Last night, the Social Media Club of Columbia met at Terra. That is the sort of meeting the Shop Tart does not like to miss. She arrived (almost promptly) at 5:30 (ish) and ordered her new favorite, a Pink Squirrel martini. For you purists who cringe at the idea of the word “martini” in reference to anything other than the classic vermouth and gin combination, please know that the Shop Tart sympathizes. She is a bit of a purist about these things herself. In this case, she must use the m-word, because a Pink Squirrel on its own contains no vodka, just crème de noyaux, white crème de cacao, and fresh cream. Which is not quite enough of a cocktail for a grown woman, if you know what I’m saying. Anyhow, “Pink Squirrel martini” sounds better than “a Pink Squirrel with a splash of vodka for the chick who loves liquor, please.” M’kay?

Anyhow, as expected, Andy did a bang-up job of delivering a fine drink. It had been shaken to within an inch of its tasty little life, creating barely perceptible flakes of icy cream throughout. Have you ever used one of those ice cream balls to make ice cream? Same idea. If you shake it enough, flecks of ice will begin to form. What you really need to know is this: That is a d*mn fine cocktail and Andy made it just right.

The SMCC crowd is a cocktail-y one and the Shop Tart saw some great ones, including pomegranate cosmopolitans. Although she feels the cosmopolitan is a bit played out, she will make an exception for fun variations, especially when they are packed with anti-oxidants like pomegranate juice. She is all for healthy cocktails. After the meeting, her husband and another couple joined the Shop Tart for dinner. The lady started with one of Andy’s classic martinis.

The gentlemen enjoyed Fat Tire. That’s a beer.

At the table, the Shop Tart enjoyed a tweener (the large glass of water in between each drink) followed by a glass of bubbly. Chef Mike Davis sent out the charcuterie plate, with spiced nuts, two delicious cheeses, grapes and a few slices of delicious salami-like meat. The Shop Tart went to a wedding in Italy once where they had a whole table of meats like this one and lots of cheese. This was like the best of that table on one plate.

The Shop Tart couldn’t wait for her frisée aux lardons, a salad that has everything it should, including a fresh poached egg from local Wil-more farms and tasty little bits of bacon and wild mushroom. Taking a pretty photo of a salad is always a challenge, so just trust her and order up.

Mr. Shop Tart had a green salad, while the second gentleman enjoyed fried oysters. The Shop Tart had sampled one of Terra’s oysters on the half-shell earlier and was in love.

As they savored their appetizers and waited for the main course, these small cups of the soup of the day - a rich seafood chowder - arrived to everyone’s delight.

It was about time for another cocktail. The ladies went for a special drink named after some coach from Tennessee that everyone hates*. The Shop Tart didn’t quite get her husband’s explanation and she does not know why such a delicious blend of bubbly, Campari, sugar and blood orange would be named after someone unpleasant - because it was delicious. The drink got sweeter as she sipped, so it was almost like having two different drinks. Fun!

The Louisiana crawfish étouffée was outstanding.

The Shop Tart had been dreaming of the new beet carpaccio - roasted red and gold beets, celery root remoulade, pistachio and tangelo supremes. She was not disappointed. First of all, it’s very, very pretty. The red beets bleed onto the golden ones for a lovely ombre effect. Who did that first? Wasn’t it Prada? The beets were topped with a celeriac salad, also known as celery root, also known as French coleslaw. In Paris, one of the Shop Tart’s children enjoyed a baguette vegetarién in a cafe near Musée d’Orsay. The slaw was so good the Shop Tart learned to make it at home, stuffed it into a baguette with lettuce, fresh tomatoes and marinated green beans and called it her new best friend. Chef Mike’s celeriac salad was divine.

The other lady enjoyed Terra’s classic BBQ lamb shoulder-stuffed mac and cheese gratin with Poblano peppers, Fontina and goat cheese. Nothing wrong with that, yo.

Mr. Shop Tart enjoyed an a-MA-zing skate fish with crispy capers, citrus and just the right amount of sauce. It was served with mashed potatoes and haricots verts (green beans, y’all). How do chefs manage to get fish to be so tender, yet crispy around the edges? Brilliant.

So. They were full. Absolutely, one hundred percent, gloriously full. But…wait for it…drum roll…here it comes…dessert appeared, out of nowhere, as if by magic. There were two. The first was a pair of apple turnovers served with brown butter pecan ice cream. (Looking at you, Sidney Heyward. You would love this one!) They were scrumptious, hot and crispy, not too sweet and perfectly complemented by the brown butter** ice cream.

The second dessert was “Le Kit-kat.” Although the French claim to be very discerning in their tastes, that is not always the case. A certain blogger’s French mother-in-law always has miniature Twix or Kit-Kat in her refrigerator. Just saying. This was a superior interpretation of the ubiquitous and beloved chocolate bar. It was a divine layer of rich chocolate over a crispy layer of Kit-Kattish goodness. Sing it: “Gimme a break, gimme a break, break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat Bar!” Or “Faites la Pause!” as they say in Québec.

The sweets were so good they led to a rousing discussion of which fast food desserts were the best. Front runners included Sonic’s peppermint candy milkshake, McDonald’s caramel sundae with nuts, Rush’s hot fudge sundae with double hot fudge and Baskin Robbins’ peppermint candy ice cream served in a ginger ale float. Hungry?

Chef Mike Davis has some impressive skills, y’all, and the folks at the James Beard Foundation agree. He will be in New York to cook at the James Beard House on February 9th. This is a huge honor and quite a bit of work has gone into planning the meal. Chef Davis will be preparing dinner for around 75 guests at the Beard House with wine pairings, so he’s bringing a few chefs from Terra to help him, as well as Terra’s own certified wine specialist Howard. The menu will make South Carolina proud: It’s full of local products and includes favorites from the Terra menu. He’ll be taking all of the food with him to New York for the dinner. Local ingredients include Port Royal shrimp, Caw Caw Creek Suckling Pig and South Carolina squab. For a full menu and details about the dinner, check the James Beard Foundation website. Ding dang, y’all. Columbia’s getting fancy. Well, West Columbia.

To make a long story short, if you’re looking for a place to go this weekend, try Terra. Feel free to challenge Howard with a wine choice and let Andy at the bar mix up a cocktail to start (or finish!) your evening. And brag to all your friends that you get to eat food prepared by a James Beard Foundation-recognized chef. Don’t forget dessert, no matter how full you think you are.

Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!

P.S. Are you looking for a cool, adorable and practical gift for a child for only $10.99? The Shop Tart spotted these watches at Be Beep yesterday. Apparently, they also come in pink, currently sold out but on order. (If you can’t wait, there was at least one blue one with flowered VW Beetles on it that would be perfect for a stylish little girl.) What a great way to inspire a child to learn to tell time on a “real” clock.

P.P.S. Looking for a way to wile away the day tomorrow? The All-Local Farmers’ Market will be happening as usual beside 701 Whaley Street. Banu Varlik of It Bites Gourmet will be there with her Turkish delicacies including walnut baklava and Shop Tart favorite carrot and yogurt spread. After that, Motor Supply is hosting a a pig pickin’ party to benefit the Ray Tanner Foundation from 11 am until 3 pm. A ten dollar donation covers food and non-alcoholic beverages. (Cash bar inside.) Still going? Cellar on Greene is hosting one of their giant wine sales and tastings from noon until two pm. And there’s more…check the calendar for Restaurant Week and World Beer Festival details.

P.P.P.S. Looking for some delicious coffee to go with your Sunday morning paper? Rosewood Market recently started stocking locally-roasted Cashua Coffee. Enjoy!

* Lane Kiffin. The Shop Tart has just verified the name of the coach. He must start out mildly, yet pleasantly bitter until he mellows into a sweet, juicy little beverage. ‘Cause that’s what that drink did.

** If you have yet to jump on the brown butter train, do believe the hype. And do seek out Jeffrey Steingarten’s article in Vogue’s May (or was it June? Or April?) 2009 issue on the deliciousness of brown butter. In fact, if you want to know more about food without being pretentious, read everything Mr. Steingarten has ever written. Love.

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