Author: Mark Shaffer

Chef Penn Ten Eyck Spins New Meaning for “Local Plates” Story and photos by Mark Shaffer To say Penn Ten Eyck is passionate about food and cooking is like saying Shakespeare was a decent writer. As a child he knew the chef’s life called him. It’s in his blood. The family’s got a long history in the local food scene going back decades. The Ten Eyck’s can even claim a bit of local film history, having catered the buffet spread during the post-funeral scene in “The Big Chill.”

Story and Photos by Mark Shaffer Myrtle Beach, 1977: Jimmy Buffett’s “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” is the soundtrack for the summer. “Margaritaville” floats on the ocean breeze. A little movie called Star Wars packs theaters and I’m working at a famous seafood restaurant on the Strand. I’m supposed to be busing tables, but mostly I break dishes, or that’s how I remember it. But in spite of all the crashing and yelling, I fall in love with the restaurant business. I love it still and I owe that to a lesson learned that summer, and that lesson was that I did not belong in the restaurant business.

Venerable Port Royal Eatery Deserves Her Stars Story and Photos by Mark Shaffer Going to MoonDoggies always seems like visiting an old friend’s home – the fun one where everyone hangs out in the kitchen. Maybe that’s because it’s a family affair or maybe it’s because the building is an old converted house. And like any authentic Lowcountry home of this vintage, it is steeped in character. Most of the first floor is wrapped in a rambling screened porch covered in English Ivy from floor to ceiling. The main dining room – the Lodge Room – is a vaulted chapel of exposed beams and windows, wonderfully rustic and airy. Even the floors have character. It’s all tongue and groove heart pine the original owner salvaged out of old boxcars, polished by the cargo of time. And to complete the Lowcountry ambience, it’s all nestled snugly beneath towering live oaks dripping in Spanish moss barely a stone’s throw from the salt marsh and Sandy Point in the heart of Port Royal.

Story and photos by Mark Shaffer I’m checking my email recently and there’s note from Chef Beth Shaw at Breakwater Restaurant & Bar. “Our new dinner menu is out,” she writes, “and we’ve also gone back to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday specials. I thought it would be a great time for you guys to come in and try some new stuff.” There are a lot of things I love about my job, but this sort of thing is pretty close to the top. Hell, this is the sort of thing that makes me sink to my knees and give thanks that I had the good sense to get out of the hard news racket. I mean seriously, I could be out there on the campaign trail slogging after the “presidential” candidates (the horror, the horror).

Up & Coming Sushi Chef Justin Patton Takes On the Roll at Saltus Story and photos by Mark Shaffer A brisk Tuesday night in late January at Saltus River Grill, the only place you’ll find sushi in downtown Beaufort. My wife Susan and I, along with filmmakers VW Scheich and Uyen Le, stake out prime seats in front of the sushi station. Lorrie and David Anderson join us after they lock up NeverMore Books right around the corner on Carteret. Tonight we’ve come for sushi and to experience the unique fusion of art, food and passion for which young Justin Patton is quickly building a buzz around town. Tonight he’s teamed up with buddy John Blood behind the bar. The two grew up together hanging at the skateboard park back in the day.