The Park Circle restaurant boom continues. Last week Lotus opened at 1070A East Montague Ave. The restaurant, owned by Basil proprietors Henry Eang and Annamarie Benda, offers dishes like bún riêu, a tomato-broth soup served with tofu, pork, and chả lụa (a Vietnamese sausage), ginger chicken, and bánh xèo — a savory crepe made of rice flour and tumeric powder  filled with shrimp, pickled carrots, pork, daikon, and lime dressing for dipping. 

Wheeled coffee wagon Espresso-A-Go-Go is now up and running. Former Starbucks baristas Sheri Johnson and Mike Berndt’s new bicycle coffee stand hit the road on Sept. 30 and is now making appearances around town. You can follow Espresso-A-Go-Go’s whereabouts on Twitter @sassyasscoffee

Up in Summerville, Low Country Fish Camp also recently opened its doors. The menu at 903 Central Ave. sticks to the under the sea theme with oyster po boys, catfish platters, and snapping turtle soup, in addition to some turf options like beef tenderloin and a blackened pork chop. 

Further up the road, as in way further, New York City’s Sarah Simmons (of Birds & Bubbles and City Grit) has opened a bakery in Columbia. The Cola native’s latest culinary concept, Rise Gourmet Goods and Bakeshop, opened Friday, Oct. 2 in Columbia’s Five Points neighborhood. The restaurant sells pastries in the morning and pre-packed family meals beginning at at 4 p.m on weekdays. But if the baked goods don’t lure you in, Rise’s philanthropic focus might. The bakeshop staff has agreed to donate all gratuities to No Kid Hungry, an organization that works to end childhood hunger in America.


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