"charleston" news and stories

Kris Furniss can pinpoint the exact moment he metamorphosed from Morgan Stanley money man to aspiring food world impresario. It was the week of 9/11. The Long Island bred boy had always loved food -- he confesses to reading Gourmet when he should have had his nose in the Wall Street Journal -- and was already looking for a career change. Furniss had worked in the Towers, and when they fell, he acted. Three days after the attack, he enrolled in culinary school. Today, Furniss owns and operates one of the Low Country's premier food retail boutiques with his wife Margaret in her native Charleston.

Read more about Kris Furniss and his South Carolina culinary creation after the jump.

Photo: Pointnshoot, Flickr

Shoney's is hoping a new restaurant prototype it premiered last week in the city where the family-dining franchise got its start will mark a rebirth for the beleaguered chain.

The revamped flagship eatery in Charleston, W. Va., features a new skillet-driven menu -- "we have breakfast skillets, pot-roast skillets and an apple pie skillet for dessert," boasts ShoRest marketing director Denise Biafore -- with a new orange-and-avocado color scheme and new decorations, including live plants.

"We're taking it back to its glory days," Biafore says. "A lot of people think Shoney's is a dying chain."

Porgy. Photo: jasonlam, flickr

A fish better known for its contribution to the American songbook than the American dinner plate is being touted as a sustainable alternative to grouper and red snapper. Southern conservationists are now championing red porgy, the fish that was once so ubiquitous on low-country docks that it lent its name to the hero of George Gershwin's opera, "Porgy and Bess."

While the effort has been slightly hampered by chefs' reluctance to tinker with unfamiliar proteins and the lingering social stigma associated with eating red porgy, backers believe the fish's taste and history make it an excellent candidate to diversify coastal diets.

If you like to read cookbooks instead of simply using them as a reference book, books that have a real setting are often a more interesting choice. Cultural references and stories help to place the recipes, giving you a sense that you know where they're from and what the people who enjoy the dish are like. Some authors have difficulty finding a middle ground between recipes and story, but the ones who can produce great books. The Boathouse: Tales and Recipes from a Southern Kitchen is a book that blends these two techniques, focusing on the blending of culture and cuisine where the residents of the South Carolina low country (Charleston) and the North Carolina highlands meet. There are more than 80 recipes in the book, ranging from simple Shrimp Paste Sandwiches to a decadent Chocolate Praline Charlotte with Butterscotch Sauce. The book will definitely give you a taste of the South - whether you actually prepare the recipes, or just read about them.

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