November 2013 South Carolina Living Magazine Vol. 1 | Page 32

SCChefÕs Choice

BY Diane Veto Parham

Take off to the Runway Cafe

SERVES 12

1 cup chopped onion
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, diced
½ cup butter
1 ½ tablespoons curry
powder
12 cups chicken broth
2 Granny Smith apples,
cored and chopped
1
½ cups dry white or brown
rice
2 skinless, boneless,
cooked chicken breasts,
chopped*
Salt and ground
black pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream, heated

Saute onions, celery, carrots and
butter in a large soup pot. Add
curry and cook 5 more minutes.
Add chicken broth; mix well and
bring to a boil. Simmer about
30 minutes. Add apples, rice,
chicken, salt and pepper. Simmer
15 to 20 minutes if using white
rice, 40 to 45 minutes if using
brown rice. Remove from heat.
Stir in cream.
* To make a vegetarian version
of this soup, substitute a mix
of 3 cans of black beans and
garbanzo beans for the chicken.

32

SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING? | ? November/December 2013 ?|? scliving.coop

Photos by Milton Morris

Mulligatawny Soup

Airports bring out the kid in people who love
the simple joy of watching planes take off and
land.
At Greenville Downtown Airport, plane lovers
of all ages have found an observation point at
the Runway Cafe, where the runway views are
clear, the menu has an international flavor and
a brand-new, aviation-themed ­ layground enterp
tains the kids.
Slap in the middle of four main Greenville
arteries—South Pleasant­ urg Drive, Laurens
b
Road, Haywood Road and I-385—the restaurant
attracts a steady crowd: local businesspeople
Mike Bliss covered one wall of his Runway Cafe with an oversized
on lunch breaks, fly-in pilots and parents with
mural of an airplane’s cockpit instrument panel. Young patrons
young children. They come to sit near the floorlove to stand next to the mural, where they can pretend they are
to-ceiling windows or out on the patio and watch pilots operating the controls.
the planes while they eat.
While the burgers are popular (there’s a black“The windows are the attraction,” says owner
bean version for vegetarians), it’s the weekly
Mike Bliss, who opened Runway Cafe with
specials that intrigue regulars. Bliss rotates about
partner Lem Winesett in 2010. “There’s not a
80 different dishes, featuring
bad seat in the house.”
tastes from around the globe,
Bliss’ previous restaurant
Runway Cafe
and emails customers who want
was a cafe in a local indepen21 Airport Road Extension
to know when their favorites are
dent bookstore. When he and
Greenville, SC 29607
available.
Winesett, a caterer, heard that
[phone]
His mulligatawny soup is a
the downtown airport needed
runwaycafegmu.com
creamy, low-sodium, curry-rich
a restaurant, they converted an
Hours: Sunday through
dish with apples, chicken and
old flight school building into an
Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;
rice. Other international specialaviation-themed eatery, complete
Wednesday and Thursday,
with a menu of sandwiches,
ties include Moroccan chickpea
11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to
salads and specials to suit.
chili, Ethiopian peanut soup and
8:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday,
“I’ve been working in restauRussian borscht.
11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
For the kids, the “Little Flyers”
rants since I was 14 and that has
Upcoming events at the
menu features must-haves such
always been my dream—to have
park and cafe:
Nov. 2, 11 a.m.: Radioas corn dogs, chicken nuggets
a really cool restaurant in a neat
Controlled Aircraft Show—
and grilled cheese, with aviationlocation, and this fits the bill,”
Free aerobatic display,
themed names like the “Puddle
Bliss says.
performed by three RC clubs
Jumper” and the “Zeppelin.”
Perfect for his location is the
in South Carolina.
Most appealing to the younger
cafe’s $100 Hamburger—two
Dec. 15, 9 a.m.: S.C. Breakfast
diners, however, are the fly-ins
half-pound Angus beef patties
Club—Meet, eat and chat
who park their planes on the
topped with three cheese slices.
with pilots and aviation
apron beside the restaurant and
The actual price is $10.99. But
enthusiasts.
the airport playground.
the name comes from an inside
“The kids all run to the fence”
joke among private pilots who log
to see the planes and pilots, says Lara Kaufman,
training hours by flying in to meet fellow pilots
the airport’s public relations director. “These
for lunch at airport cafes, spending well over the
guys are like superheroes to them.” 
cost of a burger just in fuel costs.