The cold weather has come and gone, and now it’s time for patio hangouts at your local coffee shops before soaking up the sun in the summer. Your favorite baristas, chefs and bakers have packed away the cinnamon spice and apples of the winter for fresh fruits and vegetables of the spring from producers across the state.
The Harbinger and The Harken
Strawberries, peaches, honey and more are making their way into lattes, meals and pastries for springtime relaxation at these two sister cafes.
Greer Gilchrist, who owns The Harbinger and The Harken with Cameron Neal is a big fan of strawberries and honey and said she cannot wait to use them in almost everything her cafes offer.
“I try to put honey in literally everything,” she said, adding that in most of the salad dressings at her cafes, there’s honey involved. “It’s [also] a sweetener in a lot of our desserts.”
The honey used at Harbinger and Harken is sourced from Horsecreek Apiaries & Honey Farm in Bowman, S.C., Gilchrist said. “Years ago, we went up there and visited their honeybees and saw their production and we fell in love.”
The most popular item that uses honey, according to Gilchrist, is the honey latte offered at The Harbinger, available hot or iced. The latte uses honey from Horsecreek along with milk from Lowcountry Creamery for a perfect combo for those who love a good latte and have bad seasonal allergies.
“I love the honey on our breakfast bun,” Gilchrist added. “It’s kind of a cross between a brioche and an English muffin. We butter it then drizzle honey on it and it’s so good and comforting.” The bun is then topped with Bulls Bay Saltworks’ Carolina Flake salt.
At The Harken, Gilchrist said she’s a big fan of putting the honey on the ricotta biscuit, which is served with a side of their seasonal housemade compote. And for the spring, it’s another Gilchrist favorite: strawberries.
“I’m sure strawberries are nostalgic for everyone,” she said. “I’m from New England. And strawberry season is later in the year. It’s like in June, which is a really fun time in New England. So to me, to have it so early like this feels so special because it gets me amped for the summer, which is a really great time to be in Charleston.”
A majority of the products at Gilchrist’s cafes are sourced from GrowFood Carolina, she said. Produce like the lettuce used in their salads, the honey and salt used on the buns and dairy used in pastries and coffees.
“It just makes things easier,” Gilchrist said. “It’s essential to support local, and I think the easier that you can make that for people, the more they’re gonna buy local.
“They send out a list of what’s in season and it makes it basically effortless to work seasonally and locally. And I think that’s really important for most restaurants because you’re so busy. You don’t really have time to go and find every specific product.”
Island Provisions
Jeff Law, the kitchen manager at Island Provisions, is also a fan of using GrowFood to make products.
“GrowFood is absolutely amazing to work with,” he said. “Everything GrowFood brings in from producers is 150% better than what we can get from any other distributor.”
With GrowFood, Island Provisions gets milk from Lowcountry Creamery — the best milk you can get in the southeast according to Law — butter from Forx Farms in Anderson, S.C., tomatoes from Rosebank Farms on Johns Island, local mushrooms from Lowcountry Fungi, organic fruits and vegetables from Joseph Fields Farm on Johns Island and bee pollen from Edisto Gold Honey.
“On one occasion, I even requested a tour of their facility, and they were more than happy to oblige,” Law said about GrowFood. “They showcased all the local products they had in their huge walk-ins and provided insights into the different producers they work with.”
But for a wider variety of local products, Law also works with Limehouse Produce and Ghost Grow 843.
“Limehouse is great to work with,” he said. “It is always a phone call away and will go out of the way to have an order ready for pickup in a pinch. It has also allowed me to see samples of products at the facility before placing orders for specials and new menu items.”
With Limehouse, one of the notable items Law orders is Hot Honey from Red Clay Hot Sauce and honey from Bee City in Cottageville, S.C.
“We use [the Hot Honey] on every Boss sandwich that leaves Island Provisions,” Law said. The Boss sandwich is egg, white American cheese, bacon or sausage and Red Clay’s Hot Honey between two slices of an everything bagel. It’s a combo of salty, sweet and heat in the palm of your hands (or in your mouth!).
“Bee City provides the best local honey you can get,” he added. “If you don’t believe me, try it yourself. Also, if you can ever make a trip up to see their zoo, make sure to grab some of the Honey Mustard they make. It’s life-changing.”
For microgreen garnishes, Law heads to Ghost Grow 843, owned and operated by Garret Fleming. Law described Fleming as “a wizard and [someone] truly passionate about his product.”
“If any other businesses are looking for microgreens, I will always provide them with [Fleming’s] contact info,” Law said. “He has any microgreen you can think of, hydroponic greens, and edible flowers — all grown to order.”
Lodi Coffee
Lodi sources items a tad differently. Seasonal and specialty drinks use items you can get from down the road at international grocery stores like El Molino Supermarket and H&L Asian Market.
“We’re constantly picking up new things to try at our [area] farmers market or in Earth Fare in the ‘local section,’ ” said owner Jennifer Grosso.
For its special Churro Frapp for Cinco de Mayo, she heads over to El Molino Supermarket for its house-made churros. “We also make Mangonados and buy all of our Tarugos and the components for these drinks from them,” Grosso added.
The coffee itself, however, is sourced from Springbok Coffee Roasters right here in Charleston, a partnership Lodi has had since opening its first location in North Charleston.
It’s not just grocery stores or roasters that Lodi likes to partner with, either. Grosso said every year, Lodi partners with the Girl Scouts of Eastern South Carolina to support the local troops and create drinks using some of the iconic Girl Scout flavors like Thin Mint and Caramel DeLites.
“We just love working with local companies because you get to know the people behind the brands,” Grosso said. “It’s about making those local connections and supporting someone else’s dream and craft and knowing that it will ultimately impact our community.
Lodi’s food menu is getting a huge overhaul, though, Grosso added, working with a local chef to bring breakfast and lunch sandwiches, as well as grit bowls and eggs using grits from Marsh Hen Mill.
Other partnerships
And though some shops don’t carry or make food in-house, they partner with local businesses in town for that local synergy.
At Sightsee on Line Street (soon-to-be on Rutledge Avenue), the shop carries pastries from Little Peanut Pastries. Find items like lemon poppy or blueberry muffins, a gluten-free oat bar and brown sugar and cinnamon pop-tarts.
Newly-opened Philosophers & Fools, a bookstore, bar and gathering spot on Bogard Street, uses coffee from Counter Culture Coffee and chips from Lowcountry Kettle to snack on while you sip, read and hang out.
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