July 31
Friendly atmosphere
K-Rae’s Pub in Garden City is a friendly place where drinks flow, burgers are whipped up in the kitchen and tails are whipped at the pool table and dart board.
There’s also a new martini and raw bar, and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. a breakfast buffet costs $7.
The regular menu includes those famous burgers, plus nachos with either tortilla chips or French fries; Gravy Fries; Sweet Potato Fries; Wings; and Steak and Cheese Subs. You can also get a deli sandwich such as pastrami, corned beef, turkey or bologna, and they make Italian Grinders with ham, turkey, salami, provolone, oil, mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion on a fresh roll.
There are cushy recliners in front of a rank of big-screen TVs where you can settle down with a sandwich and beer, or take it outside where there’s a small patio.
K-Rae’s is at 120 Atlantic Avenue, about a block from The Pier at Garden City, and the number is 651-2869.
Sultry mood
Buddha Lounge & Grill is a great lunch spot where you can pick up, from their Japanese Express side, many exciting dishes such as Hot Edamame, Tuna Tataki, Veggie Bowls, Hibachi meals with rice and vegetables, Lo Mein, Rice Bowls with chicken, shrimp or filet mignon, and spring rolls.
Dinners are also available at Japanese Express, and after 4 p.m. that menu expands to include Yakitori Skewers with chicken, filet mignon, shrimp, scallops, corn, chicken curry, salmon, grouper, tuna with scallions or lobster.
The Buddha Lounge part of the restaurant is open in the evening, and it is a beautifully exotic den of pleasure. The golden and candle-lit atmosphere encourages romance and provides thrilling flavors.
Appetizers include Wasabi Shumai, Shrimp Dumplings, Bang Bang Lobster, Hummus and Chicken Lettuce Wrap. There are Miso Soup, Coconut Chicken Soup and Asian Chicken Noodle Soup, and salads including Seaweed, Green Papaya, Thai Shredded Chicken and the Buddha Salad with pine nuts, almonds and raspberry vinaigrette.
The Yakitori Skewers are also available in the lounge, and entrees such as Grilled Tuna or Salmon, New Zealand Lamb Chop, Sesame-crusted Chicken, Shrimp Tempura, Filet Mignon, and the Udon Pot with salmon, mussels, shrimp, vegetables and udon noodles.
Buddha Lounge & Grill is at 1711 North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach, and the number is 626-5541.
July 30
Shop carefully
There are reports that some Castleberry Foods Company products recalled due to botulism are still being found on some store shelves. To refresh yourself on which products were recalled, click here.
Breakfast by the sea
All the people fishing at The Pier at Garden City on Thursday looked rather well-fed and contented. The cheerful women working behind the counter at the pier’s cafe say they have the “best breakfast on the beach,” so perhaps that had something to do with the relaxed fishermen.
For breakfast, which is served from 7 to 11 a.m., choices include omelets, bagels, French toast, pancakes, eggs and several sides. Starting at 11 a.m. and through 11 p.m. the menu includes crab cake sandwich, foot-long hot dogs and a burger called the Hugo Burger. They also have hand-dipped Mayfield ice cream.
There’s plenty of indoor seating in the café and nearby next to the video arcade, or you can take your food outside and enjoy it by one of the two bars. One al fresco dining area is just outside the café; the other is at the end of the pier where there’s also a band stand and dance floor.
You can check the band schedule at The Pier at Garden City Web site; the day I visited Earl Truette of The Sharks (and formerly of Blues Express) was setting up his drum set for the evening’s sets of classic rock, blues and country music. This time of year live music is Saturday and Sunday afternoons and every night. Weekday afternoons there’s also karaoke.
Tonight’s band (July 30) is Psych Ward, and Tuesday night Earl will be back with The Sharks.
The Pier at Garden City is at 110 South Waccamaw Drive, and the number is 651-9700.
Kitchen mishaps
The new culinary-driven film “No Reservations” starring Catherine Zeta-Jones has a few inaccuracies according to an article in the Washington Post. What’s supposed to be quail is actually squab and, among other details, a fish was filleted incorrectly. Six Washington D.C.-area chefs screened the movie and offered their observations for the story about the movie that premiered on Friday.
July 29
Hot news
Chef Mark Carroll, formerly of The Library Restaurant in Myrtle Beach, is now in charge of the kitchen at Pat & Mike’s Irish Pub in Little River.
He hasn’t been on the job long enough yet to think about menu changes; I’ll let you know if that happens.
Expanding business
Benjamin’s Bakery products are now available in even more local restaurants such as Café Rouge at Carolina Forest and New York Pizza & Deli in Myrtle Beach. Benjamin’s new soft pretzels have become so popular, owner/baker Lee Zulanch has expanded the soft pretzel line to include buns, knots and sticks, and he has a new slicer that allows for extra-thick breads to be used for Texas Toast, French Toast and hearty grilled sandwiches.
Fear no beer
There’s no need to fear what you might be served at City Bar’s upcoming International Beer Dinner at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 9. The staff at this restaurant is skilled at pairing food and spirits, and this meal has a finely crafted small-batch menu of:
Chèvre Clam Pizza with basil, crushed pepper and garlic
Paired with Kasteel Triple from Belgium
Berkshire Pork Crépinette Sausage with whole-grain mustard and apple slaw
J.K. Scrumpy Organic Cider, Michigan
Frog Legs Buffalo-style with blue cheese, frisee and celery salad
Eggenberger Dopplebock, Austria
Smoked Grilled Bison Flank Steak with chimichurri and sweet onion ring
Gouden Carlous Ambrio, Belgium
Chocolate Porter Pot de Crème with cherry syrup and candied almonds
Samichlaus, Austria
The meal costs $45, and you can call 449-7013 for reservations. If you’re considering attending you may want to call soon, because the special event dinners at City Bar are becoming extremely popular. City Bar is located at 7604 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach.
July 28
Vacation dining
Conch Café has a rare quality: Its atmosphere is pure summer relaxation. The restaurant-on-stilts looks like a beach cottage, and when you dine on the second-story shaded veranda you’re overlooking hundreds of happy sandy vacationers. It’s hard to not get in a vacation mood here even if you’re a local workaday Joe (or Jane) who is lucky enough to have places like this to sneak away to for lunch or dinner.
The menu is simple and tends to get more creative with its specialty frozen drinks than the food. If you’re in the mood for a Fuzzy Mango or Caribbean Shuffle, you’re in business.
For lunch there are Po’ Boys; salads; flounder or grouper sandwiches; the Beach Club sandwich with ham, turkey, bacon and melted provolone; a couple of burgers; Grouper Fingers; bacon-wrapped shrimp; Buffalo Shrimp; and Calamari.
For dinner you can have Shrimp Scampi; Seafood Platters; Crabcake Dinner; Steak Oceanside that’s topped with shrimp, scallops, asparagus and Hollandaise; Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta; and Prime Rib on Fridays and Saturdays.
Conch Café is oceanfront at 1870 Waccamaw Drive in Garden City, and the number is 651-6556.
Best produce buys
From the market report at A&A Produce, this week you can look for great prices on and plentiful supplies of:
Arugula
Asparagus
Avocadoes
Baby leaf lettuce
Blueberries
Bok choy
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Clementine oranges
Grapefruit
Grapes
Green bell peppers
Green cabbage
Jumbo and colossal onions
Kale
Limes
Navel oranges
Spring mix lettuce
Valencia oranges
Not South Carolina bread
Regarding the recall of Sara Lee bread products that may contain metal fragments, the recall is for bread, "sold at grocery retailers in the following areas of the country: the entire states of Mississippi and Alabama, most of Arkansas, far southeastern Missouri, western Georgia, southwestern Tennessee, southeastern Louisiana and the panhandle of Florida," according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
You can read the full release here.
July 27
Midnight Moon
NASCAR legend Junior Johnson is coming to Garden City on August 15 to sign autographs and promote his new moonshine called Midnight Moon. The driver will be at Atlantic Discount Spirits, which is at the intersection of U.S. 17 Business and Atlantic Avenue (not far from the Pink Pony).
If you’d like more information about the event, contact Atlantic Discount Spirits owner Ronnie Simpson at (843) 357-6232.
This liquor store is also the place where two tastings are happening within the next week.
From 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 28, Ronnie is having a rum and cordial tasting.
From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 30, the featured spirits will be Cachaca, vodka and Alpenjaggaer.
Cachaca is a Brazilian distilled beverage similar to rum, and Alpenjaggaer is like Jagermeister.
Muddling around
Michael and Kelly Graham, owners of SeaBlue in North Myrtle Beach, spend quite a bit of time in Brazil due to Michael’s business. Kelly says she has, “discovered a most lovely concoction – the Caiprioska. It is a wonderfully refreshingly blend of muddled lime, a touch of sugar, and vodka that simply screams summer. I am addicted, I think. Look for this lovely libation to be featured as our drink of the week in the very near future!”
If you visit SeaBlue within the next day or two, their specials this week include:
House-infused Kiwi and Strawberry Cocktail
Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho
Jumbo Shrimp Tempura with Cucumber Slaw
Char-grilled Barramundi with sunchoke puree
Seared Grade A Foie Gras paired with a Vanilla Poached Pineapple
SeaBlue is at 503 U.S. 17 N., and the number is 249-8800.
July 26
Racing for the ribs
When NASCAR Café opened here in Myrtle Beach a little more than 10 years ago, I remember saying then I was extremely impressed with their food quality. During the ensuing decade my family has visited there several times, and we’ve never had a disappointing meal.
In 1997 H&C Racing of Knoxville operated the restaurant, but in 2006 a Baltimore-based developer called The Cordish Company took it over. Now the restaurant’s name has changed to NASCAR Sports Grille, and the food continues to be far better than I expected a theme restaurant to offer.
My all-time favorite dish there is the ribs, which these days is called the Rubbing is Racing BBQ Ribs. They’re tender and meaty, not too saucy – but not dry either – and the barbecue sauce has the perfect amount of spicy kick.
NASCAR Sports Grille also has the best French fries I’ve had in recent memory. They’re plump with potato, but delicately crispy on the outside, not greasy and are dusted with sea salt and pepper.
Other entrees include steaks, grilled or fried chicken, pulled pork barbecue, grilled pork chops, Asian Grilled Mahi-Mahi, Fish & Chips, Chicken Alfredo Pasta, burgers and sandwiches.
The restaurant’s décor and amenities make going to this venue more of an event than just a meal. There are dozens of televisions tapped into various sports channels. Some are mammoth screens that can be seen from almost anywhere in the dining room; others are small flat screens right on the tables.
Of course NASCAR cars, uniforms, helmets and other driver memorabilia are throughout the restaurant and in the museum that rings the restaurant. Also out in that ring are plenty of video games, rides and hook-a-prize machines to keep even the most antsy person in your group happily occupied.
NASCAR Sports Grille is at the intersection of U.S. 17 Bypass and 21st Avenue North, and the number is 946-RACE (7223).
$10,000 recipe
Often recipe contests sponsored by food companies exclude professional chefs and cooks, but Tabasco is having one specifically for culinary professionals and students.
Chefs, sous-chefs, lead-line cooks and culinary school students are invited to submit recipes that, “should embrace the culture of the Mediterranean coast, require simple preparation and easily found ingredients, and can be served as a day-part menu in any restaurant or non-commercial establishment. It must also incorporate one of more of the following five Tabasco Family of Flavors: Original Tabasco brand Pepper Sauce, Green Jalapeno Pepper Sauce, Garlic Pepper Sauce, Chipotle Pepper Sauce or Habanero Sauce.”
Top prizes include $10,000 for the winning chef and $2,500 for the top student recipe. Click here for a complete list of rules and an on-line entry form. The entry deadline is August 15.
July 25
Seafood City
We’re a seafood sort of town, so let’s talk about the two seafood market/restaurants we have in the Myrtle Beach city limits.
Beside U.S. 17 Bypass at 21st Avenue North we have Phillips Seafood Market, which opens daily starting at 10 a.m. It’s tucked off to the side of the bigger main Phillips Seafood restaurant that’s open for dinner.
Presiding over this market since it opened in April 2006 is Ted Hammerman, the company’s Director of Seafood Projects. You may remember Ted as Mr. Fish, because for years he had an extremely popular Myrtle Beach restaurant called Mr. Fish.
In 1998 he sold Mr. Fish and became an international fish buyer, and he started working for Phillips Seafood.
“I put Phillips in the fish business in Indonesia,” he says.
Ted’s seafood travels took him all around Indonesia, and he had adventures like shipping fresh barramundi from Java to the largest supermarket chain in Australia (which is Woolworth’s, Ted says).
But a year and a half ago Steve Phillips asked Ted to come back to Myrtle Beach and set the company up with a seafood market and café. Ted’s former devoted clientele were delighted to find him serving crab cakes, fried flounder, steamed blue crabs, Alaskan King crab legs and steamed mussels. There’s even a Clambake for Two that includes two whole Maine lobsters, a dozen clams, two dozen mussels, a pound of Snow Crab legs and a pound of steamed shrimp.
On Tuesday and Thursday nights the chef offers $1 local blue crabs, and daily lunch specials feature dishes such as Shrimp Nachos, Mahi-Que, Grilled or Blackened Swordfish and a Shrimp Philly. You can also enjoy a beer or a glass of wine.
After placing your order, notice how Ted delivers the request to the cooks. He attaches the order to a clip attached to a fish on a line, and throws the fish so it flies across the kitchen. When the cooks have the order, they throw the fish back.
Of course the restaurant menu and the fresh seafood available in the market depends on what’s fresh, but there’s a large assortment from shrimp to grouper and lots more. You can also pick up frozen Phillips Seafood like crab cakes, soups or ahi tuna, and condiments such as ponzu, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic barbecue sauce and Key Lime marmalade.
You can find out more about Phillips Seafood at www.phillipsseafood.com, and the number is 626-CRAB (2722).
New fish in town
Tim Cerullo has been in the seafood business for 30 years, but until two weeks ago that business was in West Virginia, where he owns two seafood restaurants.
“Then it dawned on me after 30 years,” he says, “that I should go somewhere where people actually go to eat seafood.”
So Tim and his son, Joe, are busy cooking at the new Fresh Seafood Company Restaurant & Market in the K-Mart shopping plaza at 1343 North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach. The specialty of the house is Alaskan Snow Cod. It’s a delicate and delectable fish that the Cerullos only serve cooked – not fresh – because it’s difficult to get the knack of handling it.
“You have to baby it,” Tim says, “but it’s delicious and worth the effort. It takes a long time to learn to fry it.”
Other restaurant items served during lunch include “Boats” filled with fish, clams, shrimp, perch, catfish or chicken with French fries and hushpuppies; Fish, Shrimp, Tuna Salad and Chicken Salad sandwiches; and Fish Plates served with fries, cole slaw and hushpuppies.
The dinner menu is extensive and lists Shrimp Cocktail, Frog Legs, Coconut Shrimp, Shrimp Scampi, Surf & Turf; many different sandwiches like Catfish or Swordfish; Fish Dinners with Grouper, Mahi-Mahi, Orange Roughy, Red Snapper, Salmon and more; Scallops; Oysters; Lobster; Dungeness Crab Legs; and Pots of Seafood with mussels, crab legs, shrimp or frog legs.
There’s also a case of fresh seafood where you can make selections to take home and cook yourself.
To place an order for a carry-out meal or to find out what fresh seafood is available, call Tim or Joe 448-9043.
July 24
Merry Margarita Day!
In honor of today being National Tequila Day, we have two special tequila cocktail recipes from local bartenders:
Pineapple Habanero Margarita
Ken Norcutt of SeaBlue, North Myrtle Beach
1 slice habanero pepper
1 1/2 ounces high-quality tequila
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
4 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce sour mix
Salt
Place in a cocktail shaker 1 slice habanero pepper. Muddle* with tequila. Add Cointreau, lime juice, pineapple juice, and sour mix. Mix and shake. Rim glass with salt and pour drink over ice.
*To “muddle” means to use a small wooden stick shaped like a baseball bat, which is called a muddler, as you would use a pestle to mash or grind ingredients.
Ginger Mint Martini
Jay Wright of Crady’s, Conway
3 sprigs fresh mint
1 slice lime
2 generous slices fresh ginger root
1 ounce Herradura Tequila Silver
1 teaspoon or 1 dash triple sec
2 ounces sweet and sour mix
1 splash orange juice
Muddle together very well in a cocktail shaker the mint, lime and ginger root. Pour on top tequila, triple sec, sweet and sour mix and orange juice. Shake very well and strain into a martini glass rimmed in salt.
Who feeds the goats?
Who does feed the goats on Goat Island, which you can see from the dining rooms at Drunken Jack’s and Capt. Dave’s Dockside Restaurant?
The answer on July 20 was Bubba Love, a long-time employee of Drunken Jack’s who has a statue of his own likeness sitting on a bench outside the restaurant.
While diners at Drunken Jack’s enjoyed Conch Fritters, Seared Sesame Encrusted Tuna, Bacon-wrapped Scallops, She-crab Soup, Shrimp Salad, and Cheese Steak Wraps, Bubba climbed in a boat, traveled the several yards to the island and spread feed for the goats and peacocks that live over there in warm weather.
When it gets cold, the animals are moved inland to a farm.
You might want to linger and keep an eye on those animals a while longer so you can have some of Drunken Jack’s Black Joke Pie. Served warm, it’s like a chocolate chip cookie stuffed with pecans, and it comes with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
Drunken Jack’s is at 4031 U.S. 17 Business in Murrells Inlet, and the number is 651-2044.
July 23
UPDATE
10 a.m.
Castleberry's Food Company has again expanded its list of grocery products and dog foods that may be contaminated by botulism to include, among many others, some Piggly Wiggly brand foods.
You can read the complete list HERE.
Four times four equals good eatin’
Oliver’s Luncheonette, just east of Conway, is just what a really great weekday working person’s Southern burger and barbecue restaurant should be: They’re frills-free and have fantastic food.
You can do the drive-through, but inside there’s plenty of room. After getting in line and placing your order at the counter there are four rows of four booths each in the dining area, and each booth comfortably seats four diners. So there are 64 seats on an old-fashion green and white tiled floor.
The day starts with breakfast where you can enjoy a sandwich like steak, ham & egg, country ham, bologna or BLT, and some hash rounds.
At lunchtime the burgers are made from beef ground on-site, and you can get them with slaw, grilled onions and/or chili if you want. Barbecue sandwiches are tasty – they make their own – and you can also order a sausage dog, pork chop sandwich, grilled chicken sandwich, double bologna sandwich and a steak sandwich.
Those sandwiches come wrapped in foil, and buns are steamed. French fries are placed in a red and white cardboard tray and slid into a small white paper bag.
If you walk in and see a long line, don’t worry. The kitchen crew hustles at peak times to make that line move fast.
Oliver’s is east of the Waccamaw River Bridge at 1301 U.S. 501 Business, and the number is 347-3602. The dining room is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and the drive-through stays open until 3 p.m.
What is WF?
Some diners may see WF on restaurant menus and wonder what it means. It stands for wheat-free, and as I reported last week the number of Myrtle Beach area patrons seeking wheat-free (sometimes referred to as gluten-free) meals is growing.
But this phenomenon isn’t limited to the Grand Strand area; it’s happening all over the United States. You can read more here.
July 22
URGENT UPDATE
6:20 a.m.
The FDA expanded its warning about the risk of botulism poisoning from certain Castleberry Food Products and Dog Food to include, among other products, Food Lion Hot Dog Chili Sauce. Please click HERE to read this update.
Lazy River
A fine summer’s day, a flowing river, a shaded deck and a Blackened Scallop Salad. Sounds like the perfect ingredients for a relaxed lunch in a historic river town.
That town would be Conway, and the restaurant is the Side-wheeler.
Before there were cars or many roads, the Waccamaw River was this area’s major highway. Boats carried goods from town to town, and sometimes paddle-wheel boats with wheels on their sides instead of on the back were used, because side-wheelers could turn around easier in narrow river necks.
Side-wheelers picked up and dropped off goods at the warehouse that is now the Side-wheeler Restaurant. The building is on the National Historic Register, and you can still see parts of the old warehouse steps leading to what would have been a loading dock. The dining room has vintage hardwood floors, and the ambiance harks back to a simpler time.
Owner/chef Michael McLaurin has done a great job matching his upscale cuisine with the sensibilities of an old-time river charm.
Lunch choices include his famous Shrimp and Grits with country ham, Andouille sausage and Monterey Jack cheese. There are Fried Green Tomatoes with Lowcountry dipping sauce; Hot Crab Dip, Waccamaw Seafood Stew with shrimp, scallops, salmon and grouper; Bacon-wrapped Scallops; Blackened Catfish Sandwich; and Fried Grouper Sandwich.
For dinner Chef McLaurin and his capable staff can prepare Blackened Catfish with Lowcountry Cream Sauce; Southern Pecan-encrusted Chicken; Mr. Chestnut’s Blackened Ribeye with Blue Cheese Sauce; Waccamaw Seafood Platter with crab cake, scallops, shrimp, flounder and oysters; and Apple Raisin Pork Tenders.
A variety of homemade cakes, including Red Velvet Cake, are offered for dessert.
The Side-wheeler is at 110 Main Street under the Main Street Bridge, and the number is 248-7048. It’s not open on Sundays, but the rest of the week the chef invites guests to join him for lunch or dinner.
Dizzy Dames
This week one of the private rooms at the Side-wheeler was used by the Dizzy Dames Red Hat Society of Conway. Several of their members are from A Place at Conway Assisted Living Center.
The Dames were having a fine time cutting up and anticipating meals from Chef Michael McLaurin’s kitchen. Although they were a group of 15, the chef was happy to let them order whatever they desired from his lunch menu.
July 21
Irish party by the sea
North Myrtle Beach is lucky to have the world’s second of two locations of Molly Darcy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant; the other one is in Danbury, Conn.
The spacious and fun eatery is located oceanfront and has a large table-filled deck overlooking the beach and ocean. People often put on their swimsuit cover-ups and head up to the deck to sit at tables under umbrellas and sip icy brews and cocktails.
Inside is also pleasant with a long bar, lots of comfy tables and a game room with a pool table, darts and video games. There’s also a large dance floor for when an evening DJ starts spinning tunes.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. Of course there is plenty of Irish fare such as Irish Smoked Salmon Plate, Dublin Fish & Chips, Bangers & Mash, Corned Beef & Cabbage and Shepherd’s Pie. The menu also lists Irishized American dishes such as Irish Bacon Cheeseburger, Whiskey Wings and Emerald Isle Steak Sandwich.
If you’re in the mood for neither American nor Irish recipes, there are Caribbean Jerk Mahi-Mahi, Pasta of the Day, Shrimp Cocktail and a Tuna Melt.
Molly Darcy’s is at 1701 S. Ocean Blvd. in North Myrtle Beach, and the number is 272-5555.
July 20
Fine wine time
The third-Tuesday-of-the-month wine dinner at City Bar had its greatest number of attendees this month when California white wines were featured. Some 40 guests filled the Myrtle Beach restaurant’s main dining room.
Certified Sommelier Paul Childress of Ben Arnold Beverage explained the characteristic of each wine, and Divine Dining Group Director of Cuisine Kurt D’Aurizio and Chef Chad Robey created dishes to complement each vintage.
Chilled Avocado and Champagne Soup had an interesting flavor, and the brie croutons were a delightful bonus. The brie was frozen and then flash-fried before being placed in the soup.
Dungeness Crab Rolls were served with bright green wasabi-flavored roe, and Almond-crusted Halibut was atop a fantastic sweet and sour demi-glace.
A trio of desserts capped the evening: Diners were served a huge and juicy glazed strawberry with a dollop of real whipped cream (Strawberry Romanov); a chocolate cream-filled cake roll (Chocolate Genoise) and Pistachio Crème Brulee.
Chef Sean Christenson, who had been executive chef at City Bar, has been relocated to Divine Dining Group’s Divine Fish House in Murrells Inlet. Reese Wesner, City Bar’s general manager, is leaving the company on Aug. 4. He is going to be a partner in a new restaurant venture called Tavern in the Carolinas which is scheduled to open in September in Carolina Forest.
Did you know…
that I sometimes add news to this site during the day after the initial day’s news has been posted?
Yup, sure do, and this is an example.
Croissants Bakery & Café at 38th Avenue North and Robert Grissom Parkway in Myrtle Beach has four performers booked from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight for their new Open Mic Friday event that launched a few weeks ago. Owner Heidi Vukov says, “It should be a fun time.”
You can have a nice glass of wine and a fruit and cheese plate while you listen, or you can choose from a whole menu of fantastic food.
July 19
Gold medal chef
I originally wrote the following article for the July 12 Summer Food & Drink issue of Weekly Surge, a fun and fresh newspaper distributed free around the Grand Strand.
Van Mixson stirred up the American culinary world in 2006 when, as a 22-year-old, he took first place at the most prestigious culinary competition in South Carolina. This year he defied the odds and dumbfounded certified chefs more than twice his age by winning the second year in a row.
Mixson is a banquet chef at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, and the competition is an Iron Chef-style battle sponsored by the local chapter of the American Culinary Federation. Every January some 50 chefs come from throughout the Southeast to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center to duke it out during the three-day event.
It’s a mystery box competition – chefs don’t know what food they’ll have available to cook with until their two-hour time slot begins – and they have to produce six identical plates containing an entrée, starch and vegetable. Three ACF-certified judges are flown in to score the competition, and contestants vie for ACF medals (gold, silver, bronze), trophies, cash and prizes.
Mixson has earned two gold medals, $2,000, a few trophies and a lot of prizes. And he doesn’t even have a culinary degree.
The young chef grew up in Brunson, a town of about 700 residents located 45 minutes west of Beaufort. He says his passion for cooking came from his grandmother, Muriel Mixson.
“Grandmamma catered,” he says. “She was always cooking…I’d always ride with her to U.S. Food to pick up the stuff she needed.”
He started attending culinary arts classes at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in 2003, but he lacks nine of the program’s business classes to qualify for graduation. Mixson has worked at The Dunes Club since soon after he moved to the Grand Strand.
Question: What went through your mind the first time you learned you won the culinary competition?
Answer: I was scared to death. When they started going through [who won] the silver medals, my name hadn’t been called yet and I was afraid I wasn’t going to get anything…I wondered what I did wrong. When they said it, that I won, my face exploded with joy. I was smiling ear to ear. It was a thrill.
Q: How about the second time you won?
A: Honestly, it was the same feeling. I have a bad habit of biting my nails, so I was chewing away. My girlfriend was about to tear up, and my parents were here this year for it. It was a real big joy.
Q: To what do you credit the back-to-back first places?
A: I have to give the passion and love for cooking to my grandmamma. And I like to cook and see the happy looks on people’s faces when they think it’s good. And I have to credit Jason Hall (executive chef at The Dunes Club until 2006). He took my passion to that next level, to make it where you can keep it simple but plate it up nice.
Q: How do you respond to local ACF members who joke that you’re some sort of culinary competition idiot savant?
A: That’s funny. I’m not offended. I think it’s cool [they] think that of me. I don’t like to be big-headed, or think ‘I’m the man.’
Q: What are you cooking for Dunes Club members this summer?
A: A lot of fresh local produce, lighter fish dishes. Not something so heavy – not a lot of stews or ragouts. Our soups are more brothy now. We like to serve Tomato Water as an appetizer, serve it cold. It’s like a shot of a nice summer day, it opens your palate. And it’s very simple to make.
Q: What’s your favorite summer food?
A: To eat, it’s watermelon because growing up in Hampton County we have a watermelon festival. I love to eat watermelon in the summer. We get it split in half, everybody grabs a fork and we go to town.
Q: Ever spike your watermelons?
A: Yeah, a couple times. We used Everclear, vodka. It’s very tasty.
Q: Do you grill at home?
A: Oh yeah, I love to do some ribs, barbecue ribs. Barbecue is kinda in my roots too. Every Thanksgiving growing up we would butcher two hogs, and we have a pit my grandfather built out of brick. We burn wood, make coals, then pretty much invite the whole town over to eat barbecue with us for Thanksgiving.
Q: Do you have any grilling tips?
A: Preseason the food overnight if you want a nice flavor, whether it’s just salt and pepper or some kind of rub seasoning.
Q: Does summer food have to be just about grilling and salads?
A: I like some nice cold soups, like gazpacho. I love gazpacho in the summer. And some light little crostini would be nice.
Q: Back to the culinary competition – do you think you’ll pull off a threepeat?
A: I want to say yeah, but I want to say no too because I don’t want to go in there big-headed. I want to be level-headed…I don’t want to go in there with my chest held high and medals around my neck. I just want to go in there and show people I can cook. It’s not all about winning.
Van Mixson’s gold medal meals:
2006: Seared Beef Au Poivre with a potato and squash hash, roasted carrots and parsnips and natural jus.
2007: Pan-seared Chicken with oyster mushrooms and potato ragout, asparagus, batonette squash and natural jus.
July 18
Talking to the people
Lunch at Sea Oats Café in the Blockade Runner Motor Inn in North Myrtle Beach is excellent, but it wasn’t until this week I finally got to try their breakfast.
Wow, is it ever special.
Owners William Neville and his mother, Carolyne Adams, outdo themselves for this meal. Every breakfast comes with a bowl of warm baked apples, and I highly recommend their Fruit Martini where kiwi, strawberries, apple slices, cantaloupe, honeydew and pineapple are served with tangy poppyseed dressing.
Three-egg omelets are fluffy on the outside and cheesy on the inside, and can come stuffed with rather incredible ingredients. The Mariner contains large fresh shrimp, jumbo lump crab meat and Monterey Jack cheese. The Steak and Cheese Omelet does not contain bite-size pieces of overcooked beef; diners are asked how they like their steak prepared, and the succulent tenderloin folded into the eggs is tender and flavorful.
You can also have Egg Benedict with Chef Neville’s famous rich Hollandaise sauce, or opt for filet mignon on the dish instead of Canadian Bacon.
The chef is known for popping out of the kitchen to make sure his guests have everything their stomachs desire. When one diner asked if he could have Crab Cake Benedict (which is not on the menu), the chef immediately said yes. Another diner who had never tried Shrimp and Grits and saw it on the lunch menu was assured she could have it for breakfast.
Other breakfast-enjoyers were having Lowcountry Biscuits and Gravy, Steak & Eggs Sea Oats, homemade chunky-style hash browns and a choice of white, wheat or rye toast.
As one family left a young girl stopped to say to William, “That was SO good!”
“That’s what keeps me going,” he said with a smile as the girl skipped out the door. “Talking to the people.”
Sea Oats Café is oceanfront at 1910 N. Ocean Blvd. in North Myrtle Beach, and the number is 946-6869.
Gluten-free guests
As more people are discovering they are allergic to wheat and/or dairy products, they’re looking for restaurants to accommodate dietary restrictions.
I know first-hand this is a growing trend. For 10 years I’ve been writing about restaurants in this area, and no one ever asked me where they could get a diet-restricted meal other than vegetarian. But now three people from three different states have contacted me within the past week to tell me they are coming to this area on vacation and are looking for restaurants that serve gluten- and dairy-free meals.
I hooked one of them up with Dino Thompson at Cagney’s (thanks, Dino), and told the other two that most restaurants are happy to accommodate special diets. Just do the restaurant owner the favor of calling ahead of time to make arrangements, and usually the chef can suggest dishes or adjust the recipe to fit individual needs.
Any chefs out there thinking about putting a couple of gluten-free dishes on their menus can click here and check out the cookbook review page on this site, where there is information about and a recipe from “Gluten-Free Quick & Easy,” by Carol Fenster, Ph.D.
July 17
Summer socials
Starting today, and every Tuesday thereafter from 5 to 7 p.m., Salters and Woofie McClary invite folks to “Put away your Blackberry and lounge with us at Frank’s for an hour or two.”
During these Summer Socials, Ketel Citron Vodka Cosmopolitans and other Ketel One Vodka drinks cost $5, and Valley of the Moon Chardonnay wine is $4 per glass.
Diners also receive 20 percent off dishes on the new Bar Bites Menu. A few selections include Chilled Barbecue Pork Tenderloin with sesame soba noodles and barbecue drizzle; Chilled Jumbo Lump Crab Salad with fresh mango, scallions and cilantro mango vinaigrette; and Pepper Encrusted Seared Rare Chilled Beef Tenderloin with blue cheese, toasted pecans and crostini.
All this takes place at the new Courtyard at Frank’s, a relaxing haven under live oaks in Pawleys Island.
Hazard pay
Some people have jobs other people consider hazardous. Take Keith DeCaro, for example. He is a server at Capt. Dave’s Dockside Restaurant in Murrells Inlet.
But that’s not his dangerous job, although diners can get cranky if the kitchen runs out of grouper.
Keith’s other job is providing security during the spring and fall Harley-Davidson bike rallies at Suck, Bang, Blow, which is a local biker bar. While he is waiting tables Keith looks clean-cut and wears a spotless classic white server’s jacket. As a bouncer Keith dons a helmet adorned with horns and a long horse’s tail and looks intimidating.
But he doesn’t feel it’s a dangerous job – he thinks it’s fun.
So the waiter was surprised when a friend said he saw Keith on the Discovery Channel’s program called “Hazard Pay.” On that show host Curt Dousset “takes his chances with some of the world’s riskiest paychecks.”
Dousset came to Myrtle Beach to be a bouncer during bike week, and the show aired for the first time on May 23. If anyone happened to tape it please contact Keith, because he missed the show.
July 16
Fish Fry Fridays
Anthony’s Pizza & Pan Pasta is a well-liked neighborhood restaurant with a lot going on. Their pizza with its crunchy crust has been a hit since they opened several years ago, and their customized pan pasta is already legendary.
Anthony’s new menu items include Lasagna, Cheese Ravioli, a family-size Stromboli, Turkey Club sandwich and a BLT; and new beers are Widmer and Bass. On Friday nights there’s an all-you-care-to-eat fish fry, and on Tuesdays starting at 7:30 p.m. they host Team Trivia.
Diners can sit inside or outside and enjoy subs, salads, wings, calzones and bruschetta, or food can be ordered for take-out or delivery.
Anthony’s is at the corner of U.S. 17 Bypass and Glenns Bay Road in the Surfside Beach area, and the number is 215-5444.
Red beans and beignets
The Brown Pelican on Front Street in Georgetown does a brisk lunch trade seven days a week. Owners Lesley and Paul Robert have secured a loyal local customer base, and visitors strolling the historic waterfront also pour in to enjoy a respite from the heat.
The menu is casual with upscale twists. The fried seafood baskets are popular and include choices of shrimp, oysters and catfish that are served with fries, cole slaw, remoulade and cocktail sauce. That same seafood can also come on a Po’ Boy.
You can build a custom salad with a choice of tomatoes, cucumbers, Cheddar cheese, red onion, eggs, bell peppers, croutons, grilled chicken, fried shrimp or boiled shrimp. Sandwiches include foot-long hot dogs, marinated chicken and burgers.
Georgetown was founded in part by a large Huguenot population, so French and Lowcountry influences made up the special entrée selections like Pasta Jambalaya, Crawfish Etouffee, Creole Gumbo, Shrimp and Grits, and Red Beans and Rice.
One of the Roberts’ most well-known items is their beignets, which are light and puffy doughnut pastries dusted in powdered sugar. They come three to an order, so you and your dining companions can share without (much) guilt.
Brown Pelican is also open for dinner from 5-9 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. It’s at 716 Front Street by the old theater and across from the Rice Museum clock tower, and the number is 545-9040.
July 15, 2007
A sandwich you can’t refuse
Guido’s Getaway may be a bit more bar than restaurant, but they have food that brings in wise customers who know the difference between lasagna and lasagna.
Owners Tom and Denise Guido and Anthony Piraino are originally from New Jersey, and for the past two years they’ve been in North Myrtle Beach serving Italian food and Jersey specialties like cheesesteaks and pork rolls.
“And they’re not frozen, they’re homemade,” Denise Guido says.
Italian specialties include Bruschetta, Asparagus Rollitini, Caprese, Pasta Fagioli, Antipasti Salad, Veal Picatta, Shrimp Scampi, Angel Hair Pasta with red or white clam sauce and Eggplant Parmesan.
Guido’s also has Roast Pork with broccoli rabe or spinach, Italian Hoagie, Sausage Sandwich with peppers and onion and an Italian Hot Dog with peppers and potatoes on a torpedo roll.
Many locals have their favorites, and Denise says, “Certain people come back every week and get same exact thing.”
Guido’s Getaway is at 3303 U.S. 17 S. in North Myrtle Beach, and the number is 361-2400. They’re open every day starting at 11 a.m.
Review and a recipe
“Grilling” is a new cookbook from The Culinary Institute of America. Click the book’s cover, and you’ll also get a review and a recipe for Skewered Beef Fillet with chimichurri sauce.
July 14, 2007
Encouraging new ideas
Toffino’s Italian Deli & Bakery owner, Phil Pecora, says his son, Topher Pecora, came up with the idea to offer breakfast. So the dad put his recent Socastee High School grad in charge of the meal served from 8 to 11 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
Topher’s breakfast menu includes three-egg omelets served with home fries and toast for $6.29 to $6.45. There are the Western Omelet with ham, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and cheese; Pizza Omelet with pepperoni, pizza sauce and cheese; Veggie with onions, mushrooms, peppers, black olives, tomatoes and cheese; Meat-lovers with sausage, bacon, ham and cheese; Sausage & Cheese; Ham & Cheese; and Bacon & Cheese.
Breakfast sandwiches are served on a toasted Kaiser roll, and possible sandwich fillings include bacon, egg, cheese, sausage and ham. Coffee and juice are available as well as cappuccino, espresso and iced cappuccino.
As always, Toffino’s breakfast pastries are baked fresh every morning along with many types of delicious breads, cookies and other sweets.
The restaurant has another new treat that will be available as long as the summer heat lasts: Italian Ices. They’re made from an original recipe, and contain real fruit.
And of course you can get great food for lunch and dinner until 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays such as pizza, hoagies, sandwiches and salads.
Toffino’s is at 880 Farrow Parkway, which is the main road going through the former U.S. Air Force base in Myrtle Beach. The number is 477-1598.
Culinary team building
Sometimes employees need encouragement to feel like a cohesive team. Horry-Georgetown Technical College has a hot new team-building concept to promote creativity, communication and cooperation through cooking.
Each Culinary Team Building Course is tailored to companies’ individual needs. During the seminar a gourmet meal is prepared by the group while supervised by professional chef instructors.
Call 477-0808 to get more information or to schedule an event.
July 13, 2007
Kick-ass service
Tim Head, chef production manager at Hard Rock Park, was hard at work Wednesday developing and testing recipes for some of the park’s dozen food outlets. |