Tuesday, September 30, 2008

A "Two-fer" Weekend-Oct 11-12, 2008

Two great events make for one awesome weekend in the Lowcountry!  

Spend Saturday, October 11 at the Lowcountry Bounty Festival on Seabrook Island.  See what life is all about in the Lowcountry (*hint--there'll be food, festivities, and fun!)  For ticket info and a schedule of events, click here.

On Sunday, October 12, you'll want to load up the car and head up to Boone Hall Plantation.  It's time for "Taste of Charleston".  This event is sponsored by the Greater Charleston Restaurant Association and is in its 28th year of tantalizing and tempting visitors with dishes from over 40 of Charleston's restaurants.  To purchase tickets, visit the Boone Hall website.


Charleston Garden Festival at Middleton Place

The Charleston Garden Festival will take place October 17-19, 2008 at Middleton Place.

Come explore the gardens of Middleton Place. Take advantage of the demonstrations, lectures by renown gardeners, and special events for children.

The theme for this year's festival is: "Metamorphosis" - celebrating the preservation of the natural world through the life cycle of change by focusing on environmentally sound gardening techniques, designs, and tools.

Be sure and check out the schedule of events by clicking here.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Alan Fleming Tennis Tournament

It's coming to Seabrook Island October 1-6, 2008...the Alan Fleming Senior Clay Court Tennis Tournament.

For over two decades, Seabrook Island has hosted this senior clay court tournament. Originally called "Senior Island Clay Court Tournament on Seabrook Island," this tourney was renamed in 1999 when the founding tournament organizer, Alan Fleming passed away.

The tournament begins October 1, 2008 and continues through the weekend. With a field of over 250 players, there will be plenty of tennis to watch.

Thursday night festivities will include a silent auction. Proceeds from the auction benefit the Hospice of Charleston Foundation.

For more information, call or email Mike Kiser, Head Tennis Professional at Seabrook Island(843-768-7543; mkiser@discoverseabrook.com)


**Who was Alan Fleming? Mr. Fleming was the father of Peter Fleming, tennis great John McEnroe’s world champion doubles partner.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Lowcountry Events Calendar

There is a lot going on in the Lowcountry this fall. Check out the updated events calendar.

You won't want to miss Darius Rucker's (of Hootie and the Blowfish fame) concert December 5, 2008 at the North Charleston PAC. It seems Darius is getting back to his South Carolina "southern roots". He's just released a country album!

Tickets go on sale today for comedienne Lily Tomlin's show at North Charleston Performing Arts Center on February 12, 2009.

Restaurant Review: King Street Grille

King Street Grille--Located at Freshfields Village

Quick Lowdown:
  • Sit outside if the weather’s good
  • Chicken Quesadilla appetizer satisfied the entire family
  • Anything with “barbeque” in the name will be messy, but the pretzel buns are good
  • A few troubles with the wraps, but overall, they are satisfying
  • The seasoned french fries were a big hit
  • Bypass if you’re looking for traditional Lowcountry foods.
Over the past few summers, we have watched Freshfields Village grow from a few shops and a grocery store to a marketplace with something for everyone. This summer, one of the new additions was King Street Grille. We had heard good things about it, so we decided to give it a try.

Because of the perfect weather, we opted to sit outside. The interior looked very comfortable, but the mild humidity was rare, so we took advantage of it.

We started off with a quesadilla as an appetizer that was the hit of the meal. There was just the right amount of spice to make it interesting and the “extras” on the side, like sour cream, guacamole, and tomatoes, allowed each of our four-person family to customize to his or her heart’s content.

Our smallest member ended up ordering the largest entree, the barbeque bacon cheeseburger. This monster burger is not for the faint of heart. It has two hamburger patties stacked with bacon and cheese, and then smothered in barbeque sauce. Though only half was eaten and the other half taken home for another meal, it was given two barbeque-sauced thumbs up.



Dad chose the barbeque chicken sandwich. While not as covered in sauce as the burger, it was still a bit messy. When asked how his sandwich was, Dad simply answered, “It was good.”

The favorite part of the sandwiches were the pretzel buns. They are exactly what they sound like: hamburger buns made out of pretzel dough. Because they are made from a denser dough, these buns held up extremely well in the face of all the barbeque sauce.

Mom and I went for a more healthy (or at least we like to tell ourselves that) choice: wraps.

I originally ordered the shrimp sandwich, served on a croissant, but at the recommendation of our waiter, changed it to a shrimp wrap. While this was a good wrap overall, I ordered it for the shrimp and was a bit disappointed. The tomatoes, lettuce, and special seasoned sauce all overpowered the shrimp. All the flavors on their own were good, but when combined, it was hard to taste any one specific element.

Mom selected the prime rib wrap. Again, she was happy with the wrap as a whole, but felt there were some problems with it. The distribution of the “fillings” was uneven, so one bite might be prime rib with a little bit of extras, while the next bite would be a bite expected of a salad wrapped in a tortilla.

We both agree that the tortillas used were a good choice, but noticed that as we got closer and closer to the bottom, our wraps became just tortilla. Though this is to be expected to some extent of any wrap, it seemed to happen faster in King Street Grille’s wraps.

King Street Grille was a good experience. The waitstaff was helpful, the food was good, and the atmosphere and option of sitting outside was delightful. The biggest warning though, is that if you are wanting traditional Lowcountry foods, this is not the place to go. King Street Grille is great for sandwiches, but shrimp, crab, and other seafood don’t seem to be a major part of their menu.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Seabrook Island survives Hanna

Early morning word from Seabrook Island neighbors is our Sealoft neighborhood survived the threat of Tropical Storm Hanna.

All eyes are now on Hurricane Ike. Here is a great hurricane tracking site sent to me by another SI neighbor: http://www.stormpulse.com/

While there are several months remaining in hurricane season, it is still an awesome time to visit the Lowcountry. Crowds are gone from the tourist attractions. Days are cooler. Beaches are void of the tapestry of blankets and towels of the summer months. On Seabrook Island, you might discover you're the only one on the beach!

If you choose to rent a vacation home or villa, remember to ask about severe weather policies (i.e. cancellation policies). Trip insurance can be purchased to protect your Lowcountry vacation.

Y'all come visit us!