Quality and creativity are common themes among area’s 250 restaurants

If there is any doubt about Hilton Head Island’s credentials as a food destination, just watch the Food Network, the Travel Channel or pick up a copy of Travel + Leisure or Conde Nast. None of their segments or articles about Hilton Head and Bluffton gets more than a paragraph or two without gushing about the variety and quality of this area’s 250 restaurants.

Popular waterfront restaurant makes wholesale changes, introduces revolutionary call-service buttons

A popular Hilton Head Island waterfront restaurant has a new name, a new theme, a new manager, a new menu and a completely revamped interior.

Wise Guys - Russell Keane, Executive Chef

WiseGuys Fried Chicken and Waffles Entree with Spiced Pecan Syrup and Raspberry-Chipolte Drizzle

APPLE WALNUT STUFFED PORK ROAST

8 servings, prep 25 min., cook 1 hr.

Ingredients
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 apple - peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 5 cups dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

The snuggly comforts of the holidays come from familiar smells that waft through the kitchen and the anticipation of special dishes that only come around once a year. In this house, it’s not Christmas without these:

Shrimp & Grits “Gravy”
From Live Oak (Sea Pines Resort)

• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 ounces Tasso, ¼” dice
Heat vegetable oil in a large stock pot and add the tasso. Render for 5 minutes and remove tasso.
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
 Add butter and oil to rendering pot & melt. Add flour and cook over medium heat to create a dark brown roux, the color of a copper penny

LOCAL RESTAURANT SPECIALS FOR FOOTBALL SEASON

IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON! Many local sports bars and restaurants are full of people watching football on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and sometimes Thursdays. Here are a few places where you can score a great deal on food and drinks while watching your favorite team play.

You don’t have to travel to Baja, Calif., for these West Coast favorites. Plenty of restaurants are serving them up with style right here at home.

On an elemental level, the fish taco can be reduced to a very simple equation: Fish + Tortilla = Fish Taco. What a restaurant adds to those basic ingredients makes all the difference in the world. Here is a look at the best fish tacos you can find in the Lowcountry.