Blog a la Carte

Only two more days until Firkinstock. The inaugural craft beer festival runs from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Buckwalter Place in Bluffton (near the new Publix and bowling alley). Tickets are $40 each.

Yes, we can call it "award winning" now. Hilton Head second-grader Mallory Russell and her P-nutty BBQ Chicken Quesadilla won the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest. Read our story here.

The Habersham community near Beaufort has a weekly farmers market on Fridays throughout the year. But around this time they kick it up a notch with First Fridays, bringing in live music, kids games, food booths and more. The 2012 season starts April 6.

From a release:

We ran a story yesterday about the explosion of craft beer festivals in the county recently. There are six -- yes, six -- festivals where craft beer will be prominently featured.

The Bold Beer Bash is tonight (March 15) in Bluffton. Tickets are $55 at the door. It won't be as large as some of the other events but rather a more intimate tasting of high-gravity beers.

Mark your calendars for these other festivals throughout the year:

Andrew Zimmern was in the Savannah area a few months ago to film an episode of his show, Bizarre Foods. As part of that, he caught up with Gullah chef Sallie Ann Robinson on her native Daufuskie Island. She cooked him barbecued raccoon. Judge for yourself how bizarre that is. (According to Sallie, it tastes just like beef.)

The Hilton Head Island Wine & Food Festival has an expanded menu this year.

In the past, the festival has had an heavy emphasis on wine. Not that it won't have that this year. In fact, more wines than ever (700 plus) are available for sampling Saturday afternoon at Honey Horn. But organizers have decided to beef up the food options.

About 10 booths will be set up featuring small plates from 15 island establishments.

Read on to get the full menu. Click here to get more details about the festival.

Mallory Russell's P-Nutty BBQ Chicken Quesadilla turned out to be a hit.

The second-grader at Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts is a top five finalist in the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest.

UPDATE: Changed around the schedule because one of the chefs dropped out.

A schedule of events was released today for the Hilton Head Island Wine & Food Festival March 10 at Honey Horn. Guests will get to sample from hundreds of wines and dozens of local restaurants. In addition, chefs will hold cooking demos. Looks like some fairly big names will be coming.

From a release:

Switch Night (Feb. 20) has become a late winter tradition at the Sage Room on Hilton Head Island. The chefs become the servers; the servers become the chefs. It's like Freaky Friday but with better food and fewer hijinks.

One of Beaufort's most popular restaurants, Plums, plans on expanding into Bluffton. Look for the new restaurant to open early spring next to the IHOP in Belfair Towne Village.

The Beaufort location has been open since 1987 on Bay Street. It's menu places a heavy emphasis on seasonal ingredients and fresh, local seafood (think shrimp and grits, crabcakes, oysters in the half shell, fish tacos, etc). Owner Lantz Price opened his second spot in Beaufort, Saltus, in 2001.