Stepping it up on King Street
02 Nov 2024
A culinary refresh brings new energy to Stars Grill Room
By Wendy Swat Snyder, Photos by ALEECE SOPHIA
When you have King Street at your feet, Southern sky overhead, and a panorama of the Holy City's storied church steeples, well, it doesn't get much better than that. Some of Charleston's most iconic landmarks provide a one-of-a-kind backdrop for Stars Grill Room on the first floor
Located in the city's famous downtown historic district, the restaurant has embraced a fresh approach to the dining experience, pairing an upscale farm-to-table menu with the excitement of an exhibition kitchen and a breezy rooftop perch made for Instagram moments. The kitchen's transformation is being led by newly arrived executive chef Miguel Franco, chef Migs, to those in the know in the culinary world.
Franco credits three different styles of cooking—that of his grandmother, aunt and nana—for inspiring his love of great food. Extensive travels around his birthplace of South America, Columbia and Brazil formed his approach to cooking.
“I'm really connected with the indigenous styles of all three countries,” said Franco. “Whenever I had time off from school, I was exploring the Amazon. That was my inspiration. And now that I'm here, with a restaurant that allows me to work with local ingredients rather than create a menu with ingredients from all over the world—I love that. What I've seen lately is the regional artisanal foodways disappearing because people are so invested in produce being available year-round instead of sourcing what's in season locally. The last time I went to Brazil, I joined a weekly gathering called a maloca, where the indigenous community celebrates together, bringing food for traditional meals. I saw that some of the items they used to make by hand, they're now buying from the store. They're not the same.”
Franco graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in civil engineering, but he says part time stints in restaurants revealed that he not only had a passion for cooking, but that he was pretty good at it.
“It's also a part of me that I'm sharing with someone else. And when they take a bite, it kind of hugs them, takes them to a special place or memory,” he explains. “My training was all empiric. I learned through multiple jobs—an Italian restaurant, a butcher shop where I learned knife skills—instead of going to culinary school.”
Franco points to farm-to-table pioneer Alice Waters for providing long-distance “mentoring.” He says he had to forgo an internship at her renowned West Coast restaurant Chez Panisse, but over the years has followed her career as a restaurateur and cookbook author, studying her recipes and techniques, saying he's always tried to emulate her approach.
He built on his training after moving to New York, where he honed both French technique and hospitality professionalism working at celebrated chef/ restaurateur John-Georges' abc kitchen.
A trip to Charleston for a consulting project convinced Franco and his wife to leave New York for the Lowcountry's beaches and warmer clime. A subsequent conversation with Stars director of operations Heather Greene convinced him that the restaurant was the right fit for him.
“We spoke the same language,” notes Franco. “Everything's getting automated, the experience is often rushed, and you're losing the human interaction. The fact that Stars draws from the blueprint of Chez Panisse—I thought, now you're really speaking my language. I joined the team in September and hit the ground running.”
“King Street has changed since Stars opened 12 years ago, and we wanted to focus on giving a more mature customer what they want, and something we can be proud of,” explains Greene. “We want to get back to what we really love to do, and that's hospitality—showing guessts a really good time, taking more time with them.”
White tablecloths were added to elevate the main dining room's luxurious banquette seating, and the rooftop bar, Satellite, got a major refresh by local architect Robbie Marty, with fun colors, huge umbrellas and live music bringing a bright, airy Palm Beach vibe.
“The other piece is that we invested in a great chef and training for our staff and the culinary team really influences the service team,” notes Greene. “We have a great banquet program headed by Christopher Evans. Taylor Jacobs directs food and beverage and Jessica Jacobs leads banquet planning. Pairing wines with our main courses is another big change we've made. We want to offer guests a well-rounded experience, something exciting.”
Something exciting is exactly what we experienced when my guest and I visited Stars recently. Our server, Rachel Kamenski, was very well-versed in Franco's new menu—despite it being just a week or two old.
We started with the Oysters & Caviar from the Shareables menu: Bird Island Little Jewels were served on the half-shell, bathed in a briny cream sauce with a bit of spinach from GrowFoods Carolina and topped with smoked trout roe. The room temp sauce was comforting and luxurious.
Next, poached Green Lip mussels from North Carolina arrived in a delicious herb butter resembling a beurre blanc, richly flavored with white wine, parsley and tarragon.
Maine lobster was the most tender we'd tasted, thanks to an exacting cooking method the chef says he's developed using a smaller tail, precise cooking time and an ice bath. The dish came to table smothered in a Creole compound butter, with the meat handily carved out and presented on the shell. Deep fried chunks of potato, also with scooped out centers, were addictive.
Lamb shank was slow-braised in port wine for six hours and was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. A creamy risotto made with North Carolina rice was a lovely counterpoint and cooked to toothsome perfection.
Our Argentine-style skirt steak was deftly seasoned with the chef's grandmother's signature spice, grilled over an open flame and served with a smoked chimichurri. The classic frites—thinly-cut potatoes fried to a crisp—were also addicting.
We indulged in the truffle mushrooms—a medley of cremini and shiitake that were perfectly cooked and showered with shavings of truffle.
Pastry chef Shanelle Cordell's bread pudding was amazingly light, thanks to the croissants she uses for the base. A light custard made with Storey Farm eggs contrasted wonderfully with the sweet crunch of the bourbon glaze.
To the re-imagined Stars and chef Migs, we bid a hearty welcome.
Stars Grill Room
495 King Street, Charleston
(843) 577-0100
