Author: Mark Shaffer

  Sweetgrass at Dataw serves up the Sea Islands The Lowdown Location: Dataw Island Marina (directions below) Atmosphere: “Bright and inviting; feels like a family’s comfortably worn beach house where you’re equally at home in shorts and flip flops or dressed up for a night on the town.” Cuisine: “A Lowcountry bistro with good food, simply prepared from scratch. Inventive takes on standards such as deviled eggs topped with crab, black-eyed pea hummus and warm banana pudding.” Alcohol: Full bar, excellent value wine list (most available by the glass), good selection of imported & domestic beers, specialty cocktails Hours: Serving lunch and dinner, Friday – Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. and brunch specials on Sunday. Closed Wednesday and Thursday Reservations: Recommended for Saturday and Sunday evenings several days in advance, 843-838-2151 Website: www.sweetgrassdataw.com Etcetera: The house specialty cocktails are all named for boats in the marina. We highly recommend the Dance Aweigh a clever blend of mango rum, ginger ale and fresh limejuice. At the end of a blistering hot day a couple of these will restore your humanity.

After a complete make over the waterfront icon is still the same as it ever was and more like it always should have been. Story and photos by Mark Shaffer (additional photos by Riann Mihiylov Photography) When I told my sister that Plum’s had undergone a major expansion and renovation, she gasped. Like hundreds – maybe thousands – of seasonal visitors, she’s been a regular for most of the restaurant’s 22 years. The mere thought of any sort of change to the beloved waterfront icon simply smelled of desecration. I have since assured her that nothing could be farther from the truth. Relax, Sis. They got it right. But it took a real leap of faith. 

An intoxicating recollection by Mark Shaffer “The food speaks for itself, a little bit of salt and pepper and a little bit of love.” –   Executive Chef Will McLenagan Will McLenagan has the look of a man about to slide behind the wheel of his dream car for the very first time. In essence, that’s exactly what the Executive Chef for Plum’s is about to do. After the restaurant’s complete re-fit this past winter, he’s got a brand new state of the art kitchen. Tonight he’s taking it out for the first major shakedown cruise serving 80 people simultaneously, something he never considered with the old kitchen (see the accompanying interview).

Mark Shaffer chats with Foolish Frog Chef and Co-owner Bob Roderer A few minutes into a conversation with Bob Roderer, and a couple of things are obvious. First, he’s as easy going as a sea breeze on a spring day. I’ve known and interviewed a lot of chefs and cooks and a surprising number generally come off like Tony Bourdain – which is very cool, as long as you are Tony Bourdain. I get none of that attitude here, not a shred. Second, man I wish we had the time to crack a bottle of good whisky and listen to some of the stories this man has to tell, because I know he’s got some doosies. Roderer spent years fishing and skippering charter boats out of North Carolina’s Outer Banks before getting into the restaurant business in 1985. Jockey’s Ribs is still going strong in Nag’s Head while the new restaurant marks the culmination of a decades-long dream shared by Roderer and his long time pal, Beekman Webb (see The Moveable Feast).