Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Living it Up in Lake City

Currently I am working in Lake City, SC as a bartender at a local restaurant called the Railway. The Railway is located in Lake City's historic train station. The main dining room features a buffet Tuesday-Sunday and offers a Menu with a variety of Southern comfort food. The Pub Car is where the bar is located and is a great place to grab a cold beer and some delicious wings. This is one of Lake City's top restaurants and worth a trip to check it out.

Lake City is a small town located in Florence County which most people pass right by and don't even know it is there. This small town has a lot to offer however they have The Lake City Farmers Market which is every Thursday. The South Carolina Tobacco Festival is September 13-15, 2012 and it is held in Lake City, SC. This festival features a 5K Run, BBQ Cook-off, Battle of the Bands, and much more! I am looking forward to the BBQ Cook-off the most, I can't wait to try all the BBQ.

Also Lake City Farmer's Market will be hosting 2 cook-offs this September. If you or anyone you know is interested here is the information:
Call for Contestants.
The Lake City Farmers’ Market will host two cook-offs in the fall: a Chicken Bog Cook-Off on September 27th and a Catfish Cook-Off on October 11th. Each contest will have two categories and each category has a $100 prize for the best recipe. A $20 entry fee is required for each category chosen. Recipe Judging will begin at 5:00 PM with plates and drinks available to the public immediately after the Judging. $5 allows non-contestants to sample any recipe. For more information please contact Philip Huber at (843) 373-5750 or Krystal Miles at (843) 374-1500. Entry forms will be available at the Bean Market Museum.

PRIZE LIST
Best Chicken Bog ……… $100 & Trophy
Best Perlow……………... $100 & Trophy
Overall People’s Choice…………Trophy

Best Catfish Stew ……… $100 & Trophy
Best Catfish Nuggets……………... $100 & Trophy
Overall People’s Choice…………Trophy

Please try to make it out this weekend to the SC Tobacco FestivalSeptember 13-15, 2012!!!

Food Trucks for Foodies! Part 2

We got to Manning as the sun was about to set and the temperature had dropped significantly. If you have never been to South Carolina then you don't understand what hot is, so it was a relief for it to be cool. Luckily we made after the lines had died down so we first started with the Sabrett Hot Dog Stand. Now this is not a "southern food" but since my boyfriend's family is from New York we could not pass this up. He got his dog the original way, steamed bun, dog , "Sabrett" onions and spicy brown mustard, I of course got mine with ketchup being the southern that I am. As you bit down into the dog you could hear the signature "snap" of the dog which tells you its right. If you haven't tried a Sabrett you should even though its a Yankee food it's still delicious, but don't order yours with ketchup up north, that's a death wish.
Louis's Sabrett with onions, he already ate almost half before I could take a picture.

Mine with ketchup :)

The main attraction was Pawley's Front Porch Food Truck, from Columbia, SC. People drove from Sumter, Turbeville, and other surrounding areas just to eat their burger which were definitely worth the drive and the wait in line. I ordered the Wadmalaw Burger that had chipotle BBQ sauce, fried pickle chips, apple wood smoked bacon and cheddar cheese. It was fantastic, it had just a little kick from the BBQ sauce and crunch from the bacon and tang from the fried pickles. It was a burst of flavor in my mouth! I devoured the entire burger without saying a word. My boyfriend ordered the Caw Caw Creek Burger with housemade jalapeno pimento cheese, bread & butter pickled green tomato, jalapeno bacon and grilled onions. Unfortunately they were out of bread & butter pickled green tomatoes but he said that it was great even with it missing. He mainly ordered it because of the 2 jalapeno items, which gave it just the right amount of spice. The pimento cheese was creamy, tangy with some spice and the onions added tons of flavor. Plus the fries were so crispy and delicious! My parents had gone before we got there and called us raving saying we had to get there before they ran out. All in all Pawleys knows their stuff on burgers and their unique creations are defiantly tasty and successful.
Wadmalaw Burger

Caw Caw Creek Burger

Caw Caw Creek Burger

Finally the last food truck was a funnel cake vendor who unfortunately I was too full to try anything. If I had I was definitely going to try a Red Velvet funnel cake. Just the name is screams southern, combing a southern staple of Red Velvet cake and then frying it as a funnel cake. What's not to like, besides the doctor visit you might have afterwards.

I am very impressed with Manning for embracing the Food Truck movement and bringing it home. I hope to see more events like this in the future.