Chew on This

'Feed The Need'

The culinary coalition continues. Cru Cafe, Fat Hen, Tidewater Catering and Vickery's will be preparing more than 400 meals for distribution to our hungry citizens through organizations such as Meals on Wheels and Crisis Ministries. Donations can be made to Crisis Ministries, P.O. Box 20038, Charleston, SC 29413. Identify "Charleston Chefs" on the check's memo line.

Spoleto picnic

Stop by Caviar & Bananas at 51 George Street for your very own picnic brown bag to tote with you to your favorite picnic location or Sunday for Spoleto's finale at Middleton Place. Cost is $20 without wine, $32 with. Order in advance by calling 577-7757.

Sustainable

Mark your calendars and make reservations for a serious seafood supper in support of sustainable seafood initiatives. A who's who of the Lowcountry's restaurant community and chefs will produce this exceptional menu at 6:30 p.m. June 16.

The cost is $65, which includes wine, tax, and tip. The event will be held at 181 Palmer at the Culinary Institute of Charleston. It is at 66 Columbus St. For reservations, which must be made by June 12, call 820-5090.

Seeds of hope

Diners can experience the culinary offerings of four of the Lowcountry's top chefs for a four-course dinner 5-8 p.m. June 14 in the Long Room at McCrady's Restaurant.

The event, which is billed as "Seeds of Hope," will benefit the Roper St. Francis Cancer Center.

Join chefs Sean Brock, Craig Deihl, Anthony Gray and Jeremiah Bacon. Each will prepare and present one course.

Recipes for each dish will be provided to those who attend. Courses will be paired with a selection of premium domestic wines. Tickets are $125 per person. Seating is limited to 100 guests. To reserve tickets, call 789-1760 or visit: www.rsfh.com/seedsofhope.

BYO picnic

From 4 to 8 p.m. June 28, Thackeray Farms on Wadmalaw Island will host a bring-your-own picnic afternoon. There will be live bluegrass entertainment (Ricky Rio of Legare Farms), a pie auction (Mitchell Crosby, auctioneer), a farm tour with Sean Thackeray and Rita Bachmann of Rita's Roots, and Holly Herrick will be signing her new book on Southern farmer's markets.

A portion of the proceeds will go to Slow Food. This will be a fundraiser for its organic garden project. The event is $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers.

Now serving

--Carolina's is now open for lunch. The restaurant, at 10 Exchange Street in downtown Charleston, is also offering happy-hour specials with half-price appetizers and half-price glasses of wine.

--The Boathouse at Breach Inlet is now opening its Crow Bar on the roof seven days a week. It will serve appetizers and sushi and even has a raw bar. The new oyster bar downstairs is open 3-5 p.m. on the weekends and serves limited appetizers and $2 domestic beers. The Boathouse is at 101 Palm Blvd. on the Isle of Palms.

--The Square Onion will be open for summer supper each Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until 9 p.m. Each summer supper comes with two sides. Also, on June 11, there will be a special tribute for Louie's Kids, where the restaurant will offer a free dessert with any meal and a portion of the proceeds will be donated directly to Louie's Kids.

--Pearlz Oyster Bar on East Bay is now open for lunch, Friday-Sunday starting at 11 a.m.

Now open

--Moon Pie General Store, 48 North Market St.

--Henry's House on the Market, 54 North Market. Call 723-4363. It is now serving lunch and dinner.

--The Sand Bar, Sandbar Lane on Folly Beach. Call 588-9111. It is now serving dinner.

--Alluette's Jazz Cafe, 137 Calhoun St. Live jazz Thursday-Saturday and holistic soul food daily from 11:30 a.m. Call 737-0090.

--Tenichi Steak House, 203A North Goose Creek Blvd., Goose Creek. Serves hibachi, sushi and steak. For more info, call 572-1668.

Charity change

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Charleston Food + Wine Festival has decided to open the process of selecting a host charity. It will be open to any local nonprofits within the Charleston community that has a culinary connection or related projects and programs.

Applications are available at www.charlestonfood andwine.com. The charity (or charities) must assist the festival with marketing of the event, volunteers for the event, auction items for the event and board and organization leadership, support and involvement for the event as a minimum to be selected.

All applications must be postmarked by July 8. All faxed or e-mailed applications must be received by July 10.