this episode of the spork full is brought to you by visit myrtle beach take a bite out of the beach plan a trip at visit myrtle beach .com we saw a lot of it and we ran out people get upset i'm serious we'll make sure to try some of that this is the spork full it's not for foodies it's for eaters i'm dan pashman each week on our show we obsess about food to learn more about people.
This entire episode is sponsored by Visit Myrtle Beach. The city has more than 2 ,000 restaurants along 60 miles of beach, so when they asked me to come down and eat my way across the city, I was like, I'm on the next flight.
Of course, I did some research to find not only the best places, but a good representation of the variety of the food scene, and that's what you're going to hear today.
So, my first stop, Big Mike's Soul soul food.
So you're the big Mike?
I am the big Mike, yes, sir.
Born and raised right here in Myrtle Beach. He's not just the restaurant's namesake.
Mike has a variety of other titles.
Now, Mike, in addition to being the chef and co -owner, along with your wife, of Big Mike's here, and a husband and father to three children, as I understand it, you are also a city councilman.
Yep, been a city councilman now going on 25 years.
You're a church deacon as well, well.
Is that right? Yes, sir.
And a real estate agent?
I got to renew my license.
You get so many things going on, you forget, you know, you gotta do this, gotta do that.
I want to know when's your day of rest, Mike?
It's usually I rest on Sunday after church. Okay.
Mike sure takes care of people when they come into his restaurant.
Before he sat down with me, I watched as he went table to table, sometimes greeting old friends, other times welcoming welcoming newcomers.
Where are you from?
How long are you here?
Can I get you anything else?
When he left a table, everyone sitting there was smiling.
Not only did Mike grow up in Myrtle Beach, he and his wife Maxine went to high school right across the street from the place that is now Big Mike's.
Back then it was a different restaurant.
So we used to jump the fence from the high school, come over here and eat lunch. Who would have ever thought 40 years later we'd end up owning the building?
And maybe they didn't think they'd end up in the exact spot they used to come to back in the day.
But the idea of owning a restaurant?
I grew up in the restaurant business.
I was 12 years old when I first got my job in the restaurant.
Me and my wife, when we were in high school, we would always say to each other, wouldn't it be nice one day to have a place of our own where we can have family working together and people enjoy their meals and stuff?
So that had always been a dream.
In 2012, that dream became a reality when Mike and Maxine opened the restaurant.
It's a classic roadside eatery, just a couple blocks from the beach. Mike and Maxine's two sons work there full -time too.
And they see the dream and they love cooking and they love the restaurant business too.
A lot of times that's rare, but I'm blessed.
Is there one item on the menu that was sort of the hardest for you to get exactly right?
I'd probably say the macaroni.
The macaroni and cheese?
Macaroni and cheese.
And what was the challenge?
I think just getting that right balance of seasoning and being consistent with it.
Sometimes you can have a recipe and some people go, that ain't the way I made my macaroni and cheese.
And I'm like, well, you know, some people just like soft cheese and noodles.
Right. That's not macaroni and cheese to me.
But, you know, I like egg and I like cheese and milk and, you know, real cheese, you know.
Right, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right. Should we eat something, Mike?
Yeah, let's eat something.
I put myself into Mike's hands and let him tell me what to try.
And Mike was eager to have me try a lot.
Pretty soon a parade of servers began arriving at our table, dropping off shrimp and grits, fried chicken, gumbo, lima beans, pinto beans, rice and gravy, cornbread that they make every morning, collard greens, and cabbage.
And one item I hadn't considered even requesting, but that Mike insisted I try.
This pork chop is phenomenal.
I'm so glad that you gave me a taste because not growing up in the South, When I think of classic soul food dishes, I know that pork chops are done, but it's not the first thing that comes to mind to me.
No. And so to be reminded, oh right, pork chops.
It's not just fried chicken, fried shrimp, fried fish, and all the vegetables and the sides and everything.
A good pork chop. Thank you, thank you.
With the hot sauce.
With the hot sauce.
You've got to have pork chops in Texas, Pete.
It's amazing how many people come here for pork chops and the chicken and the mac and cheese.
Those are our number one sellers.
Okay. Yes, sir. Sure.
So when you come down to Big Mike's...
You've got to try the pork chops, got to try the mac and cheese, and got to try the fried chicken.
That's right. So, Mike, at any soul food place, obviously, you know, the entrees get a lot of the attention.
But, like, to me, the sides are a huge part of the experience.
Yeah. We've got lima beans here.
We've got pinto beans.
We've got collard greens.
We've got these cornbread muffins.
Yep, our collard greens and our cabbages.
Those are fresh collards, fresh cabbages.
Cut them up. That's all fresh local produce.
All fresh local produce.
It's amazing. You get a lot of people come in and just want a vegetable plate.
Mustard greens, fried okra, green beans, and mashed potatoes and gravy.
Yeah. Big hits also.
I think it's the freshness, because it doesn't feel heavy.
No. So, obviously, phenomenal soul food here.
But tell me about the food scene in Myrtle Beach. Well, you know, the food scene here in Myrtle Beach, it's amazing, the different cultures and stuff.
it's almost like the golf industry here.
You could play golf at a different course for six months.
If you want to try soul food tonight and if you want a good seafood the next or if you want Asian food or Louisiana or either some Caribbean food, I mean, there's such a variety here in the Myrtle Beach area.
You can really try different food every day.
And not many places where you can do that Right.
And wake up the next morning, go sit on the beach. That's right.
That's right. That's right.
So husband, father, chef, restaurant owner, city councilman, real estate agent, church deacon.
Yeah. What is the through line of all of these different hats that you wear?
All of those hats that I wear, it's all about people.
Sometimes people don't love to come to council meetings.
They just want to be able to pick up the phone and say, hey, Mike, I've got this problem.
Can you help me with it?
Pick up the phone and call whatever department and say, hey, this citizen has a problem.
How can you help them?
Real estate, so many people looking for places to stay.
I just try to help them.
Churches, you know, people need somebody to talk to and pray for them.
you know so and same thing when folks are coming into a restaurant that's it yeah sometimes i'm in the back and people are hollering hey mike how's you know i spend a lot of time standing up talking to people i do and that's why sometimes i have to have more staff on the but it's all good because you can relate to people and talk with people and make people feel good i want people to know that we appreciate them coming into the restaurant and i'll see people in stores sometimes.
My wife be like, you know, we're shopping.
I'm like, yeah. You know?
Right. Yeah, so. All right, well, thank you so much, Mike.
This has been a real treat.
Well, I appreciate the opportunity.
I hope everybody come down and try Big Mike's Soul Food whenever you're in the Myrtle Beach area.
Thank you, guys. Coming up, I continue to eat my way across Myrtle Beach. I meet a woman with a novel role at a restaurant.
Ice cream development.
Oh. Yeah, it's really fun.
Is that job opening anytime soon?
No, no, no. I'm not going anywhere.
And I try something I've never had before.
You know, I use a rice grits risotto.
I'll cook you a little bit of it.
It's just delicious.
Wait, what does that mean, rice grits?
That's like three words.
I thought those were three different foods.
Rice grits and risotto.
You're going to do it into one.
So when you eat it, you'll understand.
Stick around. This entire episode is sponsored by Visit Myrtle Beach and man, did I eat well when I was down there.
With 60 miles of beaches and more than 2 ,000 restaurants, the beach, as it's often called, is now one of the major food destinations in the South.
And that beach just keeps going.
You can walk up and down the boardwalk.
There's a ton of fun games to play.
There's shops, there's a huge Ferris wheel, and then tons of options for waterfront dining.
super casual places where you can grab a beer and some fresh seafood and there's really nice spots a little more upscale and everything in between the myrtle beach food scene has it all eat fresh seafood with the ocean in view peru's chef -driven menus fill up on southern classics and traditional low country favorites fun spots with dinner shows yard games live music find something that works for you from fresh acai bowls to down home bowls of shrimp and grits myrtle beach has something for everybody through bold flavors and diverse cultures.
So let your flavor flag fly.
Take a bite out of the beach. Plan a trip at visitmyrtlebeach .com.
Welcome back to the Sporkful.
I'm Dan Pashman. Hey, you want to watch me walking my dog while ranting about some food -related issue that has suddenly taken over my brain?
You want to see what I'm cooking or eating these days?
The best way to do that, follow me on Instagram.
Sometimes my kids make appearances.
We have a a ton of fun.
In fact, this week, I'm going to be sharing a reel and some stories from Myrtle Beach so you can see what all this incredible food I'm talking about looks like.
Follow me on Instagram at thesporkful.
Again, that's at thesporkful.
Thanks. All right, let's get back to Myrtle Beach. Now, the city's got a main drag that's a block or two in from the beach. And as I drove it, I noticed a lot of pancake houses, which I love because I'm from New Jersey.
So anything resembling a diner makes me feel at home.
Myrtle Beach doesn't just have an international house of pancakes.
It also has a Pan -American pancake house.
But I passed them both by because I had to get to Croissance Bistro and Bakery, which is famous for their brunch. As soon as I walked in, I was hit with the smell of fresh coffee.
Then I saw a glass case full of fresh -baked confections.
The whole place is just awash in sunlight with those classic rattan French bistro -type chairs.
Croissance is owned by chef Heidi Vukov, who also has a seafood restaurant next door called called Hook and Barrel, where they source their fish fresh from Pauley's Island, just down the road.
Heidi's got an artisanal ice cream place there, too.
I've been with Heidi since 2012.
Okay, so 13 years. This is Megan Fenwick, a manager at Croissants.
Heidi was out of town when I visited.
Croissants itself is French and Southern inspired.
So we try to bring in new menu items, like the croque madame, or new desserts, taking a twist on the eclairs, adding new fun flares to the menu and our bakery case out front.
Oh, that stuff in that case looked really good.
We have a position there for a reason.
So, you know, tempting everybody as they walk into the restaurant.
Right, right. That was planned.
How would you characterize the food scene in Myrtle Beach overall?
Over the past, I mean, even just five years, the restaurants are popping up left and right, really developing, you know, the foodie scene.
I mean, we've got blueberries across the street, Uptown Bistro right down the road, Mimosas.
But the cool thing is, like, we're all fueling each other to be better.
Like, there really isn't that sense of competition that you usually have in, like, big cities.
Like, there are plenty of tourists for everyone.
It's just spurring us all to do better.
And Megan and Heidi are always upping their game.
We've got a coffee roaster on site, so we roast our own coffee that we import in, and it is an incredible cup of coffee.
I'm excited for that.
So you put a lot of thought into the coffee.
Oh, yeah. So she actually sent me to coffee school in Virginia, where we learned to roast coffee.
came back here taught a couple of my fellow co -workers right now we have this amazing Sumatra and that's what we use for our espresso blend and if you can't tell I'm on drinking a quad shot it's amazing yeah not every restaurant group has a person in your role who's like research who's like developing stuff who's going to coffee school right like that indicates to me an extra level of attention to detail oh we went to ice cream school too oh you did yeah the one in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania?
No, there's one in High Point.
Okay. We're one of the only places in Myrtle that's making our own ice cream next door.
Try some of that, too, while you're here.
We got you covered breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
There's an Ocean Boulevard flavor over there that's a chocolate ganache ice cream with marshmallows, pretzels.
Oh, mercy. Yeah, you're not going to find that anywhere else in a giant tub from the store.
So it seems like Heidi is the kind of person who, like, if she decides that something's not going to be added to the menu, there's going to be a lot of work and research and detail involved in that process.
Oh, absolutely. And now tell me in particular about this bananas foster French toast that I hear about.
The banana foster, we take our challah bread that we bake in -house right here.
Oh, yeah. Oh, I can see them sprinkling salt over fresh dough as we speak.
So they take our house -made lavash, we egg batter that like a typical French toast, and then we put a caramelized banana on top and top it off with our foster sauce, which is a rum caramel.
And do you actually light it on fire?
Yeah, we have fire in the kitchen.
I miss the days, you know, they used to do Bananas Foster table -side in a lot of places.
Not with the amount of kids that we get in here.
You know, it's family -friendly.
You know, we're not trying to set anybody on fire.
All right, fair enough.
So as I prepare to order, Meg, definitely the Bananas Foster French Toast. Amazing.
Is there one or two more things I have to make sure I try?
The croque is a personal favorite.
That's the ham and cheese.
Oh, yeah. You've got your single piece of bread, the sourdough is made in -house With the sunny -side -up eggs on top, that's exquisite.
But the shrimp and grits, yeah.
That's that fresh shellfish that you're looking for, you know.
Right. And the grits are actually from Columbia.
They're at Lou Grits as well.
A couple hours down the road.
All right. Well, I think I'm ready to order.
I've already got a plan to come back.
All right. Sounds like a plan.
I grabbed a table outside on the porch, ordered a Bloody Mary to sip on while I waited, and in a little bit my food arrived.
The eggs on the croque madame were perfectly runny and it came with house made potato chips, which I will admit I'm a bit of a potato chip snob.
I don't love most bad potato chips, but house made potato chips in a restaurant, I love those.
And these were outstanding, perfectly crispy, perfectly seasoned, just the right thickness so they had a nice crunch that weren't flimsy.
10 out of 10. And then the shrimp and grits, they do it with a pimento cheese grits, which adds such a nice peppery flavor and the shrimp are resting on fried green green tomatoes, like lily pads floating on a lake of grits.
And then... Oh, my God, the caramelized sugar on the banana in the Bananas Foster is, like, crunchy.
It's, like, creme brulee -style.
Oh, my goodness, I'm going in.
Wow. This might be the best French toast I ever had.
That Bananas Foster French toast will be with me for a very long time.
I need to take a beat here just to relive that moment.
For my final stop on the trip, I drove 20 minutes outside Myrtle Beach to Conway, South Carolina, where I met Darren Smith, the chef and owner of Rivertown Bistro.
Darren's from Charleston.
He cut his teeth cooking at Locklear's Low Country Grill there.
It gave him a deeper understanding of the low country cooking that that area is famous for.
It also taught him to appreciate fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, which have been a staple since he opened Rivertown 31 years ago.
You know, this girl grows my rice in Plannersville.
My local guy in Aner's done my grits for 12 years.
When Darren was first getting ready to open, his landlord showed up with a tub of asparagus and banana peppers and tomatoes.
Turns out he has a farm, too.
I met another guy that does Jimmy Redd heirloom grits at Florence Food and Wine, so his grits are on my menu now.
Just building those relationships, bringing things back here, and showing them to my chefs.
They're as excited as me.
There couldn't be any more farm -to -table, and I hate that catchphrase because everyone uses it now, but we were farm -to -table well before that was a phrase.
Right. It's become sort of a cliche, but especially in the South, the rural areas are still farming and they aren't so far from the cities as they are in other parts of the country because the climate is warmer, which is you're just able to grow more stuff more of the year.
As much as that sort of feels like a coastal elite type of phrase that you would see in in the northeast or on the west coast, this is actually probably the best part of the country for it.
Considerably. So how would you describe the menu?
Foods that I like to eat.
Seriously. If you're going to have a restaurant, you want to want to eat there.
Yeah, I don't pigeonhole myself.
I didn't open up here going, I am a southern chef.
I will not do anything above the Mason Dixon line.
I cooked what I liked.
I know we're not in the low country here, but since you're growing up in the Charleston area, How do you feel like that style of cooking influences what you do today?
I think I do a lot of low country food here.
I am using okra and tomatoes and sweet corn, my local grits, and I fuse all these dishes.
You know, I get my quail out of Columbia, Manchester Farms. I'm using East Coast shrimp.
I think one of the cool things about what you're doing here is you have that low country experience.
You have those southern roots.
You have all these connections with the farmers.
But then you're also bringing this kind of chef's perspective from all over the country, pulling influences from whatever inspires you.
Completely. You know, I use a rice grits risotto.
I'll cook you a little bit of it.
It's just delicious.
Wait, what does that mean, rice grits?
That's like three words.
I thought those were three different foods.
Rice grits and risotto.
Melted into one. So when you eat it, you'll understand.
So in the rice milling process, there's called Midlands as a byproduct.
And it's little chunks of rice.
well white house farms sells those separately they smell almost corny and we start off with shallots or onions olive oil toast the rice grits in that add a little bit of white wine and then a slow addition of stock so it's made just like arborio risotto using local rice and they call them grits so it's wordy right it's rice grits risotto okay um and we plump confit duck leg on on there.
And a spicy plum glaze and plums, pancetta, mushrooms. Oh my goodness.
It's quite tasty. All right, Darren.
Well, I'd love to grab a table and have some dinner if that's all right.
Yeah. Will you join me?
I would love to. All right, let's do it.
Darren and I sat down and he poured each of us a glass of wine.
Darren didn't tell me what he ordered.
The first item to arrive was Low Country Spring Rolls, and they were no joke.
That's the thing that keeps us here here daily, paid for my daughter's college tuition.
That's the workhorse on the menu, and it's an egg roll.
I can see why, because, you know, the big chunks of meat and then the fresh vegetables and that déjeuner's in there, it's just like, oh, so good.
We use Springer Mountain Farms chicken thigh, roasted, K -Paul Tasso ham ground up, Cheddar Monterey Jack cheese, and fresh spinach. Simple.
Phenomenal. Of course, we also had to have that duck confit in spicy plum glaze.
This duck confit situation is pretty amazing.
I love duck confit.
It's so soft and tender.
Falls off the bone.
But you have an extra touch that you're adding here, Darren.
That makes it a little bit more special than some duck confit.
Yes. Traditionally, we braise it in duck fat with lots of garlic, mild and salt, and pepper.
And then we shred it.
And it goes into like a ravioli filling, folded into a risotto.
But I ate at a restaurant and totally copped his idea.
Yeah, so, you know, I think that's a tip of the hat to him, obstinate daughter.
In Charleston. Yeah, yeah.
So that crispiness on the exterior and keeping it on the bone is next level to me.
And then we give it the rice grit treatment and the spicy plum glaze.
Yeah, it's all coming together so well.
Yeah, the spicy plum glaze, it's almost like it's giving hoisin sauce vibes.
It does have that umaminess to it and enough heat to where you're not looking for the pepper shaker, but it's not blowing you away.
Right. Right. And rice grits risotto.
I mean, it's exactly what Darren said.
It's like grits cooked in the style of risotto.
Kind of mind blowing.
Dishes kept coming and things got serious.
Local quail with a honey and black garlic glaze.
A Carolina braised beef cheek that was impossibly tender.
And Parmesan encrusted grouper served over a corn and tomato risotto.
All these different textures and flavors coming together so beautifully.
of Lee. Darren does an amazing job of blending classic southern dishes and ingredients with his own twists.
He takes inspiration from all over, but I think his restaurant could only exist in the South.
My thanks to Big Mike, Megan, Heidi, and Darren for their hospitality and incredible food.
I can assure you I did not leave Myrtle Beach hungry, and I can't wait to come back.
Remember if you want to see some videos from my time in Myrtle Beach Follow me on Instagram at The Sporkful Thank you again to the sponsor of today's episode Visit Myrtle Beach Take a bite out of the beach Plan a trip at VisitMyrtleBeach .com And hey did you know you can listen to The Sporkful on the SiriusXM app Yes the SiriusXM app It has all your favorite podcasts Plus over 200 ad -free music channels Curated by genre and era Plus live sports coverage Does your podcasting app have that?
And there's interviews with A -list stars and so much more.
It's everything you want in a podcast app and music app all rolled into one.
Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to SiriusXM .com slash Sporkful.
This episode was produced by me along with managing producer Emma Morgenstern and senior producer Andres O 'Hara and producer Max Miller.
Our engineer is Jared O 'Connell and our intern is Julia Liu.
Music help from Black Label Music.
The Sporkful is a production of Stitcher Studios, Our executive producer is Camille Stanley.
Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.
And I'm Cal from Columbia, South Carolina, and I'm here to tell you to eat more, eat better, and eat more better.
