 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
I’d love to hear about your favorite neighborhood eateries, and I bet others would too. You can drop me an e-mail at Becky@TheFoodSyndicate.com; please give the name, address and phone number of the restaurant and why you like it.
04/25/2007
Strawberry season
I added a page listing places where you can pick strawberries. Look on the left side of this page, and click the button below “Daily News.”
Ciao!
It’s nice that another Italian restaurant moved in when Luigi’s Trattoria left to relocate in a bigger spot. Now the space at 5223 North Kings Highway is occupied by Ciao! Italian Restaurant and Deli. It looks nice in there with white linens, and the place is still immaculate.
It is open for lunch and dinner, and the lunch menu features appetizers like Fried Calamari, Mussels Marinara, Mussels Scampi and Mozzarella Capresse. You could have one of ten varieties of pasta such as Penne ala Vodka, Spinach Ravioli or Lasagna; or Caesar, House, Spinach, Green or Antipasto salad.
Lunch entrees may be hearty, like Shrimp Scampi, Veal Parmesan with Spaghetti or a Meatball Sub; or lighter such as a cold Capicolla or Prosciutto sub, or a Chicken Pesto sandwich.
The choices expand for dinner, when the meal can start with Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms, Polenta Cakes and Baked Clams. Added to the pasta list are Penne Puttenusca and Manicotti.
Dinner entrees include Chicken Marsala, Chicken Picatta, Chicken or Veal Limone, Lemon-herbed Grouper and Seafood Ciao with shrimp and scallops in a red bell pepper and pesto sauce served over linguini.
You can cap off the meal with cappuccino and tiramisu, cannoli, lemon sorbet, tartufo or chocolate cake.
The number at Ciao! is 449-5700.
World’s best restaurants
I’m shocked that some of our wonderful Lowcountry restaurants didn’t make the top 50 restaurants in the world list, which was announced April 23 in London. Ah well, maybe next year. I guess we shouldn’t feel bad: London, and the entire countries of China and Japan didn’t make the list either.
The list is sponsored by S. Pellegrino, and it was started in 2002 by Restaurant magazine.
The Top 50:
1. El Bulli Spain
2. The Fat Duck U.K.
3. Pierre Gagnaire France
4. The French Laundry U.S.
5. Tetsuya's Australia
6. Bras France
7. Mugaritz Spain
8. Le Louis XV Monaco
9. Per Se U.S.
10. Arzak Spain
11. El Celler de Can Roca Spain
12. Gambero Rosso Italy
13. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon France
14. Hof van Cleve Belgium
15. Noma Denmark
16. Le Calandre Italy
17. Nobu London U.K.
18. Jean Georges U.S.
19. Hakkasan U.K.
20. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee France
21. L'Astrance France
22. Can Fabes Spain
23. L'Ambroisie France
24. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay U.K.
25. Troisgros France
26. Le Bernardin USA
27. Martin Berasategui Spain
28. Le Gavroche U.K.
29. Le Cinq France
30. Charlie Trotter's U.S.
31. Dal Pescatore Italy
32. Daniel U.S.
33. Rockpool Australia
34. St. John U.K.
35. Chez Dominique Finland
36. Alinea U.S.
37. Bukhara India
38. DOM Brazil
39. Oaxen Skaergaardskrog Sweden
40. Chez Panisse U.S.
41. Enoteca Pinchiorri Italy
42. Cracco Peck Italy
43. L'Arpege France
44. The River Café U.K.
45. Oud Sluis The Netherlands
46. Combal Zero Italy
47. Le Quartier Francais South Africa
48. Taillevent France
49. Bocuse France
50. Les Ambassadeurs France
Lifetime Achievement Alice Waters
Breakthrough Award Maze, London
Readers' Choice Pied a Terre, London
04/24/2007
Last-minute snags
Owners of the new Riptides at the Beach Seafood & Steaks at 702 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach, where the India Palace used to be, hoped to be open for business perhaps today or tomorrow, but they hit a few snags. Now they’re aiming for Friday; I’ll keep you updated.
Down at the island
Island Café & Deli down in Pawleys Island is a favorite of locals, but visitors are delighted to find it. It is a casual spot open daily for lunch and dinner with indoor and outdoor seating. In the season there is live entertainment out on the patio.
The restaurant has great specials all the time, and regular specials include Monday nights when a pound of shrimp prepared any way you like is $12, and on Tuesday and Wednesday nights a 1 1/4-pound Maine Lobster is $14.
The regular menu is a seafood lover’s dream.
Appetizers include McClellanville Lump Crab Cake with peppered tartar sauce; Sautéed Shrimp and Scallops with brie, mushrooms prosciutto, scallions and tomatoes; and Spicy Fried Oysters on black beans with sour cream and salsa.
On the soup and salad lists are She-Crab Soup, Mexican Black Bean Soup, Shrimp Salad Plate, Assorted Fruit with Cottage Cheese and Aristotle’s Salad, which has pasta, feta cheese, shrimp, scallions, tomatoes, fruit and vinaigrette dressing.
This is partly a deli, and deli specialties are outstanding such as Martin’s Muffin with thinly sliced filet mignon that is grilled with brie, tomato and onion and served on a Kaiser roll; or the Strom Thurmond with hot pastrami, turkey breast, provolone and mayonnaise on rye bread.
Other lunchtime offerings include sandwiches from the Goober Supreme (pb&j) to Shrimp Salad, and grilled items such as the Vida Bleu Burger or the Reuben Green Burger with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing.
A few dinner appetizers are Pan-seared Sushi Grade Tuna, Island Shrimp & Grits and Crisp Okra with Cheddar and Pimiento Fondue. Entrees celebrate the sea and sand with Sautéed Grouper, Fried Flounder over cheese grits, Roasted Salmon with fried shrimp ravioli, Low Country Pecan Chicken and Twin Grilled Filet Mignon with portabello mushroom and port wine reduction.
Dinner reservations are recommended, and you can make them by calling 237-9527. Their Web site is at www.islandcafeanddeli.com, and the restaurant is located in the Island Shops at 10683 U.S. 17 in Pawleys Island.
04/23/2007
Almost ready
Owners of the new Riptides at the Beach Seafood & Steaks at 702 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach, where the India Palace used to be, hoped to be open for business the end of last week, but that was delayed. Now they’re aiming for tomorrow or Wednesday.
Coffee with care
If you would like your coffee dollars to help a worthy cause, you can go to www.autismadvocatefoundation.com/, click on “store/donate” and purchase Equal Exchange Fair Trade brand coffees in either drip grind or whole bean.
Local people with Autism Spectrum Disorders have jobs packaging the coffees.
Going to Chicago?
If anyone in our local restaurant industry is headed to Chicago May 19-22 for the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show, be sure to check out the “prestigious quadrennial” American Culinary Classic that will take place during the event.
Culinary teams from the Bahamas, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, U.S.A. and Wales will compete. Each team will have six-members, and each day of the show people can watch the competition from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Team U.S.A.’s chef competitors are Scott Fetty of the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute; Joseph M. Leonardi of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.; Craig Peterson of Hallbrook Country Club in Leawood, Kan.; and Timothy Prefontaine, CSC, of River Oaks Country Club in Houston.
The team is headed by Michael Matarazzo of Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., and team coach is Jill Bosich, CEC, CCE, AAC, of the Southern California Gas Company in Downey, Calif.
Chef Bosich was here in Myrtle Beach in January 2006 as one of the American Culinary Federation certified judges at the local ACF chapter’s annual Hot Foods Competition. It was a pleasure to meet her and get to know her; she is an extremely intelligent and talented chef.
Team U.S.A. won the gold medal at the most recent ACC, which was held in 2003. I had the pleasure of attending the show in Chicago that year, and watching the competition was exciting. That year the public was allowed to purchase tickets to sample different teams’ food. I missed out on being able to sample the cuisine of Team U.S.A. but enjoyed the menu created by the Bahamians.
How much does it cost?
I can see how this new menu device would be handy for visually impaired patrons, but how much does it cost? The Web site at www.menusthattalk.com does not say.
A Miami company called Taylannas has a new electronic restaurant menu system called Menus That Talk. It’s a portable gadget about the size of a DVD case with lighted buttons corresponding to categories such as appetizers, seafood, desserts, etc. When a diner pushes a button he hears dish descriptions, suggested wine pairings, side dishes and prices.
It will be on display in May at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago.
04/22/2007
The winners are…
A Taste of Broadway had great weather this year. No, make that perfect weather. It was a big difference from the thunderstorms at the 2006 event that drove the three food contest judges, including local meteorologist Ed Piotrowski, running for cover.
This year I was joined again by Alix Michaels, a deejay from Star 92, and Darren Stack, a new meteorologist at WPDE Channel 15. We sampled four appetizers, about eight entrees and six or seven desserts that the chefs at restaurants of Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach entered.
Winners are:
Appetizer: Key West Grill for Crab Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade.
Entrée: Senor Frog’s Bacon-wrapped Shrimp on rice.
Dessert: Hard Rock Café’s Apple Cobbler.
People’s Choice: Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville.
I’d like to give my own honorable mentions to Margaritaville, especially for the Honey Habanero Wings with Mango Ranch Dip and the Chocolate Hurricane dessert, and to Key West Grill for their Peanut Butter Snickers Pie.
We also had to pick the winner of the best decorated booth (Key West Grill won it), and I met folks from NASCAR Café. They said they were too busy with all the changes going on to be able to enter the food contest.
Changes? What changes?
NASCAR Café is switching its name to NASCAR Sports Grille, and they’ll soon have a new menu. I always thought NASCAR Café had a remarkably good menu, so it will be interesting to see what modifications will be made.
Changed my mind
I was going to tell you dining at Big Daddy’s Oceanfront Dining is pleasant, despite that some of the tuna on my plate was overcooked and tough, and regardless that the barbecue was too salty, and never minding the barbecue bun was stale.
The pimento cheese hamburger tasted fine, and the view from the restaurant’s location on Second Avenue Pier in Myrtle Beach is spectacular.
However, a half-hour after returning home from Big Daddy’s, I became ill. Twice.
I wouldn’t have mentioned that, except I called the friend I met for lunch, and she was having the same problem. Poor woman, she lives almost all the way up at Little River, and she had to stop at a gas station on the way home and make a run for the restroom.
We hadn’t been together that day until lunch, we both felt fine before lunch and we shared all the dishes we ordered. We both became ill with exactly the same symptoms that lasted exactly the same duration, which was the rest of the day.
04/21/2007
Happy weekend!
Some fun food-related events taking place today include:
From noon to 5:30 p.m. there’ll be a Blues and Jazz Fest at La Belle Amie Vineyard, corner of S.C. 90 and St. Joseph Road, Little River, 399-9463, www.LaBelleAmie.com.
It costs $8 to get in, and you should bring a lawn chair. Food vendors include Smokin’ Pitt BBQ, Hunt’s Lexington Style Cookin’ and The Little River Rotary Club.
Music will be provided by Jazz, ETC; The Myrtle Beach All-Stars Blues Band; and Donnie and Susan Trexler. A vineyard tour takes place at 2:30 p.m.
Starting at noon today is Smoke on the Beach, a barbecue festival and competition that benefits local Shriners. It is at Family Kingdom Amusement Park, 300 S. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach. Plates will be sold for about $6 each.
From noon to 4 p.m. today you can taste dishes made by Broadway at the Beach chefs at the annual A Taste of Broadway festival.
The public sampling will be in Celebrity Square (you buy tickets, and then different foods cost different numbers of tickets), and a food-eating tournament for amateurs and professionals starts at noon. There will also be art and craft vendors, a Kidz Zone activity center and fireworks at 9 p.m.
Broadway at the Beach is a shopping, dining and entertainment complex sandwiched between U.S. 17 Bypass, Robert M. Grissom Parkway, 21st Avenue North and 29th Avenue North.
Busy bakers
Toffino’s Italian Bakery & Deli has been a favorite Myrtle Beach restaurant for many years. Now we get more of it, because owner Phil Pecora has extended the operating hours to 9 p.m.
So we can have our Italian pastries and breads starting at 8 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and enjoy the pizza, hoagies, Eggplant Parmesan Sandwiches and Cheesesteaks through 9 p.m.
The work Phil and manager Patricia Fair put into this business is to be commended. They have hung in there, out at the former air base, through some mighty sparse years as the land has been redeveloped. Now, finally, other businesses are being built nearby and more walk-in traffic should come their way. It is a testament to their excellence that locals in the know sought Toffino’s out in its previously out-of-the-way location for so long.
The bakery and deli is at 880 Farrow Parkway, right beside the main road through the air base. The number is 477-1598.
04/19/2007
Hard Rock a go-go
Yesterday the Hard Rock Park opened its Backstage Tour that is part gift shop, part museum and part a taste of the attractions and memorabilia we’ll have when it opens next year. Of course I was interested in the restaurants, and learned about a few.
Carnaby Street Café will be in the British Invasion section of the park. It will serve the famous British steamed pudding called Spotted Dick, other food in a cafeteria-style presentation and, for your enjoyment while you dine, go-go girls in cages.
The Kitchen Below will have “Hot Treats and even Hotter Treatment.” I’m not quite sure what to expect with this one; the illustration had a sexy lady in an alluring devil outfit.
The Wheelhouse Canteen will feature “Country Cookin’ for the Redneck in All of Us.”
Rockabilly BBQ will have “Chicken, Ribs and Big-Ass Bibs!”
Another eatery in the British Invasion is Cod Piece Café with plenty of suits of armor to admire and fish and chips to eat.
Three other restaurants will be called Love Shack Snacks, Great Meals Diner and Tropical Paradise Café.
It all sounds like delicious fun!
The wine sea blues
Local Certified Sommelier and all-around nice guy, Paul Childress, will lead discussions at a wine dinner to be held starting at 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 23 at SeaBlue in North Myrtle Beach. SeaBlue chef/partner Kelly Graham tells me there are a few spots remaining for this event, but if you want to go call soon (249-8800), because they usually sell out.
The meal costs $50 and includes:
Little Neck Clams with fresh herbs, garlic and peas
D’Arenberg Stump Jump White
Grilled Wild American Shrimp and Thai Coconut and Corn Soup
Aldega Valdes Gundian Albarino
Karabut Pork Shank and Truffled Mac and Cheese
Orogeny Pinot Noir
Regional Cheese Offering and Black and Blueberry Compote
Matchbook Cellars Tempranillo
Woman power
Women Build is a project of Habitat for Humanity that begins on Sept. 15. Area women will come together starting on that day to build a home for a family that needs one.
But the women building the home will also build up appetites, and food donations throughout the duration of the build (they hope to have the family in the home by Christmas) are needed.
Any restaurant, vendor or private person able to help feed the hungry construction women may contact Sandi Kendrick at sjk@sc.rr.com or 916-8815, Ext. 16.
You can learn more about the project at www.habitatmb.org/WB%202007.htm.
04/18/2007
Fresh fish
I ate what is quite possibly the best Blackened Grouper Sandwich in the world.
This plump, meaty, juicy and one of the most perfectly cooked pieces of fresh fish to ever grace a sub roll came from Harrellson’s Seafood Market in Murrells Inlet. Harrellson’s has been around a long time; it was recently purchased by An Mathis Springs and her grandsons, Sean and Denny.
You can still get fresh seafood and other delicacies there including local flounder, salmon, tilapia, escargot, frog legs, octopus, squid, smoked salmon, kippers, smelt, Alaskan King crab legs and crawfish meat. They also sell fish scalers, oyster knives, seafood-theme serving dishes, spices, rubs, marinades, gumbo base, seafood breaders and biscuit mixes.
The lunch menu changes; the day I went the choices were Grouper or Flounder Sandwich; Shrimp, Scallop or Oyster Po’ Boy; baskets of Deviled Crab, Clam Strips, Fried Oysters, Steamed or Fried Shrimp, Soft Shell Crab or Crab Cakes; She-Crab Soup or Shrimp Bisque; sides of fries, slaw, potato salad or pasta salad; and Key Lime Pie.
Back to the crab cakes they sell.
If the name An Mathis Springs sounds familiar, it’s because she has regional fame as The Crab Cake Lady. Her other business, called The Crab Cake Lady, is located in a yellow shack off U.S. 17 Bypass at 4525 Wesley Road in Murrells Inlet. She and her family catch the crabs, and they then hand-pick them and turn the meat into melt-in-your-mouth Crab Cakes, Deviled Crab, Crab Cake Casserole and Queen Egg Rolls. You can also buy Creek Rolls filled with Murrells Inlet Creek Shrimp, Blue Crab Claws and Stone Crab Claws.
The Crab Cake Lady doesn’t cook the products they sell; they’re for you to take home and cook. If you want An’s crab cakes cooked for you, you’ll have to go to Harrellson’s Seafood Market for lunch.
I bought a dozen of the frozen crab cakes and cooked four for supper. They have a cracker coating that makes the cakes brown nicely, and even cooking them from a frozen state they turned out nicely. Each crab cake is individually wrapped in plastic, which means they stay extra-fresh even when frozen, and when you're ready to use them they are easy to handle.
Harrellson’s is at 4368 U.S. 17 Business South in Murrells Inlet, and the number is 651-5707.
The phone number at Crab Cake Lady is 651-0708, and she has a web site at www.thecrabcakelady.com.
Why join?
The Myrtle Beach chapter of the American Culinary Federation is a busy group; members actively promote culinary education to increase the skill level of area chefs. One of the benefits of ACF membership is access to the national ACF job listings, where members can see jobs available across the country or post jobs and attract skilled applicants.
Find out more about the local ACF at www.MyrtleBeachACF.com, or check out the national site and the job listings at www.ACFChefs.org.
04/17/2007
Bountiful brunch
Recently someone asked me if Lands End Restaurant in Georgetown still has a Sunday brunch buffet. The answer is yes, and it is from 11 a.m. to 2:30. Exactly what dishes are on the buffet changes, but each week they serve a plentiful bounty.
The regular menu also features a wide variety of food.
Appetizers include Crawfish Bites, Bronzed Group Medallions, Bacon-wrapped Scallops and Creek Shrimp and Gravy over a bowl of yellow grits. There are She-Crab Soup and Seafood Gumbo, and Shrimp Salad, London Broil Salad, Grilled Mahi Mahi Salad and Crab Pie.
Diners can order steaks – filet, ribeye, strip, prime rib – and barbecue ribs. There are pasta entrees like Seafood Alfredo and Chicken Matthew, and seafood specialties including Shrimp Creole, Catfish, Founder, Scallops, Crab Cakes and the Catch of the Day.
You don’t have to be a senior citizen to order from the Lighter Portions menu, which offers Boneless Pork Chops, Shrimp Dinner, Prime Rib Sandwich, Lemon Chicken and more. There are also many sandwiches like Prime Rib Marquis, Turkey and Swiss Croissant, Fried Oyster Sandwich and Grouper Sandwich.
Land’s End is open for lunch Mondays through Fridays, dinner Mondays through Saturdays and for brunch on Sundays. It’s at 444 Marina Drive with a spectacular view of Winyah Bay, on the north end of town just south of the U.S. 17 bridge. The phone number is 527-1376.
Strawberry bonus
The Easter frost may have ruined the South Carolina peach crop, but local strawberries are still on track. Another bonus is the bounty of extra-sweet California strawberries now available from restaurant vendors and local grocery stores.
Carmine Gallo on sent me information on behalf of the California Strawberry Commission that says, “For a period of five days, a harsh chill throughout California stunted production that would have normally taken place during that time. But an unusual event was happening – the strawberry plants began to focus their energy below ground, building the foundation for a stronger plant and juicier fruit.”
I can attest to that after paying $2.99 at Sam’s Club for a 2-pound box of gorgeous large strawberries that are exceptionally sweet and juicy. When you’re out dining in the next few weeks and see strawberries on the menu, chances are you’ll be delighted with the quality and flavor.
04/16/2007
Up and coming
A few places I noticed last week include:
A new Boston Pizza Plus near The Library restaurant in the 1200 block of North Kings Highway, where the Hawaiian barbecue place used to be.
Near Chestnut Hill and Chesapeake House on Restaurant Row in Myrtle Beach there is a sign that says Lilly’s World Café is coming soon.
Taste of Broadway
If you don’t yet have plans for this Saturday, April 21, and would like to sample some great food, you can head to Broadway at the Beach for the annual A Taste of Broadway festival.
For several years now I’ve been a judge at the competition part of the festival, where meteorologist Ed Piotrowski, a deejay from a local radio station and I sample dishes from Broadway restaurants and pick out the best ones. We judge them on criteria including taste, presentation and originality and usually Key West Grill blows everyone else away, although last year I recall Senor Frog’s doing a creditable job. The extensive and creative menu at Senor Frog’s surprised me; I was under the impression they were mainly a tourist bar.
The public can taste dishes from noon to 4 p.m. in Celebrity Square, and a food-eating tournament for amateurs and professionals starts at noon. There will also be art and craft vendors, a Kidz Zone activity center and fireworks at 9 p.m.
Broadway at the Beach is a shopping, dining and entertainment complex sandwiched between U.S. 17 Bypass, Robert M. Grissom Parkway, 21st Avenue North and 29th Avenue North.
04/15/2007
The bar is open
Greg Rose of the new Rosegarden Restaurant across Seaboard Street from Coastal Grand Mall in Myrtle Beach is happy to announce his liquor license came through! The restaurant specializes in Italian and American cuisines and is open daily for lunch and dinner. The number is 843-839-4949.
Alert readers
Some of the restaura |