Bowens island is a Lowcountry tradition that’s endemically associated with Folly Beach
It’s October, which means a chill to the water and oysters back in season. Bowen’s Island Restaurant opened in 1946, serving local seafood, including fried shrimp, oysters and crab cakes. Pictured is restaurant founder May Bowen, crushing saltines for her famous crab cakes. “It was light on the meat but had phenomenal flavor and a mustard base,” recalls Robert Barber, May’s grandson and the current proprietor.
Today, oysters are still roasted in the traditional manner at Bowen’s Island, on a hot slab of metal over an open fire. The piles of oyster shells surrounding the parking lot are evidence of the bounty in the surrounding waters.
