Weekly Specials CHS: May 16-22, 2025
Made-to-order cannolis to welcome Spoleto, a dinner featuring Moruga Hill Rice, and a floral arranging and dumpling making workshop! Plus, three ways to support awesome local non-profits this week.
The rain is gone, and summer is fast approaching. Wishing you all a great Thursday night and a fab weekend!
Weekly specials
Looking for last-minute plans tonight?
Bar Estrella is debuting their first potato chip and Champagne tasting menu this evening at Estadio! From 5-8pm, you can enjoy what they describe as “the Epcot Center of crisps”…love it!
Circa 1886 is launching their new Summer Sips series today! Their daily happy hour will go from 5-7pm and include curated wines and well cocktails for $9, with complimentary bar snacks, too. Just order at the bar to sip inside or out on their patio. (Note that they’re closed Wednesdays and Sundays!)
CHS Ceviche will be at Wine Shop OV from 5-8pm for the Old Village’s Third Thursday stroll. Their menu will include ceviche made with shrimp, pink snapper, and mahi mahi, all caught in South Carolina.
Park & Grove is throwing another Park & Groove market from 5:30-8:30pm tonight with local vendors, live music, and drink specials at their outdoor bar.
Chef Michael Mina of Mina Hospitality Group, of which Sorelle is a part, is stopping by Sorelle for a special dinner. Guests will have the option to choose between two tasting menus: the Mina Menu, with dishes like lobster pot pie and ahi tuna tartare, or the Sorelle Menu, featuring Sorelle classics like their 'Pillows of Gold' ricotta tortelloni and lobster fra diavolo. This will be done in collaboration with Sorelle’s Executive Chef Nick Dugan, and diners will get a signed copy of Mina’s latest cookbook: My Egypt. Find the full menus and book on Sorelle’s website here.
Chef Trae from Laurel will be starting a residency at Coterie tonight! Stay tuned to Coterie’s Instagram for more menu deets as Chef Trae settles in.
Friday, May 16th
City Lights’ South African nights are back from 5:30-9pm Friday and Saturday nights. Check out the menu in their post below!
Sunday, May 18th
Alrooiiight, third time’s a charm for Fuel Fest. The previous two Fuel Fests had to be rescheduled due to weather if I remember correctly, so let’s hope the weather gods are with us today! From 11am-5pm, The Walrus will be there serving up oysters, plus Fuel will have drink and food specials.
From 5-7pm, Lowcountry Local First’s 17th Annual Chef’s Potluck will be bringing together some of my favorite chefs and local farmers at the Porter Room at Holy City Brewing for tastings, drinks, and live music. I’m a huge fan of Lowcountry Local First’s mission to build sustainable and equitable local economies, including by supporting and partnering with Charleston’s restaurants and farms. Find more info and tickets on their site here.
Monday, May 19th
It’s almost Spoleto season! I saw that they put the banner up on City Hall already. Stop by Market Street Circle at the Charleston Place tonight starting at 5pm for the unveiling of this year’s festival poster, as well as a Champagne sabering and made-to-order cannolis from Sorelle. Learn more here.
Tuesday, May 20th
Reminder: from 4-6pm every Tuesday through Thursday this month, The Tippling House is treating folks to a $10 flight, only when you pay with Blackbird.
Wednesday, May 21st
Lost Isle is hosting Chef Chaz Brown for a one-night-only event that sounds incredible. Roots to Rice: The Moruga Hill Rice Experience will celebrate Chef Brown’s roots through Johns Island and Trinidad via dishes featuring Moruga Hill Rice. The night will include a signature cocktail, rum tasting, and a four-course dinner. Buy tickets on Eventbrite for either the 5pm or 7:30pm seating.
From 5:30-7:30pm, some wonderful local food entrepreneurs will be coming together at Snafu Brewing Company for an AAPI Small Business Celebration. Seol Ah’s will be there teaching how to roll Korean corn dogs, A-Roi Thai Food Truck will be doing a sticky rice demo, and Butter Half Bakery will have her gorgeous Filipino desserts. Buy tickets on Eventbrite here.
Kultura’s second installation of their Sama-Sama Guest Chef Series welcomes Chef Yia Vang from Vinai in Minneapolis. Chef Vang collaborating with Chef Nikko on a five-course Hmong Filipino meal. Seatings are at 5:30pm and 7:45pm, and you can book on Resy.
Thursday, May 22nd
The Charleston AAPI Collective is hosting the coolest events for AAPI Heritage Month! From 6-9pm, Sarah’s Dumps and Floral Studies are joining forces for a floral arranging and dumpling making workshop. Bonus: Butter Half Bakery is providing dessert! Tickets go on sale Friday, May 16th at 5pm at www.studiosontosis.com, and venue info will be sent once you buy a ticket.
The Green Heart Project’s annual harvest dinner is back for the 15th time! The Green Heart Project was founded in 2009, and does amazing work for our local community, including building garden-based experiential learning projects, urban farms, and school garden programs. Find more info in the post below and buy tickets here.
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New openings
Pelato, a “Brooklyn Italian” spot, just opened in the former Butcher & Bee space on Morrison. This is Pelato’s second location after their Nashville one opened in 2023, and both are owned by Chef Anthony Scotto. Check out their menu here, and book now on OpenTable.
Lil updates
Eeeek I am way too excited about this: Queen Street Grocery recently acquired their on-premise license, so they can now sell beer and wine on site for us to drink there, not just to buy to-go! They’ll have monthly by the glass specials, too! Cheers to the Queen!
Through the end of May, Philosophers & Fools is donating a portion of their gross sales to Charleston Moves, a non-profit that advocates for “bicycle, pedestrian and public transit infrastructure and policies” across Charleston county. I’m definitely planning on stopping by for books and wine before the end of the month!
Here are the dishes and drinks that caught my eye this week:
I think this special might only be around through this weekend: Vern’s crispy and raw diver scallop dish looks so elegant.
The Restaurant at Zero George’s new cocktail is an ode to springtime, made with carrots, citrus, and herbs. Looks so refreshing!
Fiddlers’ Fire has a new vegan salad, and it’s dunkable! They’re mixing local greens with sugar snap peas, shaved onion, sesame seeds, and spinach, all in a shiso vinaigrette. They’re serving it alongside a tofu dressing for dipping, too! As a reminder, Fiddlers’ Fire is at Sweatman’s Garden Wednesday through Thursday from 3-10pm as well as Friday and Saturday from 3-11pm.
One of the Royal Tern’s dessert specials this week is an incredible strawberry pavlova, made with meringue, a vanilla-rose custard, vanilla whipped cream, fresh strawberries glazed with lemon verbena syrup, and a lemon verbena and roasted strawberry coulis. Heaven!
Millers All Day has a new dish on the menu: their take on avocado toast is made with whipped avocado and feta and topped with everything seasoning, spicy honey, pickled peppers, and scrambled Storey Farms eggs.
Calling my fellow olive lovers: through the 17th, Ruby’s is doing a special multigrain bagel with black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and parm. If you want to double down on olives, get the bagel with their olive cream cheese, too.
Rancho Lewis just announced their newest special, available from today through the 22nd: the Ensalada Verano. This salad is made with chopped romaine, red cabbage, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and radish, all in a citrus-avocado vinaigrette. They’ve also added their toasted pepitas seasoned with poblano salt and enchilada barra cheese for an extra bite! Yum!
Coming up
Saturday, May 31st
Odd Duck Market is turning two and celebrating with a birthday party in their courtyard from 4-7pm. JM Bros Provisions will be there cooking up pizza and other Italian snacks. Most importantly, a portion of sales from the party will be donated to Nikki Duncan, who used to manage Mellow Mushroom in West Ashley. After moving from Charleston to Asheville, NC, both of her sons were diagnosed with Li‑Fraumeni Syndrome, an inherited cancer‑predisposition disorder. Heartbreakingly, last month, Nikki and her husband lost their son James to cancer, and Nikki is currently fighting three different cancers and undergoing chemotherapy. You can donate to the GoFundMe for their family directly here: https://gofund.me/eda59ad8. If you’re not in a position to be able to donate right now, you can share the GoFundMe link or the post from Odd Duck below.
That’s a wrap!