Weekly Specials CHS: July 5-11, 2024
HBD to the Caesar salad (and the deets on my two fave Caesars in town), plus the scoop on how to get gelato on Broad Street and what's opening in the former Harold's Cabin space.
Happy 4th of July! 🎇 Fireworks start downtown at 8pm, so this is a tiny last-minute reminder to keep your pets inside and safe! Here are some other pet safety tips ahead of the fireworks later this evening:
In other news, happy 100th birthday to the Caesar salad, born on this day in Tijuana, Mexico! In honor of one of my all-time favorite salads, I wanted to share my favorite Caesars in Charleston and some of my favorite Caesar dressing recipes (I make Caesar salads about once a week, so I have strong feelings):
Go-to Caesar dressing recipes
If you’re up for making mayo from scratch: Samin Nosrat’s recipe in New York Times Cooking is my favorite, if I have the time and the patience. It’s both a mental and physical test in that making the mayo from scratch while pouring the olive oil SO slowly is an arm workout in itself, and the mental part is trying not to rush the olive oil pouring so much that the mayo breaks. If the mayo doesn’t break (I’ve had this happen several times!), it’s always a delicious result.
If you’re in a bit of a rush: I am very loyal to the Vitamix Caesar salad recipe. I usually scale down the recipe using their “container size” dropdown and pick the 20-ounce container size, which makes enough dressing for one MASSIVE salad in the moment and then another MASSIVE salad later that week. Since our Vitamix is also MASSIVE I usually use a smaller food processor for this…sorry Vitamix.
If Caesar salad and deviled eggs had a baby: Smitten Kitchen’s Caesar salad deviled eggs recipe is genius and such a fun appetizer idea.
My favorite Caesars in Charleston
Melfi’s “sort-of-spicy Caesar salad”
Their dressing includes Calabrian chiles, so it’s got a little kick, and every leaf is perfectly individually dressed and seasoned. I’ve never gone to Melfi’s without ordering this.
Renzo’s Caesar salad
I love a heaped bowl of salad, and what makes Renzo’s Caesar special is the plentiful benne seeds and pepitas. Their recipe also includes celery, which adds a slight sweet and herbaceous flavor.
Am I missing any great Caesars in CHS? Let me know!
Alright, thanks for listening to my Caesar salad TED Talk. Let’s get to what’s happening this week…
Weekly Specials
Sunday, July 7th
The Surfrider Foundation and CudaCo have joined forces to host a beach clean-up on Folly from 4-5:30pm, with a happy hour afterwards at Revelry Brewing. Find more deets on their IG here and register for the beach clean-up on the Surfrider Foundation’s site.
The Little is popping up at Bar Rollins starting at 4pm with small plates like corn fritters with creme fraiche and chilled mussels with vinaigrette verde and aioli. For more info, check out the Little’s Instagram.
Tuesday, July 9th
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 through 7/30 on Resy.
Wednesday, July 10th
🚨Freebie alert 🚨 Every Wednesday this summer, if you check in with the Blackbird app after noon, the Daily will give you free smoothie!
Thursday, July 11th
Charleston Green Drinks is hosting a litter sweep before their usual happy hour, and this month’s theme is plastic pollution in CHS. Meet at Commonhouse Aleworks at 5:30pm for the litter sweep (all supplies will be provided), then there will be tabling and networking from 6:30-8pm. Wake Refill will be there to talk about no-waste plastic-free swaps (while they’re working on opening their brick-and-mortar refill store near Hampton Park later this summer, too)! Learn more about this month’s Green Drinks here.
New openings
The Select opens tomorrow (July 5th) and is now taking reservations on Resy. Located in the same building as the Guild downtown, the interior looks pretty cool. Learn more about their New American cuisine and check out the menu on their website.
Lil’ updates
Here’s some scoop 🍨 Sorelle’s Mercato space is now selling gelato! They’re open from 8am to 10pm (how early is too early for gelato, I ask myself as typing this…in this summer heat, 8am seems perfectly reasonable!) and their flavors include vanilla bean, chocolate, pistachio, and dairy-free lemon sorbetti.
A new restaurant will soon be opening in the former space of the beloved Harold’s Cabin, and the space will be named after the real Harold’s wife, Lillian! In December, the downstairs space is expected to open as a coffee shop with a provisions section featuring local produce. The upstairs will be a restaurant with a rotating seasonal dinner menu. Read the Post & Courier’s coverage of the history of the building as well as the new owner’s plans here.
Starting next Monday, July 8th, Frannie & the Fox in the Emeline Hotel will be open for lunch on weekdays (in addition to their usual dinner service and their weekend brunch). Their new weekday lunch hours will be 11am-3pm.
Hot tip from Andrew C. is that AZUR has $10 cocktails every Thursday from 5-10pm! I’m working on a list of happy hour specials around downtown Charleston…if you have any that you love, let me know!
Coming up
July 12 - Odd Duck Market is turning 1! To celebrate, from 5-9pm, they’ll be hosting a night market with live music, Cold Shoulder Gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, and wine tastings.
July 13 - 167 Raw is hosting its 10th anniversary party! From 7-11pm, they’ll be dishing out the greatest hits from their food menu, and there will be an open bar and live music, too. Book on Resy.
July 13 - Charleston FRIENDS of the Library is partnering with Charles Towne Fermentory on a Book & Beer Market! There will be books and beer as well as food trucks, art prints and vintage tees. The event will go from 5-8pm and is free, with proceeds benefitting programs at the 18 branches of the Charleston County Library. See more on the event in Holy City Sinner.
July 14 - The Palmetto Cafe at The Charleston Place will be hosting a special Bastille Day brunch from 10am to 3pm. The French-inspired brunch will feature French cheeses and croissants, as well as dishes like dauphinoise potatoes, salmon en croute, and summer vegetable tian. The experience is $65 per adult, and you can book on Resy.
July 17 - Miguel Buencamino of Holy City Handcraft will be guest bartending at King BBQ for a special Charleston Wine + Food bar takeover! From 5-6:30pm you’ll get specialty cocktails from Buencamino and bartenders from King BBQ, as well as King BBQ snacks. Buy tickets on the Charleston Wine + Food site here.
July 23 - 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. To learn more about the first reading party that happened in May, check out Ellery’s reel below!
July 24 - 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.
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!
This is awesome, Maddie! Thank you.