I briefly mentioned that my recent absence was due to some time spent in the south. More south than Kentucky, that is. Last week we took a family road trip to Hilton Head Island with my husband’s parents. Then, completely by coincidence, I went back to Charleston later in the week for a conference for work.
We left Kentucky on Friday afternoon and spent the night in Asheville, NC. I was as excited about this stop as the visit to HHI because I’d never been to Asheville. Using my work and blogging connections I got a great tip for dinner – Tupelo Honey Cafe. (Thanks, Melissa!)
There are two locations in Asheville, but since we had never seen downtown we took a cab and came upon this earthy, quaint, yet trendy joint.
The menu is full of local, naturally raised ingredients. The foods are made from scratch and they had a nice selection of local beers. While we were waiting for a table, I tried the organic Pisgah Porter while I checked out the restaurant’s cookbook.
Scratch-made biscuits with jam arrived at the table soon after we sat down. For a starter, we went with the Local Goat Cheese Plate for Two. Fantastic! A generous mound of light, tangy goat cheese topped with marinated sun-dried tomatoes and olives with greens, surrounded by grilled bread.
We shared entrees – one on the lighter side and one a bit heavy, but completely worth its weight. The grilled Tupelo Tomato Sandwich had fresh tomato, havarti cheese and mayo, served with a house salad. This was a great sandwich that reminded me that spring and summer are on the way.
While I didn’t order them often, I do miss a good fried chicken sandwich. It’s nearly impossible to find naturally raised chicken served like this, but not a Tupelo Honey. The Southern Fried Chicken BLT included fried free-range chicken and maple peppered bacon on an artisan bun. It was crispy and tender. They allow substitution of any side dish for the standard home fries so I had to go with sweet potato fries.
I could have stayed in Asheville a lot longer, but the next morning we were off to Hilton Head. This is the point where I introduce you to lots and lots of seafood. My husband and I were determined to overdose on the fresh stuff. It’s way too rare here in central KY.
Our first restaurant feast was Skull Creek Boathouse with a beautiful sunset view.
We first ordered the Triggerfish Ceviche special that was prepared with Asian flavors. It was beautiful and the fish tasty, but we all agreed we like traditional ceviche better with the tangy bite of citrus.
My husband and I split most of our meals so we could try more things and I’m pretty sure we got at least one fried platter each time. We love seafood of all kinds, but when by the water with beer, some type of fried seafood is always on our menu.
Here he ordered the oyster, shrimp and flounder combo. Everything was lightly fried and full of flavor.
I ordered the Big Kahuna Tuna Burger. This sandwich was outstanding! My second favorite meal of the trip. It included a tuna steak topped with Japanese slaw and sashimi aioli. Again, tasty sweet potato fries.
Now, on to the most cultural culinary part of the trip. I read about Dye’s Gullah Fixins’ on Trip Advisor and learned it is one of the top rated restaurants on the island (for the people who discover it). It is tucked away in an almost empty strip mall and the food that comes out of this small restaurant is nothing short of amazing.
Dye takes your reservations (they are required) and will greet you at the door. She prides herself on making recipes passed down from generations that are Lowcountry, Gullah cooking. She came to our table during our meal to explain that the basis of this type of cooking is to keep it simple. Very few spices, long, slow cooking times and using only what is readily available in the area. It was southern food at its finest with such a strong history.
Drink orders came around and my husband couldn’t pass up trying authentic sweet tea. I have to be honest, to me, sweet tea is sweet tea, but everyone in South Carolina promises theirs is the best. I would expect this one was as good as it gets.
We started with Sweet Potato Cornbread – light, tender and melted in the mouth. Dye’s had pieces of sweet potato in it. (I later had some in Charleston made with sweet potato flour, which I found interesting and need to learn more about.)
The syrup on top wasn’t maple, but made from cane sugar. It was intensely sweet and complex, and went well with the buttery cornbread.
Of course we couldn’t pass up Dye’s Fried Seafood Platter. This one had whiting, shrimp, oysters, a crab cake and hushpuppies. For my sides I went all out with mac and cheese, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try her collard greens.
Everything was very lightly breaded and not as heavy as one would expect. The greens were by far the best collards I’ve eaten.
My husband ordered the Lowcountry Boil. This platter was as incredible as it looks – shrimp, sausage, peppers and onions, potatoes, corn and a hardboiled egg. It was all lightly seasoned and the flavors of the fresh seafood made it so simple, yet so delicious.
If you’re in the area, I highly recommend all these stops! Locavore eating all around, the food on our trip fulfilled all we were wanting from our short time by the shore.
