Joyful Silence
Take a moment to indulge in our favorite stories
The Monthly is a fresh roundup of articles we’ve published in our print edition and highlights from our archives. We also include DATEBOOK, a list of can’t-miss regional events for your calendar.
IN DECEMBER’S FRENZY, we crave moments of calm—by the pop-and-crackle fireside, under a stark-silent night sky, beside the orange warmth of candlelight. We hope you’re soaking up the spirit (and spirits) of the season. V
CURATE » Life of the Party
Rebecca Gardner calls on her love of entertaining in planning over-the-top events for Houses & Parties
By M. Linda Lee
ASK REBECCA GARDNER WHAT MAKES A PARTY MEMORABLE, and she’ll tell you: “Waking up the next morning with a headache saying, ‘I had a screaming blast!’” As founder and creative director of Houses & Parties, a full-service event and interior design collective in Savannah and New York City, Gardner knows a thing or two about how to stage a fabulous fête. “Parties were the love language of both sides of my family,” she says.
While Gardner always adheres to a traditional structure when planning an event, within that structure she creates “jolts of surprise.” She embraces caprice by changing the cadence of a party periodically to catch people off-guard, perhaps by having a marching band lead wedding guests into dinner, or presenting dessert at home with lottery tickets.
“I like playing the Fairy Godmother, like in Cinderella,” the consummate entertainer confides. “I have a lot of bippity-boppity-boo to share and that brings me great joy.”
For more on Gardner and her work, check out M. Linda Lee’s feature on our website; housesandparties.com.
DEVOUR » Spirited Pour
Atlanta’s Kimball House crafts a whimsical cocktail
By Angela Hansberger
A STATELY OLD OAK guards the impeccably landscaped terrace and wrap-around patio of a historic railway depot. Inside, large windows pour light onto tufted leather booths, damask wallpaper, bottle-filled shelves to the ceiling reachable by a library ladder, and curio cabinets fitted with childhood relics and vintage barware. Overhead, dangling pendant orbs glimmer as belt-driven ceiling fans whir. Kimball House feels like a cocktail emporium that has always been there, with timeless style and a nod to forward-thinking techniques.
Miles Macquarrie is the backbone of the bar, which, like the restaurant, has a focus on sourcing, sustainability, seasonality, and guest happiness. A kismet seasonal moment of a bushel of north Georgia Mutsu apples and local French sorrel availability sparked Macquarrie’s mind, and the Green Apple Negroni was born—but it took some ingenuity to bring forth.
This take on a white Negroni is “very much like Georgia fall, bright and refreshing but deep and heady,” he says, “because of a bit of bitterness from Cocchi Americano and Suze.”
The sorrel-infused gin is stirred with a Mutsu apple cordial, Cocchi Americano, and Suze, poured over a large cube, and garnished with a fresh sorrel leaf. Presentation is part of the joy at Kimball House.
See Kimball House’s Green Apple Negroni recipe on our website; kimball-house.com.
CURATE » Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Southern jewelry designers put a fresh spin on the classic signet ring
By Kathryn Davé
MAYBE YOU’RE NOT A CROWN PRINCE ready to sign a decree, but the desire to make your mark on the world is as ancient as the signet ring itself. The classic accessory is popping up on pinkies everywhere as younger generations try on the style and new designers turn their attention to reimagining it. Traditional signet rings were often engraved with family crests or organizational symbols, but contemporary jewelers are playing with precious stones, unusual shapes, and custom engravings. On our radar? A handful of distinctive, soulful signet rings made by artisans across the South.
Find Kathryn Davé’s article in the fall edition, for sale on our website.
WANDER » Plot Twist
With a diverse mix of food, culture, and adventure, Knoxville is a destination that defies expectation
By Kathryn Davé
MODERN TOURISM WORKS LIKE THIS: a city identifies its most brand-worthy element and crafts a singular identity around it. Not Knoxville. The energetic mountain city in East Tennessee refuses to be defined by any one thing, instead unapologetically offering up the dynamic mix of food, culture, sport, art, music, and nature that has made it such a rich destination.
There’s no denying that Knoxville has undergone a transformation in the last few decades, but its successes aren’t the generic kind. The city’s growth is more revelation than renaissance, an illumination of Knoxville’s true roots.
Take the Knoxville culinary scene. When celebrated luxury resort Blackberry Farm opened just down the road in 1990, it spurred a national interest in Appalachian cuisine. The farm’s reverence for local ingredients and regional traditions gave “Foothills cuisine” the attention it deserved—and gave a new era of chefs a chance to take their training and passion to Knoxville and beyond.
The people, landscapes, and culture of Knoxville have always been special. The rest of us are just finally paying attention.
Read Kathryn’s story on Knoxville, along with her extensive list of recommendations, on our website.
CURATE » Modern Classic
Palmetto Broncos salvages vintage Broncos and turns them into the ultimate ride
By Vincent Harris
WHAT IS IT ABOUT RESTORED CLASSIC CARS? The immaculate new paint job, the mix of art and functionality, the sound of a perfectly tuned motor firing up under the hood? Even those who claim not to be “car people” have certainly driven by a car show and had their attention drawn to a fully tricked-out classic car that looks like it just rolled off the line.
The men who own Palmetto Broncos in Taylors, South Carolina, share many of those feelings. Which is good, because their business deals specifically in the restoration of a certain type of classic car: first-generation Ford Broncos, which were manufactured between 1966–1977.
Palmetto Broncos was co-founded in 2022 by Ben Caldwell, his nephew, Carter, and their good friend Erick Martinez.
The founders of the company chose early Broncos out of admiration and business sense. “I think they’re a staple of American classic SUV-style off-road vehicles,” Carter says. “I love the off-road element of them.”
When Martinez talks about how he approaches a new restoration project (the Broncos are often donated and in poor condition), it’s like opening a window into his mind—the step-by-step restoration process has his fingerprints all over it. “I have a picture in my head,” he says. “I have a vision. And I can see all the components work together.”
For Vincent Harris’s full story Palmetto Broncos, go to our website.
DEVOUR » Tale of Two Souths
In Charleston, Beautiful South weaves elements of the Lowcountry into carefully crafted Cantonese dishes
By M. Linda Lee
FROM COLUMBUS STREET, THE SAVORY AROMA OF SESAME OIL hits your nose even before you see the orange neon letters on the front window announcing Beautiful South, which showcases the cuisine of Southern China.
It’s the second restaurant for husband-and-wife team David Schuttenberg and Tina Heath-Schuttenberg, who opened Kwei Fei on James Island in late 2018. Beautiful South, which appeared in summer 2023, is the yin to Kwei Fei’s yang. “Kwei Fei speaks more to who I am as an individual, and Beautiful South speaks more to who Tina is,” observes David.
Tracing its roots to the Guangdong province of Southeast China, Cantonese cuisine forms the core of what most Americans know as “Chinese” food. Guangdong, a longtime trading hub, profited from the influences of many cultures. As a result, Cantonese cuisine evolved into a refined style of cooking, renowned for accentuating the inherent flavors of its ingredients.
In keeping with Beautiful South’s mission to “create inclusivity and conversations and community,” David hopes his diners will “surrender to trying something outside their comfort zone.” By his own admission, he’s just begun to scratch the surface of Southern Chinese cuisine.
See M. Linda Lee’s full piece on Beautiful South on our website; beautifulsouthchs.com
DATEBOOK »
Events on our radar
Thru Dec 28. In the Company Of. Art & Light Gallery, Greenville, SC.
Thru Jan 4, 2025. Candlelight Christmas Evenings at Biltmore. Asheville, NC.
Jan 8, 2025. Topsoil Restaurant’s Plant-Based Supper Club: The Mushroom Dinner. Greenville, SC.
Thru Feb 16, 2025. Georgia O’Keeffe: “My New Yorks.” High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA.
Thru May 4, 2025. Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South. International African American Museum, Charleston, SC.
FROM THE ARCHIVES »
The inaugural issue of our print magazine was released this time last year! Find it here for your library or as a gift.
Our latest edition—The Gathering Issue—is on the way to subscribers and select locations throughout the Southeast. Keep tabs on our drop locations or gift a subscription!
