Sweetgrass Redux
Whether you’re coming by land or by sea, new chef/owner Penn Ten Eyck & company make it well worth the trip. Story and Photos by Mark Shaffer
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Author: Mark Shaffer
Enter The Dragon(s)
Story & Photos by Mark Shaffer Water Festival historians should make special note of Saturday July 26th as the day the Dragons laid claim to the most exciting, emotional and vivid daylight event of the festival. While Dragon Boat Race Day debuted last year, the 2014 edition was bigger, better and louder in every way, offering the crowds along the seawall a full day of action, fun, thrills, spectacle and more than a few tears. By day’s end there was no doubt that 2015 will continue the trend as the Dragon Boaters continue to raise money for local cancer patients and survivors.
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Cast Iron Chef
Southern Living’s Top Cook Heads to HabershamBy Mark ShafferPhotos courtesy of Time, Inc. For untold decades the Southern Living Test Kitchen has churned out recipes, perfected techniques and tortured equipment all for the benefit of the magazine’s dedicated readers. With the advent of the digital age anyone can go online and get step-by-step instruction on how to make creamy grits, crispy cornbread, fluffy biscuits and just about anything else you can think of that’s good to eat south of the Mason Dixon. Running “The South’s Most Trusted Kitchen” is one of the most coveted culinary positions in the nation and one Chef Robby Melvin approaches with a certain academic sensibility.
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Drinking in Beaufort
A Lowcountry Weekly guide to bar hopping the Downtown Historic District Story and photos by Mark Shaffer
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Drinking In Beaufort
A Lowcountry Weekly Guide to bar hopping the Historic DistrictPART ONE: THE WATERFRONTStory and photos by Mark Shaffer “The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”… says that the best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, the effect of which is like having your brains smashed out with a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick. – Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy I’ve not noticed the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster on any local cocktail menus recently, but I’m guessing that if you walked into to some of these establishments and ordered one, you might just get it – or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Beaufort is, after all, known to be a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem. That means there are plenty of options to consider when cocktail hour rolls around and quite a few more that open considerably earlier.
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Behind the Pine at the Spaghetti Club
The first thing you notice as you walk into the Spaghetti Club is the gorgeous pine bar and the rustic mass that frames it. This time-worn collection of brick, board and plank looks as if it might have once served in some ancient and storied Lowcountry watering hole – a speakeasy, perhaps – rescued from the wrecking ball to be pieced back together on this genteel corner of Habersham.
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The Spaghetti Club
The Moveable Feast gang finds that membership has its privileges… Story & photos by Mark ShafferLet’s cut to the chase. Right now you’re wondering, “So how’s the spaghetti at the Spaghetti Club?” It’s the obvious question. The short answer is assolutamente fantastico, un lavoro d’amore. And as my colleagues noted many, many times during this meal, both the meatballs and the Alfredo Sauce are “to die for.” To. Die. For. But we’ll get to that.
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A Winter’s Tale
Freak Winter Storm Can’t Ice The Beaufort International Film Festival. By Mark Shaffer Photos by Susan Deloach Photography (www.sdeloachphoto.com), courtesy of the Beaufort Film Society A few days after the 2014 Beaufort International Film Festival, I’m talking to the heart and soul of the event, Ron and Rebecca Tucker. The Beaufort Film Society office (across Carteret Street from the festival venue at USCB) is eerily quiet and just a little sad. A tremendous amount of time, energy, effort and passion go into this thing every year. It’s a little like having a child and watching it grow up and move out in the course of four days. But then there’s always the next one.
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Alumni Week
Four Questions for Some Return Contenders at the Beaufort International Film Festival Part of the fun and charm of The Beaufort International Film Festival is the campus-like camaraderie that develops among the filmmakers and festivalgoers. It’s also a major reason BIFF has such a dedicated and enthusiastic group of “alumni.” While none rival Gary Weeks’ number of nominations and appearances, we ran down a group of this year’s returnees and zipped off four simple questions to try and gauge what keeps bringing them back.
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The Constant Contender
By Margaret Evans, Editor Around here, we often refer to Gary Weeks as the Beaufort International Film Festival’s MVP. His movie 29 Reasons to Run won Best Feature Film in 2007, his script Bad Advice From Good People took Best Screenplay in 2013, and he’s had five other nominations. A triple threat – actor, writer, director – Gary’s kind of like Forrest Gump’s famed box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get. This year, he’s up for Best Actor in the short film Bet on Red and will also be presenting the award for Best Feature Film. I spoke with Gary last week, as he was preparing to head from Atlanta to Beaufort for the 8th annual BIFF.
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Celebrate with Catering by Debbi Covington
