Weekly Specials CHS: September 27-October 3, 2024
Pumpkin spice latte, but make it ice cream! Dumpling, but make it taco! Plus, the Archer's first pop-up, and caviar toro hand rolls at Graft's "After Hang". Stay safe out there!
Tiny formatting note: Substack is not liking how many links I include every week, unfortunately! I usually prefer to link to every single local restaurant or business that I mention in Weekly Specials CHS, to drive traffic to their sites and, more importantly, so readers can easily learn more about businesses with which they might not be familiar. However, the sheer amount of links and the space they take up in terms of email file size means the overall amount of content I am able to include in each newsletter is pretty short. So that Substack will let me include more events, I’ll only be linking the most important booking info/resources for each event in my newsletters, rather than linking every local business mentioned. If you’re ever need help finding more info on a specific restaurant, shop, or business, please message me, and I would be happy to help! Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 🤣
Weekly Specials
Hoping everyone stays safe in the storm these next couple of days! Keep in mind that any of the below events (especially outdoor ones) might get cancelled or rescheduled due to the weather!
Looking for last-minute plans tonight?
My favorite local vegan muffin company, the Muffin Drop, is launching a truly delicious sounding collab with Off Track Ice Cream, who make my favorite vegan ice cream (along with lots of wonderful non-vegan flavors, too)! This newest fall flavor from Off Track, their vegan pumpkin spice latte, features the Muffin Drop’s latest flavor: pumpkin pie! How incredible does this sound: Off Track uses Foresight Coffee Roasters cold brew in their vegan ice cream base, then they fold in chunks of the Muffin Drop’s pumpkin pie muffins! They’re celebrating with a post-dinner pop-up tonight from 6:30-9pm at Off Track. Can’t wait to try this sweet treat that sounds absolutely perfect for fall.
It’s National Dumpling Day! To celebrate, Sarah’s Dumps and Dave’s Smoke & Tacos are collaborating again in celebration! They’ll be crafting up the menu below at Odd Duck Market from 6-8pm.
Friday, September 27th
The Little is taking over Philosophers & Fools for a small plates pop-up, starting at 4pm! More menu deets in the caption of the Instagram post below.
Cousin Nik is popping up again at Babas on Meeting. I went to one of his last pop-ups there and had a great time…amazing pasta, and Babas always has a fab wine menu. Get your tickets here and check out more about Nik’s pasta plans on his Instagram.
Saturday, September 28th
Bevi Bene Brewing is hosting a Fall Vegan Market from noon to 4pm! See more information on Facebook.
I love how full circle this is…the Archer started as a pop-up event at their sister restaurant, Berkeley’s, and now the Archer is hosting their very first pop-up! Local petite dessert company Roxa is headed to the Archer for a late-night party from 8pm-midnight! No tickets necessary and you can find more info on their Instagram post here.
As part of this weekend’s celebrations around the Charleston Food + Wine Classic, Wild Common will be featuring Chef Freddy Money of Atlas, an Atlanta-based Michelin-starred restaurant, for a multi-course tasting menu focused on one of the best ingredients out there: tomatoes. Book on Resy!
For an “After Hang” after the Food and Wine Classic, Graft is hosting two guest chefs for some very delicious sounding bites. They’re promising toro caviar hand rolls (!!) by Jordan Rubin of Mr. Tuna in Portland, ME, and pizza from Chef Anthony Guerra of Raleigh, NC’s Oakwood Pizzabox. The “hang” will go from 9-11pm and you can buy tickets here.
Rita’s Roots will be at Holy City Brewing Co. from 10am-2pm to kick off their fall gardening sale! There will be food from Chef Maya, and Lowcountry Street Grocery will be there too, hopefully with their produce truck (AKA Nell!)
From pretty plants to spooky skeletons! From 3-6pm, after the Rita’s Roots event, Holy City Brewing is launching their Southern Screams haunted house, called CONJURED. At this Sinful Sips event, attendees will get a preview of CONJURED’s “RIP section”. There will be oysters from the Walrus and a wine list from Cardel Wines and Imbibe, plus live music. This Sinful Sips event is free to attend (but raw bar and wines are for purchase!), then CONJURED starts at 7 (looks like you’ll need tickets for that!)
Munktoberfest at Munkle Brewing Co. is happening all day, with food from Fiddler’s Fire - including brats & pretzels - and a live German band from 4-6pm.
How lovely does this sound…Charleston County Parks is hosting a new event called Birds of a Feather at Caw Caw Interpretive Center from 5-7pm. Tickets include live music, wine, beer, and food from Roti Rolls. Buy tickets here.
Sunday, September 29th
Chef Nikko of Kultura is collaborating with Wild Dunes Resort to host a beachside Filipino barbecue! Wild Dunes Lead Bartender Jessica Backhus will be there mixing up tropical drinks and Filipino-inspired cocktails, too! The Filipino feast will happen at the Grand Pavillion North Pool at Wild Dunes Resort from 2-8pm rain or shine. Buy tickets here, which will get you entry to the event, access to the Wild Dunes resort’s pool and private beach, a themed reception beverage, a serving of the lechon, and complimentary valet parking.
Estadio is hosting a “Spanish Lowcountry boil” with Alt Muse Co in their garden from 1-4pm. Learn more and snag tickets on Resy!
It’s the last day of Sipland’s residency, The After School Special, at the Charleston Place! If you haven’t been, head over for an espresso martini, or an equally delicious N/A version. In case you missed it, I covered the launch of the residency a few weeks ago and interviewed the founders of Sipland. You can learn more about Sipland in that newsletter here!
Tuesday, October 1st
Aswang Noodle Club is popping up at Cutty’s Elliotborough every Tuesday through the end of November, starting at 7pm.
Wednesday, October 2nd
This sounds so fun…Kwei Fei is hosting a series of Baijiu dinners for ten guests only! This includes a five-course meal complete with Baijiu pairings. Tickets are on Resy, but it looks like this dinner sold out super quickly, and they added another dinner the following week due to this high demand…but it’s sold out as well! You can use Resy to set an alert to be notified about any cancellations.
Lil updates
The New York Times just released their annual list of their 50 favorite restaurants (that’s a gift link so there shouldn’t be a paywall), and Johns Island spot Lost Isle made the list! Congratulations to the Lost Isle team on their inclusion and glowing review!
Frosé for good! Through the end of October, Wine Shop OV is donating a dollar from each rosé or frosé purchase to the OV Flock, a community-led fundraiser for Make-A-Wish South Carolina.
Starting October 6th, Beautiful South is launching Dim Sum Sundays! Learn more in their post below.
Did you know that every Saturday night, La Bonne Franquette does wine and chocolate pairings at the bar? RSVPs are required and look how cute their little fall wine and chocolate setup is, below!
Funky Wunders is launching grab and go banh mi sandwiches and noodles at Paddock and Whisky’s James Island location! Menus will drop each week on Fridays, and you can learn more by clicking on the Instagram post below.
Bearcat just announced some new weekly plans, including Tuesday Industry Nights, when F&B workers can get half-price tequila and 15% off their bill, Wine Wednesdays with half-price bottles and select glasses for $10, and a new late night bar menu from 10pm to midnight Tuesday through Saturday, with oysters, snacks, and sandwiches. Check some of those late night snacks out in their IG post below:
Blackbird specials
Blackbird just announced the launch of their Breakfast Club in Charleston, which is essentially a $25 monthly pass that unlocks a daily coffee or tea from six awesome spots around town! I remember when they launched this in NYC, and it sold out really quickly. I’m a member and have made use of this Blackbird pass already…I am loving it! Learn more here:
There have also been SO many Blackbird special deals going on this month! I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to organize them all, especially as this is the last week of September and some deals are ending soon. Here’s what I’ve pulled together for the next week:
Thursday September 26th:
Last night of Blackbird Beer & Bao at Kwei Fei, 5-7pm
Last night of free happy hour bite or drink at Malika (4-7pm) and Ma’am Saab (4-6pm)
NEW: Thursdays through 10/10, stop into Graft Wine Shop for 20% off of your retail purchase (up to $100), using Blackbird! They’re open for retail shopping til 10pm
Friday September 27th:
Get a free drink at Estadio on Fridays and Saturdays from 11am-2:30pm, and only if you purchase lunch, too.
Last day for a free appetizer at Florence’s Lowcountry Kitchen (James Island).
NEW: Tippling House will be hosting a FREE Champagne night from 10pm to midnight. You can get a free glass of Champagne if you check in with them via Blackbird!
Saturday September 28th:
Last day of the Estadio free drink at lunch deal (deets above)
Sunday September 29th:
Last day to get a free super chill martini and an order of dumplings at Beautiful South from 4-6pm
Farewells
Cru Café sadly announced this week that they’re closing after 23 years. My family has had so many lovely dinners out on their patio…they will be so missed downtown! Their last service will be this Saturday, September 28th (you can learn more on their Instagram here). It looks like their reservations are fully booked up until they close, but you can set a Notify alert on Resy (Also, Cru Catering will be staying open and operating, thankfully!)
Plus, Chasing Sage’s last dinner service is on October 5th. Book on Resy to visit them a last time before they close!
Coming up
October 4th: It’s the last dock party of the season at Crosby’s! Their food truck will be there from 6-9pm, along with beer and live music. Check out their IG post for more info.
October 6th: Wild Common is hosting Charleston-based private chef Lauren Furey in celebration of her new South Carolina PBS television show, "Now We're Cookin”! Lauren will join Chef Pagan for a tasting menu and an exclusive pre-screening of the first episode! Tickets look pretty sold out, but you can sign up for Notify alerts on Resy!
October 6th: Today is the 7th annual Lewis Hatch Chile Roast! From 1-5pm at Rancho Lewis and its courtyard, Pitmaster John Lewis will be heading up the effort to roast over 3,000 POUNDS of Hatch chiles! Lewis will be partnering with over 30 local restaurants, including 167 Raw, Bintü Atelier, Le Farfalle/Porchetta Shop, Ma'am Saab, Merci/The Drifter, Palmira BBQ, and Vern’s, among many others. General admission is free, but a $10 donation to Friends of Joseph Floyd Manor is suggested. DYK that last year, the event raised enough funds to provide groceries for over a year for Friends of Joseph Floyd Manor?! You can pre-order chiles here, and follow Rancho Lewis on Instagram for more updates.
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!