Behind the fun and enjoyment we see right away when we pass by the tables of Hilton Head restaurants, there’s a lot going on. Here among The Shops at Sea Pines Center especially, the families and friends and couples, the flirtations and first dates and business chats, the tales of shopping triumphs, the whispers and confidences and the laughter that are taking place on a daily – and nightly – basis, are all just parts of the present moment in a great story. The story is full of facts and figures, surely, because the restaurant business is urgently accountable. But more than that, the story of Hilton Head restaurants is as big as the world and as deep as the heart.
There’s magic here, meaning that it all adds up to more than just the forces of nature. There’s art in the business of Hilton Head restaurants. Cuisine and atmosphere are the obvious results, but there’s a lot more to it. No matter how tough the demands might seem, the people who pull it off take leaps of faith that call for the soul of the artist.
The Freedom of Variety
There are more than 250 restaurants on Hilton Head Island. Do people here love to dine out because there are so many to choose from? Or do Hilton Head Islanders just consider it one the local sports, the way our British cousins in Bermuda do, and so it took so many restaurants to satisfy such a widespread desire? Whichever came first, it’s great to have so many restaurants to choose from.
And it’s great, too, to have them as close as your phone, especially today. In recent weeks, the restaurants and cafés of The Shops at Sea Pines Center were among the leaders of Hilton Head restaurants in offering takeout meals, curbside pickup, and, in some cases, delivery, too. Now that we’re dining in again, the connections we made are here to stay.
Giuseppis’s Pizza, not surprisingly, had delivery already tuned up. Lowcountry Produce engaged a new system for online ordering and delivery that guests will enjoy long after precautions are behind us. Truffles saw the opportunity to add even more casual menu items to its offerings, in view of takeout ordering, so they added tacos, burgers and bowls from their sister restaurant, Chow Daddy’s, and it went so well that they installed Chow Daddy’s here in The Shops at Sea Pines Center, right alongside Truffles’ original location.
Our favorite café, C’est Bon, is not such a secret joy anymore, as hundreds of new faces found their pastries, gelatos, and sandwiches the perfect accompaniment for a European approach to coffees, giving the whole family something to be happy about. And where but in The Shops at Sea Pines Center would you find Plantation Station, reputed to offer some of the best fried chicken around, and where you can fill up the gas tank and select a very presentable wine while you’re doing it?
The Link with Care and Kindness
The impulse behind Hazel Dean’s, among the newest of the culinary attractions to The Shops at Sea Pines Center, reflects a quality shared by the other Hilton Head restaurants here. It was a family trait of making exceptional treatment an everyday experience. Offering gourmet groceries, meats, and wine, Hazel Dean’s is not strictly speaking one of our Hilton Head restaurants, and yet customers commonly carry their selections to the patio there, to enjoy them with friends under the live oaks’ shade. Even more often, the Hazel Dean’s selections go home for a little extra family delight, or to a friend’s house as a “hostess present” that gets remembered with pleasure.
The Hopes and Dreams and Expectations
Clearly, there’s more to Hilton Head restaurants than what appears on the plate. Having enjoyed the notoriety of a world-class resort for generations, Hilton Head Island inspires a keen sense of anticipation. Whether for a familiar seasonal return, a hard-earned and patiently awaited vacation, or for the chapter of life that we moved mountains to see, the shores of America’s favorite island are the stuff of dreams. As such, people come to Hilton Head restaurants with something extraordinary in mind.
The Memories and Stories and Traditions
Fulfilling those visions, making reality of those imaginings, has made our Hilton Head restaurants the setting for some of life’s peak moments. Engagements and weddings and fortunes and graduations and new homes are just a few of the memories made here. Love and loyalty are celebrated. Bonds are forged.
And the occasion isn’t always grand or momentous. Think of the unforgettable, and most of us are just as likely to recall a time without a landmark, a memory that became part of us unexpectedly, and sometimes from the plainest of goings-on. These simple pleasures become the stories of a lifetime, the times that turn unforgettable on their own.
And traditions, they aren’t always attached to home. Sometimes customs stem from Hilton Head Island restaurants, too. Our favorite such story is of a dear friend’s shrewd, feisty European grandmother. She ruled the family kitchen, yet she always had her husband pick up bread from Truffles for important family get-togethers.
The Attraction of Fine Chefs
Our professional theatre up the street, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, has no trouble casting Broadway talent in their productions here, because what actor, singer, or dancer doesn’t want to spend seven or eight weeks on Hilton Head Island? For somewhat the same reason – and on a far more permanent basis – Hilton Head restaurants are blessed with attracting great chefs.
The chefs know they’ll be serving a knowledgeable clientele who can appreciate their best efforts because, especially here in Sea Pines, the guests have traveled the world, and returned not only experienced but also refined. Competing for the attention and loyalty of that clientele, the restaurateurs of Hilton Head Island are willing to recruit from the top tier.
The Way We Feel When We Go
Part of the pleasure of patronizing the restaurants of Hilton Head Island is the feeling that you had your own choice from a fine array. It’s not just the one you chose. It’s the feeling that you could have picked a great many others and never made a mistake. There’s a synergy in our selection, especially here in The Shops at Sea Pines Center. For any occasion, for any guest list, you can’t go wrong. From pizza to French pastry, from tilapia to tacos, from Caesar salad to shrimp and grits, it’s a fine thing and a fun thing to dine here.
