the buzz

“Lowcountry Starts New Year on a High Note”

Fact number one: Not all Southern cooking mirrors Paula Deen's philosophy of using copious amounts butter and cream. If you want proof, visit Lowcountry in the Village. This southern-style restaurant recently reopened with executive chef Oliver Gift, whose background includes working for Dan Barber at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Fifth Floor in San Francisco and a stint at Commerce as sous chef.

I was sold when baskets of the delicate-as-glass pork rinds and perfectly fried okra landed on our table at a recent dinner. My previous trips at Lowcountry were nice enough experiences but nothing to write home about. Perhaps it was the bourbon (try the Wild Negroni or Dark and Stormy) that put things on the right track, but it was pretty clear that chef Gift refined the food here while keeping it approachable. We often like to think of Southern food as fried and barbecued, but the food of South Carolina, Lowcountry, is much more diverse. Chef Gift makes it a point to use sustainable and local ingredients when possible. Carolina shrimp and grits or the bourbon bbq pork chop (which comes with a sweet potato puree, roasted fingerling potatoes, squash and Brussels sprouts) are just some of the main dishes that prove this point. Of course you can still get your fixing of fried chicken biscuit and bbq ribs, too.

Owners Kiwon Standen and Didier Palange, who opened Bar Blanc in the same space, have kept Lowcountry's interior much the same with its wood and leather banquettes and vinyl record-lined walls. Dinner is served 5:30 to 11 p.m. and brunch is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Enjoy!

Lowcountry is located at 142 West 10^th Street (between Greenwich Avenue and Waverly Place), 212-255-2330, http://www.lowcountrynewyork.com/.

--Bao Ong

Share ! Post a comment