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Special dining experience is waiting at Alluette's

By Deidre Schipani

Leroy Burnell
The Post and Courier

Alluette's Cafe

There may be a point in time, with the development of the "Midtown" concept, that you would stumble upon Alluette's powder-pink cafe in downtown Charleston. But that time is not now and her cuisine cannot wait — unless, of course, it is not in season — and then it is not on the menu.

Ms. Alluette Jones has operated restaurants in the Lowcountry and Beaufort area before opening this small cafe on Reid Street.

Her commitment is to local and seasonal ingredients, organic whenever possible. She offers up a menu free of nitrates, with no added hormones, no white sugar, no artificial flavors or colors. She lets Mother Nature rule the menu so there will be no raspberries in January, no lettuce in August. There also will be no pig.

What you must keep in mind when a meal is shared at Alluette's is that you have entered a sacred kitchen.

This small cafe with seven tables, a counter with a birds-eye view into the tiny kitchen and an outdoor patio is committed to serving holistic soul food. Her fish and shrimp are from local waters and her chicken is organic. Barefoot Farms and Joseph Fields are the source of her produce.

Saffron Bakery provides the breads for her sandwiches. Her cooking is scratch. Rice and soy milk are her dairy partners.

Her Gullah-Geechee heritage shows in her sauces and condiments. Her respect for arts and culture can be seen in the artwork displayed on her walls and the various music and literary events that take place at Alluette's. In a Hippocratic fashion, she follows the dictum "let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

Turquoise, peach and mango are the cheerful colors that define the space. Vibrant watercolors dance over the painted cinderblock. There is a tranquility and peacefulness and although you wait for your food, you do not mind.

The iced tea is sweetened with pineapple juice and as these tropical flavors slake your thirst, you begin to feel on island time.

Your experience there is much like visiting the home of a friend — your meal will be fixed while you wait and wait you will. Everything is made to order and nothing is hurried.

The only appetizer is a house-made hummus. Soups, available by the cup and the bowl, are lima bean ($5, $6.50), chicken noodle ($5, $6.50) and fish stew ($5.50, $7.50). The chicken noodle tastes of slow-simmered poultry that is seasoned with thyme and rosemary, punctuated with crunchy bits of celery, sweet carrots and slender sections of chicken meat. The noodles are whole grain and spaghetti-shaped. The "eyes of the stock" fill every fragrant spoonful. The shape of the noodles, though, challenges your spoon. Be ready to slurp.

The fish stew is tomato-based, tasting of its nautical roots and plump with fish bits, carrot chunks and tomatoes. The soups come with whole grain crackers.

You can order a salad of leafy greens and then top it with egg, chicken, shrimp or tuna salads. ($9.50-$10.50).

Sandwiches are served with one side and at the time of our visit the choices were potato salad or french fries. The potato salad reminded me of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, with bits of hard-cooked egg blended in with the potatoes. Those same crunchy bits of celery added texture and the earthy sweetness of the potatoes carried through in flavor. A keeper. However, the fries were undercooked and under-seasoned.

The shrimp salad sandwich ($10.50) was a real winner, held together with a minimum of mayonnaise, sprinkled with dill and spiked with cayenne, topped with lettuce and tomatoes and served on whole grain toast. It would make Dagwood proud.

The chicken salad sandwich ($9.50) was equally well executed. The flavors of thyme and rosemary that perfumed the soup also were present in the chicken.

Alluette's also has a burger and roast beef sandwich. Specials have included wraps on vegan flat breads and steak sandwiches ($8.95).

The dinner board is created daily and can include fried chicken or fried shrimp, shrimp and grits, flounder, whiting or baked chicken. Presently, the lunch menu is available at dinner and a chalkboard lists the one or two specials each evening.

The experience reminded me of Vertamae Grosvenor and her book (1970) "Vibration Cooking." In the book she refers to the "spontaneity" of cooking, of "making do with what you have" — it is truly the joyful noise in the kitchen and at Alluette's Cafe that noise is a chorus of goodness.

Oh, and the Food Network found out about her and plans a July feature, so get there while you can still get a seat. Bring your appetite and your patience and see how fresh tastes.

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