Britt Brat gets a permanent home
Long time friend of The Food Section Brittney Simmons—whose crab crack curation skills were vital to last March’s Garlic Crab Competition—is opening Britt Brat’s Garlic Crabs in Moncks Corner on February 22. The soft opening is 1-6 p.m. or until sold out, and Simmons promises a selection of offerings from her popular catering and pop-up events, including her number one seller, the black box special: two crab leg clusters, one lobster tail, five pieces of shrimp, potato, sausage, corn, egg, and broccoli.
“The money I made over the years in the seafood business, I saved, and now to have this dream of mine? I’m really proud of that,” Simmons says.
A native of Moncks Corner, she began cooking seafood in 2015, partnering with Marci Reid, who eventually created Dee Babygirl Garlic Sauce, the sauce Simmons uses. It will also be available for sale at the new restaurant.
Husk duo reunites at Joyland
The biggest restaurant news in town this week—or at least on my social media feed—was the grand opening of Joyland on Calhoun Street in the former Hero Doughnuts location. Eater Carolinas broke the news that Sean Brock would have a Charleston presence again–Husk’s founding chef severed ties with Neighborhood Dining Group in 2019. Joyland, Brock’s ode to fast food, first opened in East Nashville in 2020, and has since opened an additional location in Birmingham, Alabama.
Here In Charleston, two unique components point toward success, First, the kitchen stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, making it one of the few downtown restaurants serving late-night food.
Second, Brock has teamed up again with former Husk general manager Jen Bresnahan. Bresnahan worked at Husk for more than a decade, then in 2021, joined the team at Lenoir, Vivian Howard’s restaurant on Wentworth Street. Her most recent stint was at The Select—a restaurant which last week drew a rare negative review from The Post and Courier’s Parker Milner—and her return to Team Brock bodes well for the service level this fast-casual spot should be able to maintain.
Joyland on Calhoun Street/ Provided photo by Angie Mosier
Wild Olive and The OD get saucy
Wild Olive is the latest restaurant to get into the jarred marinara game, thanks to The Obstinate Daughter‘s chef de cuisine Will D’erasmo. Although the sauce is branded Wild Olive, its sister restaurant serves it too. Made with Alta Cucina plum tomatoes, D’erasmo works on the project out of the OD kitchen.
“My goal is to create packaged goods, starting with sauces, under the Wild Olive brand,” the chef says, who started this project close to two years ago.. “I’m a half-Italian kid, and it was always Sunday gravy and things like that growing up. It’s something I’m passionate about and why I started working at the Wild Olive to begin with.”
That passion has paid off by adding revenue to the restaurants’ bottom lines; the Johns Island restaurant has sold around 500 jars at the restaurant since releasing it in December, and D’erasmo has also worked to get it on shelves in markets around town, including High Stakes Butcher Shop on Johns Island, Petit Merci, and Kudzu Bakery in Mount Pleasant.
“I’m fortunate I work for a company that supports projects like this,” he says. He’s currently working to perfect the vodka sauce recipe for jarring, though he’s had to press pause for the moment. The Obstinate Daughter reopened February 13 after more than a month closed due to fire, and he’s been busy with a full restaurant.
The Bread Line
Every day they’re open, La Ideal Panaderia and Market on Remount Road in North Charleston bakes teleras, used for tortas, and bolillos—a soft sandwich bread similar to a hoagie with a crunchy exterior and pillowy inside—along with a wide selection of sweet Mexican baked goods.
If you see a line out the door, it’s probably for fresh almond pan dulces, which aren’t made on any specific schedule but at the bakery’s whim. If you miss them, an excellent consolation snack is the bolillos rellenos, filled with cheese and pickled jalapenos.
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