Charleston Soul Food

You can dine high on the hog in the sophisticated downtown restaurants of Charleston, South Carolina; you also can feast low, on pig tails and neck bones larded into lima beans at a handful of unassuming African-American eateries that are as alluring a part of the city's sea island flavor as its better-known culinary stars.

Bertha's Kitchen

Gullah Cuisine

Hannibal's

Dave's Carry-Out

Ernie's

H&R Sweet Shop

Bertha's Kitchen - North Charleston , SC
Founded by the late Albertha Grant in 1979, Bertha's is a modest cafeteria on the outskirts of Charleston that is a primer in Lowcountry soul food.

Gullah Cuisine - Mt. Pleasant , SC
Gullah Cuisine aims to celebrate the cuisine (and the culture) of coastal South Carolina, known as the lowcountry. The signature dish is Gullah rice, a meal unto itself or a side dish for such entrees as fried shrimp, smothered pork shops, or superb fried chicken. It is like a dry gumbo, choc-a-bloc with shrimp, shreds of chicken, discs of sausage, and nuggets of vegetables, the rice itself tinted a glistening mahogany color and fairly radiant with peppery flavor.

Hannibal's - Charleston , SC
Hannibal's is a beacon of Lowcountry soul food with a menu that includes such local standards as lima bean supper and okra stew, as well as less-frequently found dishes such as shark steak and turkey necks.

Dave's Carry-Out - Charleston , SC
Dave's is a small carry-out restaurant specializing in fried shrimp and serving long into the night after other Charlestonian restaurants have closed.

Ernie's - Charleston , SC
Ernie's is a small, well-established soul food restaurant in Charleston -- well-known to locals but seldom found by tourists. Prices are low, food flavors are high.

H&R Sweet Shop - Mt. Pleasant , SC
A small plate lunch room in Mt. Pleasant that has been serving fried chicken, hamburgers, and lima bean lunches since the mid-20th century.