Gale Restaurant
By Charlotte Berger, @CharlotteBergerCHS / Images: Vi Ton, @HoangViton & Emma Waugh, @GirlEatsCharleston
Inventive, witty and thoughtful- Gale Restaurant’s food and team are truly unique to anywhere else in Charleston. Meeting Street’s newest restaurant was inspired by Owner and Chef Brett Chizinski’s mother, Gale. While his menu focuses on Italian pasta, pizza and “everything weird in between”, Brett focuses on using hyper-local ingredients (hello GrowFood!) and flavors found all over the world.
Our TastemakersCHS crew was invited to enjoy a private, socially-distanced tasting with Brett, Mari and Gale’s newly hired general manager, Tifyane. This vibrant team filled the night with amazing stories and an even better five-course menu. We even played some hard core trivia in the middle of eating, with Mari handing out bottles of wine to the winners.
First up on the menu for the evening was Sylvan Farm Cherry Tomatoes. The savory dish included Gale’s focaccia, caper aioli, basil, horseradish and parm.
Next up was Miss. Paula’s Shrimp- served two ways. Tempura fried and in a Ceviche with a watermelon vinaigrette. This dish tasted just as beautiful as it looked.
Afterwards we were treated to Mezze with pickled carrots and cucumbers, baba ganoush, and a melt-in-your-mouth Lamb Porchetta.
Around this time, Mari introduced a cocktail that was inspired by Brett’s Mother Gale. This vibrant drink was made with blackberries, sparkling water, vodka, lime and a garnish we had never seen before- a pickled watermelon rind.
Next up was the Watsonia Farm Corn, with fried eggplant, sour cream Kimchi and mint. Never have we had eggplant chopped up, fried and served with so much texture and flavor.
The inventive and exciting main course blew us all away. Chef Brett created a Whole Rabbit Porchetta Katsu (yes you heard me correctly), complete with Jackson butterbeans, vermicelli, orange glaze and charred spring onion. Our team requested Chef Brett add this dish to his menu immediately, but upon hearing about the labor intensive deboning of the rabbit in more detail- we understood why this was more of a special occasion show stopper.
Our tasting at Gale was not just about good food and drink. We have partnered with Yo Art! as part of our Charity Partnership Program- an educational non-profit that provides Title 1 schools in Charleston with media arts programs. Brett will be donating 15% of all orders to Yo Art! through July 31!
Don’t miss Gale Restaurant for take out lunch (11a-2p) or dinner (5-8p) daily (closed Tuesdays). To place an order DM Gale on Instagram (@GaleRestaurant) or call number listed below!
843.818.4977
701 Meeting St.
