“Long overdue craft beer spot for West Columbia,” Phill Blair says, summing up his new venture, WECO Bottle & Biergarten, as workers inside the building saw away at concrete. “I’ve wanted …
Managing Editor for Free Times
what: Butterscotch-Dipped Ice Cream
Tofu has had the absolute worst PR plan in the history of food products. The name itself — the literal take from the Japanese language, also k…
After over two years of planning, hard labor, renovation and eventually making beer, local brewer Matt Rodgers’ long awaited Hazelwood Brewing…
There’s something sweet amid the clean and vibrant displays of soap at Sunrise Artisan Bath and Body. In addition to the extremely popular soa…
Ah, now this is more like it. After a bit of a lull last week Oktoberfests are popping off left and right this week. First up, it’s First Thur…
The name Market on Main conjures thoughts of a retail space to sell groceries, but the forthcoming space at 1320 Main St. is much more than a …
So you want to suck down a crisp Punch Clock Pilsner, a robust but refreshing Coffee Lager, a quenching Raspberry Witbier, or one of the other…
Brunch options continue to grow in the Columbia area. Recently, Black Rooster joined the Sunday game with their Frenchish brunch menu. Perhaps…
What: Columbia Craft Brewing’s Famously Hop IPA
It’s easy not to think about the spiffy new things that have become popular in grocery stores and restaurants, like chic high-top counters or …
Though you can enjoy German sausages and beer year-round in Columbia thanks to a bevy of restaurants, food vendors, breweries and bars, there’…
Evil Weiner is no more — sort of. Recently the shop fancy hot dog business that operates within Scoopy Doo Gelato Shop received a cease and de…
It’s September, and the Gamecocks are playing out of town. You know what that means? It’s Oktoberfest season. That’s right. From now until lat…
The Oktoberfest marzen style is the most popular seasonal beer for many breweries. The number of offerings available at area retailers proves …
Come the end of September, Pizza will once again be baking in Cottontown.
2018 was the year of big, bold food television, with shows like Salt Fat Heat Acid and Ugly Delicious leaping onto the screen and creating con…
After a year at its Lexington location (5215 Sunset Blvd,), German supermarket chain Lidl opens a Columbia store at 1401 Summit Pkwy. on Sept. 12.
That most spooky of days, Friday the 13th, hasn’t come around since July of 2018, so it’s about time for some freaky fun to be had. If you’re …
Both locations of The Cigar Box shop and smoking lounge, one in Rosewood and the other on the 1600 block of Main Street, have relocated into o…
In many ways, bartending has long been a position of little glamour. Historically, it’s suffered from fairly negative stereotypes. Restaurants…
what: Brie and Anchovy Puff Pastry
Two events remain in this year’s Save Our Water campaign, which funds the Congaree Riverkeeper by giving you opportunities to sip liquids from…
Benoit St. Jacques, who recently retired as the longtime chef at Rosewood Market, points to bushes of peppers. “The hotter the pepper, the lon…
One of the charms of Columbia is watching trends from larger towns trickle into our little city. “How long will it take before we see that in …
Food is a personal thing. From holiday dinners to first dates to comfort food reached for in times of need, our favorites are hard-wired into …
It’s the end of the beginning this Saturday, Aug. 31, as Conquest Brewing Company, Columbia’s first post-production brewery since prohibition,…
Changes are afoot at the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium regarding the menu. It got shortened — a lot. There are now seven appetizers, one sala…
Columbia’s best party gets underway again this Friday, Aug. 23, as Arts & Draughts returns to the Columbia Museum of Art from 7 to 11 p.m.…
The Woody, one of the few dedicated dance clubs in the Midlands, shut down its location in the Vista in June. But it’s coming back. Today come…
Columbia’s favorite neon green taproom and bottle shop is getting more walls. Craft and Draft will open a second location at 7583 St. Andrews …
what:Olde Mecklenburg Brewery’s Mecklenburger Helles Lager
If you missed Master Distiller Eddie Russell of Wild Turkey and Russell’s Reserve fame’s appearance at Motor Supply Co. Bistro on Aug. 14, the…
“Never, ever. It’s an abomination for Mexican taste,” says Pablo Valdes, a cultural anthropologist from Veracruz and currently living in Mexic…
what:Philly Stir Fry Salad
Lula Drake, the classy little wine bar on Columbia’s Main Street, is shaking up its menu and going back to the roots of what the space was int…
The Kraken Gastropub at 2910 Rosewood Dr. has officially shuttered its doors after a seven-year run in the space. This news comes about a year…
Restaurant owners do weird things for publicity sometimes, and this case of Lazarius Walker, the owner of The Twist, is no exception. Walker c…
Run by husband and wife Yi and Bi Feng, Asian Market has been a reliable source for Chinese and Southeast Asian goods since 1995. With aisles …
what:Dijon Encrusted Smoked Salmon B.L.T.
This summer’s Save Our Water parties continue this Friday, Aug. 9, with a Parking Lot Party at Curiosity Coffee from 5 to 9 p.m. These annual …
During the past week, it's been hard to tell what's going on with Black Rooster, the newest operation from Bourbon owner Kristian Niemi, and t…
