Stars Rooftop and Grill Room

Another newcomer to Upper King is Stars Grill Room and Rooftop Bar.  Offering a large first floor dining room, second floor function rooms and a rooftop bar, Stars has a little something for everyone.  The dining room is paneled in walnut, with high ceilings and a handcrafted walnut bar.  Stars serves not only craft beer and cocktails, but sixteen types of wine, on tap.  They will even make you a mocktail, with fresh fruit juices.
As it was barely over 30 degrees on the evening we dined there, we did not venture up to the rooftop bar, but many others did.  We arrived at 5:45pm and had our pick of tables and seats at the bar, but within an hour, the entire restaurant was full, with folks waiting to be seated….so go early for a quiet dinner, or after 7pm for a large, fun crowd.

Our choices for appetizers were the Oysters Bull's Bay and the Sweet Potato Bisque.  The oysters, served in the shell over wet salt, were baked with spinach, asiago cheese, garlic and brandy.  The flavors were blended in such a subtle way that each ingredient was tasted, but did not overpower.
The Sweet Potato Bisque, garnished with three sage-flavored marshmallows, chopped pecans and a swirl of cream fraiche, was smooth and savory.

For my main course, our server, Cory, suggested the Pan Seared Diver Scallop "Chowder", which was a deconstructed fish chowder.  My dining partner chose the Stars Grill Room Steak.
My scallops were cooked at 750 degrees, which gave them a crispy outside and a soft inside; a nice combination of textures.  They were served with sauteed mussells and roasted root vegetables, accented by a mild, sweet onion bisque.
The steak was an Angus beef shoulder tenderloin, thin sliced and so tender that you could cut it with a fork.  It was served with black truffle grits and braised mushrooms.

Our desserts, Smoked Chocolate S'mores Pie and Charleston Pluff Mud Pudding, were generously sized and delicious.  The pie was topped with a warm meringue; the cookie crust was flaky and quite good.
The pudding, a milk chocolate mousse, was topped with dark chocolate ganache, pecan toffee bark and salted caramel sauce.  The toffee was firm, buttery and crunchy; a great addition to the dish.

The meal was ably prepared, the service prompt and friendly (Thank you, Cory!) and the atmosphere lively. On our next visit to Stars, we will visit the rooftop bar and perhaps try a few of the small plate items - the bacon tator tots and the mushroom bruschetta looked very good. 
Our only suggestions for Stars would be to offer bread or rolls with dinner and cream, rather than milk, with the after dinner coffees.

High Cotton, Charleston, SC
It's Charleston Restaurant Week, one of my favorite culinary events in Charleston.  To me, Restaurant Week is not about price deals, although it does offer prix fixe menus for either $20, $30 or $40 per diner.  It's about trying new dining venues, or revisiting ones you've neglected lately, to taste what they specialize in and check out their service and atmosphere. 

My first Restaurant Week choice was a revisit to High Cotton, on East Bay St.
I attended a special 3 course tasting, with wine pairings, sponsored by The Post and Courier.  The dinner celebrated the newspaper's redesigned Food Section, which debuts on January 29th.  The guest speaker was Hanna Raskin, food writer and critic for The Post and Courier.  
Interesting and informative talks were given by Joe Palma, head chef at High Cotton, Jill Maynard, General Manager and Maverick Kitchen's Beverage Manager, Tony Norton.  All were gracious and well versed in their fields.

The meal consisted of an appetizer, main course and dessert.  The first course, Foie Gras Torchon, was a chilled foie gras, prepared by wrapping it in a towel, poaching it, then rubbing it with coffee, cocoa nubs and powdered sugar.  The foie gras had a smooth, creamy texture and a smokey flavor that paired well with the lightly pickled grapes and white turnip slices that garnished it. Spread on pieces of a warm orange craquelin (brioche, cooked with a sugar cube inside…what could be better?), it was my favorite part of the meal.  The wine pairing was Karl Erbes Riesling Spatlese, from the Urzig wine region of Germany, on the banks of the Mosel River.  This sweet riesling is made from light-skinned grapes which are considered by many to be the world's finest white grapes.
The main course, Rabbit Haunch, was served with Charleston Gold rice and Sea Island pea pirlou (a Lowcountry version of rice pilaf), pickled mustard caviar and a grenache reduction sauce.  Two perfectly cooked, cumin glazed baby carrots shared the plate with the rabbit.  Each bite of the tender rabbit, prepared in duck fat, chilled, quick roasted  and then oven warmed, was complimented by a swirl of grenache reduction sauce.  ( I do love a good wine reduction!)  The pirlou was thick and loaded with field peas, which gave it a pleasant, nutty flavor.  The wine pairing was a Silvio Grasso Barbera D'Alba red wine, with medium acidity, a perfect match to the woodsy flavor of the rabbit.
For dessert, Chef Joe prepared a Talisker Scotch Whisky Butterscotch Pudding.  
Garnished with cinnamon whipped cream and a piece of caramel sugar glass (which was a bit too thick to break apart with your spoon), the pudding was a perfect match of sweet and salty, with a hint of smokiness from the peat distilled Talisker and smoked sea salt.  A glass of Ferriera Tawny Port, a sweet oakwood-aged dessert wine, completed the meal.

Served in High Cotton's large, main dining room, by a friendly and helpful wait staff, with a view of the kitchen, the meal was definitely a four star event.
I recommend a visit to High Cotton for those with an adventurous palate and a love of local meat, grains and produce.  I will certainly be returning there soon!

Don't let the renovations and construction in progress at the Mills House Hotel deter you.  Their lovely restaurant, the Barbadoes Room, is still open.  I dined there for lunch yesterday, and it is still a quiet, plush oasis from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.  I stopped by for a break from shopping and a museum visit (The Gibbs has a fabulous exhibit of Civil War photography, but more on that at mavierecommence.blogspot later today).

The Barbadoes Room, at the Mills House, located on the corner of Meeting and Queen, serves the local  lunch crowd from the Four Corners to the Market, and tourists lucky enough to discover this comfy little gem.  I ordered my "usual", She Crab Soup with sherried cream.  It is, far and away, the best she-crab soup in Charleston.  Creamy, rich and redolent with sherry, it is served with two corn muffins and creamy butter.  The corn muffins are sweet, moist and perfect crumbled into the soup.  I ate and enjoyed every bite.  The price is right, too.  Where else can you fill up on the finest Lowcountry soup for just $8.00, including tax??

The only disappointing note to my luncheon was the fact that The Barbadoes Room no longer serves their wonderful peach iced tea.  Why?  I have no idea, but perhaps if we ask them nicely, they will bring it back!

     I freely admit it.  I was 56 years old before I tasted a Vietnamese sandwich.  If I were you, I would not wait that long.  Bon Banh Mi, on Spring St., will open a whole new world of sandwiches to you, without emptying your pocketbook.  This tiny little restaurant offers big, big flavors and a creative way to make your own Vietnamese sandwich dream.
     First, you pick the vehicle for your fillings, either a crispy-outside, soft-inside sub roll, a taco, or a salad.  Then the fillings, seven choices of protein.  I tried the ginger lemongrass chicken and th five spice pork.  The "fixins" that cradle the protein are:  cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon radish, cilantro, holy basil and crispy shallots….postscript: YUM.  If you choose the salad option, add lettuce, cabbage and tomatoes to the list.
     The ginger lemongrass chicken was lightly flavored and nicely complemented by the fixins, but my favorite was the five spice pork.  Packed into the sub roll, surrounded by crispy fixins, the pork was shredded, savory and tender- a slight mystery for my palate, but so delicious that I stopped trying to figure out what the five seasoning spices were and just enjoyed the ride!
     Bon Banh Mi offers free delivery on the peninsula, pick-up yourself  or eat-in, with limited seating at the lunch counter along the front windows.  We ate-in, and enjoyed observing the world go by on busy Spring St.  Parking is available on the street and in four spaces behind the restaurant. ( As I am "parking challenged", I had a bit of a hard time turning my car around out back.  A BIG shout-out to the nice construction worker who helped me point my car in the right direction! )
     Bon Banh Mi, a great sandwich destination and revelation…try it soon.
                                                                  162 Spring Street
                                                                      843-414-7320

holla@bonbanhmi.com     

     

Pie...who doesn't like pie??  This delicious pie is from P.I.E. (Paige's Incredible Edibles) Bake Shoppe at 5 Warren Street.
On a recent cool, fall day, I stopped by P.I.E. for a quick lunch, and was pleasantly surprised by the long list of sandwiches available.
     My dining partner ordered a turkey and cranberry chutney sandwich (house-made chutney- delicious!).   It was a tasty stack of turkey on fresh bread, pleasantly accented by a generous layer of whole cranberry chutney and mayo.  It comes with provolone, spinach and tomato as well, but the staff kindly honored our request for a relatively streamlined sandwich- many thanks for that.
     I ordered their featured soup, Spiced Pumpkin.  It was creamy, rich and flavorful, with soft bits of onion and a slight red pepper zing...just the way I like it!  Their soup can be ordered either by the cup or bowl.  I ordered the bowl, and the portion was generous.
     Many patrons ordered to-go at the baked goods counter, but we chose to eat in their tiny but comfortable dining room.  I knew I'd found a new lunch home when I saw a well-used copy of my favorite cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, on the shelf over our table.  The dining room had the nostalgic feel of your grandmother's kitchen with modern touches.
     P.I.E is a small establishment that offers big taste.  I highly recommend it.

CAFE FORK

2408 Ashley River Rd.

Fine Gourmet Cafe and Catering

Cafe is Open M-F lunch, 11am-2pm

To all of you who drive down Ashley River Rd. daily, and have wondered about Cafe Fork, you need wonder no longer.  Cafe Fork is a little jewel-box treasure, decorated in Tiffany blue and white, with French Country style furnishings- elegent yet comfortable.  The staff is friendly and helpful, explaining the many choices on the menu and making excellent suggestions when you are unsure about which amazing dish to choose for lunch.  The portions are generous, and as they are simply scrumptious, you are thankful for that!
We ordered a lunch special, Crispy Shrimp with Thai Peanut Sauce and the Sugar Magnolia Chicken Salad sandwich.  The Crispy Shrimp dish was made with plenty of plump shrimp, served over black rice cakes.  The black rice had a moist, nutty flavor and the Thai sauce was thick and just spicy enough.  Sauteed green beans and a crispy potato stick garnish were the perfect accent to the dish.  
The Sugar Magnolia chicken salad was made with red grapes and candied pecans, served on a very fresh croissant, along with a thick tomato slice and crispy lettuce.  It was the best chicken salad sandwich I have ever eaten, and the fact that it was surrounded by a duet of french fried potatoes and sweet potato fries certainly didn't hurt.  A dish of delectable sweet cucumber pickles is also served with most of their sandwiches.
Other offerings that looked very good were the Lowcountry Crab Cake Benedict, which was served with  both corn fritters and crab cakes and the Southern BLT, made with pimento cheese and fried green tomatoes.  But those are for another day, another lunch!  
If you save room, their desserts also look fabulous.  A triple chocolate cake on a pedestal server, perched on the counter by our table, was calling my name, but alas, I was just too full!  Next time, though.....

Having always loved the novels of and revered the work of Willa Cather, I was delighted to discover that Ms. Cather's short stories are just as good as her novels.  I have spent the summer swimming in the deep pool of Willa Cather's thoughts and characters by reading The Willa Cather Collection simultaneaously with The Selected Letters of Willa Cather.  It is thrilling to read about her creative method as she wrote The Song of the Lark while reading the novel.  Ms. Cather commented that she deeply missed the characters in that work when her writing was completed, just as we, as readers, miss them when finishing her book.  Comparisons are made between the main character, Thea, and the actual operatic talent of the early 20th century, Olive Fremstad, who was a friend of Cather.
I have now turned my summer reading theme into my autumn theme, with fall arriving tomorrow, and will revel in her characterizations and midwest scenery until the cold weather comes, and beyond, I expect.  I originally purchased 40 Classic Works to read only W. Cather's short stories, but I will now re-read all of the included novels as well.  This book is a gem!