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Apr
29
Host a party, without cleaning or cooking. Just show up.
Filed Under art, cocktails and wine, dinner, eat and drink, go, good cause!, party, snack, staying in | Leave a Comment
For the last couple of years, the Shop Tart and her husband have hosted a small cocktail and snack happy hour for the judges of the Contemporaries Artist of the Year, just before the event, at Hampton Street Vineyard. This year, they had to choose a new venue, not because they don’t love HSV, but because someone beat them to it and the restaurant was booked for a private event. The Shop Tart had to scramble. Ha, ha, no she didn’t. She thought of Kristian Niemi’s newest venture, Loft 201 by Rosso at 701 Whaley. A mouthful, for sure, but worth every bite. The cocktail hour started with a lovely Aperol spritz, made to the the Shop Tart’s exact specifications by Kristian himself.
She and her lovely friend Heather of City Center Partnership sipped their cocktails while they waited for the other guests to arrive and enjoyed snacks that were already on the counter.
So…did you know about this thing? Or are you all, “What on earth are you talking about? Is this someone’s house or what?” Or what. Kristian has leased one of the loft apartments at 701 Whaley Street and he throws private parties there. Any kind of party you want — as long as it’s legal. (Actually, the Shop Tart didn’t ask, but she assumed.) Have you ever done that thing — where you wanted to throw a dinner party — but then you thought, “I can’t cook and I don’t want to clean my house, not even a little.” Well, Loft 201 is the place to go. As the guests arrived, he continued mixing drinks and offering snacks. And he was cooking at the same time. Let’s be real: He’s a better host than you will ever be, so give it up.
In addition to a delicious filet mignon dish, he made shrimp, served like this. Yum.
In addition to cocktails, he had also set out a bucket of wine and beer.
The gathering at Loft 201 felt just like having a party at home, if your house was really neat and you had staff. The Shop Tart knows what you are thinking, “How much does such a thing cost?” Well. She isn’t going to say exactly. Because her guests might be reading this and that would be vulgar. But it was less than you would expect, and probably less than it would have cost her to do the same thing at home. What sort of party might you host here? Well…
- Wedding shower
- Small seated dinner party
- Intimate rehearsal dinner
- Gorgeous dinner for two, during which you might even propose marriage
- Tiny class reunion, like the one Mr. Shop Tart attended a year or so ago, with only about ten of his classmates
- Your grandmother’s birthday
- The Shop Tart’s birthday
- Chic bachelor or bachelorette party
- Graduation dinner
- Recruiting dinner (You know, like if you’re a doctor and you’re trying to convince some new doctor to join your practice)
- Employee appreciation night
- Groundhog day
- Housewarming (Hey, why not? Who says it has to be at the actual house. Okay, maybe it does.)
- Tupperware party, or whatever else y’all are selling these days
- Congratulations on your divorce party
- Blind date (Just because that would be hilariously awkward.)
- Post christening brunch
The possibilities are endless! The Shop Tart finds herself wondering if Kristian might even do a small cooking class there, for you and your crew. She’s been to a couple of his instructional dinners and they were great.
Anyhow, after dinner, the Shop Tart and her guests headed to the Columbia Museum of Art for the Contemporaries Artist of the Year soiree. She had her eye on several pieces, and was thrilled to go home with Ben Grant’s Woodturned Cherry Hollow Form.
New art is the best, because you can spend days thinking about where to best display it, n’est-ce pas?
So…what are you doing this week? Speaking of art, the Shop Tart and her husband will be attending the South Carolina Arts Gala on Wednesday, featuring the winners of the 2013 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts. This party is always a good time, because it’s not overly fancy (just fancy enough that the Shop Tart can wear her new black jumpsuit!) and it’s all about the art, the artists and the people who love them. The Shop Tart always sees something new. Just check out the list, pretty interesting stuff. And speaking of that gala! The Shop Tart made a slight error the other day in her post about past Contemporaries Artist of the Year events. She did not, in fact, purchase her Dorothy Netherland at CAY, but the night before, at the SC Arts Gala. Her confusion? Dorothy won CAY the very next night, which made the Shop Tart feel very, very clever. (hey, it’s the little things. Just let her have this one, k? Thanks!)
Anyhow, the South Carolina Arts Gala is a great place to view art and possibly even go home with a special piece. Well curated and priced fairly, this is one collection you really should see!
The very next day, the Shop Tart and Shani Gilchrist will hop in the car and head to Jekyll Island, Georgia for the Southern Coterie Summit. Are you going? Because it sounds cool. The Shop Tart is really looking forward to learning more about what other people in her neck of the woods are doing — and how fabulously they’re doing it! Just check out this line up of presenters. (Yup, that’s Columbia’s own Melissa Blanchard and Susan Steiner of VanJean and Pout!)
In today’s post…
- Loft 201 by Rosso, 701 Whaley Street, 803-787-3949
- South Carolina Arts Gala, Wednesday, May 1st, 7 pm, 701 Whaley Street
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
Apr
17
Palmetto Seafood: Your Downtown Source
Filed Under eat and drink, recipe, staying in | 1 Comment
It has come to the Shop Tart’s attention that many of you are unaware of something totally awesome, her very first seafood market, Palmetto Seafood. You may know them as the people who provide the main attraction at Representative Jim Clyburn’s famous fish fry. But did you know they will clean and filet fish you catch? Because they will. Last week, the Shop Tart needed some oysters, real bad, for this post on The Kitchn about how to have an oyster roast any night of the week, without a fire pit. (It’s crazy easy!)
Anyhow, the Tank and his mother headed to Palmetto Seafood for the goods. Before they walked in, they stopped to marvel over this really cool cactus in front of the house behind the fish market. Seriously cool.
Inside, the Shop Tart ordered her oysters, a handful of clams, a snack for the car, and a couple of ice cold sodas. They have quite the selection, but the Tank went for a classic, because his mother never lets him have it. And she did, just this once.
Palmetto Seafood has an amazing selection of cooked seafood, served to go, and the Shop Tart can never resist a snack. These tails-on fried shrimp were battered and seasoned perfectly. The only reason they made it home was that they were too hot to eat in the car. (Which is a fact, because the Shop Tart burnt her tongue by eating two of them any way.)
Just now, the Shop Tart also noticed Palmetto Seafood looks to have some pretty legit fish cooking tips. They’re great with recommendations if you aren’t sure exactly what you want. The Shop Tart has told them how she planned to prepare the fish and gotten great recommendations about what fish to buy. They’ve also told her the best way to prepare what she bought. How cool is that?
Have you been to Palmetto Seafood? What’s your favorite to-go dish there? (The hush puppies are awesome. So are the friend frog legs.)
Updated to add: This is so weird! Jonathan Sharpe’s Bite of the Week in Free Times is none other than Palmetto Seafood’s Croaker Dinner. Eat it! Yum!
In today’s post…
- Palmetto Seafood, 2200 Gervais Street, since 1961, 803-254-2503
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
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