Charleston Food Events Not To Miss This Fall

The fall is such a special time in Charleston. The weather cools down and event organizers take full advantage of planning as many outdoor events as possible. It can be hard to choose between all the special dinners, tastings, and holiday events, but The Daily Meal has selected their top picks of not-to-be-missed, almost exclusively one-time-only events.

Whenever The Macintosh organizes a special event on their outside patio, it's guaranteed to be good. For three nights this fall, chef Jeremiah Bacon will bring in some of the South's best chefs for a special series of roasts. Chef Kevin Gillespie of Gunshow in Atlanta (October 21), chef Vish Bhatt of Snack Bar in Oxford, Miss. (November 19), and chef Steven Satterfield of Miller Union in Atlanta (December 3) are part of the fall series and together with chef Bacon will offer a family style meal of ingredients that have been predominantly cooked on the outside grill. Each roast will feature carefully selected beverage pairings and tickets for each roast is $85 plus gratuity and tax.

On Monday, October 27, FIG will host an all-star roster of chefs and winemakers — including Harry Root of Grassroots Wine, FIG's Jason Stanhope, and Boulder, Colorado's Frasca Food and Wine's chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Bobby Stuckey, master sommelier — for FIGALY, a five-course dinner with paired wines that celebrates two of America's best restaurants cooking together for one big night. Chefs Stanhope and Mackinnon-Patterson will collaborate on a menu that includes items like house-made pastas and riso marinara, while Root and Stuckey will collaborate on dynamic wine pairings from Grassroots Wine and Scarpetta (Patterson and Stuckey's own label). FIGALY starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $125 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required.

Charleston chefs Frank Lee of Slightly North of Broad and Nico Romo of Fish love to fish and will come together on Saturday, November 1 for a special five-course seafood dinner called Predator & Prey at Fish. The twist for the event will be that each plate will spotlight the progression of both predator and prey for a dish-by-dish look at the food chain. The proceeds from the dinner will benefit ocean research to measure the health and diversity of seafood populations of our local fisheries and fisherman. The cost is $80 per person; visit their Facebook page to learn more.

It would not be fall without a special wild game-focused dinner, and Circa 1886 will do just that on Thursday, November 13 at their second annual Wild Game Dinner. Chef Marc Collins will take guests on a culinary journey with a menu filled with items like rattlesnake breakfast sausage, chilled kangaroo with hoppin' John salad, bison brisket, and a foie gras crème brûlée top with crispy duck prosciutto. The cost is $75 per person or $105 with wine pairings.

We are always up for a good beer pairing, and on Saturday, November 15 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Palmetto Brewery will host Kelly Owen, author of the newly released The College Chronicles. Owen, who writes about the brewery and its history in the book, will be onsite signing copies while Palmetto pours beer and Boogie Benton of Boogie's Barbeque Food Truck will be serving ribs, wings, and their signature Dirty Bird sandwich, all available a la carte. The event is free to attend. 

It's not every day three of the country's top wine professionals visit Charleston simultaneously and in their honor, Edmund's Oast will close for regular business to host a special dining and pairing event on Wednesday, November 19. Proprietors Jasmine Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards, Matt Licklider of LIOCO, and Andy Peay of Peay Vineyards will join forces and offer a special wine menu for attendees to select from. Chef Andy Henderson will create a special five-course tasting menu featuring two options for each course for guests to choose from. Each reserved spot is $95 plus tax and gratuity, and there are three limited seatings available: 7:00, 7:45, and 8:30 p.m. Reservations are required.

Last year's inaugural Jubilee by Garden & Gun proved to be a hit and offered an unexpected perfect place to do all of our holiday shopping. With the looks of it, this year's will take it up a notch and expand on all of the popular events offered during its first year. The event takes place December 5 through 7 at Charlestowne Landing and provides a lively mix of sporting, shopping, food, music, and art. There are special dinners and events like an afternoon quail hunt, one-on-one dog training, and a field feast with chefs Mike Lata, Ashley Christensen of Raleigh, and John Fleer of Asheville. Prices vary and events are selling out fast.

Who doesn't love a fun holiday party, especially when it involves food, fun, and charity? The Park Café is doing it right with a block party on Sunday, December 7, starting at 3:00 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to ride their bikes up to the neighborhood café and decorate them for the holidays. The group will then go "Karaling," named after the restaurant's co-owner, around Hampton Park and Wagener Terrace and then return to the restaurant for snacks and libations. The cost is $20 per person for the food and non-alcoholic drinks, with additional beverages will be available for purchase. All participants are encouraged to wear holiday attire and bring a donation for Toys for Tots