Weekly Specials CHS: April 5-11
A dim sum carb-loading pop-up pre-Bridge Run🥟, triple strawberry soft serve at Babas🍓, a six-course Filipino Oaxacan menu at Kultura, and free moon pies at Fatty's Solar Eclipse Snackdown🌑.
Searching for soft shell crab while it’s still available? 🦀 Check out my last post featuring 29 local spots with softies!
This week’s specials:
Looking for last-minute plans today?
The Drifter is turning four and having a bake sale at their soon-to-open brick-and-mortar location, Merci (coming in summer 2024), to celebrate! At 28 Pitt Street from noon to 2pm today, they’ll be selling the Drifter’s focaccia bread and brown butter toffee chocolate chunk cookies, which look divine. For more info, check out their IG post below.
The Daily is giving free coffees to anyone who checks in to their loyalty program (in person) using the Blackbird app! They’re open until 3pm.
Friday, April 5th
The Little, a pop-up and private catering company helmed by chef Brad Schaffer, who has worked at CHS spots Five Loaves Cafe, Magnolia’s, and Hank’s, as well as NYC greats Estela (one of my faves!!!) and Vinegar Hill House, is popping up at Proof on King Street this evening and the following evening. The Little will be doing a small plates menu from 6pm until midnight (or until they sell out), featuring whipped ricotta with pistachio and peasant bread, apples and fennel with chicories and vinaigrette, spaghettini limone, and, for dessert, chocolate budino with Montenegro mascarpone cream.
Little Line (which I know sounds VERY similar to the Little that I mentioned above) is helping us carbo-load ahead of the race by doing a special noodle and dim sum pop-up for the night! Pre-orders begin Thursday at 9am, and the menu will include items like Beijing street noodles with tofu or chicken, edamame spring rolls, and crispy Brussels sprouts. For more info, check out their IG post.
Saturday, April 6th
Happy happy Bridge Run day to everyone running! 🏅For my fellow runners, I’ll be releasing a list of the after parties in the next day or so!
Babas on Meeting is hosting local ice cream shop Mon Frère and chef
from 4-7pm for a special menu of cheeseburgers, veggies, and of course, ice cream. Dropping the menu below because it sounds SO good.
Sunday, April 7th
This evening, Kultura is hosting two seatings of a special Los Primos dinner, in collaboration with Oaxacan chef Luis Martinez of Tequio Foods. Chefs Nikko and Luis will be cooking a six-course Filipino Oaxacan menu, with seatings at 5pm (book on Resy here) and 7:30pm (Resy link here for that later seating!)
The teams from Seol Ah’s and Odyssey Bottle Shop are hosting a Korean-inspired Charcuterie Bento Box making class (with wine pairings!) from 4-6pm at Odyssey Bottle Shop. Tickets are $55 each and available here.
From 11am to 3pm, Millers All Day will be running Sunday Funday brunch at Firefly Distillery! Millers’ food truck will be there, and Firefly will have beers and cocktails, including moonshine Bellinis (?!) You can bring your own blankets and chairs, and no reservations are required. For more important deets, check here.
Monday, April 8th
Eclipse day! 😎 Even though SC is not in the path of totality, about 75% of the sun will be covered during the deepest point of the eclipse at 3:10pm. If you’re planning on viewing the eclipse, make sure you’re using ISO certified glasses or viewers! More on that here from NASA themselves.
Fatty’s Beer Works is hosting a Solar Eclipse Snackdown from 2-4pm. Mastro’s Fire will be serving up wood-fired pizzas and Fatty’s is giving away a free Moon Pie with every pint purchased during the eclipse!
Tacos de la Bahia, who recently popped up at Sightsee’s Sundays with their self-proclaimed “Jexican cuisine” (Jewish-inspired Mexican food!) is now popping up at Cutty’s every Monday in April and May from 6pm to midight-ish.
Tuesday, April 9th
Sing us a song, you’re the piano man 🎶 Brooks Reitz, owner of Little Jack’s Tavern (and Melfi’s, Leon’s, and mixer company Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.) announced that they just installed a vintage Steinway piano in Little Jack’s. Starting this evening, there will be a “rotating cast of the best local players” every Tuesday and Sunday from 6-9pm. Sounds like good vibes!
Thursday, April 11th
Charleston Green Drinks, a local sustainability-focused social group, is hosting their next green drinks 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.
Know someone who might be interested in one of the happenings above this week? Share this newsletter with them!
New openings
The Heyday, a new all-day cafe concept by the folks behind Island Provisions, will be opening in Hayes Park on Johns Island in summer 2024! It’s reported by the Post and Courier that Top Chef Season 14 contestant Emily Hahn will be in charge of menu development. Keep up with the news by following them on Instagram @theheydaysc.
The Co-op, famous for its frosé, is opening a new location in downtown Charleston at 81 Cannon Street in “early April”, so should be any day now!
Sissy Bar just opened in Park Circle, focusing on mezcal and tequila drinks.
A new combo coffee shop, lunch spot, and bar vibe is coming to Line Street very soon! City Lights Eastside was supposed to open at 12 Line Street on Tuesday, but it seems there’s still a delay with the city. The former City Lights Coffee was open for 15 years in their last location on Market Street, and closed in 2021, so I’m excited for this next iteration!
Lil’ updates
King BBQ unfortunately suffered through a fire that required them to shut down for the time being. They’ve said the best thing you can do to support them is dine at their sister restaurant Jackrabbit Filly (open for dinner Mondays through Saturdays, as well as Sunday dim sum brunch)!
This spring weather means some of y’all are probably headed to the Post House for lunch on their patio soon. They just added a new item to their lunch menu and it sounds so fab: crispy potatoes and beer steamed clams. The potatoes are served on aioli (perfect combo, no?) and the clams are steamed in a beer from Westbrook Brewery that was actually exclusively made for their Sullivan’s Island sister restaurant, Sullivan’s Fish Camp!
I am obsessed with Bearcat and dying to return soon. They just launched a new dessert menu over the weekend, featuring a brownie sundae with chocolate ice cream, magic shell and house made sprinkles.
Baguette Magic is doing a special carrot cake bun throughout the month of April! It sounds like heaven: croissant dough rolled with a carrot cake filling and, of course, topped with cream cheese frosting!
Continuing on this ✨healthy vibe✨, Millers All Day just announced their new MAD donut flight, a trio of Nutella, strawberry cheesecake, and cookies & cream donuts! Available now at their downtown location and soon at James Island.
Finally, I am SO excited that two of our best restaurants continue to be recognized by the James Beard Foundation as finalists this year. If you’re headed to Kultura anytime soon, be sure to congratulate chef Nikko on his finalist nomination for Emerging Chef! Plus, chef James London from Chubby Fish is up for Best Chef Southeast! We’re so lucky to have these two restaurants in our city and I’m psyched to see them get this national recognition that they so deserve.
Coming up
Next Monday April 15th, local chef Ryan Wunder aka @funkywunders is taking over at Kultura! The menu will include dishes like pierogies with miso butter, shallots and guajillo ponzu, and a ceviche-style version of shrimp scampi. Book on Resy.
Renzo’s 7th annual 4/20 dinner is back! Their munchie-themed dinner is already sold out on Resy but you can set a notify alert.
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!