The bucolic village of Ridge Spring, surrounded by peach orchards, is an unlikely place to find world-class fine food, especially in a creaky-floored building that used to be a hardware store. Juniper, the restaurant Chef Brandon Viele and his wife Jeanne opened in 2005, has become what many consider to be the best restaurant between Charleston and Atlanta. It makes southern food at its finest: local produce, stone-ground grits, beef from the cattle farm around the corner are all treated with grace. Nothing’s overwrought or exotic. In some ways, it’s home cooking … in the home of a four-star chef. Also located on Ridge Spring’s Main Street (its only street with businesses) are stores that sell peaches, sausage, and pecans, plus a couple of wonderful grandma’s-attic thrift stores. Here, too, you will find Rikard’s Roadside Barbecue, where pork-belly burnt ends are known as pork candy, and a charming little town cafe called The Blue Canoe, located in a mighty repurposed bank building.
Unique Regional Dishes After 40 years and 5 million miles spent on the road looking for America's best regional food, we've assembled a list of the quintessential, must-eat food in...
Hash on Rice is the star side-dish at barbecue parlors throughout the South Carolina Midlands and Upstate. A byproduct of whole-hog cookery, but frequently also made with beef, it...
Why is brunch so wonderful? One, it almost always includes adult beverages. Two, it's far more bountiful than either breakfast or lunch. Three, there's no hurry to eat it:...
Grits can be a watery white side dish to fill out a plate of eggs, or they can be the creamiest, earthiest, most delicious corn cereal imaginable. The addition...
South Carolina is a magnificent barbecue state with diverse regional styles. Heading north by northwest from the coast, you'll eat red-sauced, mustard-sauced, and minimally-sauced pork. Hash on rice accompanies...
