Soby’s New South Cuisine has a new chef at the helm. Jon Buck, former chef de cuisine of Husk Greenville and a 2018 James Beard Award semifinalist, made his debut as executive chef at Soby’s with a special lunch Sept. 3.
Titled “A Local Conversation,” the lunch was divided into four plates and three courses but was conducted as a conference about local ingredients. Buck picked a small panel of local farmers to lead a verbal exchange between themselves and various members of the media.
The discussion was led by Buck; Nat Bradford, owner of Seneca’s Bradford Family Farms; Glenn Roberts, owner of Columbia’s Anson Mills; and Colleen and Donald Snow, owners of Anderson’s Providence Farm. Each detailed how he or she entered the agricultural sphere.
The kicker? They didn’t start out there but were guided by a love and curiosity for food. We don’t have the space to repeat all of them, and maybe their individual stories are not the point. What we can distill it down to is the crux of Buck’s panel: the relationship between chef and vendor. Buck described the relationship as “magical,” almost transformative in its power.
For the lunch, Buck placed items from each of the panelists on a plate: Providence Farm pork belly with Bradford collard greens; shrimp and grits a la Soby’s with Anson Mills white grits and Providence Farm sausage; and a beet salad with goat cheese feta from Anderson-based Split Creek Farm, which wasn’t present at the lunch, but was lauded by Buck.
Diners were given the option for a glass of wine with lunch which at Soby’s — a rare winner of the Wine Spectator Grand Award — is impossible to turn down. The restaurant offered the Soter Vineyards Mineral Springs Ranch pinot noir from the Willamette Valley, which played beautifully off the shrimp and grits. The wine was just gentle enough to allow the classic dish to stand up to it.The slow-cooked pork was softened in confit until it cut through like butter. The dish was in a hoppin’ John format accompanied by Carolina gold rice and red peas. Meanwhile, the shrimp and grits was hearty and creamy, almost sweet against tomato cream.
Still, the most affecting aspect of the lunch was the experience of community best summed up by Buck.
“This ceases to be a transaction of business and it becomes a transaction of friends, family and community,” he said. “It really changes the way you look at the ingredients and how you end up putting them on plate.”
Soby’s is located at 207 S. Main St. in Greenville.
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On Sept. 3, Endeavor Workspaces announced that its fall Collaborators & Cocktails speaker series will concentrate on entrepreneurs in the food and beverage space.
Here’s the lineup:
- Sept. 24: Dani Mathews, owner of Best Bites Media and operator of the @healthyishdani Instagram account.
- Nov. 13: Jeremy Krauze and Chris Rosensteel, co-owners of affable but delicious downtown eateries Society Sandwich Bar and Social Club and City Tavern.
The owners will share their stories and secrets to success at Endeavor Greenville beginning at 5 p.m. on their respective days at 1 N. Main St. in downtown Greenville. Tickets are required. Visit endeavorgreenville.com/food-focused-fall-collaborators-and-cocktails for more information.
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Simpsonville’s 1885 Taproom premiered The Deli at 1885 Sept. 3 with a soft opening. The deli serves cheesesteak, corned beef and pastrami. It is located at 110 E. Curtis St. in Simpsonville.
