Category Archives: Enticing Events

A Peek at Palmetto Bluff’s Lowcountry Celebration in South Carolina with Tyler Florence

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Tyler Florence holding court on stage at the food festival.

Six hundred food fanatics turned out last weekend in Bluffton, S.C. for the third annual “Palmetto Bluff Lowcountry Celebration.”

Yours truly was among them, having been invited to partake in the feasting of all things Southern.

After all, who could pass up a chance to watch Food Network star Tyler Florence and a bevy of the South’s top chefs prepare oyster stew, shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, fried catfish, fried chicken, fried shrimp, tater tots fried in duck fat, pulled pork sandwiches, and a mountain of crawfish.

Um, did I mention a lot of the food was fried? Hey, it’s the South. Don’t even bat an eye.

The grand Inn at Palmetto Bluff.

This was the third year of the festival, which is held at the posh Inn at Palmetto Bluff, a residential and recreational community on 20,000 acres, about a third of that set aside in perpetuity to remain undeveloped. Once home to 21 grand plantations, the area, about 20 miles northeast of Savannah, Ga., now boasts an inn with 50 upscale cottages, as well as rental homes and permanent homes.

You might already know that Florence is from South Carolina. What you might not know is that he owns a home at Palmetto Bluff, got married here, and that his brother, Warren, is the tennis pro here.

The food festival tent, set among the ruins of a mansion on the property that burned down years ago.

Praline angel food cakes to sample.

Chef Tom Condron of the Liberty in Charlotte, NC prepares seared salmon with warm potato salad.

Sizzling salmon.

The festival included a day of cooking demos and tastings by chefs such as Donald Barickman and Donald Drake of Magnolias in Charleston; Chris and Idie Hastings of the Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Ala.; Frank Lee of Maverick Southern Kitchens in Charleston; and Robert Stehling of Hominy Grill in Charleston.

Manning the fire pit full of oysters, mussels, shrimp and crawfish.

The highlight for me was the finale — a bonafide oyster roast in a very secluded, woodsy spot on the property, where an elaborate fire pit was constructed.

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New Bakery, Gourmet Turkey Sandwich, Pastry Chefs Event & More

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Whup it up for Whoopie Pies from Susiecakes. (Photo courtesy of Susiecakes)

If you’re already drooling over those Whoopie Pies, you’ll have to wait until January 2010 to try them.

That’s when Susiecakes will open its first Northern California location in Marin at the Bon Air Shopping Center in Greenbrae.

Owner Susan Sarich opened the first Susiecakes in Brentwood in Southern California three years ago. Three others followed suit in other SoCal cities.

The home-style desserts include everything from a best-selling apple pie to Susie’s Famous Southern Red Velvet cake to homemade banana pudding to assorted cupcakes.

Cherry pie. (Photo courtesy of Susiecakes)

If you’re starting your holiday shopping bright and early tomorrow, San Jose’s Santana Row will be offering a bevy of discounts and deals. Puripan Tea Garden will offer 20 percent off all teaware and accessories. Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub and Restaurant will start Happy Hour at 11:30 a.m. with half-off appetizers, and $2 off pints, well drinks and select wines. Roux Louisiana Kitchen joins in with house wine, champagne, mimosas and draft beer for $3 from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Yankee Pier will extend its Happy Hour from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and feature $1 Skokum oysters.

Thea Mediterranean will discount your tab 15 percent if you show a receipt from any Santana Row shop or restaurant that day. Vintage Wine Merchants will serve up $3 mimosas. And the Santana Row location of Starbucks will open at a crazy 3 a.m. for caffeine-desperate early shoppers.

"Plymouth Superbird'' sandwich. (Photo courtesy of the Naked Lunch)

If you’re missing out on turkey this Thanksgiving, no worries. The Naked Lunch, the fun, fast-casual eatery in San Francisco’s North Beach has a sammie that is sure to satisfy.

Available Nov. 27-28, the “Plymouth Superbird Sandwich” ($9) features Fra’ Mani’s new turkey galantine, made of both white and dark oven-roasted meat. The sandwich comes complete with cranberry mostarda, sweet potato aioli, Hen of the Woods mushrooms and shaved celery — all on an Acme green onion slab.

Chef Doug Keane and his staff at Cyrus in Healdsburg typically have the day off on Thanksgiving.

But this holiday, they’ll be working in a different capacity. Keane, his wife, and his crew will prepare and serve a traditional Thanksgiving feast today for 120 residents of Catholic Charities Homeless Service Center, a local organization that helps homeless families.

Chef Doug Keane (center) and his staff. (Photo courtesy of Cyrus resaurant)

Guests of the shelter will enjoy a sit-down meal at Healdsburg Bar & Grill with all the trimmings, including cornbread, and apple and pumpkin pies.

“Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and giving back,” Keane says. “Rather than simply volunteering our time or donating our food to the shelter, we want to welcome these families as guests of what is, essentially, our home. We hope to provide a memorable and special dinner out- one where we can all give thanks together. ”

Meet some of the Bay Area’s top pastry chefs at “The State of Pastry in SF,” a 6 p.m. Dec. 1 program hosted by the San Francisco Commonwealth Club. They’ll be giving baking tips and talking about the latest dessert trends.

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Take Five with “Top Chef” Contestant Kevin Gillespie, On the Impact of TV Fame

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Chef Kevin Gillespie of "Top Chef'' grills up succulent pork belly in South Carolina last weekend.

Only four remain.

As Season 6 of Bravo TV’s wildly popular “Top Chef” show winds to a close, Atlanta’s Kevin Gillespie still remains standing. Executive chef and partner of Woodfire Grill, the poised 27-year-old has held himself above the dramatics and hi-jinks exhibited by some of his other competitors. He makes no apologies for his food being simple. Indeed, his longevity just shows that food needn’t be fussy to be spectacular.

I caught up with Gillespie this weekend when I was invited to attend the third annual “Tyler Florence’s Palmetto Bluff Lowcountry Celebration” at the serene, sumptuous Inn at Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina.

Clearly a fan favorite, he was mobbed by well-wishers as he manned the grill, where he was turning out smoky pork belly served with pickled apples and a pureed peanut sauce. Talk about a succulent dish with true Southern twang.

Kevin's grilled pork belly with pickled apples and a zippy peanut sauce.

Everyone wanted to ask him if he ended up winning “Top Chef.” But he remained mum. You’ll just have to keep watching to find out how much farther he gets.

Q: Kevin, how did you get involved with “Top Chef”?

A: They came to me about it. I had to really think about it. I had not really watched the show before, and I feared TV would cheapen what I was doing, that it would add this novelty aspect to it.

Q: How has being on the show changed your life?

A: It’s made the restaurant significantly busier. We’ve had a 330 percent increase in revenue. We didn’t even think that was possible.

The celebrity part is crazy. I was surprised how much people like the show. People really care, and it’s nice to see how much they want to see someone who believes in food succeed. I think it’s also spurred a lot of people to be interested in something they had long forgotten. Television has given people like myself a vehicle to say what they think about food. You have to use it as a vehicle to help shape young people.

Q: Do you like the way you’ve been portrayed on TV?

A: I had a generous portrayal. They didn’t create a person who didn’t exist. I’m not a person who talks negative about others. I’m very purposeful. I think it’s given me credibility on the show.

Q: What surprised you most about doing the show?

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New Steak Place, New Breakfast Place & More

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Steak with sherry mushrooms at Medallion Steakhouse. (Photo courtesy of Rick Camargo)

Carnivores are flocking to Burlingame with the recent opening of Medallion Steakhouse.

Chef Thomas Sazo, also of Medjool restaurant in San Francisco, features sustainably sourced beef and local products in such dishes as prime rib spring rolls ($10) with roasted onions, peppers, provolone and cayenne ketchup; fennel and sausage pizza ($11); American Kobe sliders (two for $14); and Maine lobster risotto ($26).

There are nine different steak offerings, from a 10-ounce corn-fed skirt steak ($25) to a 12-ounce corn-fed Chateaubriand ($46).

Spring rolls stuffed with prime rib. Really. (Photo courtesy of Drew Altizer)

On the other side of the Bay, the Sunny Side Cafe has opened in downtown Berkeley, serving breakfast and lunch daily.

It’s the sister restaurant to the original locale in Albany.

Chef Aaron French, who has a master’s degree in ecology from San Francisco State University, primarily uses locally-sourced, sustainable, certified-humane ingredients. Specialties include seasonal pancakes, Croque Monsieur, “Not-Your-Ordinary Sesame Chicken Salad Sandwich,” and a weekend tasting menu.

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The Phenomenon Known As Kogi BBQ

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Chef Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ talks about his unlikely business that's become a runaway hit.

We in the San Francisco Bay Area like to think we have access to everything tasty.

But one thing we sadly don’t have is Kogi BBQ.

At least not yet.

Roy Choi, a Seoul-native who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and cooked at the likes of Le Bernardin and Aureole, both in New York, has turned the world of tacos topsy turvy on the streets of Los Angeles.

The classically-trained, extremely articulate chef has taken his high standards and top-notch skills, and applied them to humble taco truck offerings. Ten months ago, he started hawking his own brand of Korean tacos from one roaming truck that announces its location via Twitter. Now, he has four trucks, each of which serves more than 2,000 people a day. How crazy is that?

Fortunately, I didn’t have to drive all over Los Angeles to chase down one of his trucks to try the famous Kogi taco. Instead, I was able to snag one when Choi did a cooking demo at last weekend’s “Worlds of Flavor” conference at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. With this year’s theme, “World Street Food, World Comfort Food,” what could be a more perfect fit than a Korean taco?

And a most delicious one at that. As Choi explained, street food often gets the bum rap of being something thrown together, slap-dash. But take a bite of one of his tacos and discover how incredibly complex it is.

The sweet, smoky, tender taste of Korean short ribs transforms the taco into something all together new. The meat is marinated in a blend of soy sauce, maple syrup, yellow onions, green onions, garlic, kiwi, Asian pear, mirin, orange juice and 7-Up. It’s cooked at high heat to char and caramelize it. Then it’s diced, cooked on the flat-top, and heaped on two soft corn tortillas along with salsa verde or salsa roja; diced onion; a mix of shredded cabbage, romaine and green onions; Kogi chilie vinaigrette; and toasted and crushed sesame seeds.

Grilling corn tortillas until they're puffy and a little crisp.

Constructing the famous taco.

Aren't you dying for one?

It’s a thing of absolute beauty. And it sells for an absolute pittance.

“We make everything from scratch, and we sell our food for $2,” Choi said. “I’m not sure if that’s the best business model, but our goal is not to lose money. My other goal — I don’t achieve it every day — but it’s that every single bite hopefully makes you stop in your tracks.”

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