Charleston locals are a fickle lot. Living in one of the great restaurant destination cities in the country, they are, as we say in France, bien gaté, totally spoiled.
On our last visit two visits, we ate at that hot new foodie mecca, Husk. Chef Sean Brock’s mantra is that he only uses ingredients from south of the Mason-Dixon line, to the point where he wouldn’t use any olive oil for a while until he finally found some made in the south that would meet his standards. He's an amazing guy, a food historian and a chef who understands both the science and the emotion of food, with a fanatic's passion for homegrown produce and meats.
But even though Husk was on the cover of Bon Appetit this past year as the best new restaurant in the country, the locals’ attention has strayed. They’ve been distracted by Jeremiah Bacon’s uber-chic new spot, The Macintosh (pictured above). As soon as we arrived in town, we heard the buzz. “Have you been yet?” was the first question we heard from our local friends’ lips. So of course we had to see what the fuss was about.
Though the cuisine at both restaurants have much in common---a menu that changes daily, inspired southern cuisine, and worship at the altar of the Pig---the vibe couldn’t be more different. The Macintosh, in the edgy new dining district on upper King Street, is all industrial chic: exposed brick, horizontal natural pine siding, charcoal gray walls with black and white art prints, exposed duct work. Husk is in the fine old established historic district in a graceful Charleston mansion with piazzas across the front. There are tall windows, beautifully draped, and soft watercolors over the fireplace, a sophisticated decor. The bar is especially delightful. Located in a tiny two-story carriage house next store, they’ve stripped the brick building back to its gorgeous old bones and let the architecture work its rough magic. Ron is delighted by that fact that they have a long row of artisanal bourbons on offer.
Both chefs have figured out what wonderful southern black cooks always knew, which is that you can add bacon or bacon drippings to anything and make it taste wonderful, but Husk is the more porcine-obcessed of the two. It hits you right away when they serve hot, homemade yeast rolls with a shiny glaze pork glaze, topped with sesame seeds. That’s served with butter with a hint of bacon. And so it goes. I don’t eat much meat, so I ordered oyster stew with the exquisite Carolina Gold rice, which had a bacon-fat based broth in place of the usual cream. No pork showed up in the dessert, but stay tuned.
At The Macintosh I was thrilled to see they had a winter vegetable plate that day, which turned out to be a ragout of root vegetables and greens served over rice mixed with red quinoa. Creative and delicious. One of their specialties is a side of savory bone marrow bread pudding. Don’t ask, just order it. Amid their fancier dishes, you can always find their signature hamburger, with pecarino truffle fries. Or you could just order a double order of those amazing fries and then go directly to dessert. A rich little dark chocolate cup filled with dulce de leche and slathered with a creamy chocolate sauce was the best dessert I’ve had in recent memory. Both restaurants offer lovely fish dishes, and Husk has taken the classic shrimp and grits to stratospheric new levels.
Now which restaurant to choose, if, darn it, you can only choose one? I’d go to Husk any day for the atmosphere, but for the food, I’d have to say it’s a happy toss-up. But more research is needed.
If you go, make reservations in advance. Note that for dinner, you should call weeks in advance for a week-end meal at Husk, to be safe. And by the way, if you get over to Mt. Pleasant, across the big bridge, you’ll want to hit the new thai restaurant, Basil. Oh so chic, with a gorgeous contemporary decor, an open air terrace overlooking a small lake at the back, and thai cuisine done well. Do not miss the warm banana egg rolls with red berry sauce and coconut ice cream, to finish with a grand flourish.
Favorite Reads: My friend Audrey just told me about Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes
In the Comments: to my good friend and loyal reader Mark Kane in Iowa, you asked for a report on Husk a while back, so this one's for you!
Our Reader's Blogs: Southern domestic goddess Renee blogs at Magnolia Days. She has spring gardening tips this week, and check out the gorgeous photos at her Project 365. She's taking a daily outdoor photo for a year, to stay connected to nature. Meanwhile the charming Virginia from Alabama has an equally charming blog called Paris Through My Lens. Fun photos and vignettes of Paris life.
