What's Good Here at Mike Davis' Terra? Three dishes he's served since day one

At Terra in West Columbia, renowned Chef Mike Davis is always coming up with creative recipes for dishes that incorporate locally sourced farm-to-table ingredients.

However, those who know the restaurant best know that there are three Terra dishes that are quintessential Davis. These three dishes are the only dishes that have been on the restaurant’s appetizer menu every day since Terra opened. (And all three dishes are only $10 each).

Those dishes are the barbecued “lamb mac,” barbecued lamb with poblano peppers and macaroni and cheese with fontina and goat cheese; the Quack Madame, duck confit with caramelized onions on toasted brioche with a fried quail egg and served with an arugula salad; and the shrimp remoulade, fried green tomato with shrimp remoulade on top with Benton’s Country Ham. The latter is Davis’ homage to his old boss in New Orleans, James Beard Award winner Susan Spicer.

“This was on our opening menu,” Davis said of the shrimp remoulade. “I threw together all things Southern: fried green tomatoes, shrimp with remoulade from New Orleans. At the time, we used Caw Caw Creek ham, and now we use Benton’s Country Ham. You’ve got the crunch of the tomato, the brininess of the shrimp and a little salad. They’re classic flavors that everyone enjoys.”

The Quack Madame is Davis’ spin on the classic croque madame substituting a quail egg.

“The Quack Madame is my take on the French open-faced street sandwich, the croque madame, which means ‘the country lady,’ and is a ham and cheese sandwich with an egg. Quack Madame is just re-imagining French food. I had some duck confit and decided we’d do it as an appetizer and I’d use a quail egg, and it was a hit. It was original enough to leave on the menu, and it’s just become a thing. We started making it at some point in the first couple years we were open, and it’s been on there since.”

The lamb mac – the most commonly ordered item on the menu – may sound simple, but it’s definitely layered and complicated, Davis said.

“When I worked in New Orleans, we had a slow night, and had some barbecued lamb shoulder and ancho barbecue sauce and another macaroni dish, and we were just messing around,” Davis said. “My brother was in New Orleans at the time, and he loved it. When I was opening Terra, I was putting recipes together for the menu, and I called my brother. He mentioned that we should include the barbecue lamb mac-and-cheese. It’s pretty involved. You have to make an ancho chili paste to start with. Half of one station in our kitchen at Terra is devoted to that – barbecue and mac-and-cheese – and the flavors work well. The lamb is different a little different, of course, and the poblano peppers add to it.”

How did Terra get its start?

A native of Dothan, Ala., Davis graduated from the University of Alabama and Johnson & Wales in Charleston, where he worked at Magnolias restaurant under chefs Donald Barickman and Don Drake. Davis then moved to New Orleans, where he worked under Spicer at Bayona and then as a sous chef at Cobalt. He then returned to Alabama as sous chef at Birmingham’s Chez Fonfon under Chef Frank Stitt, another James Beard Award winner.

In 2006, Mike Davis opened Terra’s doors at 100 State St. in West Columbia. There, he has made a name for himself across the state – and the nation – as a creative chef dedicated to using seasonal, sustainable, local ingredients in his nightly changing menu.

Since opening Terra, Davis has been invited to cook at Taste of the South, the annual Southern Foodways Alliance Benefit, the James Beard House in New York City, Euphoria Greenville and Charleston Wine + Food. Terra has earned a DiRoNA distinction every year since the restaurant opened. Davis was named a Restaurant Hospitality Rising Star and has been featured in publications like Garden & Gun.

In 2015, Davis was named the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association’s Restaurateur of the Year. Terra celebrated its 10th anniversary last fall.

Who eats here?

Terra is a local favorite of many and frequently shows up as a favorite dining spot of Columbians featured in The State’s weekly How I Go Columbia feature.

“Since opening Terra, we’ve seen the food community in Columbia grow so much, and diners are really educated and engaged in what we’re serving,” said Davis.

Janet Jones Kendall, jjkendall@thestate.com

This story was originally published July 12, 2017 at 2:45 PM with the headline "What's Good Here at Mike Davis' Terra? Three dishes he's served since day one."