SPEAKING Out
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where Mike prefers to live, and his list of pros dominates his one con (at least, the only con I was able to extract). Charleston is long, flat, and straight, never a desired combination for a guy like Mike Lata, who is absolutely bewitched by motorcycles. But what it does offer far outweighs the boring topography. The beach is very close, and three and a half hours away are the mountains, which, when motorcycle mania sets in, provide a brief respite. The surrounding western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia are absolutely beautiful. Charleston is one of the only smaller towns on the East Coast that has such a thriving economy. The history and architecture are captivating. The quality of life is great. There is traffic, but nothing compared with what is considered heavy traffic. And the food scene in Charleston is becoming exponentially more exciting. You’ve got old money, new money, and no money, but there seems to be a common place where all those people can come together and share food. There’s something about Charleston in every magazine, all the time, and they always include a food piece. Mike Lata’s cooking style, simply put, is that the food has to taste alive and fresh. He cooks from the garden and utilizes what the seasons bear. The chef makes no attempt to soften his abhorrence for the buttery or dead or overreduced tastes and flavors that are typical of certain types of restaurant cooking. Mike makes the point that he begins working from the customer’s experience, although he stipulates that even though you’re thinking of the customer, creating a dish must still have a chef’s signature and presentation. “It’s still going to be Mike Lata’s style,” he declares. “It is going to be clean, unfussy, and unfettered. I want people who eat my food to think about their meal on the way home. I want them to wake up in the morning knowing how much better they feel after eating at my restaurant than they did going to so-and-so restaurant the weekend before. I think over time, people will start to realize that we’re very respectful of what they choose to eat and how many courses they prefer. I just want to make sure that I’m a craftsman. I love making beautiful, delicious food. I want the experience to be exciting to the customer because the dish is surprising, delightful, and fresh.”
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harleston, South Carolina, is the place