Scratch Italian Kitchen & Bar

Since moving to Beaufort, whenever we got an itch for a burger, Fat Patties was our balm. It was our go-to place for ooey-gooey, perfectly prepared, made-to-order burgers, with creative menu options or all the choices for build-your-own burger heaven. And, did we mention the heavenly beer selection?

But times change, and sometimes, you’ve just got to shake things up a bit. Which is exactly what Nick Borreggine, co-owner of Fat Patties (along with Shellring Ale Works and Alvin Ord’s Sandwich Shop) did this past fall when he shuttered the beloved burger and beer joint.

“Fat Patties was hit pretty hard by inflation,” says Borreggine.

Between rising food costs, wanting to keep his employees paid well, and what the market would bear for a burger, Borreggine just couldn’t make the numbers work. “Also, Fat Patties and Shellring competed to an extent, so we wanted to move away from a beer focus to diversify our company,” he continued.

With a dearth of ethnic restaurant options in Beaufort, Borreggine—who grew up in an Italian Catholic family—felt the time was right (and ripe) for an Italian restaurant. A place offering scratch-made pasta (yep, that’s where the name came from) in all kinds of shapes, with a variety of creative sauces and fillings. A place with elevated starters that could be eaten family style or combined to make a meal. A place with authentic Italian desserts and a well-curated selection of Italian wines to complement the meal. And a place that has the vibe of an Italian trattoria. Welcome to Scratch Italian Kitchen + Bar.

Opened last October, Scratch—led by executive chef (and Beaufort native) Garrett Priester—is now welcoming guests to experience a casual, family-friendly Italian meal. The space is familiar from its Fat Patties days, but the décor has been enhanced into more of a trattoria feel, with imported Italian tiles on some of the walls and bar, lots of live plants hanging from the rafters and tucked into corners, black and white photos of pasta making, church pews used as bench seating (Borreggine is Italian Catholic, after all), and sleek metal chandeliers that look like strands of spaghetti. The former gelato space has been converted into a pasta making station where guests can watch the noodles being made, and a massive wine rack covers the back of the bar, replacing the draft beer box.

Once seated, the friendly staff welcomes you with water and

complimentary and heavenly salt-crusted focaccia (thankfully, you can order extra rounds for a small fee), plus olive oil for dipping. The menu starts with an impressive lineup of shareable starters, including crispy polenta frites, served with a trio of dipping sauces; whipped ricotta cheese with focaccia chips; and fried calamari.

Heartier starters that could be shared or are large enough to be a main course include: a picturesque cheese board of varied Italian cheeses, along with nuts, olives, mustard, and other accoutrements (if you’re with a group, trust us and order it for the table); pork and beef meatballs that have been slow-roasted in a spicy tomato emulsion; tuna crudo with olives, pine nuts, and olives; mussels in a white wine garlic butter sauce; and roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta and garlic aioli.

Salads—with a choice of Caesar; crunchy greens with kale, shaved Brussels, apples, and burrata cheese; and roasted beet with goat cheese and arugula—are large (they can also be ordered in half-size), and can be topped with meatballs, crispy sausage, pesto shrimp, lemon chicken, or lump blue crab (for an added fee).

The pastas are where Scratch really shines. That’s as it should be, in that Borreggine and his team bought pasta machines directly from Italy. With an extruder that can pump out ten pounds of ten different shapes of pasta in three minutes, they are producing oodles of noodles. We’re talking spaghetti, bucatini, radiatore, rigatoni, campanelle, orecchiette, casrecce, and more. And, then there’s even a new pasta sheeter, which can make all kinds of sheets of pasta for tagliatelle, ravioli, tortellini, cappelletti, and more.

Pasta sauces are just as varied, with some of the offerings including:

a simple tomato sauce; garlic and olive oil; a spicy sausage, collard, and bacon ragu, frutti de mare seafood sauce; mushroom, arugula, and prosciutto; and a lump blue crab, Calabrian chili, and garlic-bay butter sauce, just to name a few. Like the salads, all can be topped with meatballs, crispy sausage, pesto shrimp, lemon chicken, or lump blue crab, for an additional charge.

There are several entrées on the menu for heartier appetites, like roasted chicken with lemon, capers, lemon butter, and roasted root vegetables, along with beef short rib Barolo, served with oyster mushrooms and mascarpone polenta.

We went with some of our favorite DISH dining friends to allow us to experience more of the menu. For research purposes only, we started with the cheese board, the tasty and perfectly spicy meatballs (the focaccia is ideal for dipping!), and the incredibly fresh tuna crudo, all for sharing.

We then went our separate ways for our entrées. Cele, with her Chesapeake Bay background, couldn’t pass up the casarecce with lump blue crab. Lynn opted for the seasonal butternut squash ravioli with sage, candied pecans, and brown butter (which has been the most popular item on the menu, followed by the orecchiette with sausage, collard, and bacon ragu). Both were delicious and hearty servings (who doesn’t love leftovers!).

Our companions were much more carb-conscious, with their choices of mussels and Brussels sprouts and the crunchy greens salad, all of which were large enough portions to take home plenty.

Sadly, we didn’t have room for dessert, but the cannoli, tiramisu,

panna cotta, and Italian cookies of the week (rotating from Nick’s grandmother Nona’s recipes) all looked amazing. So, we’ll be back, and probably by the time you’re reading this.

The cocktail list is impressive, starting with a strong selection of Shellring beers (thanks be to the beer gods). There was also a couple of Italian craft beers (grazie mille!), along with plenty of domestic and import options. The wine list is decidedly Italian, from Pinot Grigios to Soave Classico and Chianti to Barolo and everything in between. They also feature a lovely selection of prosecco spritz and classic cocktails, as well as limoncello and cappuccino for after-dinner drinks.

Scratch recently started lunch service featuring many of the same starters and salads, along with an ample selection of hearty focaccia handhelds filled with Italian meats like porchetta and mortadella, plus meatballs, chicken cutlet, braised short ribs, and shrimp sandwiches, all served with Kettle chips.

Now back to that burger itch for a moment. Although we’re still grieving the loss of our favorite Fat Patties burger, we love knowing that we can scratch that itch with the burgers that are in the rotation at Shellring. And now we can also scratch our Italian itch at, well, Scratch Italian Kitchen.

 

Scratch Italian Kitchen

831 Parris Island Gateway

Beaufort, SC 29906

843-379-1500

www.scratchitaliankitchen.com

Daily 11:00am-3:00pm for lunch; Sunday-Thursday 4:00pm-9:00pm; Friday-Saturday 4:00pm-10:00pm for dinner service.

 

Beaufort-based travel journalists Lynn and Cele Seldon (www.seldonink.com) often cover culinary travel around the world and Lowcountry Weekly lured them to write a monthly feature covering the local food scene. This includes articles about restaurants, chefs, food-focused stores, farms, farmers, farmers markets, and more. They welcome suggestions for topics, as well as recommendations for their upcoming book, 100 Things to Do in the South Carolina Lowcountry Before You Die.