Come & knock our door...we've been waiting for you...

Our big, honkin' Lowndes Grove front door welcomes you. (Another lovely shot from our recent shoot.)

I can't write another word without sharing this unbelievably gracious comment card we received IN THE MAIL from a recent guest at Fish.

"This is not nearly enough space for all the words of praise and thanks I'd like to send to you. Of all the places in Charleston that we ate, Fish is by far the best. I loved the room, the decor, the ambience. The meal was absolutely incredible - best seafood in your city! 1/2 price wine night was a nice surprise (didn't know about that one!)!! Our server, Lexi, was as nice, pleasant and friendly as she could be! A lovely lady indeed! Oh, and the jazz trio was perfect. Not too loud for a room that size and very good players. Finally, Jodie Battles (General Manager) could not have been any more gracious. She was so nice to show us around just "chat" after dinner. Thank you, thank you!
-Tom Anderson

In other marketing news, Starbucks just keeps on keepin' on. Today, they gave away FREE 8 oz. cups of their new Pike's Place brew, which according to CEO Howard Schultz is "bold, robust flavor profile that customers have come to expect of Starbucks coffee, but with a smoother, buttery finish." Mmmm, buttery. In my coffee? Anywho, I do admire their tenacity to get, you know, back to the cawfee love. I get so mystified by marketing brouhaha, even if it IS my job. It's constantly changing and engaging.

Bridge Run recap & a friend in need

If you're reading this, you survived Bridge Run weekend. Hooray! Some of you (my friend Joe and Elizabeth, our Director of Human Resources) spent several hours AFTER completing the Bridge Run trapped in the PP parking lot. (Our parking lot was on the run route.) Bummer.

Congratulations are in order to PP Bridge Run participants, Director of Human Resources Elizabeth Kitchin (running time: 1:01:36) and Fish Sous Chef Deveaux Stockton (1:14:14). In the kicking butt and taking names category, mad props to my pal Joe who finished in 44:10. Um, whut?

When I asked Elizabeth about her motivation for the run, she said, "There was a guy dressed as a banana running near me. Anytime he pulled ahead, I thought to myself, 'Gotta beat the banana!'" Hands down the best Bridge Run story I've heard.

Congratulations are also in order for Lowcountry Local First Director Alan Moore. He and his wife are the proud new parents of Olivia! (7 lbs. 14 oz., 21 inches) Now there's a baby who will be eating some delicious local food, you know, when she has teeth and all that.

In other news, a friend of PP is in need of help. Tomorrow, April 8th, Whole Foods in Mt. Pleasant will donate 5% of its sales to Louie's Kids, a local non-profit fighting childhood obesity. (It's estimated that 25% of South Carolina teenagers are either overweight or obese.) If you're out shopping tomorrow, please go to Whole Foods. You'll be helping the nation's ONLY non-profit dedicated to combatting childhood obesity. Thanks.

Run Charleston Run!

The weather turned out to be wonderful for today's Bridge Run Press Luncheon at Lowndes Grove. Warm with a perfect breeze. Yes, we ordered it special!

I had this funny thought as the many generous sponsors presented GIANT checks to the Bridge Run folks and an array of non-profits. Who came up with the idea of giant checks? The lottery gives them out; big corporations give them to non-profits. Wouldn't it be hilarious if you HAD to actually use the big check. You'd walk into the bank with it, all awkward, have trouble getting through the door, possibly hit a few people with it by accident, approach the teller and say,"Hi, I'd like to cash this." I'm laughing just typing that.

ANYway, I digress. To our Director of Human Resources Elizabeth Kitchin, good luck on the Bridge Run tomorrow! Goooooo Tide!

Off to face the Bridge Run traffic jams. Good luck to all you runners. And to you non-runners, we'll see you at the bar at Fish.

Written while both hungry & thirsty

Let's kick things off with another exquisite photo from the Lowndes Grove shoot, shall we?

I'm walking about 50 feet down the street in a few minutes to our friends at Nancy Koltes At Home who are hosting Skirt! magazine editor Nikki Hardin's book signing and pajama party (two great tastes that taste great together?...or something like that). Nikki's selling and signing her book, PMS: Problems Men Started, which she co-wrote with Caitlin McPhillips. I am a huge fan of any woman who can take a dreaded acronym like (gasp!) PMS and turn into something witty and laugh out loud funny.

In other news, was chatting with Pastry Chef Susie Ieronemo the other day and...okay, confession. Part of the reason I went to see her was in the hopes she would let me taste something off the new dessert menu. And so she did, lucky me! I ate the most delicious crepe of my life actually, right out of the pan. It's made with rice flour and coconut milk and is fantastic all by itself. I get positively giddy when I think about what it will taste like filled with hazelnut cream and topped with orange mousse. Shut. Your. Mouth.

While I'm at it, I should share our Manager and resident Mixologist Evan Powell's new additions to our cocktail menu. They are all quite divine and heavily inspired by the lovely spring (all 4 days of it) awaiting us.

Holy City Mojito
Locally grown strawberries, rum, mint and sugar cane

Spring Fling
Limes, cucumber, simple syrup, gin and soda

Orange Sparkler
Cointreau, blood orange juice and sparkling sake

Pink Sparkler
Pernod, pink grapefruit juice and sparkling sake

Sundae Martini
Absolut vanilla, amaretto and cherry syrup

Dirty with an accent
Niçoise olives, olive juice, gin and dry vermouth

Now that I have rendered myself both hungry and thirsty, I must away, but will leave you with this: one of the cooler restaurant manifestos I have ever read. From a Brooklyn establishment, brilliantly named Flatbush Farm & Bar(n).

Summer Vacation in Dubrovnik!

So, I am so serious when I say I never know what's going to happen on any given day at PP and here's a great example. Our Managing Partner and Director of Events, who are also husband and wife, respectively, are planning their summer vacation to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Today, aforementioned Managing Partner mentions to me that while they're vacationing, he's booked a tiny little speaking engagement with the students at the University of Dubrovnik. On what topic he be speaking, you ask? How about the development of historic properties in the hospitality industry. Of course, by Eastern European standards, our 200-something year old properties are mere babies, but still, PP does know have some great insights to share after more than 10 years in the hospitality and preservation business. And, how TOTALLY COOL is it to share that kind of information in a city that, as recently as the early 1990s was embroiled in war, and today is a parliamentary democracy thriving with art, history and beauty. Good stuff.

When in doubt, throw tens & twenties.

POW! Call it waterfront. Call it historic. Call it LOWNDES GROVE! Sorry, I got all caught up in this fantastic photo by friend and photographer Lynn Mitchell. The other photos are just as lovely and don't worry, more will be shared soon.

Received some great feedback on the Lowndes Grove renovation on a scouting trip this morning with a well-known Charleston publication (I'll let you know who it is if they decide to shoot here.) Our guest mentioned that she had attended events at Lowndes Grove in the past and was always struck by “how much unrealized potential it had.” When we walked through the front door of the Main House, she exclaimed, “YAYYYY!!!” And you know, you can't really ask for better than that. (Well, other than throwing tens and twenties at me. That's pretty darn nice.)

In very cool marketing news, I read an interesting article with W Hotels president Ross Klein about their concept "inclusive exclusivity."

"Our guests, be they straight, gay, transgender, bi, whatever, they expect us to be truthful and authentic, and they can smell it a mile away...We're going to have an experience for you by your own self-described definitions of who are as a traveler. But it's going to be done in a very exclusive way. It's reall about an emotional appeal. It's not necessarily about an income level appeal or a professional appeal or any of those things. It's really more about people who relate to an aesthetic that is comfortable and slightly cool, and a level of service that is respectful but not necessarily servitude."

Love it. All of it. May I book a room, please?

P.S. Today kicks off Fish's printemps menu! And yes, I know it's April Fool's Day, but this is the truth. Trust me.

Fine linens, the Bridge Run & Independent America

What's up at PP? I can't remember if I told you that Nancy Koltes (she of the famous and fine linens) will be paying us a visit this week. Not only is her store, Nancy Koltes At Home, our Upper King Street neighbor, her Italian-made linens are used exclusively in the guest suites at Lowndes Grove. You KNOW you love the luxurious sheets! While I'm chatting about Lowndes Grove, I should tell you that we're hosting Friday's Cooper River Bridge Run Press Luncheon. Thanks to Allison Foster of Foster Marketing and the folks at The Visitor's Network who, on a very tight schedule, filmed some great footage of our newest waterfront venue.

Our friends at Lowcountry Local First asked if we might want to play host to a screening of Independent America. It's the story of two former TV journalists who travel the U.S. in search of "Independent America." The rules, as they established, were quite simple: no stops at any mega-corporate store (Wal-Mart, Target, McDonald's, etc.) and no main roads (secondary roads only). The film has some fascinating things to say about the proliferation of local and sustainable agriculture. Check it out. More than anything, it's interesting to see what's happening in this country at a time when so much feels out of our collective control. It can be interesting what we come back to.