Charleston City Paper: Digs - November 2020 by CharlestonCityPaper

R E AL E T ESTTA INGS

November 2020

LI S IN SIDE

HOW TO KEEP

THANKSGIVING

FROM BEING A TURKEY

5 DIY PROJECTS TO GET YOUR HOME READY FOR FALL

At Home with Chez Nousâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

JILL MATHIAS Ruta Smith

a Charleston City Paper publication

Volume 1, Number 4

November 4, 2020

INSIDE AT HOME IN THE LOWCOUNTRY

Mathias feels right at home in downtown’s Westside neighborhood BY PARKER MILNER

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DIGGING YOUR HOME

5 fall DIY projects for your home

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FROM STAFF REPORTS

DIGGING THE HOLIDAY

9 ideas to keep Thanksgiving from being a turkey FROM STAFF REPORTS

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DIGGING INTO HISTORY

Lowcountry food traditions enliven the holiday season BY CITY PAPER STAFF

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DIGGING REAL ESTATE

Properties for sale and rentals in your area

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DIGGING LOCAL

Not just a bag of dirt BY TONI REALE SONITROL 59 City Paper 4.687x5.307 4C.indd 1

7/23/20 9:08 AM

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Digs, our new monthly home-focused publication, connects the people who make the Lowcountry special with content they’ve been missing. Digs gets up close and personal with stories on local personalities, home design and remodeling, plants and gardening, home repair and real estate. To learn more about advertising opportunities offered through Digs, contact our advertising team at (843) 577-5304 or send an email to: sales@charlestoncitypaper.com. Dig it! PUBLISHER Andy Brack

EDITOR

Sam Spence

STAFF

Parker Milner Ruta Smith

CONTRIBUTOR Toni Reale

Published by City Paper Publishing, LLC Members: J. Edward Bell | Andrew C. Brack

Views expressed in Charleston City Paper cover the spectrum and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Charleston City Paper takes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts.

CHARLESTON CITY PAPER 11.04.2020

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AT HOME IN THE LOWCOUNTRY

Mathias feels right at home in downtown’s Westside neighborhood BY PARKER MILNER

CHARLESTON CITY PAPER 10.07.2020

Chez Nous executive chef and part owner Jill Mathias fell in love with downtown’s Westside neighborhood when she moved to Charleston two decades ago. Mathias lives in a two-story, circa1930s home just blocks from her original Carolina Street residence. “When I first moved to Charleston, I couldn’t get anybody to rent to me sight unseen,” she said. “So two days before I was supposed to move down here, I found a guy who had just renovated a house on Carolina Street and I moved there. I loved it.” Mathias opened Chez Nous less than a mile away in 2014. The Payne Court restaurant has become more than just a second home for the French-trained chef. It helps that the eatery is located in a quaint two-story Charleston single, but it’s also the place where she spent five years in the kitchen working side by side with her husband Juan Cassalett, who’s now the executive chef at Malagon. It’s the place where Mathias handwrites a menu with two appetizers, two entrees and two desserts each day. It’s the place where her dream restaurant became a reality. “I work a ton but it’s pretty amazing to walk

Jill Mathias via Instagram

Chef Jill Mathias handwrites the daily menu at Chez Nous.

around the corner and come to work in the morning and see this courtyard and little kitchen,” said Mathias of the restaurant, located in an alleyway just off Coming Street. “I think it would be different if it wasn’t exactly the restaurant I wanted and I’m a part of it, which makes a huge difference for me.” Cassalett departed Chez Nous in 2019, but there are still two cooks in the kitchen at the MathiasCassalett household. Mathias said they have a system. “I actually do more of the cooking at home when we do decide to cook. We’ll do more cuisines that we don’t have often, like Indian or Asian food,” she said. “I like the lighter dishes — kind of like the way that we cook at Chez Nous.” Chez Nous and Malagon are both open six days a week, meaning the couple’s challenge isn’t what to cook at home — it’s when to eat. “Sometimes it’s late night; sometimes we’ll go for a super long lunch,” Mathias said. “That’s one of our favorites, just hanging out into the late afternoon.”

A DIFFERENT KIND OF THANKSGIVING Mathias will cook for Thanksgiving, but it’s not going to be what you’d expect, in part because she didn’t grow up with traditional Thanksgivings. “All of my family lived in Wisconsin, so we would usually go there for Christmas and not Thanksgiving,” she said. “So my parents always just cooked random things for Thanksgiving. Juan is from Colombia and his mom was a single mom and doctor, so they didn’t really do the whole traditional thing.” Taking the place of turkey later this month will be roasted chicken, a preparation that often finds its way onto the Chez Nous menu. “Food really just brings people together, and just having a simple plate of chicken and a conversation is really nice,” Mathias said. “We finally agreed that none of us really like turkey, and if you’re going to put a lot of work into it and have all these people come, you should probably have something you like.” There will, however, be traditional sides on the menu, including a dish she grew up eating called Marcia’s potatoes. “It’s just potatoes that are cooked and you shred them on a box grader and then you fold in cheddar cheese, evaporated milk, sour cream and scallions

The backyard is Mathias’ favorite place to unwind.

Photos by Ruta Smith

FOOD PASSION DEVELOPED IN COLLEGE Mathias grew up in Fargo-Moorhead, a metropolitan area located on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota. She wasn’t raised in the kitchen — she found her calling later in life while attending the University of Minnesota where she studied art history. “It sounds so cheesy and cliche, but when I was in college we used to have these dinner parties all the time. I said to myself, ‘This makes me so much happier than all the other stuff that I’m doing,’ so that’s kind of what led me down that path,” Mathias said. She moved to Charleston in 2000 to attend Johnson & Wales culinary school where she was drawn to French techniques and flavors. “I like the simplicity of it even though there’s a lot of technique behind it,” she said. “All of that country-style cooking that you find in Spain, Italy and France. It’s cooking out of necessity.” Chez Nous’ handwritten menus are one of the hallmarks of Mathias’ style that arose out of necessity rather than aesthetics. The day before Chez Nous opened, Mathias said the menus were written on mirrors inside the restaurant. “Nobody could read it because the light that was reflecting on the mirror. That was an ‘Oh my God what are we going to do?’ type of moment. So we had to decide who had the best handwriting out of the four of us,” she said. The group chose hers — in fact, Mathias said she’s always written in the pseudo-cursive swooping script still found on Chez Nous’ menu six years later. DOWN TIME AT HOME Mathias spends her down time at home reading or playing the piano — she recently started taking lessons again. She spends as much time as she can in her spacious backyard and cherishes long walks in Hampton Park with Cassalett and their pandemic-purchased pup, an English cream golden retriever named Watts after Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. The surrounding Westside streets and parks are an extension of her Sumter Street home. Although the neighborhood has changed over the last 20 years, the growth adds to its allure, according to Mattias. “It’s just interesting to see because that’s really the only way the city can keep moving, so now it’s nice to see that there’s restaurants moving into the neighborhood and it’s becoming a little community of its own,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful, underrated part of town.”

THE LOWDOWN: JILL MATHIAS Age: 49 Birthplace: Beaver Dam, Wis. Education: University of Minnesota (undergraduate); Johnson & Wales (culinary school). Current profession: Chez Nous executive chef and part owner. Family: Husband (Juan Cassalett, executive chef at Malagon), three dogs (Keller, Ella and Watts). Hobbies: Reading and playing the piano. Favorite food: Green papaya salad. Best meal you’ve ever had: “A long seaside lunch in Tapia de Casariego in Asturias, Spain. We had grilled tuna collars, squid and bay scallops. Amazing.” Describe your home’s decor in 10 words or less: Our home design style is definitely a hodge-podge of comfort. Favorite condiment: Vinegar. Favorite musician: Tom Waits. Favorite cookbook: “I love the Colman Andrews books — he started Saveur magazine. The Country Cooking of Italy and Catalan Cuisine are both really awesome books. They’re super informative and there’s a lot of information about the regions. Any of those country cooking books I love.” Describe what you love about cooking in 20 words or less: I love using simple ingredients to bring people together. Charitable work, causes: Reading Partners (S.C. chapter of a national nonprofit specializing in providing students reading support). Quote: “A calm and peaceful mind in a trying situation.” MARCIA’S POTATOES • 4 to 5 red potatoes • 6 chopped scallions • ¼ cup evaporated milk • Salt and pepper • 1 pint sour cream • 2 cups grated cheddar cheeses • 5 tablespoons melted butter Cook potatoes in boiling water and cool. Peel and grate potatoes into a bowl. Add sour cream, onions, cheese, evaporated milk and season with salt and pepper. Place in a buttered baking dish and top with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.

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— it’s so delicious,” she said. “It’s one of those things that you always have at Thanksgivings.”

DIGGING YOUR HOME

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You also may want to make way for new traditions. This year may be the perfect excuse to mix things up a little and infuse some new ideas into your celebration. Pass along family recipes. A traditional turkey dinner complete with a variety of seasonal sides and desserts is a staple for many families. To ensure the tradition continues, use the extra time you may have together to teach older children how to prepare specific dishes that have been passed down through the generations. You could also have different family members like siblings or adult children take over making specific dishes, such as the turkey or pumpkin pie. Share your good fortune. It’s been a rough year for many, in several different ways. If you are able, dedicate a portion of your day to helping those who’ve fared worse can be a powerful bonding experience. Not only will you share the feel-good vibes that come from helping others, but the experience can open your eyes

to the blessings you and your loved ones share. Add group entertainment. If your family’s norm is to scatter as soon as the meal is done or to scarf down a plate before returning to the gridiron action, look for ways to bring everyone together. Organize a board game tournament or gather a group to take a walk through the neighborhood and reminisce. Group activities can cement strong family ties. Learn a new skill. Discover something new about your loved ones by inviting one or two (or more) to share a special skill with the group. You can develop a new appreciation after an afternoon chatting while learning how to crochet, perform magic card tricks or make DIY decor for the holiday season.

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Make a game of giving thanks. Ask each guest to jot down something they’re thankful for as they arrive. Later after everyone has settled in, take turns drawing the cards, reading them aloud and letting everyone guess whose good tidings they’re hearing. This can be an easy way to catch up and allow you to celebrate special moments with one another. Family Features contributed to this story.

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the deli’s holiday specials. Many stores offer bulk orders of freshly-prepared items like mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce and salads.

Jonathan Boncek file photo

DIGGING INTO HISTORY

Lowcountry food traditions enliven the holiday season

CHARLESTON CITY PAPER 11.04.2020

BY CITY PAPER STAFF

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Lowcountry tables will be filled with locallysourced food traditions, from briny oysters and shrimp to Hoppin’ John and red rice. Here’s a look at some food history and traditions from Chapter 7 of our new book, 350 Facts About Charleston.

Lowcountry’s oysters are a briny delicacy Connoisseurs of oysters often believe the salty, justright-sized clusters hammered from the marshes of the Lowcountry are among the world’s best. Culinary wizards Matt and Ted Lee say they’re the flavor of the Lowcountry, describing roasting oysters over a wood fire as the quintessential Charleston experience — “the outdoor, rustic-asheck, shuck-your-own roast is the thing, and it says a lot about Charleston’s paradoxes and contrasts that the same ease and grace will be brought to an oyster roast as to high holidays with family.” The Lowcountry Oyster Festival tentatively is scheduled for the end of January.

to enjoy both “R” month oyster roasts and year-round singles at area raw bars and restaurants. The wild oyster population is not what it once was, though. From the late 1880s to just after World War II, the oyster industry had its heyday and was South Carolina’s most valuable fishery — in 1902, oysters were responsible for 45 percent of the value of all South Carolina fisheries. From 1900 to 1935, oyster canneries grew in number, employing thousands of workers and processing most of the state’s oysters to then be shipped to many parts of the world. The primary oyster industry centers were located in Bluffton, Beaufort, Port Royal, Folly Beach, Awendaw and McClellanville.

The Lowcountry’s long history of oystering Visitors to the Holy City in recent years have been able

Hoppin’ John is more than rice and peas Hoppin’ John means two things to Charlestonians. First,

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Horry, included a recipe for dressing a calf’s head in her recipe book. It called for “placing half of the head in the center of the platter and dressing it with a stewed concoction made with the other half of the head.” Yummy?

How barbecue tasted in colonial times Though there aren’t many references to barbecue in the early days of the Carolinas, by the early 1770s, Charleston merchant William Richardson encountered his first taste of the low and slow cooking at a horse race in Camden, S.C. In a letter to his wife back home, Richardson wrote about his experience, which was apparently unlike anything he’d been privy to in Charleston: “I absolutely saw one lady devour a whole Hog Charleston’s Gullah cuisine head except the bones, don’t tell this offers more than red rice to any of your squeemish C Town Charleston is smack dab in the historic ladies for they will not believe you, Gullah Geechee Corridor, which had some of them been near our feast spans from North Carolina to Florida. & their appetites Gorged with what This National Heritage Area has been you in town call delicases (but what designated by Congress as a place we Crackers dispise) they perhaps where “natural, cultural, and historic might think us cannibals & with some resources combine to form a cohesive, propriety they might think, if the nationally important landscape.” The could suppose a half rosted hog, with foodways of the Gullah Geechee, the blood running out at every cut of intrinsic to Lowcountry history, started the Knife, any thing like human flesh in West Africa. The Gullah Geechee but ye squeemish C Town ladies I people are descendants of Africans would not have ye think our buxom who were enslaved on the plantations Cracker wenches so degenerate!” growing rice, indigo and Sea Island cotCharlestonians have always ton. The enslavement on the region’s loved to drink wine isolated islands helped the men and Martha Zierden, curator of hiswomen to maintain and transform a torical archaeology at the Charleston distinct culture of food, art, music, and language. Today, those visiting the Museum, has uncovered archaeological proof over the years that Holy City can eat true Gullah food at Charlestonians have always been in restaurants like Bertha’s, Hannibal’s and Ravenel Seafood. These establish- good spirits. Literally. Excavations along the waterfront were “particuments are known for dishes like fried larly loaded” with shards of green shrimp, garlic crabs, red rice, fried glass and remnants of heavy glass chicken, baked macaroni, lima beans bases and hand-formed necks. Sealed and cornbread. wine bottles told an even greater tale Charleston’s 18th century of who was sipping: the museum’s denizens ate beef, not turkey, 2008 South Adger’s Wharf dig for the holidays produced a bottle with a “Laurens” While most modern Thanksgiving seal, which Zierden says likely came and Christmas meals involve some from the cellar of wharf co-owner kind of large cooked bird, a nice cut John Laurens. And as for the content of beef was just the thing in the 1700s of the bottle? Most likely Madeira for wealthy Charleston families. wine, hailing from the Atlantic island According to Drayton Hall’s Wood of Madeira, “ideally situated for the Family Fellow Jenna Carlson, “calves’ trans-Atlantic trade.” heads were often the fare of 18th century elite in both the Lowcountry and Former food editor Mary Scott Hardaway and publisher Andy Brack Chesapeake.” Carlson reported that the wife of a planter, Harriott Pinckney contributed to this story.

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it’s a rich mixture of two Lowcountry kitchen staples — rice and black-eyed peas — that reflects the region’s culinary heritage, which stemmed from the pots and traditions of enslaved Africans. The dish is often flavored with spicy sausage, bacon, ham or pork fat, with some recipes adding onions, fresh tomatoes and seasonings. Residents of Charleston also know “Hoppin’ John” to be a nickname for culinary writer and historian John Martin Taylor, who ran the culinary bookstore Hoppin John’s in Charleston from 1986 to 1999. Taylor played a crucial role in educating people across the South about the importance of traditional Southern dishes and highquality, authentic ingredients. Today, he operates an online store.

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DIGGING LOCAL

Not just a bag of dirt

CHARLESTON CITY PAPER 11.04.2020

BY TONI REALE, ROADSIDE BLOOMS

Soil is an often overlooked and underappreciated natural resource. Most people see soil as just “dirt,” pieces of ground-up rock of virtually all the same composition that can hold a plant up straight. As humans, we primarily see and assign value to the visible spectra of life on Earth, but in the case of plants, the soil — the material beneath our feet — is where the heavy lifting happens for building a habitable planet. Soils are intrinsically diverse and made up of four main elements, according to the Soil Science Society of America: organic material (living and decomposed organisms), minerals, gas and water. Each of these elements, in just the right mixture, is crucial for Choosing the right Reale plant life to flourish. soil for your plants Healthy soil teems with life. According to a can make a big 2000 publication by the Soil and Water Conservation Society, a difference. single teaspoon of healthy soil can contain as much as 100 million to 1 billion bacteria. In a single acre of land, there could be upwards of 1 ton of actively-working bacteria, the same mass as Gettyimages.com a small car. Four distinctly different groups of bacteria provide doned field grown up to brambles and thistles.” It’s other services. Any soil or conditioners that Rita sells various environmental services, such as turning organic materishould be considered a trusted source. als in the soil into useful nutrients for plants, aiding water reten- important to research where your soil comes from For indoor houseplants, topsoil alone is not ideal tion and competing against diseases that can harm root systems. by either asking your supplier or reading the bag because it can retain too much water leading to it comes in. You don’t want to source from a place A RENEWABLE RESOURCE? root rot. In containers, your plants will be happiest where soil shouldn’t be mined, such as forested land Although soil is considered a renewable natural resource in soils in which the roots can breathe. To achieve or from countries that likely have little environmenbecause it’s continuously being produced, it actually can take this, many companies add peat moss into their tal protections. Beware of greenwashing on labels anywhere from 500 years to tens of thousands of years to mixes for an aerated blend. Peat moss, however, and do your own research. produce one inch of topsoil, according to soil scientists. The rate is mostly mined in an unsustainable fashion from PRACTICAL TIPS of soil formation ultimately depends on the climate where it’s bogs that are already at risk due to climate change. The next time you are at a home improvement store, A company based out of North Carolina called being produced, what its source rock is made of, plant activity and the topography of the landscape. Retreating ice sheets at the peruse the aisle of soils and amendments and you’ll Good Dirt has found a way to recycle byproducts quickly see there are an overwhelming amount of end of North America’s last ice age across our continent about of peat bogs in a sustainable way for its soil blends. 10,000 years ago left behind an incredible amount of topsoil fol- options. Not all soils are creAnother eco-conscious lowing the tumultuous scraping of bedrock. In places where the ated equally, and not all soils brand of soil is Fox Farm, “Not all soils are created ice sheets did not reach, soil production took significantly longer. should be used for the same bases its work on equally and not all soils should which result. Topsoil is primarily mythbusting the idea that be used for the same result.” potting soil should be sterTHE DIRTY TRUTH used as a yard hole filler to We are losing topsoil at a higher rate than nature is able to plant trees and shrubs, and ilized and microbe free. Soil isn’t just straightforward dirt, and we humans produce it. According to the World Wildlife Federation, half of typically is the base ingredient for outdoor garden need to veer away from only assigning value to the the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years due beds. Compost and other amendments are added natural world we can see. The richness and complexto erosion, climate change and human impacts, such as convertfor growing fruits, herbs and vegetables. Ultimately, ity is below our feet. So, go get your hands dirty and ing forested land into farmland and residential development. A what you add to the soil in your yard should depend know there’s a vast world, largely unexplored, in your representative from the United Nations Food and Agricultural on what it already contains. palms ready to be understood and appreciated. commission has stated that globally, we could run out of healthy The best path forward to ensure soil fertility is to topsoil in 60 years if measures aren’t taken. A Cornell University get your soil tested through the Clemson Extension Toni Reale is the owner of Roadside Blooms, a researcher wrote that humans rely on the land to provide over 99 Service. This low-cost test can save you a lot of unique flower and plant shop in Park Circle in percent of their daily calories. Soil sourcing and degradation are money and frustration as it provides recommendaNorth Charleston. It specializes in weddings, events humanitarian issues not just one for backyard gardens. tions on what you should add to your soil. If you Most of the topsoil used today in the United States, according want to truly enhance your gardening skills, consider and everyday deliveries using nearly 100 percent American- and locally grown blooms. Online at to the University of New Hampshire, “might have come directly contacting Rita Bachmann of Rita’s Roots, the local roadsideblooms.com. 4610 Spruill Ave., from prime farmland being developed into an office park, from go-to source on all things vegetable gardening. The Suite 102, North Charleston. a recently clear-cut tract of forest land, or from a long abanshop offers a variety of classes, consultations and

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