Are you ready? It'll be here before you know it. Teams battle it out for the win on the 25th of January.

Not the Super Bowl, friends. The 22nd annual Souper Bowl, presented by Habitat for Humanity of Georgetown County. 

Advance tickets are on sale now at four locations throughout the county. 

And if its given history of success is considered, this year's looks to be the best one yet. 

Lots of the county's restaurants participate for this great cause and the people show up in droves to enjoy some great soup, chowder and bisques.

We were honored to cover last year's event and enjoyed many of the offerings. But, it was the happiness and smiles we saw that warmed our chests more.

​We hope to see you out this year. 

Arriving at about 7 in the morning, the folks at ElJay Pretzels in Litchfield, South Carolina, were hard at work making the dough, shaping the dough for their artisan pretzel buns.

And, wow, were these buns good.

Never heard of ElJay Pretzels before? You've probably eaten them at a restaurant in the area and not realized it. A few places they're served are R'Way Pizza and Family Tavern, Island Bar & Grill, Moe's Original Bar B Que and Dead Dog Saloon.

These pretzels are not just local. They're all over the state. And one place in Greenville, South Carolina, the Habitap, offers them as a dessert. 

Owners Bob and Caryl Browner have been perfecting their pretzel (and other pretzel variations) since 2011. In 2015, they moved their operation to the Pawleys Island area. They also make pretzel bites, buns and sticks.

But it's the family atmosphere I was a witness to that made it really wholesome. Their staff was as friendly as could be. Made you feel right at home in their kitchen. Bob butter glazed and salted a bun for me to try and, yes, I ate the whole thing with a smile on my face.

Currently, they only sell wholesale. They have distribution through Sysco Corporation and US Foods. 

Take a look through photos of the folks at ElJay Pretzels making the pretzel buns and visit their website by clicking the button at the bottom of the story.

It's an awesome time to be exploring the culinary adventure of Pawleys Island in Georgetown County. Today, Jimmyz Original Hibachi House and Poké Bar opened at 11 a.m. to great fanfare. And owner Jimmy Miller has quite the reputation to support it.

Miller has been a staple in the restaurant business for years, mainly located in Myrtle Beach and Surfside. He recently closed the latter location. 

So, it was only fitting he'd reach farther south. Why?

There's a culinary destination being built and he's going to be part of it. 

A down-to-earth, humble man who cares about the ingredients in his product. That's Jimmy Miller. The result is Jimmyz Original Hibachi and Poké Bar.

Speaking of the poké, folks are going to love being able to build their own with amazing, fresh ingredients. (Click here for menu)

Located at 10378 Ocean Highway in Pawleys Island, it's where the KFC used to be. They are open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and feature dine-in, take-out, delivery and drive-thru options. 

​Come by and try them out today. 

Some local Pawleys Island businesses were treated to delicious cupcakes and pastries on Wednesday, November 13, 2019.

Why?

Incredible Edibles Bakery Owner Nancy Knarr says why not?

"Giving to the businesses helps build local support. Without locals, where would we be? We have to be here for each other."

Knarr and her staff are well-known for their award-winning wedding cakes, however, many people do not realize she has a retail bakery shop at Pawleys Station, 10126 Ocean Highway. 

The location has been open for more than a year now.

Delivering unexpected treats to local businesses not only gives Knarr the opportunity to let others know about the shop, but puts a face with the baked goods.

And people remember.

"I have lots of folks see me and my face and they know Incredible Edibles. It's when I bring some cupcakes to them they ask about the cakes, you know, baby cakes. That's when I can tell them about our retail location being open."

Incredible Edibles is offering free delivery to Pawleys Island locations, including businesses.

If you are having a customer appreciation event, staff meetings or client consultations, give them a call. They can bring some amazingly good treats to help keep everyone in a great mood.

​And remember, it's all about locals supporting locals. 

We had an opportunity to be the first of a few to try the new menu items at Southern Comforts, Southern Dining & Seafood Shack, located in The Hammock Shops of Pawleys Island. 

Unfortunately, we cannot bring the fantastic and exceptional tastes through the screen to you, but can share the photos and describe them. We also have photos of the menu for you to browse.

Make sure you stop in for these dishes and the Carolina Beef Brisket, October's Simply Amazing Dish of the Month.

It's small, but packs a powerful punch. An award-winning punch, I must add.

Chester's Pit Stop is located at 12161 Ocean Highway in the Litchfield/Pawleys Island area and has been serving consistently good food for two years. His hot dog won this year's South Strand News Readers' Choice Award, beating out Sam's Corner. 

I had the famous hot dog - with his homemade chili and warm garlic relish - and was super pleased with the taste. Check out the video below.

I also had the 10-piece fried shrimp with crinkle fries. They were so good. Cooked perfectly with a golden shine!

The Facebook page says their open Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Go by and try some good food and tell'em we sent you. 

"It's been a whirlwind of a year, let me tell you!" 

And if Nancy Knarr, owner of Incredible Edibles Bakery in Pawleys Island, had the time, she would. But her and and her staff have had such a great first year on the retail side, time evaporates. 

That's because Knarr is well known for her wedding cakes. For more than 2 decades, her cakes have been the focal point of folks tying the knot. Those cakes have earned several awards, including The Knot's Best of Weddings 2019. They've also been included in The Knot's Hall of Fame, and Wedding Wire's Bride's Choice Awards.

A year ago, though, folks kept asking for a retail spot to enjoy small-to-medium sized pastry offerings. So, it happened.

"We have lots of people come in for the baby cakes and cup cakes. They love the uniqueness of ingredients and how fresh they are," Knarr says while placing out sample cupcakes for those who come in.

While those wedding cakes are well-known and award-winning, people are still not familiar with the retail shop.

It's located in Pawleys Island, the same complex where Get Carried Away Southern Takeout and Gilbert's Ice Cream are located. The address is 10126 Ocean Highway. 

There's more to see and taste going past the light at Willbrook, heading towards Murrells Inlet. But, don't drive too fast. You'll miss a culinary staple with decades of history behind it.

The Hanser House is located at 14360 Ocean Hwy, Pawleys Island, SC 29585, and the Hansers have been pleasing folks with their take on Lowcountry cooking.

The consistency is paramount in customer satisfaction and dining choices. 

Great flavors are packed into each dish chef Heath "Hawk" Hanser creates. They are open for dinner seven days a week, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Below is the newest menu. Feel free to download the menu and plan your culinary adventure of Georgetown County with this stop on top of the list. 

Yagi in Japanese means goat. So, it's no surprise the people who brought you The GOAT Bar and Grill were going to bring the same consistency to the new orient-themed restaurant.

And their attention to detail followed.

Yagi Sushi and Hibachi has a couple soft openings under their belt now and are looking forward to their grand opening. Tonight, however, we got to enjoy quite an array of food, chat with two of three of the owners (Joe Kralich and Tommy Hauser) and witness the potential G.O.A.T setting up shop in Pawleys Island.

Just for the record, G.O.A.T. means greatest of all time. 

The ambiance inside is quite fitting for the look. Hand-painted wood booths and neat table arrangement makes it a snap to get around and about. It will be very different if you dined here when it was Indo Thai. 

The menus are posted in another post. After looking at the photos below, we suggest you click the hyperlink above in blue and plan your dining selections - especially the sushi - ahead of time. 

Quick service and fast delivery of food from the kitchen was the norm of the night with us and other tables. I loved the advanced POS with electronic handhelds being used. Orders sent straight to the kitchen and they even asked whether we wanted holds put on entrees so we could enjoy the appetizers and sushi. Nice to be able space out the food in a few punches on the handheld. 

What's rewarding to see is a new restaurant wanting to make a positive impact on the area, offering top-quality food at fair pricing. 

We're looking forward to many future trips to this eatery. 

It's tucked away from the busyness of Ocean Highway (Highway 17) in Litchfield, Pawleys Island, but if you follow the smell of fresh baked bagels down Willbrook Boulevard, you'll end up at 113, Unit 1. 

Where that amazing freshness is located, Bagel Cafe.

Owned by Debra and Guy Guglielmi, the Bagel Cafe has been serving residents of the area and tourists for almost five years now, since May 2014.

And you can't say enough good things about the tastes. 

Whether it be a panini such as The Cuban - cooked ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese served with a dill pickle and house aioli - or a sandwich like the Tuscan Chicken - grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, romaine lettuce, roasted peppers and balsamic vinaigrette served on a baguette - your mouth will be pleasantly rewarded.

The bagels are top notch, too. They're known for it. I love the french toast and cinnamon raisin bagels. The signature butter spread is the way to go with those choices. 

But, you have to get the shrimp and grits. With local shrimp, sauteed with tomato bacon gravy, it's served with grits and is divinely tasteful. Plus, when you get it to go, it's not piled all together. You are able to combine the two at home, preserving the freshness and texture. 

On top of this good food are two owners are warmly greet you and do their best to provide a great culinary adventure experience. 

Go by and tell Debra and Guy we sen you. The menu below will give you a head start. 

Chef and restaurant owner Greg Metcalfe has been very busy lately. 

After putting the finishing touches on Southern Comforts, Southern Dining & Seafood Shack late last year in The Hammock Shops in Pawleys Island, he renovated the previous location's building and turned it into another restaurant, focusing on a Mex-Tex menu. It's called SoCo Baja Grille. 

We had the chance to dine in during this month's grand opening event. The menu is pretty straight forward. It provides for fast ordering and meals to be served quickly. 

As stated on the menu, the journey does begin with some cooked in-house tri-color corn tortilla chips. We added queso dip, salsa and jalapenos. 

Entrees were soon delivered. There were quite a few choices on the menu under the SoCo Baja Street Tacos. We chose the Pork Carnitas, Cilantro Lime Steak (Asada), Crispy Fish and the Beef Brisket.

Pork Carnitas and Beef Brisket came out first. The pork was fresh and the flavors from the salsa Verde and cilantro blended well. The Beef Brisket tacos came out next and were heaven sent. Had a semi-sweet, smoky flavor. The roasted corn salsa was a great addition. The brisket was tender. 

The Crispy Fish was a grouper taco and it tasted really well. Loved the cilantro avocado lime aioli. Finally, the Cilantro Lime Steak tacos came and they were just as consistent in flavor profile as the others. The steak was cooked perfectly and tasted great. 

We also had a SoCo Baja Bowl, a "funky" tortilla bowl that you can have fun filling with the "Filling Station" and "Final Toppings" menu selections. Pictured at the top of the story and below is our version on this nifty, tasty dish. And, yes, you can eat the bowl. 

For desert, we had some homemade Tres Leches. This sponge cake soaked in three different milks was fresh and moist. Great flavors and we couldn't stop until it was gone. 

​Stop by and see Greg at his new restaurant and come enjoy some great food. Menu is below.

A special Valentine's event was held at Incredible Edibles in partnership with Coastal Wine Boutique at Pawleys Island, providing a waffle bar and bottomless mimosas.

A huge turnout was the result. People raved over the flavored mimosas, especially the blueberry. 

Awesome toppings were provided, including bananas foster, rehydrated dates and whipped cream. 

Here are some photos from the event.

An informal wine and chocolate pairing took place at Coastal Wine Boutique at Pawleys Island, located in the Hammock Shops Village. 

The chocolate was crafted by Evolution through Chocolate, located in Columbia, South Carolina, and owned by Chocolatier Joseph Vernon.  Here's what was offered.

Chateau Grand Billard Sauvignon Blanc with a Meyer Lemon Truffle
Cune Rose Rioja Tempranillo with a Lavender Sea Salt Truffle
Tacho Malbec with a Red Wine Syrup Truffle
Sangue Di Guida with a Black Raspberry Truffle

Here are a few photos from the event. 

The Habitat for Humanity Georgetown County celebrated 21 years of its annual Souper Bowl January 26th. The event brings a huge crowd of people out to enjoy more than 30 restaurants' soup offerings. 

​Here are some photos from this year's Souper Bowl.

You couldn't of asked for a better restaurant to have your 17th wedding anniversary dinner at! 

Executive Chef and Owner Steven Perrone, his wife Eileen and their wonderful staff greeted us with huge smiles and friendly faces. We felt so welcomed.

Rachel, the hostess that evening, sat us in a great location as we prepared to enjoy a great dinner. 

As Ryan, our waiter, described the specials of the evening, we sat in amazement as Chef Perrone came to the table to welcome us again and wished my wife and I a happy anniversary.

We ordered the burrata and scallops to start off. The cheese was so divine and the scallops were cooked to perfection, melted in your mouth. We then had some shrimp that were so good, it would drive you to leave your seat, sneak to the back and grab some more when the staff weren't looking! 

Must say, the starters were setting the bar!

We then ordered our entrees, the 37-day dry aged ribeye for my wife and the 80-day dry aged ribeye for myself. Truly good, or as Chef Perrone would say, they are "stupid good"!

The medium rare cook on both steaks were superbly done. I consider myself a medium-well to well-done steak eater, but this steak was seasoned so well and tasted amazingly awesome, I didn't tell my fork to quit as it went back for another bite... and another... and another... and, well, you get it. 

I also ordered a tasting of the lamb. If you are worried about texture or a gamey flavor, let me assure you that the "sous vide" cooking method 99.9% erases that. 

Here's a little about the cooking method, straight from their website:

The flavors of the lamb were oh so good! Seasoned well and very succulent. You must try it!

Let's not forget the smoked potato fries!  The are available at dinner service and are pressure smoked with hickory, fried to order. What! Flavortown couldn't handle this attitude from these fries! There were awesome and went great with the steaks!

OK, now you've been waiting, I am sure. Here's the desserts, or as commonly known at the restaurant, the happy ending!

First, we had the Cake & Ice Cream. It was a toasted pound cake made by Max at Pawleys Island Bakery, dulce de leche gelato, house made dulce de leche drizzle, fleur de sel, toasted pecans, and bourbon sauce. What a way to end an outstanding meal! But, wait... there's more. 

We had to different crème brulee served to us. One was called Aztec, which was bitter chocolate, cinnamon, ancho chili and a touch of cayenne. The taste at the end was so unexpected, but rewarding. A warm sensation, and as Chef Perrone said, it's like it whispers to you hey, how are ya, don't forget me! The spice paring was "stupid good"!

The other, and most requested, is infused with lavender buds and local honey. It's called Provence. When we first tasted this, the lavender pops out and sings on your taste buds. It really is a super creme brulee. 

We also had a N.Y. style graham cracker cheese cake with chocolate syrup from Italy. This was really flavorful and it had great texture. No Hershey's syrup here, either. 

We hope you enjoy the photos below as much as we enjoyed the tastes! And make plans to dine in at Perrone's Restaurant & Bar! You'll value the experience of awesome fine dining as much as the food served here!