Italian with a Sea Island accent:

Bella Luna Cafe, 859 Sea Island Parkway

St. Helena (across from the Foolish Frog)

843-838-3188

Italian food. The  first thing that probably springs to mind is something heavy, something doughy or pasta-bound - something in a heavy coma-inducing sauce. The truth is, that's what we've come to expect from mass-marketed pizza joints and our cultural obsession with carbs. Italian cuisine has many, many styles and approaches and almost all of them (when executed properly) depend on fresh, local, seasonal ingredients. Those three words are getting a lot of play these days with a renewed emphasis on quality and the growing awareness among American consumers (finally!) of what's available at the corner produce stand or just off the boats at the local docks.

Case in point: the Crab Cake at Maria Jackson's Bella Luna in the heart of Frogmore. It's nearly all fresh local crab, pan sauteed and served atop fresh local sweet corn in a sweet red pepper sauce, topped with jalapeno aoli. In a word: Damn.

Hey, you can still get spectacular, fresh made to order pizzas (8 minutes  from call in to pick up at their very own drive-thru) as well as a large selection of the classic dishes. But I'm begging you, try the grilled vegetable salad: sliced summer squash, zucchini, portabello, sweet peppers, artichoke hearts and succulent slow-roasted tomatoes all lightly grilled and served on a bed of fresh mixed greens and herbs. Most of it was picked just up the road a piece. The concentrated flavors of the tomatoes and peppers explode like sweet summer sunshine on your taste buds.

Satisfy that summer sweet tooth with an Italian Bomba - a frozen confection of layered fruit ice wrapped in a chocolate shell. 

Frankly, for dishes of this caliber the prices are a steal - and at all three meals. No pretense involved. This is Lowcountry casual. Bella Luna has a full bar and a nice wine list, too. Give Maria a call and tell her we sent you. Look for more on Bella Luna in an upcoming issue of The Lowcountry Weekly.

-Mark Shaffer