Weekly Specials CHS: April 12-18
Azaleas at Edmund's Oast Brewery, tinned fish at Bar Rollins, jambalaya on James Island, and pierogis at Kultura. Plus, ramping up for ramp season!
Searching for soft shell crab while it’s still available? 🦀 Check out my post of 30 local spots that have had softie specials! Shoutout to the latest addition: Co-Hog will be serving up softies at Westbrook Brewing in Mt. P this Saturday from 1-6pm! Get there early before they sell out!
This week’s specials:
Looking for last-minute plans tonight?
Charleston Green Drinks, a local sustainability-focused social group, is hosting a “green drinks” event with the theme of environmental justice, at Palmetto Brewing. At 6pm, you can hear from co-hosts like the Charleston Climate Coalition, the Charleston People's Budget Coalition, Charlestonians for Responsible Development, and the MARSH Project, about how they’re working on issues of environmental justice and environmental racism in Charleston. I’ve been to a few of the Green Drinks events before, and everyone is super friendly, plus it’s a great opportunity to learn about local non-profits and how to get involved in our community!
Friday, April 12th
Dock parties are the new block parties! Crosby’s Fish & Shrimp Co. is having a dock party from 6-9pm, with live music by Shrimp City Slim 🦐 Crosby’s says parking is limited, so they’re encouraging folks to come by carpool, Uber, or, of course, boat!
Remember Neon Tiger, the downtown vegan spot that closed two weeks ago? They’re not bringing their food back just yet, but they are “testing the waters of the new world” of NT by bringing our community together through live music. In their old location, they’re hosting DJ Mike Wish from 10pm-2am.
Here’s the tee…Through Sunday, Edmund’s Oast Brewing will be screening the Master’s tournament starting at 11am in their taproom. Their food and drink specials will be totally on theme (except why no egg salad?!)
Saturday, April 13th
Charleston County Parks is hosting the Lowcountry Cajun Festival at James Island County Park from noon to 6pm. There will be Zydeco music, the annual a crawfish eating contest (?!), and food like Louisiana-style snowballs from Snow on the Geaux, boiled peanuts from Lowcountry Caviar, and Cajun and Creole classics like jambalaya and étouffée. The festival is free for Gold Pass holders (love the Gold Pass, by the way!), or you can purchase tickets in advance here, and they’ll be selling onsite tickets for $40 per vehicle until they sell out.
Firefly Distillery is having their spring Food Truck ‘Feastival’ from noon to 4pm. It’s free to attend, and there will be food from Millers All Day, & Lobster, Bangin’ Vegan Eats, Life Raft Treats, Pizza da Michelino, and many more.
Will you bee there? 🐝 The Charleston Honey Bee Expo is free and happening from 10am-2pm at 720 Magnolia Road. Hosted by the Charleston Area Beekeepers Association and the Charleston Parks Conservancy, learn more about how you can make a difference to support the health and sustainability of pollinators in our area.
From noon to 6pm, the Vegan BrewFest Charleston will be happening at New Realm Brewing Company! I know that Whip Wagon will be there, and their soft serve flavors are INCREDIBLE🍦.
Sunday, April 14th
*Girl dinner* vibes! Bar Rollins has apparently 🔮READ MY DAMN MIND🔮 and is having a TINNED FISH pop-up on Sunday April 14th! They’ll have natural wines (always), tinned fish from
and Siesta Co., produce from Fire Ant Farm on Johns Island (I love their jalapeno peppers, carrots, and radicchio!), Spade and Clover Gardens on Johns Island (I love their daikon radishes, sweet potatoes and edible flowers!), Dragonfly Creek in Walterboro, King Tide Farm hydroponic farm in Charleston, accoutrements from goat.sheep.cow (my neighborhood shop with whom I am fully obsessed), oil from Graza, and bread from Brandon’s Bread!
Monday, April 15th
Local chef Ryan Wunder aka @funkywunders is taking over for a night at Kultura! The menu will include dishes like 🥟pierogies🥟 with miso butter, shallots and guajillo ponzu, and a ceviche-style version of shrimp scampi. Unfortunately, it looks like reservations are all gone already (I snagged one, hehe), but you can set your Resy notify alert in case of cancellations.
Lowland Tavern and the Tippling House wine bar are collaborating on five-course dinner with wine pairings, starting at 6:30pm. Call Lowland Tavern or email them at hello@lowlandcharleston.com to book.
Thursday, April 18th
Tonight is the Charleston County Parks’ second Toast Under the Oaks event of 2024 at Johns Island County Park! Food trucks Empanada Cuisines and Lib's Diner will be there. Tickets available here.
Know someone who might be interested in one of the happenings above this week? Share this newsletter with them!
Lil’ updates
I know every week it seems like I’m talking about a different “szn”, but this week it’s ramp szn!!! Here’s some recent specials I’ve found using the gorgeous perennial allium (FYI, always call ahead to make sure the specials are still in stock, as ramps are super seasonal and can be hard to find!):
Melfi’s has a springtime local pie special and I need it ASAP: asparagus, ramps, green garlic, arugula salsa verde, and provolone picante, with all the local produce sourced from the good folks and farms at Grow Food Carolina
I’m sorry…I’m drooling. 167 Raw just posted some ramp crab rice.
The Pass had a sandwich with lemon ramp pesto, roasted turkey, burrata, pickled ramp stems, and “parmesan rain” (?) on toasted ciabatta!
Farewells
Say it ain’t dough! 🍩 Very sadly, Glazed Gourmet Doughnuts will be closing on Wednesday, April 17th, after 13 years. They explain more in their Facebook post here. Thank you to Joy F for letting me know about this, so we can all support the business and buy as many doughnuts as possible before next Wednesday.
Coming up
Renzo’s 7th annual 4/20 dinner is back! Their munchie-themed dinner is sold out on Resy, but you can set a notify alert just in case!
Chef BJ Dennis and the folks from Bintu Atelier will be hosting a Taste the Culture brunch on April 20th, with seatings at noon and 2pm. It’ll be a 4-5 course tasting menu with inspiration from both West Africa and the Lowcountry. More details to come, but you can follow Bintu Atelier on Instagram for more info!
On Saturday April 20th from noon to 4pm, Highfalutin Coffee Roasters’ James Island location will be hosting a Harbor View Neighborhood Market. They’ll have local vendors, live music, beer from their neighbor Odyssey Bottle Shop and food from Co-Hog, who specialize in New England-style chowder, clam cakes, and stuffed clams.
Kultura is hosting a wine dinner in collaboration with Tarpon Cellars on April 28th with seatings at 5pm and 7:30pm. Tarpon Cellars has a big local presence because one of the founders lives here part-time! For more info and to book, check out Resy.
That’s a wrap!
Know of a restaurant- or food-related event coming up that you think should be included in an upcoming Weekly Special? DM me!
Planning on going to one of the events, bars or restaurants mentioned above in the next week? Leave a comment and let me know your plans! I’m nosy!
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!