A Lowcountry Backyard A Culinary Adventure that will take you Back in Time BY RISA WILLIAMS MCMILLAN • PHOTOS BY ROB KAUFMAN
Think back to the days when you meandered bare-foot through the neighborhood with your dog dawdling by your side. The cicadas were singing and the air was fresh. When you rode in the family station wagon you faced backwards, no seatbelt required. Music was played on turn tables and juke boxes and a gallon of gas cost less than a dollar. You played hard all day and arrived home out of breath, dirty, and late for dinner. When you burst into that kitchen in the evening with an appetite that had been burgeoning all day, you were immediately arrested by the scent of home cooking and could anticipate the goodness that was to come. This is the sensation and culinary adventure that you will embark on at A Lowcountry Backyard where the sights, sounds, and tastes of your childhood will welcome you back with open arms. A Lowcountry Backyard was the concept of Dave Peck who envisioned reliving his past through this restaurant. Dave grew up in the woods in Sea Pines and on the banks of the May River. He spent his summers cane pole fishing in Shipyard with Gullah natives who taught him to catch mullet with baloney and cheese. He learned how to cook from local families and his memories take him to oyster roasts on the river and backyard 12
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barbeques. It was a simple time when families came together over meals and everything was home-cooked. That is what A Lowcountry Backyard means to Dave and his wife Raina – a full sensory experience with local roots that take you back to the aromas and delicious tastes offered from the bounty of our waterways. “We offer a true taste of the lowcountry. You are not only going to get fresh food, but you are going to experience it like it was made 40 years ago. All our recipes go back generations,” said Dave. Word is obviously out about A Lowcountry Backyard because Dave was contacted by the Travel Channel to shoot a segment for season 7 of their “Food Paradise” series there. The television crew spent 14 hours shooting Dave preparing two dishes in the kitchen and interviewing guests in the restaurant. “It was lots of fun but lots of work. The 13 hours that I stood for will be compacted into about 10 minutes,” shared Dave. The segment should air sometime in January. The perfect place for a photo (or TV) shoot, A Lowcountry Backyard takes on its own rustic character the minute you walk into the courtyard. Tucked away discretely in The Village Exchange on Palmetto Bay Road, the focal point of the