By Renee Wright
After going on four decades as a food writer, and sampling cuisines around the world, I've always resisted answering the question that everyone asks: "What was the best meal you ever had?" However, a recent trip to Spartanburg, SC changed all that. I can now definitively say, the lunch served to a group of travel writers at The Kennedy was undoubtedly the finest I ever experienced.
Part of the magic was the combination of talents that created the food that day. Chefs from three restaurants, The Kennedy, Cribbs Kitchen and the FR8 Yard, worked together in the kitchen, each contributing the best dishes from these three top Spartanburg eateries.
Our host (above) was William Cribb, who - with partners - founded all three restaurants (as well as Willy Taco). Cribb was named SC Chef Ambassador for the Upstate region in 2017, tasked with promoting the state's culinary heritage and local food culture. It's a role that comes naturally to Cribb who features local products on all his menus.
STARTERS
While menus at The Kennedy change with the seasons, most meals start the way ours did - with Colonial Milling Cornbread accompanied by "essentials." The day we were there these included local honey and honeycomb, peach preserves, Jalapeno relish and watermelon pickles.
Cribb's favorite cornmeal is produced by Colonial Milling, a first-generation family farm growing and milling heirloom corn into meal and grits just outside Spartanburg. Watermelon rind pickles come from the Bradford Watermelon Company, based on an Upstate farm where the 1850's era Bradford watermelon, once believed extinct, continues to be grown by descendants of the original family.
Cribb's talented young chefs show off their Warm Purple Potato Salad, tossed in duck fat and topped with pickled pecans.
Salads feature hydroponically grown greens, lettuces and herbs from another local company, Tyger River Smart Farm.
THE ENTREES!
Ah, the entrees... what came before was great, but the entrees stole the show. Perfect preparation, the freshest ingredients, thoughtfully combined flavors make all the difference.
Braised pork shanks, fork-tender and topped with a mossy coating of herbs, were an eye-opener.
I'm not a huge fan of chicken - or gravy either for that matter. But this locally raised pullet changed my mind, roasted to melt-in-the-mouth perfection (and I never use that word for food)... and I could have eaten the gravy as a soup. Southern grandmas would be jealous.
This Grilled B-Liner Snapper, sustainably fished by Abundant Seafood of Mt. Pleasant, SC, is stuffed with lemon slices and topped with herbs.
Smoked Duck Sausage held its own among the fancier dishes. It's produced by the chefs down at the FR8 Yard, a downtown biergarten built from re-purposed shipping containers that specializes in housemade brats and other sausages.
DESSERT
For our dessert, Chef Cribb chose a Southern classic, Chess Pie, accompanied by Sweet Potato Gelato.
Each course was accompanied by craft cocktails from The Kennedy's innovative bar staff. Many feature locally distilled liquors and cordials and are garnished with locally grown herbs.
You won't be able to recreate my meal at The Kennedy. As a matter of fact, the restaurant currently only serves dinner. However, the art-deco bar at The Kennedy (above) offers happy hour every day from 4 to 6 pm. And the Cribb family of expert chefs can be counted on for great lunches and dinner at Cribb's and the FR8 Yard.
For more information, see the Visit Spartanburg website.
