Our favorite food trends from Charleston Wine+Food Festival

When nationally and internationally known chefs, winemakers, brewers, distillers and others connected to the food world gather, new trends are going to emerge.

That’s exactly what happened this past weekend at the popular Charleston Wine+Food Festival, where tickets to multi-course signature and special event dinners – ranging from $175 to upwards of $1,500 a person – sold out in no time to foodies who wanted to enjoy the creations of culinary stars.

I, too, was in Charleston, hanging out at the Culinary Village on Friday ($110, versus $125 for Saturday), attending the Pecha Kucha gathering that night ($40) and then attending the Fresh Future Farm lunch at the North Charleston neighborhood farm ($135) on Saturday afternoon.

Here are some of the trends showing out from the weekend.

Pork belly is still a thing

Contrary to food trend predictors who say the time for pork belly has passed, you wouldn’t know it from the many variations served up during the festival. Braised, fried, crisped or sliced – no one cares how you serve it, just make sure seconds are available.

My favorite version of pork belly: Freehouse Green Door IPA-brined pork belly crostini with bacon aioli and microgreens from the Bac’n Me Crazy food truck.

Grits isn’t just for shrimp anymore

Sure, shrimp and grits were served. I think it’s mandatory that it’s produced by at least one chef/restaurant at the festival (or any food festival in the South).

Even better though, were the grits from Anson Mills, Congaree Milling Company and Geechee Boy that turned up in fresh baked breads, where the ground corn added a really great texture; and rolled and shaped into grits crackers that served as the perfect conduit for serving smoked meats with sauces and pickled vegetables.

My favorite grits bite: Chef Jeremiah Langhorne of The Dabney Restaurant in Washington, D.C., served smoked Chesapeake catfish dip with Hawks Hill cheddar and pickled onion atop an Anson Mills crispy grit chip.

Herbs, bitters, and shrubs

Replicating your favorite craft cocktail from that really cool bar may be getting easier with premixed shrubs and complex bitters entering the market.

Small bottles with blends such as hibiscus, lavender and oak or rosemary, grapefruit and peppercorn come with pairing suggestions and recipes. Better still, you don’t necessarily have to mix these concoctions with alcohol – just add soda water and maybe a little simple sugar syrup for a refreshing drink.

And, continuing on herbs, there was even an herb-infused wine: Absentroux. While it has been available for a few of years (you can find it in a couple of Columbia restaurantsand at Morganelli’s), it is new to me. As the name implies, this is a French blend of Ugni blanc, Clairette blanche and Grenache blanc wines, with fennel, verbena, lemon balm, juniper, coriander and wormwood – the essential ingredient in absinthe. The electric green colored liquid can be sipped straight, made into a spritzer or mixed with another hearty alcohol such as bourbon.

My favorite sip: A citrus shrub made with lemon, blood orange and hibiscus, with soda water. A crisp, refreshing, non-alcoholic sip in the middle of the afternoon.

And there’s more

Charleston takes food trucks seriously. A mini gathering of five trucks supplied the eats for the Pecha Kucha event at The Cigar Factory, where one of the speakers, Shuai Wang of Short Grain food truck, was just named a semi-finalist for the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year award. Throughout the weekend, whether driving back and forth to events or walking the neighborhoods around College of Charleston and upper King Street, if there was a space large enough, you’d likely find a truck or trailer in it.

Note to self: Be sure to check maps and schedules. I just happened upon a gathering of eight former “Top Chef” cheftestants as they took the main stage with Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” host Gail Simmons and local Chef Frank Lee for a mis en place showdown. It was fun to see Dale Talde, Emily Hahn, Jamie Lynch, Sarah Gruenberg, Casey Thompson, Joy Crump, Keith Rhodes, and John Tesar compete in front of an audience. And, it was only as I was leaving for the day that I found the Corkyard – an area devoted to wine – tucked behind the wine retail shop.

Columbia should be proud. Representing South Carolina’s capital city were chefs Frank Bradley (Bourbon), Mike Davis (Terra), Ramone Dickerson (2 Fat 2 Fly and Wing City), Todd Woods (Oak Table), Kristian Niemi (Bourbon), Russell Jones (Tallulah), Sarah Simmons (Rise Gourmet Goods & Bake Shop), Charles Strickin (The Oak Table), Lou Hutto (LowCo Barbecue) and Porter Barron (War Mouth). There was even a shout out in Charleston entertainment newspapers encouraging traveling Charlestonians to check out our culinary scene.

My superlatives

Best food find: Lowcountry Kettle Potato Chips. I don’t care if you consider ’em junk food – somebody in Columbia, please get these chips! There are several flavors; I’m in love with the spicy pimento cheese, and the State Fair dill pickle flavor isn’t half bad. Some other flavors: mustard barbecue sauce and Bloody Mary.

Best single bite: City Roots carrots roasted with thai chilis, peanuts and cilantro, by chefs Ben Lustbader and Jason Vincent from Giant in Chicago. Served at the Fresh Future Farm lunch.

Best adult beverage: Blue Chair Bay Rum cocktail served in a plastic bag with a straw, described as “an adult juice box.”

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Our favorite food trends from Charleston Wine+Food Festival."