Soft shell pandemonium is upon us
Also, Caribbean, Lowcountry, and Southeast Asian flavors are headed to Coming Street
Let’s get gout — soft shells are back
A fellow editor messaged me yesterday as a reminder that it is not only my beat, but my duty to announce soft shell crab season. That time is now. The crunchy crustaceans are popping up on menus all around Charleston. 167 Raw offers a tempura-fried softie sandwich with pickled cabbage and yuzu koshu butter, Fleet Landing has a crab banh mi, Cuda Co. serves a softie sandwich with cheese, Leon’s Oyster Shop does a soft shell BLT with Red Clay hot sauce, Amen Street has a sandwich, and Husk offers a sorghum-glazed softie with spring onion and watermelon radish on a ginger chawanmushi (applause for thinking outside of the box on this one).
Chef Thai Phi of Pink Bellies is usually one of the first chefs to offer softies, but he told me he is still waiting for the Charleston soft shells to arrive. His seafood purveyor predicts that the crabs will be ready in early April — the recent cold snap delayed their appearance.
And thus ends my soft shell reporting for 2026. If you email me asking where to find them, just wait a week, and they will be on every menu in Charleston — at least at the local-ish spots. Go forth, cut their faces off, and enjoy their entrails.
Kaia mixes cultures on Coming Street
Miami-based chef Raheem Sealey is headed to Charleston to open a new restaurant at 186 Coming Street. Kaia will be a combination of Sealy’s upbringing in St. Croix and his love of Asian cuisine from his time at KYU and Shiso in Miami.
A friend told him about the Charleston opportunity and sealed the deal when he reminded Sealey that it’s only a one-hour plane ride from Miami to Charleston. “I visited and tried a bunch of the food and really liked it,” he said, “A lot of Lowcountry cuisine reminds me of the Caribbean.”
Sealey said Kaia will be very different from Shiso, which is an Asian smokehouse that combines Japanese and Caribbean flavors with dishes like miso cornbread and oxtail udon. Kaia will concentrate more on the flavors of Southeast Asia, the Lowcountry, and the Caribbean. He’s still creating the menu but said to expect curries, fried chicken, and a focus on local vegetables.
“Being able to cook flavorful food is important to me,” he said, “Adding my background is also important.”
And while he’s coming from the clubstaurant capital of Miami, Sealey said this will not be a big boisterous spot. “It will be vibe-y, but chef-driven.” That could also be because of the space — he can only seat about 40 patrons in the dining room, so not a ton of capacity for DJs and dancing.
Kaia is expected to open in May.
Let’s all go to the Pee Dee
Every food writer and influencer in Charleston is headed up to Florence this week for its Wine & Food festival. This year, Sean Brock is headlining the events, so it will be interesting to see what he talks about now that he no longer has a presence in the Carolinas.
The Florence festival is fun because it’s small, yet it still draws big talent. This year, pitmaster Elliott Moss of Elliott’s BBQ Lounge is hosting a Last Bite Bash with chef Ashleigh Shanti of Asheville’s Good Hot Fish, Camille Cogswell of Walnut Family Bakery, and Kyle and Heather Sutton of Bestow Baked Goods.
If you have any tips for me, please reach out to erin@cootersoup.com.
As someone who's never managed to appreciate the allure of softies, I appreciate your short-and-sweet report!