Weekly Specials CHS: July 19-25, 2024
Champagne and chips at Estadio, Venezuelan food at Kultura, plus the details on the Ordinary's new cocktail featuring soursop ice cream and Zero George's new martini with caper brine “caviar".
This week, we’re celebrating a milestone with Weekly Specials CHS…TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY events, specials, deals, pop-ups and dishes have been shared in this lil’ newsletter! Since I started Weekly Specials in February of this year, it’s been 20 weeks, so that’s more than 12 restaurants, chefs, or dishes featured per week!
Thank you for following along. This newsletter was born out of my own need to know absolutely everything going on at the restaurants that I love, and to get myself organized so that I can find ways each week to support the chefs and establishments that make this city so special. I love hearing when you go to restaurants or events that I’ve written about, and I am so grateful for this opportunity to share my passion for Charleston’s food scene with a community of equally passionate folks. If you’ve found my weekly roundup useful, then please share this with your family or friends!
Before we get to the weekly specials, if you haven’t heard, today begins Duke’s Hot Tomato Summer in Charleston and five other participating cities 🍅 To find out which spots in Charleston are vying for the Golden Tomato Award with their specials, check out the list here (and then click on Charleston). Voting for the Golden Tomato Award begins TODAY. Here are some specials I want to check out before Hot Tomato Summer ends on the 28th:
Little Line’s tomato pie grit bowl with Edisto grits, extra sharp cheddar, roasted John's Island tomatoes, Duke's mayo and served with a buttermilk biscuit.
Kwei Fei’s Duke's Bao buns with pickled shrimp, heirloom tomatoes, corn, and a chili crisp comeback sauce
Daps’ tomato toast with herb-grilled sourdough, Duke's mayo, tomato salad, and a sunny side up egg
The Darling Oyster Bar’s oyster bahn mi with fried oysters, julienned veggies, green onion and cilantro, finished with gochujang and Duke’s aioli
I’m not sure if this will be featured in any of the specials this year, unfortunately, but FYI that Duke’s recently released a plant-based mayo! It’s only available online right now, but I’m excited to try this on a tomato sandwich or in a tomato pie.
Weekly Specials
Friday, July 19th
Estadio’s Champagne and potato chip concept, Bar Estrella, is coming back for a pop-up from 4-7pm! For more on the backstory behind Bar Estrella, check out Estadio’s Instagram post.
Saturday, July 20th
Sweatman’s Garden is hosting a full moon party starting at 6pm, with tarot readings, ramen and live music! For more deets, check out their IG post here.
Tuesday, July 23rd
is hosting her next reading party at Babas on Meeting from 6-8:30pm. Inspired by Reading Rhythms events in NYC, the reading party will include quiet reading sessions and guided small-group discussions. Plus, there will be drinks and snacks from Babas available for purchase! Find more info and buy tickets on Eventbrite.
Every Tuesday in July, NICO Oysters + Seafood on Shem Creek will be hosting an oyster class, where you can learn how to shuck oysters and learn more about the process of oyster farming. The weekly classes start at 6pm and include a dozen oysters, a glass of wine, and a glass of champagne. You can book tickets for this upcoming week and next on Resy.
Wednesday, July 24th
Kultura cook Marcos Arraga will be bringing an evening of Venezuelan food to Kultura as part of a Leolé kitchen takeover! Book on Resy starting at 5pm, and learn more about Leolé by following them on Instagram.
🚨Freebie alerts 🚨
Every Wednesday this July:
At Millers All Day’s James Island location (not the downtown one!) if you check in with the Blackbird app, you can get a free Hot Honey Chicken B.E.C. sandwich! For more info, check out their Instagram post.
The Tippling House is giving everyone who checks in with Blackbird a free glass of Champagne.
Every Wednesday this summer, if you check in with Blackbird after noon, the Daily will give you free smoothie!
Lil’ updates
The Ordinary has a new drink on their menu that looks deceptively hydrating! Their new 'Stay Cool' cocktail features Lustau Fino sherry, clarified lime, and soursop ice cream (I think I had soursop one time when I was in Madagascar for work - long story - but The Ordinary refers to soursop ice cream as “a beloved Caribbean treat”). Please let me know if you’ve been to The Ordinary lately and tried this!
Speaking of innovative drinks, the Restaurant at Zero George just announced their take on a dirty martini, called ‘the Caspian Queen’. In classic Zero George style, the Conniption Gin cocktail is served with a spoonful of caper brine “caviar”. (I assume this is made using a spherification technique? I need to ask.) Check it out below, and in case you’re headed to 0G anytime soon, a portion of the proceeds of every Caspian Queen sold through October will support the James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Leadership Programs, which champion equity by supporting women throughout the lifecycle of their careers.
Annie O Loves Cafe in West Ashley just celebrated their seventh birthday! Their vegan and gluten-free cookies and treats are seriously amazing, and on Friday of last week, they released a brand-new birthday menu. Check out their post below to see all of their birthday-themed goodies…I’m definitely stopping by this week to try their “It’s a Cookie Celebration” vegan cheesecake which is a combo of birthday cake, cheesecake, and cookie!
My friends who live at the Jasper already know about this, but this summer, Alcove Market extended their hours on Fridays and Saturdays for Alcove After Hours: featuring live music, local vendors, drinks, and pizza specials. For the live music schedule and more info, check out the Jasper’s Instagram post here.
Coming up
July 28 - Always Awkward Hospitality, the restaurant group that operates Kwei Fei and Beautiful South, will be hosting a conversation on identity and accessibility at Kwei Fei from 6-8pm. The conversation will be between Always Awkward Hospitality Board Member Michael Drohan, who lives with Multiple Sclerosis, and musician Keon Masters. There will be drinks and snacks by Kwei Fei, plus live music by Keon Masters and DJ 2 Slices, and you can buy tickets here. The event will benefit the Family Resource Center for Disabilities and Special Needs, a local non-profit that promotes opportunities for learning, inclusion, and empowerment for individuals with disabilities and special needs and their families.
July 28 - Wild Common’s next Puerto Rican pop-up is this evening, with seatings at 7 and 8pm. The menu will include dishes like Puerto Rican seafood salad with tomato and avocado, and mofongo. Book on 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!