Daily Digest: Butcher & Bee, Park Cafe in one day feed the soul and cause food coma | Food

This is part of The Post and Courier’s Daily Digest series, in which one of our food reporters asks a local to describe a day of eating in detail.

Andrea Serrano lives on James Island. She has a fashion blog, Charleston Shop Curator, and a styling business. 

Growing up Filipino and Italian impact(s) how I view food today. Spending hours in the kitchen with my mother and grandmother made me appreciate the thoughtfulness and love that goes into preparing food. 

I have a fashion blog and a styling business, and part of doing business is having lunch meetings or social gatherings at restaurants at night. Eating healthy fresh food is very important to me, but, once in a while, I definitely like to indulge — like today.

I love a big breakfast, but on weekdays I usually make a shake before I work out. Today, I made one with spinach, dates, banana, almond milk, plain yogurt and protein powder. This usually fills me up until late morning, and then I’m starving.

For lunch, I went to one of my favorite lunch spots, Butcher & Bee. I (had) whipped feta, avocado crispy salad and Anson Mills rice bowl. The whipped feta at Butcher & Bee is legendary; the sharp, salty, creamy cheese with fermented honey in the middle is all kinds of heavenly.

The avocado crispy salad (has) Carolina Gold crispy rice, seasonal greens, peanuts and serrano peppers. Maybe ordering another dish with rice was overkill, but since I was sharing it with my friend Juju, I had to order one of my favorites, the Anson Mills rice bowl. It reminds me of a Korean bibimbap with the seasonal vegetables, miso almond butter and turmeric onions mixed with rice.

For dinner, I went to one of my other favorites, The Park Cafe.

Even though I already had whipped feta earlier that day, I had to try theirs. It’s served with heirloom tomatoes and corn bruschetta, and was topped with a sweet balsamic glaze and some greens on the side. A sweet and salty flavor combination is my ultimate favorite.

I also split the grilled Caesar salad with my hubby, which was delicious. For the main course, I had the butternut-and-Gouda mac and cheese, topped with fried leeks and panko bread crumbs. Another sweet-and-salty combo for the win. 

A meal with Gustavo is never complete without a sweet treat at the end. We had the cream puff filled with chocolate cream. My Italian grandmother loved making cream puffs, and I think she would approve this one.

Reach Kalyn Oyer at 843-371-4469. Follow her on Twitter @sound_wavves.