Leisure science recap for Folly Beach, SC
Dear diary,
Had a terrific food nerd experience tonight. (You know, "food nerd" as in "superstar chef appreciator.")
Debi, my rad business partner at Flock and Rally: Events + Communications for a Brave New South, and I rounded out our work retreat week with drinks and laptops and dinner on the beach deck at the new-ish, oceanfront Tides Hotel on Folly Beach.
Fun fact: The Tides Hotel is owned by the same people who owned it when it was a Holiday Inn in the Intercontinental Hotels Group! They decided to go the boutique hotel route, apparently, and here we are.
Lookin' good!
After splitting a shellfish paella so delish that we didn't have time to take any food porn photos of it, we shared a terrific dish of gnocchi with duck confit, roasted cashew, blackberry and...something else magical. Black pepper?
Again, no photo. Too busy chatting, confabulating, planning and eating. No soggy, bloated gnocchi here. When's the last time you had toothsome gnocchi? For reals. Was great.
Time for dessert.
But then I was all like, "Debi, I want to have braised bison canneloni with mascarpone and pine nut-currant relish for dessert, instead of regular dessert, please."
She was very accommodating. Great quality in a business partner!
Also, she takes great photos. This one is by her!
Don't know if you can see them but there are teensy tiny flowers atop our perfectly sizzled, braised bison canneloni. Just sayin.
Our server, Lisa, was super lovely and obviously a food appreciator as well. We couldn't help ourselves; we told her all about one of our favorite projects, the SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce's BuySC action campaign to spur diners to choose locally owned, independent restaurants over big chains. Love seeing all of the great Lowcountry Local First posters, logos and mentions all over the Charleston area while we've been in town!
We told her how we'd heard great things about Blu's chef, Jon Cropf, from L.I.M.E. founder Renata dos Santos. Man was Renata ever right! He uses local gems like Mepkin Abbey mushrooms and sustainably farmed fish from Swimming Rock Farms on his menu, and the man's got chops in the kitchen. Yummah.
Oh, and we got to try little ice cream cones packed with housemade sweet corn ice cream for a mini-dessert (despite the fact that we had bison cannelloni for dessert, technically.)
Debi takes fine photos, no?
Speaking of awesome, I've got to recommend one of the best small businesses in South Carolina to all you Lowcountry beach vacation takers: Sunshine Rentals on Folly Beach.
Going to Folly Beach, SC? Call Mike, (843) 901-0035. He not only rents fabu yellow wood-and-canvas chairs and umbrellas on the east side of the island (the kind that get set up for you each day) as well as golf carts (SunCart rentals), but he's also a true steward of the beach and a deeply cool citizen who helped establish the laws for beach rental vendors on Folly.
Oh, and how's this for a great coincidence: turns out Mike's super-cool fiancee, "Red Dread," co-founded the Lowcountry Highrollers roller derby league with our good friend ""Kitty Hit'er" from Columbia and San Francisco!
FYI, we had great meals/cocktails at some other places, too:
Lost Dog Cafe on Folly: blackened salmon BLT wrap with fried green tomato in it (amazing, had this more than once for lunch, and their muffins rock, too).
Margaritas at Surf Bar on Folly
Coconut water and fresh craft beer growlers from Bert's Market (a.k.a. The Red + White) at 2nd and Ashley on Folly
Brick House Kitchen on Folly Rd., James Island: super cool, bohemian co-op type property that opened in 2010 with 3 acres of live oaks; a big historic house; killer homemade desserts; big tables on the porch, in dining room, and outside; outdoor bar (in a converted garage, looks like?); live bands; crafts; outdoor grill w/BBQ mahi mahi sandwiches and indoor restaurant with pan fried fresh fish and such; a really cool endeavor!
Woody's Pizza was a really great spot for fun, casual group dining on the covered porch with our friends who have a young daughter. The wood oven pizza is terrific -- very flavorful sauce; thin, tasty crust; good array of ingredients; Anchor Steam on draft (yay SF!). Full bar and a saucy array of locals and tourists. Too much cheese and sauce on the pizza to render it truly crispy on arrival, but after a day on the beach, do I care? No. Honey badger don't care.
P.S. We stayed at a phenomenal little renovated 2br/2ba cottage on 120 East Hudson @ 2nd.
This location, in the center of the island a few blocks from the beach and from the marsh, is great if you like being near (but not all up in) the modern conveniences. It's one of the sweetest areas on the island for a combo of coastal woodland hideaway feel, super convenient proximity to all the cafes and bars on Center St., and Bert's Market is right on the short walk to the 2nd Ave beach access! With a rental bike and a basket, as well as a great chair/umbrella setup on the beach, our leisure science quotient was pretty high this week.
I love a good working vacation. See y'all on the other side!
Had a terrific food nerd experience tonight. (You know, "food nerd" as in "superstar chef appreciator.")
Fun fact: The Tides Hotel is owned by the same people who owned it when it was a Holiday Inn in the Intercontinental Hotels Group! They decided to go the boutique hotel route, apparently, and here we are.
Lookin' good!
After splitting a shellfish paella so delish that we didn't have time to take any food porn photos of it, we shared a terrific dish of gnocchi with duck confit, roasted cashew, blackberry and...something else magical. Black pepper?
Again, no photo. Too busy chatting, confabulating, planning and eating. No soggy, bloated gnocchi here. When's the last time you had toothsome gnocchi? For reals. Was great.
Time for dessert.
But then I was all like, "Debi, I want to have braised bison canneloni with mascarpone and pine nut-currant relish for dessert, instead of regular dessert, please."She was very accommodating. Great quality in a business partner!
Also, she takes great photos. This one is by her!
Don't know if you can see them but there are teensy tiny flowers atop our perfectly sizzled, braised bison canneloni. Just sayin.
Our server, Lisa, was super lovely and obviously a food appreciator as well. We couldn't help ourselves; we told her all about one of our favorite projects, the SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce's BuySC action campaign to spur diners to choose locally owned, independent restaurants over big chains. Love seeing all of the great Lowcountry Local First posters, logos and mentions all over the Charleston area while we've been in town!
We told her how we'd heard great things about Blu's chef, Jon Cropf, from L.I.M.E. founder Renata dos Santos. Man was Renata ever right! He uses local gems like Mepkin Abbey mushrooms and sustainably farmed fish from Swimming Rock Farms on his menu, and the man's got chops in the kitchen. Yummah. Oh, and we got to try little ice cream cones packed with housemade sweet corn ice cream for a mini-dessert (despite the fact that we had bison cannelloni for dessert, technically.)
Debi takes fine photos, no?
Speaking of awesome, I've got to recommend one of the best small businesses in South Carolina to all you Lowcountry beach vacation takers: Sunshine Rentals on Folly Beach.
Going to Folly Beach, SC? Call Mike, (843) 901-0035. He not only rents fabu yellow wood-and-canvas chairs and umbrellas on the east side of the island (the kind that get set up for you each day) as well as golf carts (SunCart rentals), but he's also a true steward of the beach and a deeply cool citizen who helped establish the laws for beach rental vendors on Folly.
FYI, we had great meals/cocktails at some other places, too:
Lost Dog Cafe on Folly: blackened salmon BLT wrap with fried green tomato in it (amazing, had this more than once for lunch, and their muffins rock, too).
Margaritas at Surf Bar on Folly
Coconut water and fresh craft beer growlers from Bert's Market (a.k.a. The Red + White) at 2nd and Ashley on Folly
Brick House Kitchen on Folly Rd., James Island: super cool, bohemian co-op type property that opened in 2010 with 3 acres of live oaks; a big historic house; killer homemade desserts; big tables on the porch, in dining room, and outside; outdoor bar (in a converted garage, looks like?); live bands; crafts; outdoor grill w/BBQ mahi mahi sandwiches and indoor restaurant with pan fried fresh fish and such; a really cool endeavor!
Woody's Pizza was a really great spot for fun, casual group dining on the covered porch with our friends who have a young daughter. The wood oven pizza is terrific -- very flavorful sauce; thin, tasty crust; good array of ingredients; Anchor Steam on draft (yay SF!). Full bar and a saucy array of locals and tourists. Too much cheese and sauce on the pizza to render it truly crispy on arrival, but after a day on the beach, do I care? No. Honey badger don't care.
P.S. We stayed at a phenomenal little renovated 2br/2ba cottage on 120 East Hudson @ 2nd.
This location, in the center of the island a few blocks from the beach and from the marsh, is great if you like being near (but not all up in) the modern conveniences. It's one of the sweetest areas on the island for a combo of coastal woodland hideaway feel, super convenient proximity to all the cafes and bars on Center St., and Bert's Market is right on the short walk to the 2nd Ave beach access! With a rental bike and a basket, as well as a great chair/umbrella setup on the beach, our leisure science quotient was pretty high this week.
I love a good working vacation. See y'all on the other side!
Thanks for the Blog of your vacation..We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Folly beach...shortly after the hurricane that destroyed much of Flolly's beach...
ReplyDeletewhat day did you eat there
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