Charleston's New Okranomiyaki Dish
The Archer restaurant is featured on Charleston City Paper's CP Hot List for their creative Okranomiyaki—a fusion dish combining okra Johnny cake, Duke's kewpie, spiced tomato molasses, pickled beech mushrooms, and furikake. The February 16 coverage encourages diners to try new venues and share feedback on Charleston's evolving food scene.
- Okonomiyaki is a savory Japanese pancake whose name translates to "grilled as you like it," traditionally made with flour, egg, and shredded cabbage plus various fillings and toppings. - The foundation of the dish, the Johnny cake, is a cornmeal flatbread with origins in Native American cuisine that also became a staple food in the American South. - Okra, the dish's namesake, arrived in the American South from West Africa via the transatlantic slave trade and is a foundational ingredient in the region's cuisine, especially within the Lowcountry's Gullah Geechee communities. - The Archer restaurant is co-owned by Marc and Liz Hudacsko, who also run the popular Wagener Terrace spot, Berkeley's. The kitchen is led by Executive Chef Taylor Piedfort, who was promoted to the position in early 2026. - The dish incorporates two distinct mayonnaises: Kewpie, a Japanese brand known for its rich, creamy texture achieved by using only egg yolks, and Duke's, a Greenville, S.C. original since 1917, beloved in the South for its tangy, sugar-free recipe. - A finishing touch is furikake, a dry Japanese seasoning that typically consists of a mix of sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, dried fish, sugar, and salt.
