MyrtleBeachRestaurantNews.com

What’s to EAT?

On Monday night Hard Rock Park’s executive chef, Tim Head, spoke to members of the Myrtle Beach chapter of the American Culinary Federation about the park’s new Alice’s Restaurant, and brought copies of the menu. So here’s what’s to eat:

Jesse Bell, right, is the new executive sous-chef at Hard Rock Park. Here he talks with Lee Zulanch, owner of Benjamin's Bakery, about bread pudding. The men were at the May 5 meeting of the American Culinary Federation held at House of Blues.

New executive sous-chef

Chef Tim Head brought along a new hire to Monday night’s ACF meeting. Jesse Bell is the park’s new executive sous-chef, and he seems to be an extremely capable chef. At the least he is gregarious, friendly and helpful, and says he looks forward to being a part of the local culinary community.

Jesse hails from Spartanburg, S.C., and says he and Chef Head, “want to produce menus indigenous to this part of the country. We want [park visitors] to taste South Carolina, experience South Carolina.”

Although the park is not up to full operating capacity, they’re already smoking 600 pounds of ribs at a time, and 400-pound batches of smoked chicken are being turned out. They have the capacity to produce 4,000 meals per hour.

Dock Holiday’s out, Pete’s in

Dock Holiday’s, in North Myrtle Beach by Vereen’s Marina (behind Hooter’s) was sold, and it is going to reopen as Pete’s Landing. A friend tells us it, “is going to be a casual dining ‘beach bar’ type restaurant. The menu prices will be in the mid-price tier, and they plan to have a 40 bottle wine list with several very nice premium glass pours. The owner’s name is Peter Witt. He was [formerly] the food and beverage manager at the Bald Head Island Club.”

Cast iron teapot

Pampered paradise

You ladies out there (and some of you men), imagine a paradise where handsome gentlemen in $120 shirts cater to your every whim. They bring you delicious dishes to eat, and rush to have the privilege of bringing you a luscious tropical beverage.

Their standard answers to your requests are, “No problem,” and “Right away, ma’am.”

Nope, this is not the Chippendale side of The Master’s Club. Our G-rated version of pampered paradise is Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café, which opened this week at The Market Common in Myrtle Beach.

This is the 12th TBTC in the growing chain, and it is next to a Tommy Bahama clothing store.

Our ladies’ luncheon was relaxing and fun, and we enjoyed amenities such as a frosty-cold cooler for our liter of sparkling water, a sturdy little black cast iron teapot for steeping our cuppa, and the extremely friendly and helpful attitude from the staff.

Big Island Goat Cheese

Our meal was wonderful. We shared Big Island Goat Cheese, which is a generously sized disc of warm goat cheese crusted in macadamia nuts served with small-dice mango salsa, and a sweet soy drizzle. Crispy flatbread – like crackers – was provided to spread the cheese on.

For our entrees we tried Chicken Salad Junkanoo, which was gorgeously presented and deftly flavored with celery, onion, corn, scallions, mayo and lime juice.

The Habana Cabana Pork Sandwich was a barbecue version of today’s popular Cuban sandwiches. It was served on a chewy and dense toasted yeast roll and topped with crispy-fried onion strings, and the meat was flavored with blackberry brandy barbecue sauce. The Asian Slaw served with it is not sweet, and it is barely dressed with a savory drizzle. The slaw picked up an extra crunchy texture from crispy Asian noodles.

Trinidad Tuna is perfect bite-size slices of rare seared Ahi Tuna, “seasoned with sweet chili mustard sauce and cilantro oil drizzle.” It’s served with sautéed baby bok choy and shiitake mushrooms.

Pineapple Upside Down Vanilla Cheesecake

For dessert we shared Pineapple Upside Down Vanilla Cheesecake, and it was as creamy and sweetly irresistible as it sounds and looks.

During future visits we want to try Tommy’s World Famous Coconut Shrimp; Crab Calloway, which are “griddled crab cakes with a light coconut crust”; South Seas Scallop Sliders; Cooper Island Crab Bisque; St. Bart’s Shrimp BLT; Shoal Bay Snapper; Whipped Bayou Sweet Potatoes; and Blackbeard’s Butterscotch, which is rich butterscotch pudding garnished with chocolate ganache, caramel sauce and whipped cream.

Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café and Emporium is at 3044 Howard Avenue at The Market Common, and the number is 839-1868. If the weather is nice, definitely opt to sit outside on the patio.

A lady’s garden

Once upon a time in an independent county far, far away from flatland heat and gumbo clay, there was a sandy little herb garden. A beautiful lady lived in it, and she was proud to stand tall over oregano and rosemary, parsley and thyme. She also generously allowed in a few vegetables – she loved the scent of sweet grape tomatoes – and happily enjoyed a few bright flowers among the herbs.

But then winter came, and many of her beautiful growing friends died. Some survived: The hardy rosemary bush protected her back, jolly chives still jauntily waved in the breeze and oregano hugged the ground when cold winds blew. But one by one, the rest of her little garden family wilted and shriveled.

At her feet lay brown pine needles and a fire ant pile.

Cold wind did not bother the lady but the sun felt nice when it fell on her face. After a few months she noticed the wind shifting, and the sun felt warmer than usual. A gardener appeared and raked away the pine needles and treated the ant mound. The next day the gardener shoveled up the dirt, and then hoed the clods until fresh loamy soil drifted across the lady’s bare toes.

Warm rain washed her toes clean. The lady was glad of the spring cleaning, but she felt the garden was too bare. Before that thought could take root the gardener appeared once again, this time with bagsful of tiny herb plants, and a man with a hoe.

“You wouldn’t believe the place where I got these herbs!” the lady overheard the gardener tell her mate. “It was Inlet Culinary Garden, on the frontage road by Lee’s Farmers Market on 17 Bypass in Murrells Inlet. They had row after row after row of every herb I’ve ever heard of, and a lot more I’d never seen before in my life. They even had orange trees with oranges hanging off them. And look at these cast iron planters I can hang by our front door.”

The mate agreed the herbs and the planters were beautiful, and soon the couple had the little garden filled up. When she was alone again, the lady surveyed her new spring family.

There was Santolina Gray, which the gardener could put in her drawers and closets to ward off moths. Two kinds of tiny thyme – English Miniature and Creeping – had pink impatiens and begonias near them. Bare patches hid new plantings of carrot and green bean seeds, and a little hill by the rosemary bush would soon sprout cucumbers. A grape tomato plant was still small, but the lady could close her eyes and imagine the aroma of its sweet earthy fruit. Behind her were basil, dill and parsley.

The gardener also planted a surprise. The lady didn’t know it, but soon she would be cloaked in a spray of wildflowers.

Inlet Culinary Garden is at 5071 U.S. 17 Bypass, and the number is 357-1194.