October Roundup

I had a lot of really good meals in October.

At the beginning of the month, I headed down to St. Simons, Georgia, to attend Firebox, a barbecue festival put on by the guys at Southern Soul Barbeque. There I met Martin and Melissa Goffin of Red Gum BBQ, who opened an American-style barbecue joint all the way down under in Australia. I interviewed them for a Southern Living piece and discussed their long, fascinating journey helping kick-start Australia’s now-budding barbecue scene.

Martin and Melissa Goffin of Red Gum BBQ, Red Hill, Australia (Red Gum BBQ)

On the way back home from Firebox, I stopped off to visit a long-standing barbecue monument: the supposed original pot in which the first Brunswick stew was cooked. I uncovered a rather bizarre Tale of Two Stew Pots, which I related for Southern Living.

The Brunswick Stew monument in Mary Ross Waterfront Park, Brunswick, GA (Robert F. Moss)

On the restaurant review front, I visited the recently opened Delaney Oyster House for the Charleston City Paper and was quite impressed. Executive Chef Shamil Velazquez and the rest of the team from Neighborhood Dining Group

The Seafood Chowder at Delaney Oyster House, Charleston, SC (Robert F. Moss)

Earlier in the month, I went back and revisited the Macintosh, long one of my favorite Charleston restaurants. It was celebrating its 8th anniversary, and a new execute chef in the kitchen (at least for a while.) My City Paper review assesses how well the fare has held up.

And I had a great, wide ranging conversation with Stephanie Burt on the Southern Fork Podcast where we talk barbecue (of course) along with restaurant reviewing, food writing, the relevance of a Literature degree to food writing, and much more. Check it out.

What’s Cooking

Now we’re into November and the cool weather has finally arrived here in Charleston, as has the blessed end of Daylight Savings Time, too. (For earlier risers like me, having it stay dark until 7:30 am has been dreary.)

I’m shifting toward stews and root vegetables in the kitchen and couldn’t be happier.