If you live in the Ithaca, NY area, a small town in the heart of Tompkins County that’s home to Moosewood Restaurant (inspiration for the bestselling Moosewood Cookbook Series) and Cornell University, you might want to enter the Ithaca Journal’s Chili Recipe Contest.

Unlike Charleston, SC, Ithaca is a place where at least one pair of good winter boots and a strong shovel is obligatory and a woodstove is a godsend.

After weeks of breathtaking fall foliage, the first snows come to the Ithaca area in mid-November and the last snows often come in April when temperatures in the Low Country are starting to rise into the mid-70’s.

Snow (such as it is) is rare here, and I often think of Ithaca when we’re walking the beaches here in December, or running errands around town looking at palm trees and Spanish moss bedecked live oaks without an icicle in sight.

Our Former Backyard Just Outside of Ithaca, NY in November

Charleston, SC This December

If you love southern cooking as much as we do, you might remember that Anthony Bourdain (author of the wonderful food memoir Kitchen Confidential) focused an episode of his No Reservations Show on the Travel Channel on the food of South Carolina last November.

Now the Food Network is celebrating Charleston cuisine on the Hungry Detective in an episode that will air on 2/1/2008 at 10:30AM ET/PT.

As it says in their upcoming program notes…

“The Hungry Detective hits the streets of Charleston to investigate Low Country cuisine and the best off-the-beaten path BBQ. He begins his investigation by tracking down Jeff Allen, the food writer for the Charleston City Paper.

With Jeff as his informant, Chris learns about a locals-in-the-know restaurant way off the beaten path called Bowens Island. Here Chris uncovers roasted oysters served on a shovel, and a local concoction of shrimp, crabs, sausage and corn known as Frogmore Stew.

Next, Chris shows us how to stake out the suburbs for good breakfast bargains as he heads to the Mount Pleasant suburb and the Charleston Café. Here he finds a family-run restaurant serving up delicious breakfasts with Southern twists like shrimp and grits and Southern Benedict, a variation on eggs Benedict made with fried green tomatoes.

While still in Mount Pleasant, Chris discovers the Boulevard Diner, another hidden gem featuring unique appetizers such as fried pickles, crab cake sliders and a sundae made from chili, cheese and sour cream.

Next, while sightseeing, Chris gets a hot tip from a local rickshaw driver about Fig, an upscale restaurant that encourages patrons on a budget to come in just for dessert. Fig’s specialty? Carolina Gold Rice Pudding.

Finally, Chris shares a hot tip: look for archived articles online that appeared in the city’s weekly paper. Objective articles written by bona fide food writers are a better bet than the paid listings often found in the back of local papers. He refers back to an article about Charleston BBQ entitled “Chucktown ‘Q” written by Jeff Allen. This leads Chris to the One of a Kind Smokehouse, which uses pecan wood to smoke their meat.”

Chris Cognac, The Hungry Detective

Here’s some more fun food related items to enjoy…

• Crocheted Ice Cream Cones by Melbangel

• Bagel and Cream Cheese Dollhouse Food by She Counts Crows

• NYC Ceramic Takeout Coffee Cup by NYfirst.com

• Chili Pepper Mousepad by Make Fun Crafts

• Stained Glass Pickles in a Jar by Interior Glass Designs