Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009

Best of the Beach: Driven to impress | Newcomers excited about palate possibilities

They hope their tastes won't go to waste when you take a bite on Tuesday night.

Employees of 56 Grand Strand restaurants are gearing up to give you the best they've got from 4 to 10 p.m. Oct. 27 during the 26th annual Taste of the Town.

The city's largest culinary festival will be held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, where food of various sorts will fight for time with your tongues and teeth. There will be 12 first-timers at the event, and they are especially eager to show you what they've got.

"We want people to know we are here, and we ain't going anywhere," said Heath Boettger, who co-owns Bellacino's Pizza & Grinders in Conway and Myrtle Beach.

Their aim is to impress you with samples so sublime you eventually become a permanent patron.

Boettger and his crew will bring the taste by presenting their Chicago steak grinder, regular pizza and Sicilian style pizza.

He believes you will love them because their bread is bad -- as in doggone good.

"Our bread is baked fresh daily," Boettger said. "Our Italian bread will be baked fresh that morning, along with our pizza dough."

Ronnie Hribar, owner of Longbeard's in Carolina Forest, is taking old-school food and tricking it out with new-school flavor when he serves up quail and grits. He also is going to showcase the versatility of sliders by giving the folks elk in between their buns. Shrimp bisque rounds out his top three to take to Taste of the Town.

"A lot of folks out there haven't tried wild game, others haven't had it since their mamas cooked it," Hribar said. "We wanted to bring a wild component to our game. It's going to be wild."

Better yet, Hribar trusts you will dig what you will get. In his quail and grits dish, of the quail breast are deep fried and then served over creamy grits with smoked sausage. His shrimp bisque, he declares, is of another stratosphere because of the secret ingredient he includes. Then there is the elk.

He said elk has less fat, calories and cholesterol than other more popular meats, including turkey (skinless), chicken (skinless), lamb, pork, duck, beef and salmon.

"Elk is a great alternative for folks," he said.

Laura Heraydi, owner of Indo, will showcase grouper curry, a special spring roll and will summon a godfather.

That would be her eatery's signature and wildly popular God Father Roll. It is spicy salmon, cream cheese, avocado, and tempura style asparagus. The long, chunky roll is then topped with baked scallops.

Of course, past attendees of Taste of the Town know the food is served up tapas fashion. You get enough to taste, hence the name, and your taste buds will tell you what to believe.

Will they go into overdrive and cause you to salivate at the thought of getting a fish sandwich served up from Chef Smitty's in Myrtle Beach?

"You can't get a better fish sandwich in Myrtle Beach,'' said Eric Smith, one of the owners. "If you buy a fish sandwich from us and you don't think it's wonderful, we will buy it back.''

Smith said he believes people will appreciate the fried fish sandwich because it is made with top quality haddock and seasoned just right.

"Tell them I said, 'Chef Smitty's says eating our fish is like eating ice cream,'" Smith said without flinching.

Fish isn't the only friend the restaurateur and his son, Gregg, are bringing with them to the Taste of the Town.

They, along with employees, will be making up scallop and crab rolls and shrimp po boys.

"We decided to participate this year because we have been here long enough," Eric Smith said. "It is time to show what we have to the masses."

More than 10,000 folks filled up on good grub and exquisite gourmet last year at the convention center.

Restaurateurs know the event is an opportunity to audition before a crowd in a way they never could on a typical day.

And this is not a typical event.

For the staff, students and parents connected to St. Andrew Catholic School, the grand occasion is the biggest fundraiser for them. More than $100,000 was raised last year. Funds have been used to construct a community life center, build a playground and supply scholarships.

For attendees, it is deemed one of the coolest social events of the year. You see folks you haven't seen in a while.

Teens find new crushes. Seniors get their groove on at a pace they can take. People basically just chill and have a good time.

Of course, they eat plenty and drink as much. There are soft drinks, water, beer and even wine this time around. Live music and entertainment will be there again to help keep the energy high.

Still, the food rules and the owners are keeping their fingers crossed that theirs' will draw raves.

Kenneth Norcutt, owner and chef of SeaBlue in North Myrtle Beach, is thrilled about being a newbie bringing samples of his fine gourmet cuisine to fresh and familiar faces.

His trio of taste will come in the form of porcini encrusted lamb chops with truffle bordelaise, a festive dry cranberry and white chocolate croissant bread pudding with crème anglais and shrimp and grits.

"When I became the new owner last year, I thought it was a little too early for me to be getting my feet wet at the Taste of the Town," Norcutt said. "Now we're ready."