GOING WHOLE HOG AT PALMETTO BLUFF'S 

MUSIC TO YOUR MOUTH

Rodney Scott hardly slept a wink at Palmetto Bluff’s sixth helping of the Music to Your Mouth foodie festival this past November—at least not on Thursday night. That’s because he was cooking up an entire hog for Music to Your Mouth. Scott and many other chefs and attendees were also going whole hog for three or more days and nights of tasty Lowcountry food, beverages, and music on the banks of the May River.

“It’s like a big family reunion in your own little world,” says Scott, who runs Scott’s Bar-B-Que in the South Carolina crossroads town of Hemingway for his day—and night—job.

Scott was preparing a Fatback Pork Project mixed breed pig (Mangalista and Berkshire) to be served at Friday night’s riverfront Potlikker Block Party. He was joined by a long list of other southern chef luminaries that have made Music to Your Mouth a word-of-mouth favorite in chef circles.

Originally published in the Charleston Post & Courier

COUNTER CULTURE:

5 Diverse Diners Dish it Up South Carolina Style

Like a fried egg sliding easily out of a pan, it’s hard to pin down a single definition of a diner. In South Carolina, a diner can be served up in many sizes, styles, and menus — but they definitely all share tasty food, interesting interiors, and southern hospitality. We’ve found five across the state that make dining in South Carolina a diner affair. So, please pass the grits!

Originally published in the Official Vacation Guide for South Carolina

10 SOUTHERN FESTIVALS YOU NEED TO TASTE

Food and wine festivals in the Southeast are hotter than a cast iron skillet full of corn bread. “We are witnessing a proliferation of festivals in the South and across the nation,” says John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance in Oxford, Miss.

Of southern-specific festivals, Atlanta chef Kevin Gillespie says, “The food and wine festivals in the South give a rare opportunity to witness what we’re all about.”

Each weekend has its own flavor, but all of them have key ingredients that typically include a “grand tasting” with tapas-like tastes of food and beverages, special multi-course restaurant dinners (often with visiting guest chefs), seminars and tastings, and charity fund-raising through ticket sales. Events often sell out quickly, making packages that include accommodations and tickets—often including “sold out” events—popular and well-priced.

Here are ten top personally experienced and recommended food and wine festivals in the region. They are arranged chronologically for 2013:

Originally published in Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Reprinted in Orlando Sentinel, Toronto Star, Louisville Courier-Journal, and Kansas City Star

CAROLINA FOOD & WINE FESTIVALS

Food and wine festivals in the Carolinas are hotter than a fried egg on asphalt and the choices are better than ever from the coast to the mountains. With record-setting attendance at events throughout both states, it's obvious that professional chefs, wine experts, and thousands of foodies and festival attendees can stand the heat in the kitchen-as well as keeping their cool in the cellar.

The four-day BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival each spring is the most-attended food and wine festival in the Carolinas for good reason. "The Festival will celebrate its eighth year February 28 to March 3, 2013," says executive director Angel Passailaigue Postell. "Charleston is a natural fit for a food and wine festival since it has an incredible local food and restaurant scene."

Originally published in AAA Carolinas

ORDER UP

From the Lowcountry to the Upstate, South Carolina features farmers, ingredients, restaurants, and chefs that define farm-to-table fare. From centuries-old farms straight to ever-changing modern menus, South Carolina's long-time signature foods--with occasional twists--are better than ever. Just ask a chef.

Shaun Garcia, Soby's, Greenville
Opened downtown in 1997, Soby's started a tasty dining revolution in Greenville. South Carolina native Shaun Garcia's been there since 2003, continuing the tradition of creative southern fare at Soby's and back at his mother's kitchen and grandmother's restaurant near Spartanburg.

Garcia says his two favorite South Carolina ingredients are corn and tomatoes. "You can use them in so many ways," he adds, mentioning fresh creamed corn, cornmeal dredge, grits, spoonbread, and raw, stewed, smoked, and sliced tomatoes.

Originally published in DiscoverSouthCarolina.com

ASHEVILLE: WELCOME TO FOODTOPIA

The marketing folks in the charming North Carolina mountain town of Asheville call it 'Foodtopia' for good reason. Though the term 'farm to table' has been overused of late, Asheville has been a farm to fork kind of town for decades--with creative chefs working with local farmers to serve up some seriously tasty food to locals and lucky visitors alike.

Asheville also has a plethora of tailgate farmers markets, thanks to 17 active farmers markets that cater to home cooks and 250+ independent restaurants. Many chefs--and visitors who wisely bring coolers--take advantage of the teeming tailgate markets, which have deep roots throughout the Asheville area. Plus, thanks to world-class microbreweries belying the city's size (they'll likely have a 12-pack of them soon), Asheville has more recently become known as 'Brewtopia' as well.

But Asheville's good life ethos goes way beyond locavore restaurant menus and beer lists. From the still-grand Biltmore and Grove Park Inn to the great outdoors and so much more, visitors quickly learn to eat and live like locals.

Originally published in AAA Carolinas Go Magazine

MOUNTAIN OASIS

Before most people knew what farm to table meant, Asheville's creative chefs were partnering with local farmers to serve up innovative cuisine, earning it a reputation as a true "foodtopia." Many chefs, locals, and visitors know this mountain town as "Veggieville", as people will often pass on the pork barbecue for some tasty tempeh smothered in fresh organic tomato sauce--topped with Southern-style slaw, of course. With great outdoor activities, the historic Biltmore estate, and more microbreweries per capita in North Carolina than any other state, Asheville is more than just a foodie's paradise. The music scene in downtown Asheville is hot with a multitude of concert venues and outdoor summer music festivals, as well as a thriving arts culture and mountain crafters. Whatever your interests--hiking, lounging, eating, or drinking--Asheville has it all.

Originally published in VegNews

DUFFY STREET SEAFOOD SHACK

A Trio of Tasty Myrtle Beach Seafood Meccas

We live two blocks from the ocean on a little creek that's teeming with crabs, oysters, and fish, so we love food seafood. After a recent visit to their North Kings Highway location, we now love Myrtle Beach’s Duffy Street Seafood Shack--and we'll most definitely be heading back to all three locations.

You have to love a place that has front porch seating with two sinks flanking the front door--eating seafood can get messy. They set the tone for a casual and colorful experience wherever you sit (or wash your hands).

Originally published in DishKebab 

GREENVILLE

Big flavors in a small Southern town

In less than 25 years, the Greenville, South Carolina dining scene has gone from downtrodden to sparkling. Nationally recognized revitalization efforts have brought Main Street and environs back from the dead, with weekly summer concerts, a 32-acre park in the middle of town, superb shopping, and riverfront dining.  

One of the most obvious differences in today's Greenville is the vibrant restaurant scene. There has been a complete shift from fast-food fixes to a large number of diverse restaurants and chefs that rival anything found in the region.

Originally published in Taste of the South Magazine

ODE TO OYSTERS

Carolina Style

As fall and winter approach, so does the Carolina's oyster season.
Though each oyster festival has it’s own character, all typically offer music, contests involving oysters, food and beverage vendors, and oysters for sale in various forms. Steaming buckets of the tasty bivalves are the most typical festival fare, but the oyster is often celebrated raw, fried, and in rich stews as well.

Originally published in AAA Carolinas GO Magazine

CATCH OF THE DAY

Jon Haag loves fish--and it shows. From the moment you walk into Haag & Sons Seafood, a long-time Oak Island seafood store, you know you’ve entered a world of a finicky fishmonger.

The first sign of something different is the dazzling display of fresh whole fish. Prepared by Haag each morning, the 10-foot-long colorful cornucopia of sea creatures is just a sampling of what he currently has available to sell cut-to-order. The dozen or so different fish arranged in the display on any given day might include local varieties like grouper, hogfish, and triggerfish, or species from farther afield, like tuna, salmon, and mahimahi.

Originally published in Our State Magazine

THE CRADLE OF 'CUE

Nothin's finer in Carolina to tantalize your taste buds

It's 10:30 on a Wednesday morning and folks are already filling up the booths at Lexington Barbecue in the heart of the Piedmont region.

Maybe it's the irresistible smell drifting from the smokestacks in the back of the restaurant, or the thought of the tangy coleslaw and crunchy hush puppies that tantalize diners.

Whatever the reason, North Carolina is the real deal -- this is the Cradle of 'Cue.

Originally published in North Carolina Travel Guide

GRAPE PIONEERS

Creating a slice of Sonoma right in the southeastern part of the state, Ocean Isle Beach’s Silver Coast Winery has grown into a great destination for those who enjoy wine and some seriously creative shopping opportunities between sips. This winery is definitely the toast of the coast.

“We love wine and we love our coastal location, so we combined the two,” says owner and manager Maryann Charlap Azzato, who along with her husband, long-time Southport orthopaedic surgeon Dr. “Bud” Azzato, started Silver Coast back in 2002. The winery business is a family affair--even their ten-year-old son, Gabriel, helps with the bottling.

Originally published in Our State Magazine

WINE + FOOD = CHARLESTON

March festival's perks and attractions add up to

a long weekend to savor on the coast

Now in it’s fifth year, the BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival is bigger--and better--than ever. This year’s March 4-7 helping still has tickets available to many menu items, making it relatively easy to plan a last-minute trip.

Unlike many American festivals of this kind, Charleston’s recipe for success focuses on Southern cuisine--especially Lowcountry fare--creatively prepared by nationally known local chefs and world-renowned visitors (like Bobby Flay and Tyler Florence in past years and Daniel Boulud this March). From dine-arounds where local and visiting chefs team up to prepare five-course meals paired with wines, to a Culinary Village at Marion Square--the epicenter of the epicurean weekend--Charleston is the place for foodies to be in a few short weeks.

Originally published in Charlotte Observer

ODE TO OYSTERS

The North Carolina Oyster Festival is much more than a toast to the tasty bivalve. Each October on Ocean Isle Beach, the huge annual event celebrates everything about our coastal life --- above and below the surface.

On October 16th and 17th, thousands of veteran visitors and first time shuckers will gather for the 24th annual Northa Carolina Oyster Festival. What was once a small, local event centered around roasting oysters has grown into something of state and regional stature attended by more than 25,000 people. Along with the now-huge oyster roast, the festival, presented by the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Brunswick Community Hospital, boasts an oyster stew cook-off, musical entertainment, shopping, and so much more -- not to mention the popular North Carolina Oyster Shucking Contest, which can lead to a national champion (as has happened twice in the past).

Originally published in Our State Magazine

VEGGING OUT

Forget barbecue in the North Carolina City of Asheville...vegetarian cuisine rules the dining scene

North Carolina may be known for its barbecue, but the mountain town of Asheville is an exception. Chefs here are likely to replace chopped pork with tofu, and most locals know their tempeh (soybean cakes) from their seitan (a popular wheat mixture often called "wheat meat," due to its frequent use as a meat replacement).

Asheville was farm-to-table long before it was hip. In the 1800s, it was a drovers' stopover, and farmers brought their produce and livestock to the town center to be bought and sold, traded and bartered.

Originally published in AirTran's GO! Magazine

THE SECRET'S IN THE SAUCE:

FOR THE REIGNING SAUCE BOSSES -- TEXAS PETE, THOMAS SAUCE, CAROLINA TREET, AND CACKALACKY -- ANYTHING ELSE IS JUST GRAVY

North Carolinians get saucy when it comes to spicing up a plate full of barbecue. It’s no surprise, then, that a number of sauce companies call North Carolina home.

Tar Heel Pete

From it's name, you might think Texas Pete Hot Sauce hails from somewhere down in the Lone Star State, but it was actually created in Winston-Salem, where it is still bottled today. With what is one of the most-known sauces in the nation, Texas Pete is most definitely a Tar Heel State success story.

Originally published in Our State Magazine

A SOUTHERN SEASON:

SOUTHERN TASTES AND SO MUCH MORE

When you walk into A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, your senses tell you that you’re somewhere very special. Exuding southern hospitality, this is a store that quickly becomes dear to the hearts and stomachs of any visiting Southerners (or Southerners at heart).

Originally opened as an 800-square-foot coffee roastery back in 1975, A Southern Season has become a huge gourmet specialty-foods emporium. At 59,000 square feet, it’s one of the largest stores of its kind in the nation. Of course, all of the expected Southern standards are available; but, there are also many other treats to tempt hungry visitors (and lots of regulars from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, also known as the “Research Triangle”).

Originally published in Taste of the South

TOP DOG

hot dog (c. 1895) 1: a frankfurter heated and served in a long split roll 2: one that hot dogs; also: show-off -- Merriam-Webster

Dick’s Hot Dog Stand is a haven for hot dogs in many forms, but there’s much more to this 84-year-old Wilson institution than meets the eye--or nose, mouth, ears, or hands for that matter. Quite simply, it’s a feast for all five senses.

From the moment you walk in Dick’s, it’s obvious that Lee Gliarmis and his family love food--and sports--with hot dogs and more playing a central role in both categories. As soon as the glass door swings open to Dick’s, the senses are awakened by the sight of hundreds of pictures of sports celebrities; the aromas of hot dogs cooking, chopped onions, chili, and more; the sounds of customers and waitstaff enjoying good food and company; the feel of the decades-old counter, stools, and booths; and--soon enough--the taste of some great food.

Originally published in Our State Magazine

FESTIVALS FEATURE SEA'S BOUNTY

Blessed with waters teeming with life, it’s no surprise that seafood is celebrated along the many miles of Southeast coast with a wide variety of seafood-oriented festivals throughout the year (and especially in the fall). From juicy raw or steamed oysters to spicy shrimp, plus the varieties of fresh fish, it’s easy to see why a “see food” seafood diet of some tasty festivals is so popular.

“The Southeast Tourism Society has seen a marked increase in the number of seafood festivals applying to be a Top 20 Event,” says Neville Bhada, vice president of communications and public relations for the Atlanta-based society that awards Top 20 designations to Southeast festivals for each month. Several top festivals, like the North Carolina Seafood Festival along the state’s Crystal Coast, and the National Shrimp Festival in Alabama’s Gulf Shores, have been around for decades, attracting thousands of hungry veterans and first-time festival-goers.

Originally published in Atlanta Journal-Constitution