Photo By Jeff Dennis

One of the best new events was Halls Chophouse hosting the inaugural Gourmet Wild Game Dinner to kick off the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston. SEWE guests enjoyed a delicious and unique meal with wine pairings in the Lamond Room, Halls’ private upstairs dining room.

Halls’ Executive Chef Matthew Niessner presented an incredible five-course meal with wine pairings. the highlights included Carolina Cup oysters, candied striped beet salad with duck confit served over Montrachet cheese and spiced cashews,  broiled quail splashed with a brown gravy and served over sweet and sour collard greens and pepperjack grits. Pictured at left is Chef Matthew Niessner with Tommy Hall and the main course, a very wonderful bison ribeye.

Halls Chophouse is a local, family owned “Classic American Steakhouse” located in the Upper King Design District at 434 King Street in historic downtown Charleston.

Article by Nick Smith/ Charleston City PaperSome people come to SEWE to look at wildlife. Others come to eat it.

This year, Halls Chophouse has a special five-course wild game menu. And the man behind it all in the kitchen is Halls Executive Chef Matthew Niessner, a brainy, bespectacled guy with more than 20 years of culinary know-how.

In fact, Halls regularly serves an ever-changing selection of game, depending on, Niessner says, “what’s available, what’s fresh, and what I think is hot.” That might include antelope, venison, or rabbit. “That way, I’m able to surprise the repeat clientele,” he says. “I might have the game for just one evening. Those fortunate guests who come in and try it love it.”

For SEWE’s Wild Game Dinner, Niessner will serve Carolina Cup oysters, Manchester Farm quail, and bison ribeye. The meal will be served with wine pairings in the Lamond Room, an intimate upstairs dining space.

Niessner also plans to keep his items as close to home as possible. “Our intense tidal changes and high salinity keep the Carolina deep cup oysters salty and clean,” the chef says. “The roasted beet salad is sweet, naturally and locally grown.”

Manchester Farm Broiled Quail is also local, semi-boneless, and easy to eat. The lean free-range bison meat is from the Dakotas and Wyoming, with an intense flavor and no hormones or antibiotics. Niessner hand selects the ribeyes. “I create with what I have, with more of a philosophy than a recipe,” he says, “I pair special products with local produce.”

For Billy Hall, co-manager of the steakhouse, “Being a steakhouse, a wild game dinner has a lot of similarities with our core menu.” Hall hopes that the event will start an annual tradition at the restaurant.

Amanda Click / TheDigitelChef Matthew was first up in a ten week series that features different local chefs as they demonstrate their specialty in a fun, interactive and informative way. Beginning the night by taking general questions from the audience, we learned the correct way to sear tuna and some tidbits about the proper kitchen ware to make magic happen. The real fun was soon to follow.

In about an hour’s time, Chef Matthew had created one of the freshest, simplest, and most doable seafood dinner that I’d come across in in ages. The first course consisted of fresh broiled jumbo lump crab meat crab cakes with a dash of red peppers and bread crumbs. Using just a dash of bread crumbs, low-fat mayonnaise and truffle oil, the Chef Matthew kept the focus on the succulent crab meat and not on the fillers. The crab cakes were placed over a green apple and jicama salad that was drizzled with white balsamic vinegar and local honey. To tie the dish together was a perfectly made beurre blanc sauce that was out of this world.

Next was the fresh salmon dish pan cooked with just a dash of salt and pepper, then covered in Paul Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic seasoning. The fish was cooked to perfection then covered in a sauce of low-fat yogurt with diced cucumbers, dil, lemon, and tomatoes. The clean and cool flavors of the sauces made the bold garlic and cayenne peppers in the rub really pop.

For dessert was a cool, frozen drink that included Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur, but tasted just like a coffee milkshake.

King Street Kitchen Company’s gorgeous showroom provided the optimal space for this type of event. There was not a bad seat in the house, and the 15 plus guests were treated to a very special night. Take a look at the full list of upcoming cooking demonstrations and be sure you make it to at least one.

Credit: TheDigitel

There will be live entertainment and a book signing by local author Mary Alice Monroe with her latest novel Last Light Over Carolina.

In addition to Halls Chophouse there will be dishes prepared by the chefs at BLU Restaurant, Gilligan’s, Fleet Landing and Coco Cafe. All proceeds benefit the conservation and education programs of the South Carolina Aquarium. Must be 21.

Dry-aged steaks, because of their rich, buttery texture and savory taste, are best paired with deep red wines. Sommeliers usually recommend a good Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or Bordeaux. Also, simple herb rubs or marinades are the best way to bring out the steak’s flavor. Heavy sauces will drown out the natural complexities in these magnificent cuts of beef.

Some preparation ideas for dry-aged steaks include marinating the meat in a sherry or port reduction, broiling it in a simple Madeira wine sauce, or grilling it with shallots and herb butter. To make a flavorful herb butter, simply combine minced fresh garden herbs (such as tarragon, thyme, basil, parsley and oregano), and mix into room-temperature butter with freshly pressed garlic and perhaps a hint of lemon.

Owner of Halls Chophouse

You won’t make it far past the door at Halls Chophouse before shaking Bill Hall’s hand. The tall, gregarious frontman flashes a wide smile and personally greets every customer — and often chats up passersby on the street. He keeps a keen eye on the bar and stands ready to intercede at the slightest hint of need. When they insist it’s a family endeavor, they mean it, and Bill’s brother and father, who work alongside, reinforce the notion that no matter what it takes, they intend that every customer leave fat and happy. You’ll meet them all, probably before you finish your aperitif, and you’ll practically feel like part of the family before you finish your last frosty sip of the most delicious grown-up milkshake in town.

To say that the Halls merely transformed the old Artist and Craftsman Supply store on Upper King into one of the most impressive fine dining spaces in the city would do a disservice to its incredible metamorphosis. Simple schoolhouse lights highlight dark panels of wood. Downstairs, a full-length bar serves one hell of a custom Manhattan and flourishes with a bar scene of older patrons (relative to the youngsters who frequent this part of town). At night, the joint is packed with a lively crowd, imbued with a neighborly vibe that belies the newness of the establishment. Halls has quickly become the place to be seen around town, a final, succinct indicator of the complete gentrification of the Upper King corridor, but it fits in as if it’s been there forever.

There is no way around a fancy dinner here. Two people enjoying a three-course meal with wine will find it hard to get out the door for under $200. But considering the price points of Charleston’s finest kitchens, the only question that remains is whether or not Halls lives up to the hype. We found a mixed bag.

They certainly have the potential to be one of the best restaurants in town, with the menu establishing a classic steakhouse theme. A strong showing of appetizers, soups, and salads is headlined by the best Caesar salad we have ever eaten in Charleston ($8). Two quartered sections of romaine, spears really, come dressed with shards of grated cheese and delicate white anchovies. Ice cold and shatteringly crisp, the lettuce is dressed with the most delicious dressing; I want the recipe.

They also serve a mean bowl of roasted corn and crab bisque ($9), creamy, but not cloyingly thick, and rich with large lumps of backfin crabmeat hiding beneath the silky puree. There is the requisite wedge of iceberg with blue cheese and bacon ($9), gussied up with slices of avocado. And decent quality beefsteak tomato slices layered with vinegary onions and basil can be had even in the early days of May.

Raw plates of oysters (market price) are generally quality specimens, cold and briny Blue Points on our visits, and the “Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail” ($15) also deserves a prize, given that we’ve never tasted shrimp so large that tasted so good — no doubt owing to their perfectly cooked texture. Perhaps a bit more horseradish could spice up the sauce, but I’ll never leave Halls again without sampling the cold seafood on tap.