 
Fish Head Stew Gullah Cuisine Made with the meat picked from fresh grouper heads, this spicy stew of tomatoes, okra, cayenne peppers, and bay leaves puts a cup of ordinary Louisiana gumbo to shame. Fish Head Stew is just one of owner Charlotte Jenkins’ many family recipes, and at the lunch buffet you can have your fill of this stew and her amazing fried chicken for less than ten bucks. 843-881-9076 Shad Roe with Grits Hominy Grill In Charleston, it is often easier to find a plate of shrimp and grits than a parking space. For a more daring take on this traditional dish, try chef Robert Stehling’s shad roe sautéed with crumbled bacon, mushrooms, scallions, and a dash of lemon (available late February to late April). Served over stone-ground grits, the three ounces of fine-grained roe burst with a mild sea essence. 843-937-0930 Fried Shrimp The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene Hidden between the shrimp boats at the mouth of Shem Creek, the Wreck serves some of the freshest, sweetest shrimp in the city. This thin-skinned delicacy comes straight off the boats at the Wando Shrimp Company next door, which freezes local shrimp for the Wreck’s “still-better-than-imported” off-season platters. The half- or quarter-pound platters, with shrimp fried with ultra-light breading, come straight to the table on paper plates, with sides of red rice, coleslaw, hush puppies, and a fried grit cake. With no frills and no hurry to finish, you can enjoy the view from the huge back porch until it’s too dark to see. 843-884-0052 Pan-Fried Quail Breast S.N.O.B. (Slightly North of Broad) If you are hunting for a tasty dinner, follow your bird dog directly to Slightly North of Broad, where chef Frank Lee serves a mean pan-fried quail over cheese grits with port wine reduction. Seared brown in a seasoned pan, the breasts are tender enough to be cut with a fork and taste a heck of a lot better than yard bird. Lee is the godfather of the Slow Food movement in Charleston, buying and serving locally grown products long before it became fashionable. Let’s hope this dish at S.N.O.B. has a long hunting season. 843-723-3424 Jumbo Carolina Flounder with Littleneck Clams FIG (Food Is Good) Chef Mike Lata sets the standard in Charleston for what’s possible when building an entire menu around fresh and local ingredients. His unlikely pairing of North Carolina jumbo flounder and local littleneck clams from the Folly River allows these denizens of the marsh to socialize together in a pleasantly muddied broth of white wine and clam juice. New potatoes and leeks from Wadmalaw Island only add to the festivities. 843-805-5900 Stewed Cabbage Martha Lou’s Kitchen For twenty-five years, Martha Lou Gadsden has served lunch and dinner from this pink cinder-block hut by the railroad tracks. Her fans include neighborhood families, longshoremen, and Charleston’s award-winning food writers Matt and Ted Lee. With eight dinner plates and twenty-six sides to choose from, there are plenty of tempting options, but the stewed cabbage with ham hock and red pepper makes you realize there’s more to life than collards. 843-577-9583 Stone Crab Claws Hank’s Seafood Restaurant Even most locals don’t know that stone crab claws from the inlets around Charleston Harbor rival their Florida cousins. Each week during the brief local seasons (March and April; September, October, and November) Raul’s Seafood on Shem Creek hauls in around fifty pounds of claws, delivering the armor-plated appetizers to the restaurant the same day they are caught. Chef Frank McMahon keeps the fresh claws at room temperature until ready to boil so the sweet, briny flesh doesn’t stick to the shell. You can pick the claws clean before the drawn butter cools. 843-723-FISH Milk-Fed Caw Caw Creek Pork with Otto File Polenta and Turnips McCrady’s The intensity of thirty-year-old chef Sean Brock is conveyed in his dynamic approach to fresh and local cooking, whether he’s growing his own vegetables on Wadmalaw Island or tracking down milk-fed hogs from Caw Caw Creek. The amazingly rich pork from pasture-raised pigs, served with Anson Mills polenta made from heirloom Otto File corn and Brock’s hand-grown turnips, reminds you how good it is to be home. 843-577-0025 Roasted Oysters Bowens Island Restaurant Almost all the way to Folly Beach, this third-generation seafood restaurant is celebrated as much for its legendary graffiti and rustic charm as for its oyster dinners. Order one tray of oysters or all you can eat, grab an oyster knife and glove, and take a seat at a plywood table overlooking Folly Creek. For more than sixty years, the restaurant has picked its delicious clusters from the many oyster beds within view of the island. It also serves a mean fried shrimp and fish platter. Recognized for distinction by the James Beard Foundation and Southern Foodways Alliance, Bowens Island is one of the last of its kind in the Lowcountry. 843-795-2757 Frutti di Bosco Sorbet Gelateria Modica Nothing provides a better tribute to the diverse cultural influences in Charleston than a cup of Frutti di Bosco sorbet made from fresh local strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries from cooler parts of the state. Like some of the best dishes from this city, the complex flavors of this vivid dessert are a result of the recipe’s simplicity. 843-723-8868 |
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