Lunch on USC’s Horseshoe, a new place for pizza, and edible bugs

Enjoy lunch hot off the grill in the cool shade of the patio or in an air-conditioned dining room at McCutchen House. Students at the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management prepare lunch daily as they learn what it takes to run a restaurant. Buy eight lunches and the ninth is free.

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, through Friday, July 28. Menu: http://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/hrsm/for_the_community/mccutchen_house_dining/garden_grill/index.php

FEAST FILM FEST: This first-ever event, in conjunction with Farm to Table Events Co., invites you to explore South Carolina Foodways with two days of films, food, conversation and more. Speakers include filmmaker Stan Woodward, Eric McClam of City Roots, Vanessa Bialobreski of Farm to Table Events Co., horticulturist Keith Mearns of Historic Columbia, owner and sommelier Tim Gardner or Lula Drake, producer-filmmaker Thibault Fagonde of Overalls & Aprons, farmer Nat Bradford, Dr. David Shields of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation and Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills. Chefs include Todd Woods, Blake Fairies, Lou Hutto, Mike Davis, Frank Bradley, Kristian Niemi, Charley Scruggs, and Pierce Bowers.

Thursday, June 8 and Friday, June 9 at S.C. State Museum, 301 Gervais St. For ticket options, see www.scmuseum.org/feastfilm or www.farmtotableeventco.com.

EDIBLE BUGS? YES, INDEED: Come out and sample the edible bug buffet at EdVenture Children’s Museum during Terminix Day. The pop-up “Pestaurant” will feature a cooking lab and foods featuring such things as ants, crickets and worms. Also: half-price admission, pest-themed activities and a mass butterfly release.

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, June 9, EdVenture, 211 Gervais St., www.edventure.org

LIZARD’S THICKET CLOSES FOR RENOVATIONS: The branch on Elmwood Avenue will be closing for upgrades, including increased parking and access to the drive-thru, USB charging stations at tables, upgraded Wi-Fi, a remodeled dining room and state-of-the-art kitchen equipment. Work should be completed for a grand re-opening this fall.

818 Elmwood Ave. www.lizardsthicket.com

New and notable

DOWNTOWN EATERIES: A new pizza place is coming to Columbia’s Arcade Mall.

Stoner’s will join a line of recent pizza restaurant chains that have expanded into the Columbia area, including Persona Wood-Fired Pizza, Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza, Upper Crust Pizzeria and MOD Pizza. Stoner’s will open on the Washington Street side of the historic Arcade Mall, which is managed by Carolinas Retail Partners and is undergoing major renovations. Owned and operated by the Harn family, the Georgia-based pizza chain restaurant features three-generation-old family recipes for pizza dough, wings, salads and desserts.

Pita Pit is still under construction on the Main Street side of the shopping center and is expected to open soon. Pita Pit will stay open until 2 a.m. with its own exterior entrance, adding after-hours life to the front of the mall.

“Renovating the mall will be great for the area, and we wanted to be a part of it,” Pita Pit franchise owner John Thrasher told The State last fall. “There’s a lot of history there, and it’s a good location.”

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Lunch on USC’s Horseshoe, a new place for pizza, and edible bugs."