Beach Blog Restaurant Spotlight - Chive Blossom Café: World Cuisine with Lowcountry Roots
By Becky Billingsley
The success of Chive Blossom Café has long local roots.
It has been 12 years since Trina Renault was married to Tom O'Brien, and back then they had a popular little restaurant in downtown Myrtle Beach called the Vintage House Café. Today she has a new chef-husband, a new restaurant and a bigger fan base.
And her new husband is one of her biggest fans.
Many people know Trina's husband, Paul-Kelly Renault, from his decade cooking with Chef Pierce Culliton at Frank's restaurant. Paul-Kelly grew up on the north shore of Long Island, New York, and attended the French Culinary Institute in Lower Manhattan.
"It was strictly two years of cooking there," he said on a recent mid-afternoon as he ate a salad between the lunch and dinner services. "But Trina is a Myrtle Beach girl born and raised. Her family has been in the restaurant industry here since 1963. Her father started the Pizza Shack, and then her brother took it over 15, 20 years ago. Then Trina and her first husband had The Vintage House during the '80s and '90s. She did most of the cooking."
Trina and Paul-Kelly have been married for seven years, and about the time they married was when she opened Chive Blossom Café in a side room of a Pawleys Island health food store. Customers loved the food, but not so much the cramped quarters.
"It had 32 seats and beer and wine," Paul-Kelly said. "Now we have 70 interior seats, 60 outside in the courtyard and a full bar."
It was Sept. 16, 2008, when the couple opened their restaurant a little north to the spot on the North Causeway formerly occupied by Orobosa Uwagbi's restaurant. Gone are Orobosa's primary yellow and red colors; in are the Renaults' more earthy hues of sage green and sand. It took four months to upgrade the property, and then in December they were able to purchase it: two acres of land and all the buildings.
Remodeling is still taking place outside; the outdoor dining area is a sweet little garden oasis under the live oaks and will open soon.
They need the extra room - during lunch and dinner the bead board-paneled house is packed with diners reveling in Smoked White Cheddar Dip, Spinach and Strawberry Salad, Crab Slaw, Scallop Crepes, House Cured Salmon, Jerk Pork Tenderloin and Mediterranean Chicken. It's a broad range of tastes the Renaults like to call "World Cuisine."
"We are not specifically a Lowcountry Restaurant," Paul-Kelly said. "We have Spanish, Turkish, Greek, Northern and Southern Italian, some French, Thai, Chinese, and of course Lowcountry. We're not so much fusion but [representative of] certain countries. We have a Chinese Noodle Dish, then a classically French Cassoulet. You can get little bits and pieces from around the world."
Those seeking international flair can go for Grilled Tuna with Wasabi slaw, Chicken Satay or Greek Style Lamb Tacos. Lovers of all things Southern get their fixes with Okra Pancakes topped with Lowcountry Tomato Shrimp Stew; Local Grouper over zucchini spaghetti and Silver Queen corn with grape tomatoes and tarragon cream; or a good old Fried Seafood Sampler with lemon dill tartar sauce.
But there is a hint of fusion in the menu, evidenced by Butterbean Hummus, Black-eyed Pea Egg Rolls, and Lamb Chops with Vidalia Onion Ragout.
If you're looking for pure comfort, Chive Blossom is known for She-Crab Soup and Tomato Soup, and they have a broad-based wine list numbering around 130 vintages.
And don't forget dessert.
"All of our desserts are made in-house by Trina," Paul-Kelly said. "She is very famous for her Bananas Foster Cheesecake, English Toffee Cheesecake and Raspberry Almond Tart."
Chive Blossom Café is at 85 N. Causeway, behind Walgreen's, in Pawleys Island. The number is (843) 237-1438. They are open for lunch and dinner starting at 11:30 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
Crab Crepe & rasberry tart! OMG, I think I may have to swing by for lunch. One of my favorite spots!
Congrats PK & Trina