Rustic Table a simplistic masterpiece

           There is a sophistication at Rustic Table that accentuates the authentic atmosphere of a genteel experience prorogated by someone rooted and raised in Southern soil.

Adam Kirby is that someone. He is making a “Comeback” BLT Salad in the Rustic Table's kitchen. It is a simplistic masterpiece comprised of juicy, fat-fried oysters sitting on Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bacon. The “Comeback” is the kick-butt sauce created by his mom, Nancy Kirby. It is an autumn-brown-leaf-hued sauce that is ketchup’s refined big brother – you can put it on nearly anything – and it elevates the flavor. Therefore, when Kirby pours Nana’s Comeback Sauce on his Picasso salad, it sings and hits high notes.

The Rustic Table at 10683 Ocean Hwy. in Pawleys Island is where my mouth parlays with items on the menu that dance with tastes, textures, revelatory freshness, and fun that is exponentially better and brighter on my palate.

 Rustic Table is home to unabashedly Southern dishes defined by adept hands, genuine talents, and masterminds putting their signature touches on the food people know, love, and never tire of.

Rustic Table is where discriminating connoisseurs want a seat at the table and enjoy lingering for a while.

Farm-to-Table Tastes

            The distinguishing green landscape of rural South Carolina rushes by my eyes as I travel to Johnsonville with Kirby. We are in his black GMC Sierra AT4 – a massive luxury truck that can deftly maneuver the terrain we will soon tackle. Kirby is wearing a baseball cap, a black T-shirt, camouflage duck shoes, and deep tan denim jeans.

 About 35 minutes earlier, we left his home in Pawleys Island to embark upon a journey to his Johnsonville farm. It is where he grows produce happily enjoyed by customers at Rustic Table and Bistro 217, which he owns with his business partner and friend, Anne Hardee.

The farm is nearly 700 acres, a productive, Herculean homestead owned by him and his buddy, Peter Gerace. Once we arrive, I encounter a wildly beautiful kingdom of crops growing as they please with their thoughtful dad, Kirby, watching over them and their biggest fans, deer, eating as much they can.

What the deer don’t eat is harvested and incorporated into dishes on the restaurant’s menus. At this time, Kirby is walking among weeds to get the wonders of his giant garden. A jewel he pulls off of its stem is a perfect crookneck squash. It looks good enough to eat raw. Next is yellow cherry tomatoes, which are round and lovely under a sizzling sun. He bends down to the bush, snaps off a few, and passes them to his tagalong guests, of which I am one. I pop the berries I most often eat as raw vegetables into my mouth, and an incredible flavor bursts proceeds.

At least one morning each week, he hightails it to the farm before going to Pawleys Island, where he and his restaurants live. His work here is profusely sweaty and productive.

Fast forward, and we are back in the truck, heading to another part of the farm. “See that,’’ Kirby said, as he passed a wide swath of land to his left, “that whole field over there is nothing but butter beans. At the Rustic Table, we do fried chicken with fresh butterbeans.” My stomach did a flip after he said that.

As he drove, the vastness of this agricultural kingdom made me smile because my mind and my mouth knew the goodness that comes from Kirby’s dedication to bringing farm-to-table delights into his cuisine. On the way to the next part of the farm, however, Kirby made another stop. Several sweet gum trees have fallen onto the gravel road. So, he hops out of the truck, fetches a tree cutter from the back, and begins sawing at the fallen trees littering the road, victims of a recent thunderstorm.

 A few minutes later, we were all back in the truck again, and the trip continued with Kirby pointing out a natural body of running water. “This little creek right here is Mill Branch,’’ said Kirby, a Georgia native with Mississippi roots, while pointing out the area. “It comes this way. This is where we go to pick all of our mushrooms – all up, back in there.’’

Distinctive Tastes at the Table

            It is a Friday, and the energy is high at the Rustic Table. Outside and inside seating is crowded. Folks are indulging in ample amounts of food and drinks.

As expected, the menu flaunts much of the freshness Kirby gathers from his Johnsonville farm.

Tomatoes from the farm are abundant in salads, on burgers, on sandwiches, and as spectacular sides.

I am a devotee of his sweet tea collard greens, fried okra, and lima beans. Each is notably a standout because I literally can taste the freshness. So, all Kirby’s sweat is certainly not in vain.

Even in supper features like the gumbo with chicken, shrimp, sausage, okra, and tomatoes over white rice, the freshness is forefront among dominant tastes.

No matter my choice, nothing Kirby or his crew has created has disappointed me.

An extra plus is that I can enjoy my food in the outdoor seating with hanging tealight fixtures and posh ceiling fans circulating air while I face US 17 Bypass. Inside is a mix of olive-green walls, and luxurious wood on tables and walls.

“Our location, the friendly staff, and the food make us so popular,’’ said Towanda Manning, a Pawleys Island resident and food expeditor, as she worked with the rest of the crew in the hot and hustling kitchen at Rustic Table.

Just beyond the kitchen doors, amid the throngs of guests, 15-year-old Quinn Golden, one of the newest staff members, bussed tables like a seasoned pro while smiling at guests and flawlessly snaking her way through restaurant traffic.

She passed by Leah Hammond, 17, wearing a fringe and flowy Bahamian pink Abercrombie & Fitch dress. A hostess, Hammond greeted guests with a gentle, warm smile before escorting them to their respective tables.

Mary Brewer, a local who lives on Litchfield Beach, joined friends for lunch.

“I have been a fan of the Rustic Table since it opened,’’ Brewer said. “The food is just good. Everything I have ordered has been excellent and the prices are amazing.”

Among her favorites is the Comeback Salad topped with fried chicken, hamburgers, brisket nachos, and the blackened mahi salad.

“I used to get the mahi salad every, single time I came,’’ Brewer said. “It’s delicious.”