Blog a la Carte

Chef Russell Keane will be unveiling his new place, NEO, with a grand opening Oct. 22. Chef Russell (right) bought Upper Crust Pizza near Moss Creek several months ago and since has been plotting how to make it his own.

From a release:

"Chef Russell will feature locally sourced items (90 percent of menu sourced from within 90 miles), such as fresh local seafood and organic farm-raised beef, as well as artisan pizzas, world-class wines, craft beers, unique handcrafted cocktails and more in his new restaurant. ...

The third annual Farmer's Table dinner to benefit the Lowcountry Food Bank is quickly coming up. The event itself is a whole evening of activities, including music and dancing, but the main attraction is the multi-course meal prepared by eight chefs from the Beaufort area.

The dinner is Nov. 3 at Habersham, but move quickly if you want to get a seat. Click here for more details. We also ran a story about the dinner when it first started.

From a release:

Dinner and a show may be easier to come by on Hilton Head Island soon.

The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina and Hugo's Seafood & Steakhouse have teamed up for "VIP Dinner & A Show." The deal essentially sets up a date night all by itself. Guests get dinner from a specialty menu at Hugo's based around the show for the evening. Then, with a promise that the meal will end well in advance of showtime, diners head to a VIP pre-show section at the arts center, tickets in hand.

The annual Death By Chocolate event is a chance to see how creative chefs can get with chocolate. I've been lucky enough to be a judge the last two years, and I can say they're not afraid to try something a little different. For example, I've already heard from Orchid that One Hot Mama's will be bringing back their chocolate-glazed ribs. Check out the photos below from last year's fest.

First Fat Patties opens in Beaufort. Now, it's Charbar Co. on Hilton Head.

From a release:

"This week, a group of Hilton Head Island locals are unveiling Charbar Co., a new restaurant in Park Plaza, to the public. Chef Charles Pejeau made the move from his post at Palmetto Bluff to take the helm as executive chef in the new venture. The team is taking a new approach to a classic American favorite — the burger ...

John Martin Taylor was exalting Lowcountry cooking before it was fashionable. He opened his culinary bookstore, Hoppin' John's, in Charleston back before any restaurant in the city even had shrimp and grits on its menu. In 1992, his cookbook, "Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking: Recipes and Ruminations from Charleston and the Carolina Coastal Plain," was published. The New York Times proclaimed its recipes should be on "a National Registry of Great American Food."

The inaugural Bluffton Boiled Peanut Cook-Off was held at the farmer's market today. Believe it or not, 28 contestants entered. Quite the spread (see right).

I was a little skeptical about how diverse boiled peanuts could get. But no two tasted alike. There were BBQ boiled peanuts, big salty peanuts, sweet and spicy peanuts, even some cooked in whiskey. The winners are below:

In their latest issue, Southern Living magazine came out with South Carolina's 10 Best Seafood Spots. The Sea Shack on Hilton Head Island and Bluffton Family Seafood House both made the list. Check it out here.

Here's what Southern Living recommends at each place:

Sea Shack

Today we ran a story about a new state of mind in Bluffton. It's called Love Bluffton, Buy Local. The concept is not too difficult. Basically, buy local when you can. Read more about it here.

Find out tonight whether anyone can guess whether Mallory Russell is the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich contest winner.

The 8-year-old Hilton Head Island girl is appearing on Nickelodeon's Figure It Out at 7 p.m. tonight. The show is based on the long-running game show "What's My Line?" in which a panel of celebrity judges has to guess a contestant's special skill or achievement. Check out the story we did about Mallory's trip to L.A. here.