Husk

I've never had a bad meal in Charleston.  There are so many good restaurants to choose from.  But, I've been wanting to have the Husk experience for a couple of years now.   I've listened to interviews with Sean Brock on some of my favorite podcasts, he's often featured in foodie magazines and I'm familiar with his philosophy of preparing dishes from local and seasonal ingredients.  On the Husk web site, it states, "At Husk there are some rules about what can go on the plate.  If it doesn't come from the South, it's not coming through the door.  Brock explains, the resulting cuisine is not about rediscovering Southern cooking, but exploring the reality of Southern food."  Check out the link above, so you can see the lovely pictures of the dining room and read all about Chef Brock and the suppliers. 

When you walk in the front door, the first thing you see is this display board, informing guests where the ingredients for their meals was grown or raised.  As a gardener myself, this kind of thing gets me pretty excited.   I'm all about supporting local producers.  

I refrained myself from taking pictures of every course, and let me tell you it was hard.  But, even I recognize how annoying that can be to other diners.  This was our supper menu, and yes it's called supper, not dinner.  The atmosphere was casual and the servers were excellent.

We started with the pimento cheese on benne crackers.  It was awesome!!!  I love a good pimento cheese, but bacon jam!  Holy moly was that good.  I came home with a new project.  Learn how to make that bacon jam.  I ordered the chicken and Lynette had the pork.  You can see both plates below, along with a skillet of cheese grits.  We had to do it, and it was totally worth every calorie.  I love to dine with someone who enjoys discussing every detail of what we're eating.  "How did they get these grits so creamy?" "This chicken is so tender, must have been because they cooked it on the bone and then deboned it, huh?  Do you think they brined it?" "What are all these root vegetables?  Are these parsnips?" "Now, how did the server say he made this pork?  Cooked a smoked shoulder, chopped it and pressed it into shape, wrapped in pork belly?"  "What is in this tomato jam?"  And on it went.  So fun to eat with someone who gets as excited about a meal as I do!  And, I loved the pottery dinnerware.

After the appetizer and entrees, we were really too full for dessert, but we had to have the full experience, right?  I ordered the Husk S'more and Lynette chose the Ice Cream Sandwich.  It was the peppermint ice cream that got her.

Her dessert came cleverly wrapped in paper (sorry, no picture), just as you would expect to receive an ice cream sandwich.  The S'more was delicious, even though those marshmallows were a little more toasty than I prefer.  The chocolate mousse layer was the best.

We were stuffed by the time we left, but oh, so happy.  A sign of a good restaurant experience, is that you're still thinking and talking about it long after the meal is over.  I sure hope I'll be eating here again one day.   It was all that I had hoped it would be and a great new restaurant discovery.  Be sure and check out Husk when your in Charleston.  I made my reservation a month in advance and there were very few openings available, so plan ahead.  

*Take the Time Goal #55 - Try out a new restaurant each month.