A Few Things I Ate in Charleston

Yes, that is a mountain of caviar - excellent Bulgarian caviar - in a block of ice.  Just one of the many luxurious offerings at the afterparty William Sonoma threw at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival on Friday night.  The party felt like a return to the excessive eighties... The chef guests strolled about sipping Champagne while nibbling on an endless parade of sea urchins, giant langoustines, shockingly large lobsters

fist-sized truffles, cured meats, wagyu beef... I've never experienced anything quite like it. (These luxuries were sourced by Ian Purkayastha, who is also known as Truffle Boy.)

But the entire festival was a trip on the excess express, a rolling journey of wine, food and fun.  A few highlights....

A meal at Husk, which began with two kinds of chicken wings...

and included (along with some fifteen other dishes), this gorgeous pan of cornbread

exceedingly rich shrimp and grits edged with hints of onion...

sauteed shishito peppers

extraordinary fried chicken on a bed of seductively smoky beans...

One of my favorite meals was at the much-loved The Ordinary, which included towers of seafood, piles of shrimp, a fantastic razor clam salad and these tiny uni tacos...

and oyster sliders...

One morning a breakfast for Daniel Boulud at Le Farfalle  included a dozen or so courses, including these fried chicken biscuits

and ending with the most luxurious eggs it has ever been my pleasure to eat. Gently scrambled, they were glazed with butter and buried in black truffles.

One of the final highlights of the event was a dinner honoring Chef Boulud. The dishes, prepared by high profile chefs who've worked for him were paired with special wines. More on that tomorrow, but here's a little teaser...