Chicken thighs atop carrots, white turnips, radishes, and braised chard in a blood-orange beurre blancAs area farmers markets emerge from their winter dormancies, many home cooks begin craving farm-to-table cuisine. But for those who lack the requisite skill—or time and energy—to forage for produce and whip up restaurant-quality meals, the food-and-bev boys behind Low Country Bodega have a fresh idea. Last year, leaning on their restaurant experiences and love of local fare, Michael Geib, Gordon Langston, and Dylan Mauerhan cooked up a meal-kit business that rivals the likes of Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. While you won’t see the guys pumping out dinners by the millions—“which makes it impossible to consciously source food,” explains Mauerhan—you can find them every week at James Island’s Sunday Brunch Farmers Market with two pre-packaged courses for $18. Firing up relationships with purveyors like Abundant Seafood and Holy City Hogs, as well as St. Jude, Ambrose, Nano, and Rooting Down farms, the company gathers every ingredient locally.
Each week, Low Country Bodega provides pre-prepped fixings for a restaurant-quality meal that customers can cook at home.
With a rapidly growing fan base, the trio hopes to eventually open a physical storefront. “We know how much the kits help people out,” says Mauerhan, “and we like making them.” Whether you’re interested in a local twist on ramen, fresh tilefish, or some good old-fashioned dirty rice, Low Country Bodega might just be the answer to those Sunday-night empty-fridge blues.
Visit www.lowcountrybodega.com for the weekly menu and to reserve in advance of the Sunday Brunch Farmers Market.
