Food as Art!

“The art of dining well is no slight art, the pleasure no slight pleasure.” – Michel Eyquem De Montaigne b.1533

She-Crab Soup

She-Crab Soup

Food, oh my goodness. Charleston is food heaven, fresh and local, and this really is a huge subject, but every week or so, I simply must touch on food as the Lowcountry does it, all wrapped up in history and ambiance. Like the blend of cultures that was Charleston from the beginning, it is a creole of a place, with a rich, European feeling. The green covered Charleston “Receipts’ is a the classic cookbook that began to catalog the traditional recipes, and was printed as a fundraiser, by a group of women, in 1950, to help raise money for children who couldn’t read. Today it is the oldest Junior League cookbook still in print and is a delight, with recipes for she-crab soup, benne seed crackers, and a Huguenot torte. Cousin, Pinkney Mikell, whose family has deep lowcountry roots on Edisto, writes a wonderful, original food series at Foodsville. He is a colorful writer, who has a well seasoned take on the old and the new.

Gaulart et Maliclet CafeTwo of my favorites today, close to the French Quarter, include the little French place, opened by two artists, and named Gaulart & Maliclet, or Fast and French, at 98 Broad Street, nicknamed, in ‘American’. It is Frenchy and casual and walkable from the French Quarter, and obviously well loved by the locals. And McCrady’s at 2 Unity Alley, (walk in from the romantic alley!) is a restaurant that has soothed the thirsty, hungry pilgrim since 1778 when Edward McCrady opened the first tavern there. Today, Chef Sean Brock blends the old and the new, and is so committed to local food that he is raising his own pigs on nearby Wadamalaw Island. It is the best blend of the ‘creole’ that is Charleston, and a sensual experience on every front. Bon appetit!

I was called to be an artist. And as an old old midwife said to me "If the Lord wants you to do something, you won't have no good luck' til you do." So, here I am, sharing what I love, longing to illuminate the work of art, which is everywhere.

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Posted in art, Arts & Culture, Charleston South Carolina
4 comments on “Food as Art!
  1. I love this. This would be a great resource for travelers to Charleston. I can imagine bookmarking it, and going to a list of restaurants you have reviewed, like this. Can you make a list of Charleston restuarants?

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  2. artisticamanda says:

    I visited McCrady’s and fell in love with the place during my recent trip to Charleston. I was really intrigued to hear about Chef Brock’s farm on Wadmalaw and how the McCrady’s employees double as farmers to get the freshest ingredients possible. The food is DELICIOUS and, if I couldn’t find anything else to draw me back to Charleston (Ha! Not likely to happen.) McCrady’s alone would be worth a trip back!

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  3. Charlotte’s mention of McCrady’s brought to mind an afternoon there that was both casual and elegant, laced with the best hors d’oeuvres and the most enticing wines.The bartender whose name was Patrick was entertaining in the most intelligent way.He talked with us about Painting and Poetry and his consummate skill at bartending did not miss a beat as he attended to us and his other patrons.That most memorable afternoon McCrady’s was not a saloon but a salon.

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What’s this?

Welcome to my blog about the Lowcountry of South Carolina, a place proud with beauty, history and art. Sometimes we feel a call, to be, to go, to do. I was called to be an artist, and as an old midwife from Alabama said, “If the good Lord wants you to do something, you won’t have no good luck until you do it.”

So here I am writing about what I know, about the 'under glimmer' as the poet Basho, says, the way I have learned to see, to notice. I am inspired by, and talking about the history and art and culture of this place that has called me to herself. By the ancestors.

My background includes a degree in fine arts from a small private college in Florida, and before that, four years of all girls' boarding school in Asheville. I worked as a professional photographer, helped my children grow up, and now and I love seasoned things, good food, better conversation, beauty, my beloved and beautiful Italian Greyhound, Beau. Moved by the sacred places and stories of this beautiful historic land called the Lowcountry, I am here in spirit and I hope to infect you with my love of this place.

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