May 3, 2019
Here in South Carolina, we’re a little over a week from the end of oyster season. Come with me to experience the setting of Bowen’s Island Restaurant this time of year. Roll down your windows to the sound of cicadas as you pull the car off Folly Road and wind back to the edge of the water. Once you’re out and climb up the steps to the second floor, suddenly, it’s hard to escape the view. Marsh grass and water are set on fire in a ribbon of rose gold, winding through sea breezes and the air thick with the scent of fried seafood. But you’re not alone taking in the scene, you’re with probably 50 or so new friends who you are soon waiting in line alongside you, deciding the menu long before they’re at the front to order. This is where Robert Barber and his daughter Hope Barber McIntosh call home, a James Beard America’s Classic restaurant, and they let us inside their world a bit, no shucking oysters required.