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TheThe team behind Italian favorite Le Farfalle (15 Beaufain Street, Charleston) is almost ready to open their second Lowcountry project Da Toscano Porchetta Shop (109 President Street). Chef Michael Toscano, partner Caitlin Toscano, and managing partner Joe Hochberg have transformed the former Gnome Cafe space into an old-world sandwich shop.

After traveling through Florence, Italy, Michael says he would think back to the porchetta and bollito sandwiches he found in small shops and street carts, and he wanted to create his own. In 2022, he made focaccia sandwiches out of the Le Farfalle kitchen and sold them once a week during lunch hours. He didn’t think his porchetta creations would be anything more than a pop-up, until he and Caitlin saw that the President Street restaurant space was available.

Now, the team is ready to open Da Toscano Porchetta Shop as early as next week. The space is totally different from its previous life as a vegan cafe. The floors are covered in well-worn tiles, a large marble counter frames the bar, meats rotate on several spits behind the dark wood counter, and there’s plenty of Sinatra on the soundtrack. “It should make you feel like you’re in Florence walking off the streets into a cafe,” says Michael.

The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, and a happy hour. Housemade focaccia is at the core of the menu — every sandwich is served on the Italian bread. For breakfast, there’s porchetta with a sunny-side-up egg or smoked salmon with whipped ricotta and everything bagel spices. At lunch, there’s more porchetta, but there’s also prime rib, rotisserie chicken with Parmigiano vinaigrette, and roasted potatoes cooked with the drippings from the beef and pork. The kitchen sources all the pork from local pig farmer Tank Jackson with Holy City Hogs.

There are no seats at Da Toscano Porchetta Shop. Customers walk in, order at the bar, and take their sandwiches (or salads) to one of the counter spaces in the cafe. “There’s a great energy you get by everybody hanging around and standing close to one another,” says Michael, “ It’s fun, and it’s also how it is in Italy. It creates a great environment.”

Once the doors are unlocked, Da Toscano Porchetta Shop will open Monday through Friday (with plans to open on the weekends in 2024), from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Take a tour of the space and the menus here.

We don’t know about you, but this holiday season, we are exclusively bellying up to holiday bars. We want it all — the lights, the trees, the ornaments the size of our heads — and based on the packed crowds we’ve seen around town this month, you want it too. The folks at Hotel Emeline, which is currently home to a festive winter courtyard, and at The Ryder, home of Little Pine (the holiday version of its bar and restaurant, Little Palm), have extended the decked-out dates, with both holiday iterations running through mid-January. What is it about festive holiday bars that inspires such cheer? In 2019, Eater Atlanta editor Beth McKibben theorized people just want to escape, if only for a spiked eggnog or two. “I do think these bars spark nostalgia in people and give them a little bit of comfort,” she wrote. So, whether you’re seeking comfort, cheer or just a really good Irish coffee, we’ve got a few holiday bar suggestions for you.

Hotel Emeline’s courtyard features a tree-lined yurt village this season. General manager of food and beverage at Emeline, Adam Jimenez, said: “From our festive decorations to The Den’s cheeky holiday cocktails to the winter courtyard’s tree-lined yurts — these activations were designed to evoke the holiday spirit and encourage conviviality. Our Winter Courtyard was inspired by our desire to transform the space into an entirely new holiday destination for our guests to discover.” You and your pals can rent a yurt through Resy. The “festive fondue experience” is $50 per guest and comes with guaranteed cozy vibes. If you’d rather skip the yurt experience, feel free to sit by the outdoor fire and order shareable plates and festive drinks from the Frannie & The Fox menu. Don’t sleep on “today’s mozzarella,” which is, in fact, made in-house daily.

Head to The Ryder hotel’s Little Palm bar and restaurant for its holiday iteration, Little Pine, which hopes to recreate an “authentic apres ski experience without leaving Charleston.” Guests can rent out gondolas, hang by the pool or just belly up to the bar for seasonal sips. Gondola reservations, which can be made at Resy.com or through the resy app, are available for 90-minute time slots for up to four guests.

Prohibition recreates itself as Christmas bar Sippin’ Santa this season, decked out in self-proclaimed “over-the-top Christmas” decor. The “tropical companion” to Handcraft Kitchen & Bar’s Miracle Bar, Sippin’ Santa is also an international pop-up franchise. Find the full drink menu online. All the festive cocktails are served in special mugs and glassware — here’s lookin’ at you surfin’ Santa — and drinks include tiki classics as well as new cocktails crafted just for this year.

Surround yourself with more ornaments than Santa has at the North Pole at the festively outfitted Blind Tiger bar. Sip on a seasonal cocktail — here’s lookin’ at you gingerbread espresso martini — and stay a while. Snap a few pics. Your Instagram feed will thank you.

If you prefer sipping your holiday drinks exclusively indoors, just pop over to The Den, located in Hotel Emeline’s restaurant, Frannie & The Fox. The martini bar has a special holiday menu, of course, but if you want to stick to its traditional offerings, we don’t blame you. Nothing says celebration like full martini service and a side of caviar, no? If you do choose a drink from bar manager Amanda Phelps’ ’90s-inspired holiday list, might we suggest the Sex on the Slopes, made with Absolut, cardamom and ginger-infused giffard peach, chambord, cranberry, orange juice and lime.

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Looking for Charleston’s best Chinese food? Sure, there’s plenty of Chinese-American spots to choose from, but where can you get something worth your money? From a restaurant with dishes from all over Asia to spots dedicated to Sichuan, there’s a small range of establishments offering Chinese cuisine, but they pack in a lot of flavors in the Lowcountry.

Look here for our top picks.

Read More

Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

North Charleston restaurant Jackrabbit Filly is like if someone said, “Make Chinese-American comfort food, but make it chef-y.” Owners Shuai and Corrie Wang opened the restaurant after years of running acclaimed food truck Short Grain. The menu has touches of Chinese and Japanese. There’s Sichuan dry pot, Mama Wang’s fried rice with lap cheong, and a highly-sought-after chirashi bowl. The restaurant recently added a dim sum brunch.

Looking for a dim sum dinner or lunch in the Lowcountry? Hit up Dragon Palace on Daniel Island for pork buns, shu mai, dumplings, and sesame balls. The interiors are retro fancy with ornate wood carvings and plenty of red. Dragon Palace also offers classics like chow mein, cashew chicken, and egg drop soup.

King BBQ offers Chinese barbecue with a Carolinas influence. The menu centers on smoked meats — five-spice duck, char siu ribs, ginger scallion kielbasa, and rotisserie chicken — and all the ways to serve those proteins — on a sandwich, rice, or noodles. Don’t miss the crispy shrimp toast sliders.

Downtown restaurant Beautiful South serves American-style takeout Chinese classics like General Tso’s chicken and Mongolian beef, but there’s also Cantonese roasted meats and Hainanese chicken. Try one of the inventive cocktails, such as the Love Your Enemies, which is a tequila and mezcal milk punch with a hint of oolong tea.

Eastside Chinese spot Hot Mustard may not be winning any culinary awards any time soon, but the restaurant’s takeout and delivery game is on point. Compared to other Americanized Chinese restaurants, Hot Mustard seems the most generous with the portions and the meat-to-noodle ratio. The pork lo mein or the sweet and sour chicken are reliable choices. This is eat-out-of-the-box-type of Chinese food — best served while sitting on the couch, watching Netflix, and in your pajamas.

Downtown restaurant Xiao Bao Biscuit (XBB) has been around since 2012. The kitchen draws from different regions across Asia and delivers on some solid Chinese choices. The mapo tofu is some of the best in town, and the dumplings always satisfy. XBB is usually packed with lively customers looking for Asian comfort foods. Starting during the pandemic, the restaurant began offering takeout.

If you haven’t heard of Old Li’s Restaurant on Savannah Highway in West Ashley, it might be because fans of the Chinese establishment would rather keep it a well-guarded secret. The can’t -miss menu item is the crispy Peking duck, but the oyster pancakes, dumplings, and squirrel fish are worth ordering as well. Old Li’s is BYOB, so plan accordingly.

James Island Sichuan restaurant Kwei Fei has enough peppercorns and punk-rock sensibility to keep any dinner interesting. Owners David Schuttenberg and Tina Heath-Schuttenberg moved from New York to Charleston for another restaurant project, but when that didn’t pan out, the culinary community lucked out when they decided to bring Sichuan flavors to town.

The restaurant usually full of locals enjoying lamb dumplings, spicy noodles, and tingly beef to the soundtrack of loud rock and funk music.

North Charleston restaurant Jackrabbit Filly is like if someone said, “Make Chinese-American comfort food, but make it chef-y.” Owners Shuai and Corrie Wang opened the restaurant after years of running acclaimed food truck Short Grain. The menu has touches of Chinese and Japanese. There’s Sichuan dry pot, Mama Wang’s fried rice with lap cheong, and a highly-sought-after chirashi bowl. The restaurant recently added a dim sum brunch.

Looking for a dim sum dinner or lunch in the Lowcountry? Hit up Dragon Palace on Daniel Island for pork buns, shu mai, dumplings, and sesame balls. The interiors are retro fancy with ornate wood carvings and plenty of red. Dragon Palace also offers classics like chow mein, cashew chicken, and egg drop soup.

King BBQ offers Chinese barbecue with a Carolinas influence. The menu centers on smoked meats — five-spice duck, char siu ribs, ginger scallion kielbasa, and rotisserie chicken — and all the ways to serve those proteins — on a sandwich, rice, or noodles. Don’t miss the crispy shrimp toast sliders.

Downtown restaurant Beautiful South serves American-style takeout Chinese classics like General Tso’s chicken and Mongolian beef, but there’s also Cantonese roasted meats and Hainanese chicken. Try one of the inventive cocktails, such as the Love Your Enemies, which is a tequila and mezcal milk punch with a hint of oolong tea.

Eastside Chinese spot Hot Mustard may not be winning any culinary awards any time soon, but the restaurant’s takeout and delivery game is on point. Compared to other Americanized Chinese restaurants, Hot Mustard seems the most generous with the portions and the meat-to-noodle ratio. The pork lo mein or the sweet and sour chicken are reliable choices. This is eat-out-of-the-box-type of Chinese food — best served while sitting on the couch, watching Netflix, and in your pajamas.

Downtown restaurant Xiao Bao Biscuit (XBB) has been around since 2012. The kitchen draws from different regions across Asia and delivers on some solid Chinese choices. The mapo tofu is some of the best in town, and the dumplings always satisfy. XBB is usually packed with lively customers looking for Asian comfort foods. Starting during the pandemic, the restaurant began offering takeout.

If you haven’t heard of Old Li’s Restaurant on Savannah Highway in West Ashley, it might be because fans of the Chinese establishment would rather keep it a well-guarded secret. The can’t -miss menu item is the crispy Peking duck, but the oyster pancakes, dumplings, and squirrel fish are worth ordering as well. Old Li’s is BYOB, so plan accordingly.

James Island Sichuan restaurant Kwei Fei has enough peppercorns and punk-rock sensibility to keep any dinner interesting. Owners David Schuttenberg and Tina Heath-Schuttenberg moved from New York to Charleston for another restaurant project, but when that didn’t pan out, the culinary community lucked out when they decided to bring Sichuan flavors to town.

The restaurant usually full of locals enjoying lamb dumplings, spicy noodles, and tingly beef to the soundtrack of loud rock and funk music.

• Charlotte native AJ Smith went off for a career-high 34 points in the win over A&T, and he leads The Citadel in scoring (16.5).

• Veteran guard Elijah Morgan scored 15 points or more in five of the first seven games, and he’s second on the team at 11.3 ppg.

• Senior forward Quentin Millora-Brown has posted three straight double-doubles, and he leads the Bulldogs in rebounding (9.2), while scoring 8.7 ppg.

• Former Presbyterian forward Winston Hill grabbed a career-best 17 boards in the A&T victory, and he’s averaging 9.6 ppg.

College of Charleston Cougars Preview

Charleston moved to 5-4 after defeating Rhode Island at home, 85-70. The Cougars used a strong second half to pull away from the Rams, and they’ll look to double down here at home. Charleston is scoring 74.6 points per game, on 41.8% shooting, while allowing 77.2 ppg.

Charleston Team Notes

• Charleston prefers to take things slow, averaging 69.7 possessions per game (265th), and they’ve struggled to connect from deep, hitting just 30.1% of their three-point shots (291st).

• Fort Mill native Ben Burnham poured in a season-high 23 points in the win over Rhode Island, and he leads Charleston in scoring (12.9).

• Junior guard Reyne Smith led the way with 24 points in the in-state victory over Coastal Carolina, and he’s second in the team at 11.2 ppg.

• Third-year forward Ante Brzovic double-doubled in that same contest, and he leads CoC in rebounding (5.9), while scoring 10.6 ppg.

The Citadel vs Charleston Trends

• CIT is 5-3 against the spread, with a 3-5 O/U record

• COFC is 3-6 ATS, with a 4-5 over/under record.

The Citadel vs Charleston Prediction

This inner-city matchup should churn out some good action, and I like the visitors sticking around throughout this one. The Citadel was half advantages on the offensive end, they just have to prevent letting this one get out of hand on the road. This isn’t the same 30-win Charleston team from last Winter, so while they still may manage to avoid defeat here, the Bulldogs have a chance to capitalize on the generous margin. Spot The Citadel the points for this battle of Charleston achools.

The countdown is on to present your friends and families with the best gifts of the season — and the clock is ticking. If you still need to snag a gift for the food and booze lover in your life, we’ve got a few suggestions.

While this list is far from comprehensive — there are dozens and dozens of ways to shop local and gift cool stuff this year — we hope these fun foodie items get your wheels turning.

Head to Lowcountry Local First for a full list of local stores from which to buy your holiday gifts.

The vermouth shelf at Estadio

Did you know local tapas restaurant Estadio has a small but mighty retail selection of sherry? Shop from brands like Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso and Palo Cortado and gift the foodie lover in your life with some fortified wine.

J. Stark x Indaco’s travel knife roll kit

Jess Nichols, co-founder of J. Stark and Mark Bolchoz, culinary director of Italian concepts for Indigo Road created a getaway knife roll travel kit, available for purchase at J. Stark. The weekend kit is made with four 2-inch slots and four 1-inch slots, while the extended stay has one 3-inch slot, six 2-inch and five 1-inch slots for more versatility. The extended kit also has a small zipper pocket for the things that are just too small to fit in the slots like business cards, peelers, thermometers and more.

Honeysuckle Rose Luxury Experiences

New downtown tasting menu restaurant Honeysuckle Rose recently released a collection of several gift-able “experiences,” including the guest chef experience, which allows guests the opportunity to go behind the scenes of a full-day staging at Honeysuckle. Wannabe chefs can help prepare an eight-course dinner alongside chef and owner Ryan Jones and/or culinary director Tito Marino. In addition to the immersive guest chef experience, folks can also buy packages that include less cooking, more eating. Learn more about each package online at honeysucklerose.com.

Sorelle Gift Baskets

Shop from three holiday baskets from Sorelle, Broad Street’s swanky Italian restaurant, perfect for the hostess who has everything. Baskets start at $140 and include an array of oils, pastas, tapenades and Champagne.

Graft’s Extra Sauce

Local wine shop Graft has a monthly wine club that includes more than just wine. While the wine — selected by Graft’s sommeliers “with a commitment to sustainable, organic or biodynamic farming” — is great, the extras are nice too, from recipes for pairings, discounts on retail purchases and a custom tote bag. Learn more and sign up online.

Bonus gift idea from the editor

While Le Creuset is not a local brand, you can find it on King Street (in Williams Sonoma) so we’re throwing it on here with your local cuisine editor’s favorite kitchen tool to date: the 3.5-quart enameled cast iron braiser.

Keep the City Paper free

We don't have a paywall. Each week's printed issue is free. We're local, independent and free. Let's keep it this way.

Please consider a donation of $100 to keep the City Paper free. Donate: chscp.us