Spring is here and we are having a good time at Cru Cafe. As many know, those in the Lowcountry love to support their local farmers and we do to. We’ve been working with local fishermen, farmers and more since we opened in 2002. And speaking of that, can you believe that Cru Cafe is turning 10 this year! We are now a decade old and have you to thank for it. We meet so many lovely people from around the world who come by, for truly delicious food. With our birthday here, we will be unveiling some new looks for Cru along with some expanding brands….so stay tuned for that.

The weather this year has already been warm, which is wonderful for Charleston tourism, and for us. Many of our guests have been enjoying their meals on the porch. We hope that when you visit us, please tell us about your experience on our Facebook page. Also please review us on Trip Advisor and Yelp. We want to hear from you!

Also, we’re proud to announce that Chef John Zucker will be part of the Big Chef, Little Chef competition for Louie’s Kids on June 14. To purchase tickets visit www.louieskids.org

We hope you will come visit us for lunch or dinner soon. Cheers!

The Christmas Dinner Menu Available for Pick Up Includes:

(minimum 4 people)

Spiced Rum Glazed Christmas Ham with Traditional Ham Jus

Roasted Hazelnut Stuffing

Cranberry Biscuits & Cheddar, Black Peppercorn Biscuits with Apple Compound Butter

Baby Spinach Salad with Housemade Pancetta Croutons, Pomegranate Seeds, Roasted Gold and Red Beets with Spiced Vinaigrette

Smashed Red Potatoes

Honey Glazed Baby Carrots

Apple Walnut Spice Cakewith Apple Jack Glaze

Whether you need a few appetizers or an entire event catered, we are happy to take care of all your holiday meal needs. Call Cru Catering today to place your order with a catering director at 843-534-CHEF (2433).

The restaurant is the perfect spot in the heart of Downtown to celebrate this festive season. “The holidays are a wonderful time at Cru and our space is a perfect place for Christmas and holiday parties for local businesses and organization. We book up fairly quickly, so now’s the time to start thinking about it.” said John Zucker, executive chef and owner of Cru Cafe.

To follow Cru Cafe, visit them on Facebook or Twitter.com/CruCafeChs.

Hope to see you soon! Cheers! 

We have some great news we wanted to share, our executive chef, John Zucker, has just been named vice president of the newly formed nonprofit, Charleston Chefs Feed the Need. Feed the Need is a local coalition of 52 area chefs that help feed the Lowcountry’s hungry. John joins the board with President and founder, Mickey Bakst and Michelle Weaver of Charleston Grill, secretary; and Stephanie Godsill of Crisis Ministries as treasurer. John is thrilled to be a part of it and is honored to help.

Believe or not but Christmas will be here before we know it, so if you’d like to host your Christmas party at Cru Cafe, please don’t hesitate to call us. 534-2434. Also if you’d like to book our catering division for an upcoming event, call us at 534-2433.

Thanks again for your patronage and we hope to see you at the restaurant again soon!
Cheers!

One of the most exciting events in town that creates a fabulous underground buzz is the concept of Guerrilla Cuisine. Created by the popular jimihatt, Guerrilla Cuisine is going strong in the Lowcountry. These creative supper-club type dinners take folks out of their comfort zones so they can try new cuisines, check out new artists and enjoy time with others in different locations across the Tri-county area. We are honored that Chef John Zucker will be the featured chef for the fourth season of Guerrilla Cuisine on Sunday, August 7 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Chef Zucker is thrilled to be a part of this event and has some special creations up his sleeve. It’s a event you can’t miss! The best part is that this is a chef’s choice charity event, so you’re having a blast for a great cause.

Tickets are $65.00 + BYOB + gratuity per person and only 30 tickets will be sold for this dinner! Food will be on the table at 6 p.m., so it’s suggested you sign in no later than 5:30 p.m. Buy your tickets here! Check out this video to see what it’s all about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nRObyMtveI

Chef Zucker is getting his game face on…see you on August 7th.

My wife and I were in Charleston for the first time ever last week, so naturally we stopped at a tourist center and asked for a lunch place recommendation. We were given two: Cru Café and another place whose name I don’t remember (Jardin’s, I think), but it doesn’t matter. Because without a shadow of a doubt, we chose the right place: yours.

The service was great, but the food was like, WOW!! I’ve never had a better soup and sandwich. Ever, anywhere. It was your capicola, salami, prosciutto, mozzarella sandwich and truffle mushroom soup.

I’ve never tasted a more delicious soup in my life. I’m hooked.

As soon as we rejoined the rest of our family, I raved about Cru Café and insisted – no, demanded – they all be sure to try your place when they’re in Charleston.

As soon as we returned home here in Michigan, I looked up truffle mushroom soup recipes. I found one, but I have serious doubts about it. This is it:

1cup cooking onion sliced
1 leek (white only) split, washed & sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 lb. portobello, stems removed and caps sliced
2 fresh bay leaves
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 sprigs fresh parsley {tie herbs together to remove easily after cooking.}
2 litres mushroom stock, chicken stock or water
1cup Madeira
6 tbsp. truffle paste (or 60 gr. fresh truffle minced)
1/3 lb. butter diced
4 oz. truffle oil (good quality)
Yields approx.2 Litres

Method:

In a stock pot, on low heat sweat the onion, garlic and leek until tender (if using fresh truffle, slice and add in this step).
Add the mushrooms and cook to wilt and release juices.
Reduce juice and deglaze with Madeira. Add the herbs.
Reduce Madeira and add mushroom stock or water (just enough to cover contents of pot). Cook for 15 minutes and add truffle (paste).
Take the pot off the heat. Remove the herbs and allow soup to cool slightly.
Purée the soup while still warm and add cold diced butter a piece at a time following with a slow drizzle of truffle oil to emulsify.
Pass through a fine mesh strainer. Adjust seasoning and consistency with mushroom broth if needed.

Read more at Suite101: Truffle Soup Recipe: From Chef Jason Bangerter’s personal arsenal of tasty recipes! | Suite101.com http://www.suite101.com/content/truffle-soup-recipe-a53828#ixzz1OLfk0nUa

Mr. Zucker, I know I’m about to ask an enormous favor here, but could tell me if this recipe is even close to yours? If not, could you please, please give me suggestions on how to adjust it to make it similar to yours? I be so terribly disappointed if I bought all these specialty items and produce a soup that’s not even remotely similar to yours.

Thank you so much.

A forever-fan of Cru Café,

John Krueger

Chef Zucker has already been working with his little chef, Jazmine, and loves her personality and willingness to try new foods. The whole concept behind this unique event is to give children who are fighting childhood obesity a chance to see how easy it can be to create healthy dishes. And what better way than to learn from a award-winning chef! Although it’s a competition, it’s truly great to see how the kids embrace the idea of trying new culinary delights and realize that cooking doesn’t have to be a chore.

We’re excited that celebrity chef Marvin Woods will take part in the event. And guests at this event will also get to taste delicious culinary creations courtesy of the big chefs and their little chefs. The best part about it all…all proceeds benefit Louie’s Kids programs to fight childhood obesity and they are doing great things for our community. You can read more about them at www.louieskids.org

We’re also thrilled with the company we will get to share this event with. The 2011 Participating Chefs: Nico Romo of FISH, Marc Collins of Circa 1886, Cary Zapatka of Square Onion, Craig Deihl of Cypress, Ben Berryhill of Red Drum, Michelle Weaver of Charleston Grill, Sean Brock of Husk, Ken Vedrinski of Lucca and John Ondo of Cafe Lana…talk about a great group of chefs!

Tickets are
$50; $45 in advance. Call (843)724-9267 or go to https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/LouiesKids/OnlineRegistration.html to register. Buy your tickets early. This event sells out!

So join Chef Zucker on Thursday, June 16th for this special event to fight childhood obesity in Charleston!

My wife and I dined in your restaurant last week during our first ever trip to Charleston. We had a spectacular time (sitting at the Chef’s table/ bar), absolutely scrumptious food, and delightful service. And being in the seats we were, it was fun as well, watching all the action in the kitchen, talking to the chef’s, just being a part of this lively restaurant. It was definitely a highlight of our visit.

Thanks for taking such good care of us!

Jim

We’re also excited that this upcoming Sunday, we will be a part of the Lowcountry Local First’s Fourth Annual Chef’s Potluck. We really stand behind what LLF does and this event is an effort to raise awareness about the important role that local farmers and agriculture play in sustaining our community. The event is Sunday, April 17 from 4-7pm at Middleton Place off Highway 61. If you haven’t been to Middleton Place, you must take some time to visit. Along with our talented chefs from Cru, we’ll be joined by some of the other area top chefs and will be creating dishes using local produce, meats and seafood. Of course there will be great music, cocktails and a silent auction. Tickets are going quickly, so log onto their website at www.lowcountrylocalfirst.org today!

The spring has sprung in the Lowcountry. Currently, it’s Charleston Fashion Week and the streets are buzzing. We love seeing all the beautiful people dolled up and enjoying lunch on our porch.
It’s events like this, the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, Cooper River Bridge Run, Spoleto and more than give Charleston the unique charm and splendor that it has.

~ One Calendar note~
On Thursday April 28th, dine with us and we will donate 25% of your check to the Ryan White Program at Roper Saint Francis Healthcare to help win the fight against HIV/AIDS right here in the Lowcountry.
For more information about Dining Out For Life®, or to make your reservation, go to www.diningoutforlife.com. At Cru, we are big believers in giving back to our community, so please join us on this special day.
Have a great weekend & hope to see you at the restaurant soon!