HUSK named #1

If you haven’t been to HUSK, located at 76 Queen Street in downtown Charleston, you now have one more reason to go. Bon Appétit’s Andrew Knowlton, who helps foodies find the best-of-the-best, has honored our very own HUSK as the #1 Best New Restaurant in 2011 in the country.

Sean Brock, of McCrady’s fame (another fabulous Charleston restaurant), conceived the “farm to table” concept and gave birth to the idea in November 2010 when HUSK opened its doors. Sean selected a run-down, historic Victorian home on Queen Street and, with every detail given serious thought, watched it morph into a simplistic environment, splashed with a touch of elegance and a dot of contemporary flair to serve his “local” (meaning from the South) and diverse culinary creations.

The menu varies depending on what is fresh and available from the land or the water on any particular day. What makes HUSK’s cuisine just a bit different and a bit better than the others, as evidence of the #1 honor? It’s the ingredients and the man himself; Chef Brock. He only allows ingredients harvested or raised in the south; not only in South Carolina. To name a few, those ingredients include salt, cheese, olive oil and vinegar which Brock makes himself (the recipe can be found in the September issue of Bon Appétit). Think of Skillet-Roasted Chicken, Pork Chop with Wood-Fired Leeks, Wood-Fired Clams with Benton’s Sausage, Buttermilk Dinner Rolls, NC Fried Catfish BLT, James Island Zucchini and Squash, Fried Bread-n-Butter Pickles, and let’s not forget SC Shrimp & Grits with Okra, Peppers & Sausage and you’ll decide it’s time to experience this style of home-cooking by a master chef.

For those before or after dinner libations, check out the two-story HUSK bar in the brick building adjacent to the main house. This building is over 100 years old and has weathered many a storm and even a fire. The stories those walls have heard would probably make our hair curl and keep us mesmerized for hours. If waiting on your dining table next door or just relaxing and watching the street scene, order a drink with the “perfect sphere of ice” and served in a unique, but most logical glass to avoid diluting the powers within. Enjoy!

Social Media Step by Step: LinkedIn for Business

Local social media firm Step Ahead Inc. will continue its series of Social Media Step by Step seminars with a session on using LinkedIn for business led by company president Lyn Mettler. Since it’s much hyped initial public offering, LinkedIn has upgraded and added a number of feature that make it a useful tool for businesses to network, market themselves, promote job openings and increase their search engine visibility. Mettler will focus not just on why businesses should use LinkedIn, but mostly on how to use it most effectively including step by step direction about upgraded Company Profiles, Answers, Recommendations (for both Profiles and Services), Events, Status Updates, Groups and more. To register, visit www.stepaheadinc.com or call (843) 606-0226 or email info@stepaheadinc.com for additional information.

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners in the South

9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 24. Location will be sent to participants after they sign up. Jim Martin, lifelong gardener and horticulturist with the Charleston Parks Conservancy, will teach the class, covering such topics as getting your soil ready for planting; warm and cool season vegetables; where to find seeds and transplants and how to grow them; the good and bad of insects and diseases; healthy ways to grow a vegetable garden; and growing vegetables in containers. Get hands-on experience and see how one person made a garden. No gardening experience needed. Cost is $35. Register online at www.CharlestonParksConservancy.org or call 843-724-5003.

Natural Approaches to Dealing with Pest and Diseases in the Vegetable Garden

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Conservancy classroom space in DwellSmart, 804 Meeting St. in Charleston. Instructors are Kari Whitley, horticulturist and owner of Scout Horticultural Consulting, and Jim Martin, lifelong gardener and horticulturist with the Charleston Parks Conservancy. Topics will include natural defenses in the garden; defining the healthy vegetable garden in the context of how we garden; the major pests and diseases and which vegetables they bother; ways to control the pests without harming everything else around them; and rotating your crops for a healthy garden. The class will end at Martin’s vegetable garden on James Island. Cost is $35 and space is limited. Register online at www.CharlestonParksConservancy.org or call 843-724-5003.

Fight for Air Run/Walk

Date: Saturday, October 29, 2011

Location: Folly Beach – Edwin S. Taylor Pier – Click HERE to view map

Time: Registration begins at 8 am and the 5K Run/Walk begins at 9 am.

Stick around for food provided by Locklear’s, race, fundraising and costume awards, face painting and games!

$25 Registration fee includes event participation and Fight for Air Run/Walk t-shirt, race packet, and post race party.  Registration fee increases to $30 on October 23rd.  Registration for children ages 12 and under is only $15.

Register online via credit card or call ALA at (843) 556-8451 for more options.

Packet Pick up: Friday, October 28th at the ALA office from 9am to 6pm.

Strings Extravaganza Featuring Robert McDuffie

Grammy nominated violinist Robert McDuffie is bringing his world-renowned music to Charleston in a benefit for the Charleston Parks Conservancy. McDuffie, along with The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings Orchestra, will perform Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 2, “The American Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi at a Strings Extravaganza on Friday, Nov. 11 at the historic Dock Street Theatre.

As part of the Strings Extravaganza in Charleston, VIP ticketholders will have the opportunity to meet McDuffie as a post-concert garden party at a private home next to the theatre.  All proceeds from the Strings Extravaganza will benefit the Charleston Parks Conservancy.

 

Amped Fitness

Amped Fitness is an elite health and fitness club specializing in personal training, sports-specific training and boot camps. Amped Fitness trainers strive to assist members achieve their fitness goals and change their life. Whether you join us at our fully functional private personal training studio on James Island or participate in our Folly Beach boot camps you are guaranteed top notch fitness training from our certified personal trainers. 

Our dynamic approach is unique and has proven successful in yielding phenomenal results. At Amped Fitness, we conduct current fitness tests and assessments to administer a proper fitness plan and to keep you on track to meet your fitness goals on time. Analyzing body weight, body measurements, body fat percentage tests, body mass index (BMI), diet analysis, cardiovascular and fitness tests allow us to design a tailored fitness and nutritional program that best fits you! 

Amped Fitness Trainers go above and beyond offering the most up to date fitness knowledge, nutritional guidance and most importantly a beginning to a new lifestyle and mindset that will bring you places never thought possible.