On Tuesdays, On the Menu provides the latest news from the Charleston area’s extensive culinary community, including new restaurants, new menu items and upcoming events, as well as details about local chefs. Submissions should be sent to dailyjournal@scbiznews.com.
Chef Ken Vedrinski, owner of Sienna on Daniel Island and Trattoria Lucca in downtown Charleston, has plans to open a restaurant at the Cigar Factory.
Ristorante Introdacqua, which loosely translates to “between land and water,” is named for Vedrinski’s grandmother’s hometown. The restaurant, which will focus on Italian seafood specialties, will seat about 85 patrons in the dining area and 25 at the bar. An opening date has not been set.
Vedrinski’s first Lowcountry restaurant, Sienna, was named among the nation’s top 25 by Esquire magazine in 2004. He began his Charleston-area career at the AAA five-diamond Woodlands restaurant in Summerville, where he developed a national reputation.
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Baked Charleston, a new specialty bakery and coffee shop, has opened at 160 East Bay St. in downtown Charleston.
Founders Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito opened the original Baked in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2005. The bakery offers hand-made pies, cakes, cookies, tarts, cupcakes, brownies, marshmallows, muffins, quiches, scones and other confections and breakfast dishes, all made fresh daily.
The shop also serves Stumptown Coffee from Portland, Ore., and offers free Wi Fi.
Pastry chef Patrick Panella moved from the Brooklyn shop to oversee the kitchen and bakery. His background includes stints at The City Bakery in New York and Hotel Biron wine bar in San Francisco.
Lewis and Poliafito published their first cookbook, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, in October. The duo begin a Southern cookbook tour next month and plan to conclude the tour in Charleston with a special event in late February.
Baked is open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. weekdays, and from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. on weekends. For more information, call 843-577-2180.
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Poogan’s Porch at 72 Queen St. is offering its Roll Back menu, featuring the restaurant’s 1978 dinner menu prices. The special prices are available Sunday through Thursday throughout January and February.
Highlights include Oyster Queen Street for $2.99 (regularly $7.95), brandy-glazed pork tenderloin for $8 (regularly $16), the Calabash seafood platter for $9.99 (regularly $21.50) and buttermilk chicken for $7.99 (regularly $14). All entrees are served with fresh vegetables, rice and homemade buttermilk biscuits.
To learn more or to make reservations, call 843-577-2337.
Poogan’s Porch serves dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. seven days a week, as well as lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily and brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
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Crave Kitchen and Cocktails in Mount Pleasant is offering a limited-calorie menu and gluten-free menu items for guests with dietary restrictions.
The restaurant in Mount Pleasant’s Shoppes at Seaside Farms is serving a variety of items targeted at all types of diners. The gluten-free menu includes mahi-mahi, which is encrusted with macadamia and coconut and accompanied by spicy mango chutney sauce and steamed jasmine rice.
For those diners who want to limit their caloric intake, Crave offers such menu items as a blackened grouper filet with corn salsa and black beans served over a bed of Napa cabbage in a fresh homemade lemon vinaigrette. The dish has 390 calories, 48 grams of protein and 6.7 grams of fat.
Crave Kitchen and Cocktails features American fusion-style dining. The menu includes a variety of salads, appetizers, sandwiches and entrees.
Crave is open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday.
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Coco’s Cafe in Mount Pleasant is celebrating its recent designation as a FitMenu restaurant with an “Eat French, Stay Fit” evening of food, wine and healthy eating tips at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
FitMenu, a Web-based service that helps diners search for restaurants that provide healthy menu options, awarded Coco’s the designation.
Chris McNeil, local founder of FitMenu, will speak at the event to share information about his service.
Coco’s will provide a tasting of FitMenu-approved items, including a shredded salad of romaine and radicchio lettuce with toasted almonds, cranberries and candied garlic vinaigrette; seared scallops with citrus vinaigrette and carrot-ginger puree; pan-roasted trout served over roasted vegetable couscous with fennel confit; pan-roasted chicken breast over braised mustard greens; and chocolate yogurt mousse served with fresh berries.
Coco’s owner and executive chef Stephen Ollard will discuss his approach to cooking. Ollard prepares classic French recipes with an eye toward healthy choices.
“Eating healthy doesn’t mean sacrificing good food,” Ollard said. “At Coco’s, we strive to create dishes that are healthy and delicious.”
Local fitness studio Shaping Concepts is sponsoring Coco’s involvement in the program. Tina Whetzel, the FitMenu director for Shaping Concepts, will talk about her company’s involvement and answer questions.
The event costs $25, which includes the tasting menu and wine. For reservations, call 843-881-4949.
Coco’s Cafe is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday for lunch and 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday for dinner.



