Lowcountry Produce Market & Cafe

302 Carteret Strewet
Beaufort, SC 29902
(843) 322-1900
Website

In Beaufort, South Carolina it's much like you imagine sleepy southern towns. Everyone is friendly, the pace of life is SLOW, and the food is simple yet produced with the care of a family member trying to comfort their kin.

Lowcountry Produce Market is a beautiful setting for a Southern market and lunch spot. Housed in an old post office, the subway tile interior is accented by large pillars, and huge floor to ceiling shelves.

The food was straight out of Southern Living. I started with the pickles and pimento cheese plate. The green beans were bright, snappy, and had the balance that so many restaurants get wrong. The pickles were just as good, though had a sweet bite to them that contrasted perfectly. However the hands down star of the show was the pimento cheese. My god, this was the best I have eaten. And I have eaten quite a bit of pimento cheese.

The loosely shredded cheese was accented by the sweetness of pimentos, had a perfect temperature and consistency, but there was an X factor, I just couldn't put my finger on. It turns out, there are some spicy banana peppers mixed in (and what I imagine was a bit of their brine), which creates a flavor explosion – the likes of which I have not tasted in this form. Form being cheese ball, obviously.

Everything about this dish was perfect.

My sandwich was a mixed shrimp and oyster po' boy, served with tarter sauce and house made chips.

The cornmeal batter on this was divine. Heavily seasoned, the crunchy shell stuck perfectly to the tender fried seafood. I could have eaten this all day. My only gripe was the tarter sauce had no place near this ocean bounty in hotdog form. A smokey chili aioli or something more appropriate would have sent this over the top.

The chips were fried to perfection as well, and had a skillful amount of sea salt sprinkled on top. A coastal Southern lunch if I have ever had one. I wish I was able to eat this way on a weekly basis.

1st Ward Sandwich

100 Morris Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148
(215) 551-8000
Website

Only 4 years after I moved out of Pennsport, the neighborhood starts to look more appealing. Don't get me wrong, I prefer the old school Philly neighborhoods before gentrification, but there's something to be said for that stretch of time in-between when the mix of old and new struggle to find balance. The 1st Ward is one of those newcomers who has all the appeal of an up-and-coming neighborhood joint and so I went in with high hopes.

The decor is pretty basic, but it's tastefully bright and welcoming for being on Front Street right under 95. They have a clean presentation style and serve the sandwiches on cutting boards. Everything seems pretty good so far. Their menu is small, think of a pseudo-Paesano's style set of options, but fresher; well, not fresher but maybe healthier?

I went with the fried oyster po'boy and my friend tried the schnitzel. I was somewhat surprised to see my po'boy come out on an Italian seeded roll. I understand the 'fusion' they're going for here, but I think maybe this was taking it too far.

It comes served with "fried Chesapeake Bay's, spicy mayo and lettuce-tomato slaw." This sounds good but the execution definitely fell short. The slaw wasn't a slaw at all, it was more of a large-chop which made it sort of difficult to eat. The oysters were small, sort of heavy on the breading, but the flavor was there. Actually, for looking so wet, the whole thing was kind of dry and literally had no resemblance to a po'boy (and believe me, I've eaten my way around New Orleans enough to know the truth).

I mean, just call it an Oyster sandwich.

My buddy's schnitzel boasts, "thinly pounded pork loin, greens, fried egg, grain mustard on a butter roll." First off, there was no butter roll in sight. It was the same long seeded Italian roll. Which is fine, but again, let's just call it like it is. Another very dry sandwich. Weakly seasoned all around. Meh. I don't need to say more.

But hey, the fries were awesome. I asked if they had any aoili sauces for dipping and the cook said, "you mean like mayonnaise?" and I sadly replied, "I guess." She proceeded to spoon mayo out of the jar into a little cup for me. What about that spicy mayo that was on my oyster sandwich? Throw me a bone here people. Maybe they've worked out the kinks, but I don't expect I'll ever go back to find out.

Mahony's Po Boy Shop

3454 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70115
(504) 899-3374
Website

In a place overflowing with cheesesteaks po'boys, it's hard to stand out among the crowd. One way to do so is to offer a twist on the traditional. Mahony's is one of those places.

Located on the hip and affluent Magazine Street, on the southwest side of town, this place packs a blue collar charm mixed with some interesting variations on tradition.

Part bar, part restaurant, you will find a no-frills interior, with well positioned TV's to watch the game. Whatever game that may be.

The three standouts here are the "peacemaker," the fried chicken livers and slaw, and the root beer glazed Chisesi's ham and cheese. The peacemaker was so named because blues musicians, being men after my own heart, used to be out until all hours of the morning. So they would bring home one of these to appease their significant other. A splendid idea.

Oh, and the super thin onion rings. Hot damn these were addictive.

The beef and cheese fries didn't hurt either. My God I am fat.

We had a couple of people eating together, so they graciously brought out a sampler.

The "peacemaker" contained fried oysters, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Indulgent and delicious.

The fried chicken livers and slaw had . . . chicken livers and slaw.

However the grand champion of them all was undoubtedly the root beer ham. My lord. The glaze on the ham was sweet and deep, and the ham thinly sliced, tender, with just the right amount of salt.

This was such a unique combo, and would be my #1 go-to order for my next trip to Mahony's. Which should be in a couple months. I can't wait.