Published Date : August 13, 2012
Author : admin
Sometimes things don’t work out the way we plan. We may start out moving in one direction and wind up doing something completely different. Other times, we may plan to do something and take a different path to get there.
Congressman Mick Mulvaney is an accidental politician…sort of. He planned to serve in elected office as a way to help his community, but he found himself in Congress due in no small part to his predecessor who upset the wrong constituent one night.
Congressman Mulvaney tells CRESCENT how several unplanned circumstances led from him writing a conservative newspaper column to being the state’s congressional delegation expert on the federal budget and how dollars, cents, and common sense are interconnected.
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You served in the state House, you served in the state Senate, and you did both very quickly, rising through those ranks before you got to Congress. Where did you start politically? What got you into this whole thing?
It started as a columnist for the Charlotte Observer. I won a writing contest about, I guess it was ten years ago now…a community writing contest for the local Charlotte paper and I wrote a monthly conservative column. At that time it was a Knight-Ridder paper, now it’s a McClatchy paper, not known for its lack of left-wing bias. It’s one of the most left wing papers in the country. They’re owned by the same folks who own the Sacramento Bee, for crying out loud. It’s a left-leaning paper so to be one of the one or two folks actually given the opportunity to write conservative materials for that paper was very exciting. The more I did it, the more I realized not only that I enjoyed it, I was pretty good at it. I’ll never forget the last column I wrote, which was just excoriating the paper for misleading people on environmental policy and the editor called me and said, “Look, I got news for you. I’m going to print everything you just wrote, but you’re never going to write anything for this paper again.” And I got out of that and I got picked up by one of the local conservative newspapers, one of the free weeklies that I wrote for a couple of years, and that’s how I got into it. I just got interested in politics through writing.
Once you got into elected office, did you see yourself moving through the ranks so quickly and being here?
No, in fact, it was sort of accidental. Keep in mind, South Carolina state politics is part-time. And, at the time that I ran the first time in 2006 for the state House, we had several growing businesses. I was in the real estate business. We were looking at that time at starting a home-building business, that we eventually did start. I was mildly active in the restaurant business at the time, so I was very, very busy in the private sector but was able to do that job down in the state House on the House side, at the same time. I really liked that. I liked the idea of being a part-time legislator. Go, put your service in for three days out of the week, five months out of the year, and the rest of the year, go run your business. And you could do that in the state House. The Senate race was by accident. The downturn came and my senator was in the building product industry, and his family business, a hundred year old business, was really in severe risk of going out of business. And he came to me and said, “Look, I think I have to step back from this.” He’d been in the senate for sixteen years, he’s only my age. He was Greg Gregory. He was moving up the ranks. He was a very high ranking member of the Senate already and he said, “Look, I think I’ve got to go back and run the business. Do you want to run for the Senate?” OK, how different can it be from being in the House? Turns out it was. Senate is a lot bigger time commitment in state government than the House. You represent three times as many people, and they really do expect you to spend more time. So I was doing that and struggling with it because I still had those businesses at the same time. I had a bigger commitment to state government but was figuring out a way to make that work when I went down and saw my predecessor John Spratt give a town hall meeting on healthcare. I got angry for not the least of reasons being that he asked that made me show my driver’s license to get into the meeting. This was in my Senate district and I had my Senate ID and they would not let me in to see my Congressman on that, I had to show them my driver’s license. I was just angry. I remember, I called my wife that night and said, “Look, I’m angry.” I told her that and I asked, “Can I run for Congress?” She said. “I don’t know. Could you win?” I said, “No.” She said, “Then you can run.” Because we had the businesses. We had triplets. It was not…we never anticipated doing this. That’s a real long way of saying it’s almost been by accident each step of the way. I expected to spend six to ten years in the South Carolina House on a part-time basis, growing my businesses and then getting out, letting somebody else do it. Then I sort of ended up here by accident.
That time in the Senate, Harvey Peeler nicknamed you and Phil Shoopman “The Nitpick Caucus.”
Yes, that’s right. I never could get who was Nit and who was Pick but, yeah, I will take that.
Well, was Senator Peeler accurate and why?
Well sure. And Phil and I…and listen, Harvey Peeler is one my favorite people in the Senate. Harvey Peeler to me is so much about what South Carolina is. At the end of the day, he’s not the majority leader in the Senate, he’s not from this big old famous South Carolina political family. He’s a farmer. That’s what he is. He’s a conservative Southern farmer. I don’t care if you call him a Democrat or Republican. He was a Democrat for part of his life. He’s a Republican now. It doesn’t make any difference. Harvey Peeler is a conservative Southern farmer and I think, in so many ways, he exemplifies a lot about what’s great about this state and about the South. He’s one of my favorite people. He always had fun with me and Phil and used to make fun of the fact that we used to read the bills. You know, we’d go over them pretty clearly. We’d want to talk about the impact of a particular word or sentence on a piece of legislation or piece of law. Plus Phil and I always love the rules of the Senate and it was one of the things we learned very early on. It was one of the things the new guys…see, seniority in the Senate drives so much power. You know, if you’re the new guy, typically, you sit around and wait for sixteen years before they give you something real to do, unless you knew how to use the rules. And I remember very clearly sitting in Glenn McConnell’s office at the end of the first year that we were in the Senate. He was having a celebratory glass of wine and Shoop and I sort of wandered in. And he’s sitting there talking with some of his close friends and he looks at us and, I cannot do the accent, but you can imagine, McConnell saying this: “I haven’t figured you two boys out yet. I can figure out if I like ya or I hate ya.” We were stung by this. We just said, “Why is that, Senator?” “Y’all ask way too many good questions for only having been here a year.” And I took that as the highest form of praise from Senator McConnell. So, yes, the Nitpick Caucas…I’m sad to see Phil leave. It’s a real loss for the Senate. He is a true gentleman and the kind of guy that is a real positive for the state but I wish him very well in this new business he is pursuing.
You, Tim Scott, Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy, all elected and have become well-known inside and outside the beltway for working frequently so closely together. Some in the press have called you the Fab Four. Are you John, Paul, George or Ringo?
I don’t know, probably John because I’m the mean one. And Trey would be Paul because everybody loves Trey. Trey’s just this “aw shucks” Southern gentleman. He’s always dressed to the nines on the floor except the days he forgets to comb his hair and shave. I don’t know. I’ve never stopped to think about that but if the angry, cutting edge, raw guy is John, that’s probably me. I’m probably the least liked of the four in Washington. Certainly that would be the case with leadership. They can’t stand me. And they can somehow tolerate the rest of the guys. It’s a good group. I’m going to think that through. So I’m John and Trey is Paul. I don’t know because I’m a big Beatles fan so I don’t want to put a square peg in a round hole so I don’t where the rest of them fall. I don’t want to say.
Maybe it’s multiple Johns and multiple Pauls?
There you go. In fairness, depending on the issue, that’s often the case. It it’s an energy issue, I defer to Jeff Duncan. I mean we do. We get an energy bill come across the desk or an amendment on the energy bill, an amendment that deals with energy, we call Duncan’s office and say “Get us up to speed on it.”
And of course, he made a big splash recently with Governor and Lindsey Graham and the press conference on off-shore drilling, and you signed on with that, as well.
Absolutely, but I’m more than happy to take a back seat to Jeff on that because that’s what he knows. And I think one of the things we figured out early on was that the federal government is so big we’re never going to know everything about it. And we will be better served as a delegation and thus better serve our state if I take the budget issues, Trey takes the legal and oversight issues, Jeff takes energy and national resources, Tim is on the Transportation Committee and obviously spends a lot of time dealing with the port but is also at the leadership table, so we have sort of divided up the work and it’s been extraordinarily helpful to us doing that. When you saw Eric Holder (“Fast and Furious” controversy), Trey Gowdy was front and center, and that’s for a reason…he’s really, really good at it.
For Part 1, Click HERE. Stay tuned for Part 3.
PHOTO CREDIT: Mulvaney for Congress on Facebook
Published Date : August 13, 2012
Author : admin
One thing that people don’t think about is that chefs have lives outside of their restaurants. They have families. They have hobbies. They have to eat, so they cook or go out. They are parents. What about those things?
That’s how we’re rounding out our feature on Chef Brent Quiggle. At the restaurant, “My business is back there in the kitchen, and I can tell you where the nooks and crannies are and what needs to be done,” he says. What about the time he’s not devoting to Daniel Island’s Queen Anne’s Revenge?
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Where do you eat when you’re not here? When you’re not cooking at home, where do you go? What’s your go to? And what’s the one that you don’t want to admit to anybody?
Honestly, my favorite restaurant has got to be McCrady’s . Not because it’s out sister restaurant. I’ve had the best meals, most exquisite food, just over the top. That stuff. You know, they’ve got their own garden on the roof, and it’s my ultimate in what is out there. I don’t think many people do it better. The one that nobody wants to know? What is it? Chuck E. Cheese…you know I’ve got kids. You’ll see me at Chuck E. Cheese with my kids. They love the coins and playing all the games, but that’s one of those days where I eat heavy at work.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Fried fish, I’d have to say. I like that flounder fried, but it’s not too often. The kids and work consume me so much, it’s hard to…
How do the kids or how does the family cope? Part of your job is to be anchor here, and so that can become difficult. How do they deal with it?
They’re good. Their mother is a teacher, and they’re so young now I don’t think they know anything else. Does that make sense? They know I’m not coming home for dinner every night. They know they get to go to school late or, you know, day care when mother’s already gone. Every family has its own twists, but I think they do fine. They don’t notice.
What is your average day like? What time do you…
My business is back there in the kitchen, and I can tell you where the nooks and crannies are and what needs to be done, but it’s like 10 til 8. So I’m home before they go to bed. Daniel Island shuts down real early. 7 o’clock is dinner hour and once dinner hour is over, it’s over. So, it’s a ten hour day, it’s nothing…sometimes it’s 11. Don’t tell every chef out there because they’re going to be coming knocking down my door for my job.
So what do you do when you’re not here?
I love my children. I just enjoy them, take care of them, play with them, have fun with them, teach them how to ride bikes, teach them everything. Right now are the greatest years in their lives because they really…I only have 5 to 10 years, I think. Once your kids turn seven or eight years old, ten years old, they start thinking of themselves. They don’t…not that that’s a bad thing, but right now they depend on us so much for everything and everything is so new and exciting, it’s great to hang out with them. People are like, “Hey, let’s go do this or that.” And frankly, if it doesn’t involve the kids, I’m just not interested. In this point in my life…I’ll be 44 this year.
So you’re still young.
Absolutely, but I didn’t rush out the gate to have children. My fortieth birthday, I had twins, three days before my birthday.
What kind of realization did you come to at that point?
Well, I had one in diapers at the time so then I had three in diapers. Not the easiest times, honestly. I’m glad those days are over.
For Part 1, Click HERE. For Part 2, Click HERE. For Part 3, Click HERE.
Published Date : August 8, 2012
Author : admin
Red Ventures, a technology company, announced today that it has acquired 16 acres of land next to its Indian Land, S.C. headquarters in Lancaster County. The expansion is expected to generate 1,000 new jobs over the next five years.
“We are thrilled to be able to add this adjacent land to our campus. The next few years will be full of challenges and opportunities and we are hoping to double the size of our current workforce,” said Red Ventures CEO Ric Elias. “This additional land will allow us to grow, while also maintaining the unique, employee-friendly environment we’ve created.”
Red Ventures currently owns 17 acres at its 150,000-square-foot campus at 521 Corporate Center Park. The company will use the new land to expand its campus, with development on its third building expected to begin by the end of the year.
“South Carolina continues to be the place where companies can prosper, and Red Ventures’ announcement today in Indian Land is another indication of that. We look forward to the company’s continued growth in our state,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.
The company employed 300 when it moved to South Carolina in 2009, and is now approaching 1,000 employees. Red Ventures employs a total of 1,500 across its locations in Miami, San Antonio, Indian Land, and Wilmington, N.C.
“It’s great to see a high-tech company like Red Ventures grow and add to its payroll in South Carolina. Our state’s business-friendly climate and strong workforce talent continue to help draw new job-creating investments like this one,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt.
Red Ventures expects to grow an additional 30 percent in 2012. The new space will also give the company the opportunity to expand its employee amenities, which already include: an indoor basketball court, walking/running track, fitness center, locker rooms, putting green, and a gourmet café with subsidized meals.
“We are excited about this announcement and the opportunities that Red Ventures has brought to Lancaster County and the region since locating here three years ago,” said Lancaster County Council Chairwoman Kathy Sistare. “They are annually recognized as one of the top places to work in the Charlotte region. As we continue to diversify our local economy, Red Ventures will play an integral part in developing local talent that will lead to successful, high-paying careers for our residents – especially the youth entering the workforce who are excellent candidates for positions with Red Ventures.”
Published Date : July 30, 2012
Author : admin
Have you ever heard of Indian Land, SC? Well, it’s in the panhandle of Lancaster County, it’s a major suburb of both Rock Hill and Charlotte, and it’s the home of Continental Tire North America and the Inspiration Network.
It’s also the home of Mick Mulvaney – one of South Carolina’s four freshman congressmen – representing the Fifth Congressional District.
If you aren’t familiar with Congressman Mulvaney, he served in both the South Carolina House and Senate before unseating former House chief budget writer and congressional veteran of almost 30 years John Spratt. He’s active in his community, a husband to Pam, and a dad to triplets.
He has more energy than a Red Bull, and it’s contagious.
The day CRESCENT visited with Congressman Mulvaney in his Rock Hill office, he just returned from an in-district congressional hearing, and he was excited about it.
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ENTER STAGE LEFT: Congressman Mulvaney bounds in to his office smiling.
Today has been a great day. We had a…actually a formal congressional hearing today in Rock Hill. Really kind of neat. It’s the second one we’ve done in South Carolina, the third one we’ve done outside of Washington, DC. I want to do more and more of them. We did one in California actually at the request of the Democrat on my subcommittee. We did one down in Sumter looking at why small businesses didn’t get more of the job and Shaw Air Force base when 3rd Army moved there from Atlanta. And today was on the impact of regulatory overreach and the healthcare bill on small business in South Carolina.
It is so invigorating to hear the actual, real world stories. We’re not just dealing with ideology and philosophy in general concepts. We’re dealing with, “Look, I have a business, and I have to do this, and it’s silly for me to have to do this specific thing.” And that sort of allows me and other folks to sort of sink our teeth into real examples of what the problem is.
Unfortunately, and I wish I could say everybody is responsible but my fear is that we (Congress) drive a lot of it. That we require the states to meet the federal standard and the states turn around and require the localities to meet the state’s standard. A lot of that is trickle down regulatory overreach. And then just generally speaking, we’re dealing with something right now, over in Lancaster County about smoking in restaurants. The county council is thinking of a ban on smoking in restaurants. We asked a reasonable question of some of my friends on county council, “Why are you doing this? Who’s pushing this? Who made this an issue for county council?” And the chairman, who is just as conservative as I am said, “Well, you know, the Surgeon General came out with this new report on second hand smoke and we feel compelled to do something about it.” Well, there’s an indirect way the federal government is forcing more regulation down the pipeline. Anyway, it’s good to let folks back home know they’re not the only ones dealing with it and there is actually somebody who cares about trying to fix it.
Do you get a lot of feedback from them?
Oh, it’s great. It was great. We had thirty or forty people. Good media coverage.
That’s strong, thirty or forty.
Yeah, a lot of small business people who I’d never seen before who just knew we were going to be there, who wanted to come and gripe. But it’s helpful because those gripes are real, tangible examples of how things can get screwed up.
Just to kind of give you a quick download on what CRESCENT is …
I’ve seen it. You’re Jeff Duncan’s favorite magazine.
CRESCENT wants to tell stories that aren’t being told. We know what a great state South Carolina is. We know that this state has great stories and great people to tell them and that most of our politicians aren’t buffoons. But that’s not what you hear in the national press…
By the way, you talk about that, that larger issue. I think if there is one thing I’m particularly proud of in this delegation, it’s not just the four freshmen, it’s the whole delegation, is that I think our reputation as a state, within Congress, is much different than it is on Comedy Central. Having folks like Trey (Gowdy) and Tim (Scott) and Jeff (Duncan), and to a certain extent, myself, doing what we do I think has really set people straight. We’re serious law-makers. We’re serious legislators. We’re not the brunt of jokes. We’ll leave that to the Anthony Weiners and the guy from Oregon who dressed up in the tiger suit, but we’re doing real work. When you look at the Holder investigation, Trey Gowdy was right in the middle of that. When we talked about the debt ceiling last year, I was right in the middle of that. Anything about energy policy and you’ve got Jeff Duncan there. So I think we’re slowly, and for the right reasons, making a positive name, not only for ourselves because it’s not about us, but the state has a lot more respect than you would generally perceive from watching Comedy Central.
And you guys have become a story.
Not so much a story as we’ve become a team. It’s not uncommon for people to walk in to a vote on the floor of the United State Congress and say, “OK, how is South Carolina voting on this?” They want to know where we stand, especially the conservatives.
Congressman Duncan told us the story about all of you going into the House Chapel and the press thinking it was some sort of, “We’ve been called to the Speaker’s Office,” and it was just you guys there talking and praying and…
Somehow we’re members of some strange cult because we actually and take some time in the chapel from time to time. That gives you some insight into what the New York Times world view is but that’s another story for another day.
Stay Tuned for Part 2.
PHOTO CREDIT: Mulvaney for Congress on Facebook
Published Date : July 30, 2012
Author : admin
Chefs, at least those who operate kitchens where you want to taste the finished product, put as much effort in to selecting their ingredients as they do coming up with recipes and preparing the dishes. They are artists, they create, and if the ingredients the kitchen uses are below par, the dish itself will be, too.
Chef Brent Quiggle knows what he likes, and he knows what he wants. He has a plan, and everything in that plan is designed to have a certain effect.
Chef Quiggle talks with CRESCENT about local sourcing and sustainability and why we need to pay attention to those efforts for the future.
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Sustainability and local ingredient sourcing are huge right now.
Absolutely, absolutely.
And you’re doing that here. What do those things mean to you and what is kind of the next level of that going to be?
As far as myself? Queen Anne’s? As far as…
What does it mean to you personally? What does it mean to the restaurant?
Sustainability to me is huge. It’s something that we all have to look at. If we don’t pay attention to it, it’s like history. We’ve seen the numbers of what it’s done to certain fish. How it’s killed populations. So if we don’t pay attention to it, all we’re doing is hurting ourselves. That’s my…we all have to take ownership and responsibility and do the right thing when purchasing. It’s so easy to go and buy the $3 fish and make people happy for two weeks or two years, but what happens when you don’t regulate? When people just go out and write their own rules? We’ve seen what happens, and it kills off species. It kills things that we can never enjoy again. So sustainability, it’s a must. Where’s it going? I think it is going farm-raised. Farming. We have to learn how to farm fish better. I love fish. It’s not popular. As far as I know…that’s what we have to do. With a growing population…what are we?
Around seven billion people or so.
Seven billion, yeah. Within our lifetimes, we’ve seen that double. What’s going to happen in the next twenty years? Thirty years? So we as a population, we as a people, we must lead everybody to the well and teach them how to drink. That’s being, first off, responsible when purchasing and then commit it. You have to find ways to use every part. I love grouper cheeks. I don’t know if you’ve…
I haven’t.
I put them in my fish tacos now. It’s a part that’s tough to find an application that makes sense, but it’s a great piece of meat. It’s kind of what they use that makes the jaw bone go up and down, but it’s perfect for a little taco. And I love fish tacos. In San Diego, I fell in love with fish tacos, and I think we’ve got a great one here now. What was the second part? There was sustainability and…
Local sourcing.
Local sourcing. I’m getting better through Thornhill Farms, through some of the other local farms. Thackery Farms. It’s all about learning and educating all the chefs really. Sean was kind enough to help me along that path for the local end of it and give me the contacts and the people I needed to get in touch with to source my own stuff.
We talked briefly about overhauling the menu last year. What was your favorite thing that you created for that new menu? What jumps out and says, “This is the one thing that I’ll walk away smiling?”
I would say, just the whole process in having it done and the awareness of bringing it to the forefront and that is sustainability, local sourcing, that is the one thing that is the most important piece of what we did. There isn’t one item, there isn’t one “this dish, that dish.” I think it’s the whole…develop the movement that is the most important. I love the fact that we made a decision because it is not easy and it hasn’t been easy. It’s hard to have guests who have been with me for ten years who go, “I don’t like what you’re doing any more.” You know, that’s tough.
Yeah.
It’s really tough. It just wasn’t really something that they particularly cared for but it isn’t that I believed them. And it’s tough when you have someone…
Well, it’s your baby and you don’t want somebody insulting your baby.
No, no. This is me. This is ten years now. I’ve been the only one on the ship and aside from the Neighborhood Dining Group, it’s as simple as somebody liking a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and not wanting to try turkey. Even though turkey’s probably a little healthier for you. I mean, the immunity part of peanut butter, that’s pretty big but turkey’s still good, pretty good. So getting involved with Allen Benton, using some of his products. Using, realistically, having Thornhill Farm just right around the corner. Getting involved with Maria Baldwin and using their produce and building our specialty menu. We do a fresh-catch menu that’s new every day. That’s where we are utilizing most of that stuff at this point. Does that make sense?
It makes perfect sense. With fish being your favorite, which is your favorite of the fish?
Wreckfish. I love wreckfish. I goes along with our motif here. It reminds me…it’s a deep water bass. It’s like grouper. It’s a white meat, but it’s a deep water bass. It’s an amazing fish…caught right here off the coast, 50 miles out, 2000 feet down. Only a couple of spots in the world have wreckfish, and we’re one of them. I’ve always done fresh catches. Tonight, there’s going to be seven of them. It’s pretty wide open.
OK, pop quiz, what are they?
Tonight?
Yeah.
I’ve got Cherry Point clams, I’ve got fresh local shrimp done certain styles, Cobia, I’ll do Lowcountry tonight, I do some salmon. I’ve got people who will kill me if I don’t do some salmon on the menu. Honestly, they love their salmon. I’ve got day-boat scallops. I’ve got Carolina flounder and the grouper, red grouper.
So you rattled those off, no problem.
Right, right. And each one has its own design plan behind it. There…I just love fish, I do.
You passed the pop quiz. I just wanted to see if you could name ‘em all.
Oh, yeah, I can tell you each style and how they’re done, too, because it’s that important to me. Do you want to know?
Yeah, because like you said, it is important to you.
The Cobia, I love Cobia, it’s sweet, large-flake. What we’ll do is we use Geetchee Boy grits, which is a kind of fish and grit thing. We’ll sauté some okra with a little bit of leeks, some preserved tomatoes, a little veggie broth, some seasonings. Saute that down, finish it with butter, whole butter and create this buttery glaze with vegetable broth and put that right over the fish. Absolutely delicious. That’s normally how I prepare wreckfish. I’ve gone with that one tonight.
That sounds really good.
The grouper, done over a pimento cheese and pickled ramp grit cake, sautéing it with some clams and some fresh shrimp. A little lemon butter done à la minute, right over the top of it with some fried arugula to garnish. If you’ve ever had fried spinach…
Oh yeah.
A little fried arugula. That’s really cool. The salmon I do bistro style, which is onion, mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans in brown butter and capers right over the salmon and the onion pureed mash with a little bit of cream cheese in there and, kind of decadent, over the top. The shrimp I’ll do Blackbeard style. I’ll make a red rice using onions and pepper and sausage and tomatoes and I’ll just blacken the shrimp, put them over the top of some fresh tomato salsa and them some lime sour cream, right over the top, kind of a cross between Tex-Mex…well, I like some spice so that’s my spice one.
I was going to say that’s almost like a jambalaya.
It is, it is, but the sausage is minced up in the rice so you can’t even tell. It’s more about the flavor. The day-boat scallops, I do garden style, which I’ll take spinach, sauté it with grape tomatoes and button mushrooms and roasted red peppers. Very light sauté onto it. It is almost half wilted. Then I’ll have kalamata olive vinaigrette and then basil oil over the whole thing. Then I’ll sear off the scallops on a cast iron pan. Absolutely, just the perfect poach. This is one of those techniques Sean taught me. Just sear the heck out of ‘em then use the spoon to throw the oil over them as they’re searing hard and then let ‘em rest and they finish cooking. And the day-boat scallops are the best. Then we did the clams. I’ll do in a white wine/garlic/cream sauce. A little clam juice, as well. And I’ll put it over bucatini pasta. Bucatini is like hollow spaghetti.
So your sauce will get in there.
In the noodles, inside the noodles yeah. Suck it through the straw or whatever. I’m trying to think, did I go through all seven? The clams, the shrimp, the scallops, the Cobia, the grouper with the pimento cheese, then the salmon. Just off the top of my head, what am I missing? The flounder, I do a crispy fried Carolina flounder. Basically, I’ll deep fry it, serve it with hush puppies and French fries and coleslaw. Just kind of your basic fish fry but if people want it broiled, I’ll do that, no problem. It seems to be…people like their flounder fried.
Right.
It’s not a whole fish presentation but I think…
That’s what people grew up on.
Fried flounder.
Fried flounder.
It’s easy. It’s delicious. A little jalapeno tartar, you’re good to go.
For Part 1, Click HERE. For Part 2, Click HERE. Stay Tuned for Part 4.
PHOTO CREDITS: Queen Anne’s Revenge / Neighborhood Dining Group
Published Date : July 30, 2012
Author : admin
The Upstate of South Carolina will never be a leader when it comes to the production of oil, but that does not mean our region is falling behind in the energy creation department.
In fact, the Upstate has been one of the leaders in nuclear, solar and wind energy for years and green energy growth could be one of the next big economic impacts for the region.
The Upstate is home to three existing nuclear facilities (Oconee, Catawba and Virgil C. Summer in Jenkinsville) with two more facilities projected for the area. Those plants helps make South Carolina the third largest net generator of nuclear power in the nation with more than 3.8 million megawatt hours of nuclear energy produced.
In addition, the solar industry is rising in the Upstate with several companies helping create an economic footprint of investment and jobs. Swiss-based Staubli has its North American headquarters located in Duncan where it manufactures electrical connector systems, connectors, cables and junction boxes for the solar power market. Ulbrich Precision Flat Wire in Westminster makes copper flat wire for solar cell tabbing. Warptek in Wellford provides warping services for solar protective fabrics. And then there is Kemet, which has grown in the green energy market making capacitors for wind, tidal, geothermal and solar energy generation.
GE is designing a wide range of energy and infrastructure products in the wind industry at its 413-acre campus in Greenville. Meanwhile, Timken’s Tyger River location is supplying wind turbines to one of the world’s top wind power equipment manufacturers, China’s Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology Company. In addition, companies such as ILJIN America, Ahlstrom and AGY are expanding into the wind energy components industry.
Green energy infrastructure will play a large part in our future growth as well. South Carolina ranks fifth in the nation when it comes to the amount of LEED certified buildings and 19 of those buildings are in the Upstate. Companies such as GE, Jacobs Engineering, CH2M Hill and Shaw are producing engineers who are working on a host of projects in the green energy field.
Energy efficiency is a major part of this with companies such as Baldor, which designs energy efficient motors, leading the way. BMW was ranked No. 7 on the EPA’s Top 20 Green Power Partners list. Clemson University and Furman University are both big on sustainability plans for their campuses. South Carolina has adopted energy standards for public buildings and other energy-reduction goals that together are meant to reduce energy use by 20 percent from 2000 levels by July 1, 2020.
There is an atmosphere of green growth and a lot of excitement about energy that it is creating a groundswell of support. Outside companies see that atmosphere of energy growth and forward thinking ideas and will want to put down their flags here as well. The Upstate is a leader in the energy growth world and we want to remain there.
Hal Johnson is president and CEO of the Upstate SC Alliance, a public/private regional economic development organization designed to market the 10 counties in South Carolina’s Upstate. Additional information is available through the Alliance’s web site, www.upstateSCalliance.com.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the author are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CRESCENT: The Magazine.
To submit an op-ed for CRESCENT’s “Your Turn” section, please email it to input@crescentmag.com.
Published Date : July 27, 2012
Author : admin
The American Basketball Association (ABA) announced that the Greenville Galaxy has been added to its Mid Atlantic Division and that the team will play a limited number of games this season as it prepares for a full season in 2013. “I know Greenville, SC very well as I lived and worked there when I got out of the Army,” stated Joe Newman, ABA CEO. “It is a great city and we have a terrific owner in Patrick L. Tate, who has a wonderful military, business and sports background. What a great fit.”
Patrick graduated from Mauldin High School where he lettered in three sports — football, basketball, and track — and received a football scholarship before entering the US Navy in 1988 where he spent seven years on active duty and 13 years in the reserves. He is a Persian Gulf veteran serving on the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy. He received multiple awards, medals and commendations while serving his country.
With a degree in Social Science, a minor in Psychology, and an MBA in Project Management as he works toward his Doctoral degree in Educational Psychology, Patrick has been in education for the last 13 years and his coached at the high school and AAU levels.
“And now, I have a chance to bring professional basketball to a place that I love so much, Greenville, SC,” Tate said. “I have a team of committed advisors and management-level personnel prepared to have a family-friendly organization that Greenville can and will be proud of. Our motto is, ‘X marks the spot.’ Where is Your Spot?”
Tate said that the team will hold tryouts on July 28th from 1-3pm at the Caine Halter Family YMCA, 721 Cleveland Street, Greenville SC 29601. Information is available at www.greenvillegalaxy.com. Potential players can also email Tate at patrickltate@yahoo.com for more details.
Published Date : July 26, 2012
Author : admin
Chicken Soup may be good for the soul, but Major Ralph Stoney Bates USMC (Ret.) of Greenville is serving up a different kind of ration.
Bates is seeking short stories for an anthology that will be published and distributed nationally next year. Tentatively titled Short Rations: Ready-to-Read Stories from the Battlefield and the Homefront of United States Marines, the collection will feature both heroic tales of war and stories that Bates calls “everyday tales of the unwashed masses.”
“We’re looking for any true, first person account that gives readers insight into the lives of U.S. Marines, Fleet Marine Force sailors (veterans and retired included), and their families. The stories could be about historic events or humorous incidents that come with everyday life,” Bates said. “It takes all kinds to keep the mean green machine running.”
Bates’s background includes a tour of duty as a Parris Island drill instructor. A graduate of the the FBI National Academy, Bates served 26 years on active duty as an enlisted man, warrant officer, and commissioned officer. He developed the idea for the book while taking a writing class. The instructor, Amanda Capps, knew Bates had enough stories of his own to fill several books, but together they decided to broaden the scope. Now acting as Bates’ assistant editor, Capps said they are seeking submissions from all over the country and have spread the word to those stationed on bases as far as Lisbon, Portugal, where Bates served as keynote speaker at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in 2010 and 2011.
Capps said the deadline for submitting a story is October 1, 2012, and there is a $25 entry fee which goes toward publication costs, distribution, and donations to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project. Each selected contributor will receive two copies of the book and will be able to obtain additional copies at a discount. Bates and Capps will coordinate book signings and make copies available in a variety of stores. Full submission guidelines are available at www.shortrations.com.
Published Date : July 24, 2012
Author : admin
The last time we saw Anderson, SC native Jonathan Dickson, he was delivering peaches to a federal prosecutor in the HBO hit Boardwalk Empire.
Though it was originally supposed to air in March, Jonathan returns to the small screen tonight at 10:00 p.m. (EDT) in the premiere episode of the new BRAVO! reality series Love Broker.
Jonathan’s looking for love in New York City, and hopefully matchmaker Lori Zaslow can help him find it. Let’s just hope that the South Carolina/New York language barrier doesn’t get too much in the way.
As Jonathan told CRESCENT yesterday, “Remember y’all all know me, and this is a super edited dating reality show. And when I say edited, I mean WAY edited! Just think of me as an actor playing a role, which is what I’m doing. Don’t judge me. It’s crazy high energy JD on a dating show, and the editors can make you appear any way they want to. Just keep that in the back of your mind. Then sit back and laugh.”
Check with your cable or satellite provider for channel numbers and additional air dates/times.
You can also follow Jonathan on Twitter (@JonnyDHollywood).
Published Date : July 23, 2012
Author : admin
“You’re 14. Do what you’re told. You don’t know who you are as an artist yet. You can’t tell us what you will and won’t do as a performer.”
Don’t say any of those things to Kylie Hinze.
She’s a young artist who knows who she is and knows how she wants to entertain audiences. If you try and tell her how to do it your way, that’s fine. You might just be wasting your breath, though.
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We touched on this earlier, but if you watch talent competitions like (American) Idol, you see young singers or you hear young singers perform songs that deal with life experience that they haven’t had yet. They’re so often critiqued that they haven’t had that experience, they don’t need to be singing that because they can’t get in the spirit of what that song is supposed to be, but your songs stay away from a lot of those things and deal primarily with things that you’ve been able to experience and older audiences can still relate to. Is it important to write about those experiences or is it more important to have that wide cross-section of ages enjoying the music or can you make both happen?
I think you should write whatever comes to you because there are multiple songs that come to me that have nothing to do with anything I know about specifically, I guess, that specifically happened to me. Like, it might be about something that’s happened to an adult that I know and I write with them in mind and then how I would feel if I was in that situation. So I think it depends on what you want to do with your music so I want everyone to be able to listen to my music and I’m just going to keep writing whatever comes to me. I think there is a certain point where if you just sing about crazy things and you’re fourteen. It’s like, “Why is she singing about that?” I’m not going to so sing a song about sex because I don’t do that, and that’s not what I want my fans to hear me sing about. You know? I did write a song about my friend’s parents’ divorce, but I wrote in a very relatable way that I think it could be applied to any relationship, so I think I just depends on the way you go about it and present yourself.
Listening to a song like “It’s Officially Over.” It’s easy to draw that comparison to Taylor Swift. Is that the vein where you want to be musically or do you have other avenues…
Actually, that was a CD from last year and I was kind of being pushed in a more country direction than I personally am. I listen to country music, but it’s not my main forte. I was being pushed in a more country direction because it was safer, but I personally am not like a country singer and I am not like Taylor Swift except that I do write songs, we have blond hair, and we look alike. I have a ton of respect for her because she’s like an amazing singer and artist and writer and everything.
And she’s pulling in some serious coin.
Yes. My aim is not to be like her, though. My songs that I write and that I am more into now are more like pop/soul, like reggae-type stuff. I’ll actually go back into the studio later this summer, and there will be some new songs that will showcase more of my style. So expect a little bit of surprise.
When will we be able to hear some of those?
I don’t know exact date of them coming out yet. I’ll keep you posted.
Please do. Everything that you’ve done seems so incredibly upbeat. What do you sing about when you aren’t feeling on top of the world? I mean, are you going to come out with some Goth record? That’s going to be you with black eye liner?
Yeah, I’m going to start wearing like Emo clothing. No. Life happens and you have your good days and your bad days. I’ve always had a positive outlook because God put us on this earth to enjoy and live life, so I want to enjoy each day and live happy. Most of the time I do write music about being happy, but I do have songs about some deeper, darker things. I mean, bullying goes on. I have songs about that. Bad sides of relationships. Things like that. Just doubting yourself … I think it’s important not to hide from those things because everyone has flaws, and there are parts of you that make mistakes, so if you just reflect on yourself and focus on brighter things in life, then I think you can be happy. You control your mood, and you control how you perceive things. So I perceive things happily. I definitely have my drama, and I have my breakdowns, though.
Why do I get the feeling we’re about to completely switch gears?
You want to know my real talent. Corny jokes. I could be a comedienne. Want to hear one?
Sure.
Alright, just kidding they’re not that good. What do you call a nosey pepper? Jalapeno business.
It’s kind of an ice breaker.
Oh, I have an ice breaker corny joke. How much does a polar bear weight? Enough to break the ice. Hi. I’m Kylie.
That one hurt. That was the one where you want to turn away but can’t. Where are you know compared to where you thought you’d be at this point?
Last year, at this time, I would have never thought I would open up for Colbie Callait and Gavin DeGraw. The funny thing is, I wrote a little list of people I want to open up for and Colbie was on it. Check.
Who else is on the list?
Oh, I don’t know, it’s long. There’s like people like Kenny Chesney. I love Kenny Chesney. Cody Simpson, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, yes, Kelly Clarkson, I’m trying to remember other people who are on there. Sister Hazel. Justin Bieber, obviously.
You mentioned that your set was cut short with Colbie and Gavin. What happened?
I went on the stage like I was doing seven songs. They had told me I had until 7:40 to finish my set. I was like, “Alright.” So I timed for all seven of my songs, in my fifth song, in the middle of song, I hear like the sound of the stage guy speak into my monitor say, “This is your last song, you need to get off the stage.” I just kept singing like I didn’t hear anything. Then I saw my dad come up the side and he was like, “Kylie, Kylie.” And I like turned, still singing, and he was like, “You need to get off the stage after this song.” I just kept singing. After that I was like, “OK…I’m going to sing one more song.” I knew they wanted me off but I had to sing my closing song, you know. You just can’t end it.
Good for you for sticking it out. What’s an extra three minutes? In the grand scheme of things, what’s an extra three minutes?
And, get this. I ended exactly at 7:40. It was just the sound guys because they were frustrated. It had been a long day for them. I completely understood, but it didn’t mean I was going to get off the stage.
That took guts. That took a lot of guts.
Everyone back stage was really nice, and the food was really good.
You don’t look like you eat.
Oh my gosh, I eat all the time then I work out to work it off.
UPDATE: Back in the studio and wrapping up some new music, Kylie’s new single should be available toward the end of August.
For our introduction to Kylie, click HERE. For Part 1 of the feature, click HERE.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kylie Hinze
Published Date : July 23, 2012
Author : admin
You may have asked yourself after last week, “So, where’d they get the name Queen Anne’s Revenge for a restaurant?” We’re glad you asked. Queen Anne’s Revenge was Blackbeard’s flagship. Yes. THAT Blackbeard. Edward Teach or Blackbeard was no stranger to the Carolina coast.
On November 28, 1717, Blackbeard’s two ships attacked and captured the French merchant vessel La Concorde. He immediately renamed her Queen Anne’s Revenge and outfitted her with 40 gun positions instead of her paltry 26.
By May of 1718, after forming a confederation with a group of other pirates, Blackbeard created a successful blockade of the Port of Charleston preventing any ships from arriving or departing without his blessing.
Queen Anne’s Revenge on Daniel Island is much more hospitable than the quarters Teach would have offered on his flagship, and the food obviously can’t even be compared, but the mystique of Teach’s ship sets a great backdrop for full-service family-friendly dining that hadn’t existed on the island until a decade ago.
Chef Brent Quiggle and general manager Jeffrey Davis discuss the restaurant’s place on Daniel Island, its evolution over the past ten years, and where Queen Anne’s Revenge hopes to go from here.
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The first full-service restaurant on Daniel Island. The island is kind of a bubble unto itself, being a master planned community. How was the restaurant received when it opened and, now that you’re ten years in, how does the community view it?
BRENT: Well, when we opened ten years ago, I would say that everybody on the island felt it was a blessing to have somebody over here serving food so that they didn’t have to go to Mount Pleasant or downtown Charleston. They didn’t have to leave the island. Ultimately, what I’ve witnessed, and after living here for ten years, you don’t like to leave the island. It’s a safe community. You get here, and you stay here. So the more options that you have which, over the years, I think we’re up to fifteen restaurants on the island. For the first five years, I think we never had more than three or four. Maybe five. But everybody was extremely happy when we opened because of just that. There was a place on the island to get some food and entertainment.
JEFFREY: Yeah, I think the recession slowed everything down. Some restaurants didn’t make it and had to close, unfortunately, but I think you’re starting to see everything spark back to life. Maybe it’s just my own opinion, but we’ve always been a favorite. Kind of the island’s restaurant. I think we kind of held on to that and love being part of that community. Kind of like when there is a special occasion, when there is a get-together, when the neighbors are doing something, they come here. And I personally take a lot of pride in the fact that they do that and they love it, that we’re their choice.
It’s the go-to. It’s that comfortability.
JEFFREY: I’d like to think so, yes. It seems that way.
Now, how does this restaurant different from its sister restaurants? And you can look at it from a pride standpoint, too.
BRENT: We’re a family restaurant. That’s not to say that
aren’t, but they’re special occasion restaurants — as far as McCrady’s goes, and Husk is on to its own re-generating the Southern cuisine, bigger and better and stronger. It’s bringing ideas throughout the world where people didn’t really notice Southern cuisine as much.
Which is a shame.
BRENT: It is. Absolutely. After Sean (Brock) was here last year and helped me do some things with the menu. I mean, he’s extremely talented and probably the best chef I’ve ever worked with. You know, just his knowledge of Lowcountry cuisine. He gave me a lot of ideas and directions and so forth. We’re family here. This is a family restaurant where I bring my children. I’ve got three children under five and they’ve come here since they were one year old. So the difference, the biggest different is just who we’re catering towards.
JEFFREY: Yeah, we’re more a family neighborhood. The kind that’s where you and I would finish playing golf at the country club or something and come over here and get whatever we want. I think when you get into the downtown restaurants, whether it’s ours (a Neighborhood Dining Group restaurant) or other ones, I think you get into more…
BRENT: Finite.
JEFFREY: Showcase the palate, you know. I think that we’re like the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the big ship…
BRENT: Our menu is, from lunch to dinner, we’ve got seventy items or something ridiculous. Our menu is huge in comparison. We cross the gamut from fish tacos for a lunch entrée to tonight, we’ll have fresh local clams with shrimp and grouper and some pickled ramp cheese grit cakes with lemon butter. The spectrum is much greater here. We’re selling…in the same lunch, we’ll sell a bunch of $7, $8 lunch items and to the table next door, you’re having $15 to $18 entrees, some $20 entrees for lunch.
But it’s a range where everybody can find something and be comfortable.
BRENT: I don’t know if you’ve been to McDonald’s lately but I don’t even think you can eat there for 7 or 8 dollars, can you? With a drink and everything. So, we’re competing with everybody. We’re not pigeon-holed, I guess, into one. We can’t afford to be, frankly. We’re on beautiful Daniel Island.
JEFFREY: You’re appealing to everybody. You’re appealing to the neighbors who just got through playing tennis. Or you’re appealing to …you know the guys on the one hour lunch break so there’s a wide range and what makes it exciting that it’s pretty much whatever you’re in the mood for. We might just have that because it’s always a good selection. What was fun for me is that it’s all food I like, so it was real easy. It was like, “Do you like fish tacos?” “Do you like prime rib?” It is everything…I could sit here and tell you about it all because obviously it’s stuff we went through and it was here before. We just made sure it was great and we loved it and got a good response from our guests and able to press on like that.
Who came up with concept for the restaurant itself? With the Queen Anne’s Revenge being Blackbeard’s flagship. I think every kid has played pirate at some point and the fact that there’s actually some historical basis behind it.
BRENT: That would be the owners. They like the pirate memorabilia and had a vast collection. We’re definitely considered part museum. There’s some great stuff. The ship (He points to the contents of a nearby display case.) was made by a ship builder who has ships in the Smithsonian. It took a year and a half to make that ship.
That’s really cool.
BRENT: It is. It’s a six foot replica of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. But a recent renovation last year, we tried to focus more on the food and a little bit less on the pirate aspect and the museum part of it.
Going for a more contemporary look and totally revamping the menu, as well.?
BRENT: Yes.
What was the progression from what it was to what it is, and is it about where you want it, or do you already have visions of where you want to take it down the road?
BRENT: You know, the vision that I have. You know, I don’t know if everybody is ready for it on Daniel Island. Our pocketbooks aren’t quite ready for it, and that is, I would love to have local produce, only. It’s tough because you can’t find that stuff. You have to increase the prices and when you increase the prices, people can’t come out as much. So you have to juggle. There’s a lot of juggling. When we’re talking about people with families, we can only go up so high. You know? When you take your son and your wife out, and all of a sudden the place you’ve gone to for years charges an extra dollar for their salads, frankly it’s tough. It’s not easy making that transition. Being here ten years, the original idea was to go fully, all-out, all local, all… Kind of watch what Sean was doing, and there was a huge, just overpour of people that were excited and wanted to be involved with what he is doing at Husk. We tried that here and it wasn’t as well received. I think if we were a different restaurant and taken the same stuff and opened up down the block, it would have gone over totally different.
But it was a different vein from what you are institutionally.
BRENT: Yes. Yes, it was. We were serving good food before, and we changed the food, but we’re still serving good food. It was much more Southern. It had more…100% more Southern accent to it. Being from Upstate New York or northern, I always took my menu toward this stuff that I’d grown up around, but after working with Sean and seeing these ideas, I will forever be attached to Sea Island red peas. I will always love Carolina Gold Rice. You know, now I’ve learned about these things and now we have guests that like them, too. Because we did…we changed a couple of things, and then we changed them again and again and again and again until we got it right. I feel like we’re on the road, the path, that Daniel Islanders want or Mount Pleasant.
For Part 1, Click HERE. Stay Tuned for Part 3.
PHOTO CREDIT: Queen Anne’s Revenge / Neighborhood Dining Group
Published Date : July 18, 2012
Author : admin
With the fiscal quarter closed, reports from the Federal Election Commission detail the financials of South Carolina’s delegation.
Want to see who raised how much?
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-Greenville)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-Seneca)
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-Columbia)
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-Laurens)
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-Spartanburg)
Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land)
Rep. Tim Scott (R-North Charleston)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-Springdale)
Published Date : July 18, 2012
Author : admin
Dark Corner Distillery, South Carolina’s first distillery since Prohibition to produce small-batch, hand-spirited whiskey, is branching out from its whiskey line to create the first gin to be commercially distilled in the state.
Dark Corner owner Joe Fenten debuted his new White Tiger Gin last Friday and said it would be available in a limited batch of 100 bottles at the distillery’s downtown Greenville location.
White Tiger — a New Western style gin — is South Carolina’s first and only hand-distilled gin. Dark Corner’s head distiller John Wilcox developed White Tiger’s flavor profile in a nod to ancient Chinese astrology, which deems the white tiger a “guardian of the West.”
“The resulting gin is more than a drink. It’s an experience,” Fenten said.
White Tiger Gin starts with Dark Corner’s corn whiskey as a base, and Wilcox then infuses it with juniper, Szechuan pepper, lemongrass, jasmine, and Thai basil to develop a layered, complex 90-proof gin.
According to Fenten, the finished product is “worthy of a blue-ribbon cocktail or drinking neat.”
While only unveiled publicly on Friday, White Tiger already earned a Bronze medal at the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition in May.
Published Date : July 16, 2012
Author : admin
Scheduling a sit down with chefs isn’t easy.
First, they generally don’t sit. They’re working in a ridiculously fast-paced environment where they’re on their feet, and they don’t have time to become idle. Second, if you schedule the morning they’re getting ready for lunch service. You obviously can’t schedule during lunch because they have diners trying to get in and out for lunch. There’s a small break before they begin prepping for dinner service. Then there’s dinner service, and after that, depending on their domestic situations, they’re either going out to blow off steam or going home to get some well-earned family time.
Brent Quiggle, Executive Chef at Queen Anne’s Revenge on Daniel Island near Charleston, acted like we’d done him a favor by stopping in. When we came by for that brief period between lunch service and dinner prep, he welcomed us as if we were old friends, and we left the same way.
We start our feature with Chef Quiggle learning what drew him to South Carolina and what makes him tick. Later, we’ll learn about more about him, his philosophy as a chef, and Queen Anne’s Revenge.
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Your first job was a line cook in Upstate New York. What was it about that experience that kind of drew you and said, “You know what, I want to do this from now on. This is where I want to be.”
The family aspect of it…in a restaurant, you work hard, especially when it is busy. You can give a lot to it. Does that make sense? You can put so much into it and then everybody around you kind of a grabs and hands you…”Let’s get this done…” It’s the family aspect of it, if that makes any sense to you. The bond that’s created in the heat of the rush is a turn-on to me because I like it. I like family, obviously. The other parts would be I guess the adrenaline. The restaurant business to me…I don’t want to skip around, but it has so many things that are prefect for my personality. Under pressure, working well with others, the business aspect of it, the culinary art, the chemistry. Amongst all those things, really, put together, that’s what I like to do.
You like the pressure situations.
I like the pressure. I do, I have to say…
You almost have to be Type A and OCD, at the same time.
I agree, I agree, but able to…what’s the word I’m looking for…able to keep it all together in the middle of it and have at least fifty things going through your mind at once. And be able to play the violin, to keep it smooth.
And do the Happy Dance for everybody outside who doesn’t see what’s going on back there.
Right, right.
Because people understand exactly what goes on in a kitchen. It’s not like…if you’re at home and you enjoy cooking for your family and your friends, that’s a totally different situation and you get people that go into this line of work because they enjoy cooking but they don’t understand what all goes along with it. But there is…it’s not just flipping a steak. It’s amazing that you’re able to do everything you do because it really is a juggling act.
Absolutely.
You’re starting…I think we’re starting to see a lot of chefs move from all over the country but specifically, I’d say, the Northeast, coming to South Carolina and making it home. What drew you from Ithaca to this corner of the world?
Absolutely, the people. The people, I would have to say. You know, I was a typical Upstate New Yorker, believing in the whole Civil War in the South is still not over because we used to visit in Georgia and got called “Yankees” a lot, so I didn’t have the great growing up picture of the South. But after doing traveling from Europe to California, Atlanta, different cities I lived in, it was really Atlanta I gained a respect for the people. It reminded me of home. It reminded me of Upstate New York, the quality, the genuineness when you go to the store, when you say, “Hey, how you doing?” And people actually respond to you. It’s not a programmed response. It’s a genuine, “Hey, how you doing?” instead of, “I got to go to work,” with the busyness of like, let’s say, New York City or something.
Where everybody is keeping their head down and going straight forward.
Yeah, and going as fast as you can because you’ve only got this much time in the day and you go, “Don’t take up my time.” But, really, for myself, the genuine qualities that South Carolinians and people from the South have, to me, in Upstate New York, is the closest thing that I could get to being home without living in Upstate New York. It’s too cold there.
We have seasons.
Yeah.
Upstate New York seasons are a little different.
Granted, I did leave in 1992. I’ve been out of New York for quite a while. I’ve been here since 2001. I moved here to open Queen Anne’s Revenge. It’s what specifically brought me to South Carolina from Atlanta. And I just…the longer I stay in the South or…I was on…some of the best chefs I ever met in my life did a lot of traveling so that’s what I felt I had to do – was to continue to travel but, after traveling for many moons, many different places…you know, the Neighborhood Dining Group here and then in Atlanta. I found a group of people that I really enjoyed to work with, that I could put my heart and soul into and they saw that I put my heart and soul into it and rewarded me, such as, giving me a great position and always paying their bills.
Which is a plus.
Yeah, because restaurants…they can be tough. They can be really, really tough, but I guess to answer your question “Why move to Charleston?” I guess to go back, ever since I’ve been here, I’ve always known, after the first six months, eight months, this is my new home and will be my children’s home and probably my children’s children’s home. I just love Charleston. There are only two bad things and that’s the bugs and the heat in July or August. Other than that, this is just a wonderful, wonderful…and you get used to heat, too. It’s not…like my first two, three years, where the heat was hot. Even in Atlanta, they call Atlanta Hotlanta. This is…the humidity level is just much higher and much hotter, but now, I don’t notice it as much. I mean, ten years of living here. It used to be something that is one the forefront of my thoughts, but it is not as big of a deal.
What draws other chefs here?
You know, as far as the chef being drawn to Charleston or South Carolina…Charleston, you know the seafood is just incredible. It is…every day…there are seasons with the restrictions and trying to keep everything sustainable, you still have a huge variety of fish that are off the boats hours before you get them and able to cook them up and I know why people from the Midwest, land-locked…my wife, she’s from Illinois, she doesn’t like fish but I know why they don’t like fish. Because if you’ve ever had frozen fish…I don’t like that fish either, but fish is my favorite food in the world. The fish that we get here in Charleston, just being on the coast is just a natural… The seafood is what I think would bring more chefs here. It depends on what you’re looking for, what kind of quality of life you’re looking for to say why a chef would come to Charleston. Does that make sense?
Yeah.
I think the competition here is, in Charleston, is extremely tight. There’s not much room for error. It’s a small big city and so you got to be one your mark at all times.
Stay Tuned for Part 2.
PHOTO CREDIT: Queen Anne’s Revenge / Neighborhood Dining Group
Published Date : July 16, 2012
Author : admin
Her laugh and smile are infectious. Her upbeat attitude and enthusiasm make it almost impossible for you not to be in a good mood when you’re around her.
Kylie Hinze may be a 14 year old rising high school sophomore, but she’s driven to go past the typical extracurricular activities. Instead of class president or homecoming queen, she’s thinking about record deals and Grammy awards.
We had an opportunity to sit down with Kylie and her mom/manager Lori shortly after the biggest night so far in Kylie’s young career – opening for Colbie Callait and Gavin DeGraw.
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You’re extremely talented. I didn’t preface that with “For fourteen, you’re extremely talented.” You’re extremely talented for any age. When did you know that this was the direction that you wanted to go?
KYLIE: When I was in sixth grade. Because I started writing songs when I was eight and I was playing piano when I was six, so it’s always been in my blood, I guess, and my parents would sing us to sleep and stuff. But in sixth grade, I did my school talent show and after I got off the stage, first I was like super nervous but then once I got on the stage I just had a great time. Afterwards, I was like, “Mom, I want to do this.”
What was the reaction when you said “Mom, I want to do this?”
LORI: Yeah, we were okay with that. She had already been always singing. I was the youth director at church and she would sing in the choir and everybody was like, “Lori, oh my gosh, you’ve got to hear Kylie.” And I’m like, “Hear her what?” She just stood out from everybody else. So then they wanted her to do a solo but because she was very shy, we had to be in the other room…
KYLIE: I was so shy, so shy.
LORI: Nobody believes it now because…nobody believes it now.
KYLIE: I wouldn’t even sing for them. I’d make them go in the other room and turn their back away from the direction I was in.
LORI: So, when they said that at church they wanted her to sing a solo at Christmas, I said, “Well, you ask her, I’m not.” And they did and she did it and she had people in tears afterwards. She was like, “Why are they crying?” thinking it was bad. You were what? Eight or nine? You were nine.
KYLIE: I was very nervous until after sixth grade.
LORI: Tears of joy so we were…we just believed in her.
KYLIE: Want to hear an even funnier story?
Yes.
KYLIE: First time I went into the studio, it was for a contest and like now I sing all the time, I sing in front of people. I cried for a straight hour before I would ever go up to the mic, and I made my dad sing into the mic before I did because I was so nervous.
Because your nerves were so shot.
LORI: My husband took her and he’s like…I’m like, “Are y’all done yet, text me.” And he’s like, “Kylie won’t go, she’s crying.” So yeah, he had to do it. The recording guy got her going.
So you pretty much turned it into karaoke night.
LORI: But then she got going…
KYLIE: Then I after I got it going and ever since then it’s been…
LORI: Once she did something once, she kind of got over her fear.
At your age, it is almost impossible to do what you want to do without a supportive family structure. From your standpoint, how has support gone and how important is it for you to be where you are now and where that’s going to take you down the road.
KYLIE: Like I 100% believe I would not be at the point where I am today if I did have supportive parents. Because my mom is like my mom but she’s also my manager so she keeps me in line but she gets me lots of shows and she’s just good with researching social media and internet stuff. She just gets it on the ball and I get to do all these cool things. Then my dad and my brother, they’re always there to support me. And my brother, if I’m ever like stressed out or like nervous or something, he just like makes me laugh and it’s always good to have him there to like lighten the mood. And I just…I would not be able to do this without them because they do support me so much and they’re a big part of everything that I do.
Do you two have any headbutting contests, or is everything pretty smooth sailing?
LORI: Everything’s pretty good, other than sometimes she says I’m like a drill sergeant. Just reminding her of things because she is that creative spirit who doesn’t…
KYLIE: I don’t have a good time scheduling. I just go on or I do whatever. I do music for hours and hours or I’ll be doing something and she’ll be like, “You have to do this now.” And I’ll say, “Don’t let me schedule my music time. I need to do this for me.”
LORI: I’m like, “Okay, we have homework to do. Oh, and you need to take a shower. And oh, it’s 11:00 and you need to go to bed.” So she’s not very time…she gets that from her dad. Her dad is an artist. I’m more organized — keeping everybody on track.
And those two complement each other. They’re necessary because you can’t do one without the other, at least and be successful.
LORI: And that’s just not her forte so we just tell her, “You just focus on the music.”
KYLIE: And also, I am in school, and I have…there’s a lot of time that she has that she can email people on my behalf like if I want to do something, she can talk to them about it while I’m in school or something because I literally don’t have that time or communicate with them like she can.
LORI: I mean, I run everything by her. I’ll text her…like one weekend the Drive (Greenville’s Single A Baseball team) called wanting her to play, and it was after the big show and I’m afraid she’s going to be tired, but I said let me ask Kylie. I said, “Do you want to sing Sunday or Monday?” And she goes “I’ll do it Sunday not Monday,” because Monday we just wanted to chill so I emailed them that Kylie will do it Sunday because they were in a bind. I run everything by her.
KYLIE: It’s neat that people ask me to come do things.
Now, you got to open for Gavin DeGraw and Colby Callait, which is an amazing opportunity. I don’t care if you’re 14 or 40. When you got the phone call, how’d you get ready for the show? How did your nerves go? You weren’t just in studio this time. You opened a stage show for Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Callait.
KYLIE: When my mom sent me the text that I get to open up in school, I was like…like I didn’t believe it. I was first “Is this for real?” Because a guy in my school got on my phone and changed his number to my mom’s number and whatever, so he texted me. He was like “John Mayer wants to do a song with you.” I was like this is not my mom, like, hello. Because I had seen the earlier messages and I know this isn’t my mom. So I was like “Nice try.” But then she really did text me and it was, “Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw. You’re getting to open for them.”
LORI: Her text back was, “What? Really?”
That’s really huge.
KYLIE: So I was like…it didn’t sing in until probably the day of, actually. And just like every day, I would practice my set list, which was seven songs and it got cut down to six. But I just would run through my set list every single day, multiple times working on every little detail and stuff like that. And then the day of, well, leading up to that week of, I had like interviews with the news and stuff like that so that was a lot of fun. I got to get out of school.
So that’s a big bonus.
KYLIE: Oh, yes. If I have to choose between school or music, it’s music. So I did lots of news interviews, and that morning I went and did one actually at Freedom Weekend Aloft, at the Charter Amphitheater, and I got to up in a hot air balloon so that was fun. It was tethered, so I wasn’t too scared. Then we came back home, and we kind of like chilled. I’m a big reader, so I just read, calming myself or whatever. Then I started…I actually stayed in my clothes I had on that day. I’m going into details. You probably don’t care about my clothes but (She grins and laughs.)…oh, and earlier that week, I got my nails done to match my outfits so I had to do that. But then I got ready and went there. I’m not talking about nerves yet but…so then I packed my stuff and went to the venue, and I had this little trailer. It was so cool. Backstage, I had a trailer, and we did the sound check and I was pretty calm, but then, you know, before the show, I got really nervous. I usually don’t get nervous for shows, now, but I think just because it hit me that “Oh my gosh. I’m opening up for Colbie Callait and Gavin DeGraw in front of all these people. Almost in my backyard. Whoa.” So I did get probably more nervous than I had ever gotten for any of my shows, but then I went out on the stage and I just had a lot of fun. I enjoy every part of music so I enjoy recording and writing the songs, but live performances are so much like adrenaline and stuff so it was really neat when the crowd would interact. And then afterwards, I signed autographs for an hour, around an hour, a little over an hour.
LORI: I mean we had a line. My sister was helping with the merch (merchandise) and she was like, “Is this line for Kylie?” And it was.
That’s awesome.
KYLIE: It’s really cool.
Now, to be the opener, did you get any feedback from Gavin or Colbie?
KYLIE: Yeah, I did. I first felt like, ”Where are they?” because they were already in their trailers or whatever. But I did. I got to talk to Gavin, and he was really sweet, and I got to talk to Colbie, and they were both really nice people, and like very down to earth. They did get to come out and see a little bit of my show so they were like, “Wow. Great job. Thank you for opening up for us.” So they were just really complimentary and nice and really good like down-to-earth people. And I got to spend a lot of time with their band members because they are off in their trailers or doing meet-and-greet or something like that getting ready for their shows later that night but I did get to spend a lot of time with their band and they were really cool.
LORI: She was talking with the band. I was like “Okay, we need to get home.” I was tired, she was not.”
There is that adrenaline that just kind of keeps you going.
LORI: And I had it too. She was definitely…
How long before you came down? Or are you down yet?
KYLIE: I woke up that morning smiling.
LORI: She did, I woke her up and she was beaming still. Oh, you said, first thing, remember? “Gavin followed me last night.”
KYLIE: Yeah, he followed me on Twitter and so did his band members.
You’ve got 5000 friends on your personal page. You’ve got to expand that, what are you going to?
LORI: Yeah, we’re trying to push everybody to the fan page. We’ve learned from some other artists that once you fill up on the personal, that’s…
KYLIE: But that’s kind of a good thing. It’s a good thing that I filled up to 5000 because now, when I get friend requests, I can say “Hey, go like my music page.” That’ll help out.
LORI: So we’re having to push everybody there now because right now I’ve got a bunch of friend requests.
How’s that transition going?
LORI: They’re going up. You have to keep constantly telling them, you just have to keep on that.
You’re singing voice is much older than your speaking voice. You do sound older than your fourteen years, but you’re able to mix it with a sound that speaks to that younger audience. Who do you hope is listening to your music, and how do you want people to perceive you?
KYLIE: Everyone. I think my main audience is people my age and younger — girls and boys, too. And so I definitely…I write my songs, whatever comes to me. Then I work that in…I think the songs, because I pull from everything around me and experiences that happen to me or things that I hear that happened to other people. I write about very real things people my age and younger can listen to. I enjoy playing my music, and I want other people to enjoy my music. You know, like you’re driving down the road in the summer and you have like that…you hear that song on the radio. You’re like “Turn it up,” and you jam out in your car. That’s what I want my music to do for other people.
How do you want people to see you?
KYLIE: As a person? I want…I’m not a very like sketchy person, so I want people to see me for me, for who I am so I try to put myself in all of my music and all of the things I do because if I don’t act myself, what’s the point? You know? What you see is what you get. This is me.
Stay tuned for Part 2.
Published Date : July 13, 2012
Author : admin
As the country’s second largest producer of peaches, South Carolina peach season is always something to celebrate.
Tomorrow is no exception as the SC State Farmers’ Market hosts “Peach Market Day” (July 14) from 10am-12pm.
The South Carolina Peach Council will be at the Farmers’ Market hosting a variety of activities and handing out a free peach to visitors.
Peach varieties available around this time are known to be freestone and have high sugar content. What could be better to bite into on a South Carolina July afternoon? Eat your complimentary peach right there at the Farmers’ Market, and then buy more to take home and enjoy in the many recipes they have ready to share.
If you have questions about how to store your peaches or how to use them in different recipes, don’t worry. South Carolina Peach Council representatives will be on hand to answer them. Tomorrow is a great time to celebrate our state fruit.
Peaches have been an important commercial crop in South Carolina dating back to the mid-1800’s. Since then, aside from becoming the number 2 peach producer in the U.S., South Carolina has become the top state east of the Mississippi and produces more than 40 varieties of peaches. In fact, last year South Carolina produced over double the volume of Georgia and contributed to the affectionate nickname of “The Tastier Peach State.”
PHOTO CREDIT: facebook.com/SCPeachCouncil
Published Date : July 13, 2012
Author : admin
By: Taft Matney
Seriously. There’s an entire region of our country that was built on textiles. We live in it. Though no longer the dominant industry, textiles are still powerful here in the Southeast. My grandfather was a linthead, and he wasn’t the only one in the Upstate who grew up in a mill village.
Why is it then that Ralph Lauren, the designer and supplier of United States team uniforms for both the opening and closing ceremonies at the upcoming London games, decided to take his manufacturing to China?
CHINA!
Don’t tell me it’s because it’s cheaper to manufacture in China, because it still ain’t cheap. According to ABC News, Team USA’s men’s blazers cost $795 each. Our women’s blazers run $598 each, and to accessorize, ties are $125, belts are $85, and berets (Yes, berets.) are $55.
Using David Lauren’s statement on NBC’s TODAY that Ralph Lauren is outfitting approximately 1000 American athletes (and if we average the cost of men’s and women’s blazers at $691.50 each), we’re sending no less than $956,500 to China on those items alone. That doesn’t include their shirts/blouses, pants/skirts, belts, or shoes.
Why couldn’t that nearly $1,000,000 have stayed here in the US with American companies and American workers? It’s not like we’re unfamiliar with the clothing manufacturing process. Even Ralph Lauren himself knows that. You wanna know how he knows?
Ralph Lauren’s Polo shirts used to be manufactured in right here in South Carolina – specifically Lamar in Darlington County. The shirt I’m wearing as I type this came out of that same plant, but it’s now making a South Carolina brand.
I guess my point is this.
Aside from the fact that you look at the uniforms and think they look like Air France flight attendants instead of American athletes, it’s inexcusable to send our Olympians to Europe with uniforms made in China.
We are the United States. We invented computers. We put a man on the moon, and once upon a time, as the textile leader of the world, we made Ralph Lauren’s shirts in Lamar, SC. There’s no reason our Olympic team shouldn’t have that label in their clothes as they proudly represent our nation.
STORY UPDATE: After our piece was originally posted, ABC News aired a follow-up story featuring American companies challenging Team USA’s uniforms to be manufactured in the United States before the London games. Among the companies highlighted was Greenville, SC’s Loggerhead Apparel. Co-owner Zac Painter told ABC News, “We could have done it faster, we could have done it more sustainably, and the tag in the back would have said, ‘USA’.” The link to the ABC Video is HERE.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ralph Lauren and facebook.com/RalphLauren
Published Date : July 12, 2012
Author : admin
Catching that first fish is a proud moment, and in Horry County on Tuesday, Sarah Brame was about to have her experience when it was interrupted by a somewhat larger fish.
As she worked to reel in her redfish in Cherry Grove Inlet, a bull shark estimated at five feet and more than 200 pounds jumped at Sarah’s fish – chomping it like bait and clearing the hook.
As Brame told WPDE’s Ryan Naquin, “I was actually kinda scared ‘cause I seen it jump and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. It could jump up here and get me,’ because the tide was all the way up, and it was probably three feet below me.”
What’s the state’s limit on catching bull sharks?
WARNING: This video contains explicit language.
VIDEO CREDIT: Sarah Brame
Published Date : July 12, 2012
Author : admin
Anderson County metal fabricator Lollis Metals Inc. announced plans to expand its operations with a $3 million investment expected to generate 25 new jobs.
“We’ve been in business here since 1980, and it’s exciting to once again expand our business here in Anderson County. South Carolina has offered us an excellent business environment and a skilled workforce. We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and grow,” said Rick Lollis, vice president of Lollis Metals.
Lollis Metals’ expansion involves the addition of 80,000 square feet of space to the company’s current facility, located at 3933 Keys Street in Anderson, as well as the acquisition of Temco of the Upstate. Both will allow the company to increase its production capacity.
“It’s a great day in South Carolina when one of our existing businesses chooses to increase its footprint here. We celebrate Lollis Metals’ decision to invest $3 million and create 25 new jobs in Anderson. Investments like this show we are on the right track with our economic development efforts,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.
Since January 2011, South Carolina has recruited more than $6.8 billion in capital investment and more than 16,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector.
“Our state’s manufacturing renaissance continues to move forward, as announcements like this one show. Lollis Metals has been a part of the Upstate’s business community for more than three decades, and we congratulate the company on its continued success,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt.
“Anderson County Council is proud to congratulate Lollis Metals on their expansion,” said Anderson County Council Vice Chairman Tommy Dunn. “We are always happy when new industry comes to our county, but when one of our homegrown, family-owned companies prospers, it means we are doing something right. As part of their expansion, Lollis Metals purchased a struggling company, sustaining local jobs while creating new jobs and improving their bottom line sales and productivity.”
Published Date : July 10, 2012
Author : admin
Robert Refsnyder, the former University of Arizona outfielder and Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 College World Series, has a new home – one he swore he’d NEVER have – South Carolina.
Just hours after the Wildcats defeated the University of South Carolina in the CWS, preventing the Gamecocks’ third consecutive baseball national championship, Refsnyder tweeted, “I will never live in south (sic) Carolina because they can’t accept Asians playing baseball.”
While it is unknown if they Yankees’ fifth round draft pick deleted the insulting missive on his own, at the urging of the University of Arizona, or at the insistence of his new pinstriped employer, the tweet disappeared shortly after its initial post. Also unknown is what spurred his tirade against the Palmetto State.
It didn’t take long for an apologetic post to appear on his now protected Twitter account, either.
“Thank you for everyone covering college baseball, meant the world to everyone in Omaha! South Carolina’s ball club was nothing but class,” he wrote.
He later replied to one Twitter follower stating, “@NAME WITHHELD poor judgement (sic) on my part I apologize, nothing but respect for south carolina and ray tanner.”
Deleted tweet or not, he is going to go exactly where he said he wouldn’t.
When you’re drafted by the Yankees (or anyone else), you live where you’re told, and according to the Charleston RiverDogs (the Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees), that’s what Refsnyder is expected to do later this week as he prepares to start is professional baseball career in Charleston.
There’s no timeline for Refsnyder’s stint with the Holy City’s ball club.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to South Carolina, Rob. Hopefully, it won’t take you long to realize what South Carolina is really about. Somebody buy him a glass of sweet tea on me.