Charleston SC

I always enjoy reading suggestions from all the roadfooders and so I'm going to ask you all for your suggestions. I will be in Charleston for a conference for 5 days this month and if you had five days to sample five of Charleston's best, what would they be?

brisketboy


I always enjoy reading suggestions from all the roadfooders and so I'm going to ask you all for your suggestions. I will be in Charleston for a conference for 5 days this month and if you had five days to sample five of Charleston's best, what would they be?

 
Do yourself a favor and go over the bridge to The Wreck. Watch out, there's no sign, and the locals go there..
 
http://www.wreckrc.com/

I agree with The Wreck
 
My other 4 would be
 
82 Queen
Magnolia's
Bowen's Island
Gullah Cuisine
 

I agree with the above suggestions but I wouldn't miss Husk on Queen next to the Elliott House.  Reserve early for dinner...lunch is an easier reservation to get.  It's our new favorite Charleston restaurant.

Yeah Sudie I saw this place on No Reservations the other day and it looked vry interesting. Another item I heard about but don't know where in the Charleston are I could find it because I Googled it and didn't get any responses as far as locations, is the Low Country Boil which looks very interesting. Thanks WJ and I've already spoken to sevveral collegues and we are going to The Wreck, Gulla Cuisine for sure. Thanks again everybody.

brisketboy


Yeah Sudie I saw this place on No Reservations the other day and it looked vry interesting. Another item I heard about but don't know where in the Charleston are I could find it because I Googled it and didn't get any responses as far as locations, is the Low Country Boil which looks very interesting. Thanks WJ and I've already spoken to sevveral collegues and we are going to The Wreck, Gulla Cuisine for sure. Thanks again everybody.

You're welcome
 
I believe another term of what you're looking for is called "frogmore stew"
Head to Bowen's Island-and you'll be all set

My #1 spot in Charleston is Hominy Grill.  Breakfast is the best meal, but the last time I was there, it was for lunch.  The fried green tomatoes in pimento cheese was something special.  And the chocolate pudding may be my favorite dessert anywhere.
 
If I had to pick four other places, it would be:
 
The Wreck for seafood
Bertha's Kitchen for soul food, especially the lima beans
Martha Lou's Kitchen for fried chicken and okra soup
Magnolia's for whatever they are making that day!
 
Although the food isn't as good as some of the other places mentioned, the atmosphere at Middleton Place is unforgettable. 
 

Thank you BB. Since the hotel's breakfast offering is less than adequet I think we will head over to your suggestion. Since there are going to be two other meals we'll get to try most of these. I've already scoped out their locations and I think we're set. Sometimes I love my job. If I had to say two of my all time favorite cities in the south are Charleston and Savanah. Kind of makes up for the two month exile to Kings Bay Georgia.

brisketboy-
Although, I don't know Savannah very well, Charleston truly is a great city.   And it is on the short list of best Roadfood eating destinations in the country.  Enjoy your time there!

brisketboy


Yeah Sudie I saw this place on No Reservations the other day and it looked vry interesting. Another item I heard about but don't know where in the Charleston are I could find it because I Googled it and didn't get any responses as far as locations, is the Low Country Boil which looks very interesting. Thanks WJ and I've already spoken to sevveral collegues and we are going to The Wreck, Gulla Cuisine for sure. Thanks again everybody.

If you want a good low country boil, and I always go get one while in Charleston, go to the Charleston Crab House on James Island.

Thank you I'm going to Google that as well.

Hi brisketboy,
 
You got some excellent suggestions.
 
You can find lowcountry boil (aka Frogmare Stew, aka Beaufort Stew) at Red's on Shem Creek or Shem Creek Bar and Grill as well. Both are in Mt Pleasant. The Wreck is one of my favorites. Bowen's is great but local oysters are out of season until fall. Shrimp season started on Monday and they are GREAT.
 
Husk can be crowded. If you can't get a reservation go over to Anson. It's owned by the same people as Pink House in Savannah. The shrimp and grits there are some of the best in town, although that's subjective :). Cru Cafe is great for lunch. Sit outside on the porch.
 
If you can get out of town, try the Seewee on 17 north of Mt P. There's a lot of construction on 17 through there, but it's worth it.
 
Have fun.

Thanks to all of you. As the day gets closer , I'm getting more and more excited. I have not been to Charleston for some time and I and my colleiges (sp) are looking forward to this adventure. I have turned them on to this site and hopefully they will become regulars. Thanks again and I promise to fill you all in when I get back, but then again I haven't been dissapointed yet when I've aske for advice on this site.

Where to start?!  There are so many great restaurants here, it's amazing.
 
Breakfast:
Baked, on East Bay Street, is a fantastic bakery.
Virginia's on King 
The Variety Store at the City Marina
Truth be told, most of us eat so much at night, breakfast is a Luna or Cliff bar with a Bloody Mary
 
Lunch:
Butcher and Bee is a GREAT new place in town for lunch (and also late night, as they re-open at 11 pm until 3 am).  They have great sandwiches and sides (if they have the Bahn Mi, try that!), and the menu changes frequently.  Just got back from lunch there!
Amen Street has fun sandwiches and salads
SNOB, just across the street from Amen, is one of the busiest lunch spots, and for good reason.
Cru Cafe is another spot where all of us flock for lunch.  Oriental Chicken Salad.  'Nuff said.
Husk was rated the #1 restaurant in America last year by Bon Appetit...as a result, it is super busy most of the time still.  It is highly recommended, as Chef Sean Brock is really doing some amazing things with sourcing (everything comes from below the Mason Dixon line...even the oils) and old seeds (he has a farm in Johns Island).  The pig ears are a specialty!
 
Dinner:
The Macintosh is Charleston's new jewel.  Chef Jeremiah Bacon (yes, that's right) has created an incredible, changing menu with fresh seafood, local ingredients, deckle (try it...it's amazing), and the best Bone Marrow Bread Pudding in America.
Wild Olive remains my favorite restaurant in Charleston (although Mac is a close second now).  It's a little off the beaten path (out in Johns Island), but the experience is totally worth it.  Italian and incredible.  They even have not one but two kinds of Montepulciano on their menu.  Fabulous!  One of the during-the-week bartenders, Chris, makes the house limencello and espresso vodka...not to be missed.
The Grocery is a fantastic new spot that's become part of the Urban Revival of Upper King Street.  They are, regrettably, not open for lunch but are a very popular new place.
Tristan is in an area of town that's generally frequented by fried shrimp seeking tourists, so it's often left out of the "Best of" lists.  It is a fantastic restaurant with very contemporary settings (and very inexpensive liquor!).  They also have a great wine list.
O-ku is great for sushi
Grill 225 is fantastic for steak
Any of the Cypress/Blossom/Magnolia's restaurants on East Bay are great.  Check out their menus for differences.
Fleet Landing really fits for either meal, depending on the weather.  If it's nice out, go for lunch, sit on the deck, and enjoy the harbor breezes that you can only get here.  If it's super hot, wait until that sun goes down and explore their larger dinner menu while getting to experience the deck in the twilight.
Fish is another great seafood spot on Upper King.  Their Dim Sum are exploratory...even venturing to frog's legs!  They also have great artisan cocktails.
Langdon's is another off the beaten path spot.  They're located in Mt. Pleasant in a shopping center, and you probably won't think much of it.  Until the food hits your table.  Amazing.
 
I think that's enough to at least get you started!  Enjoy your trip.  I've been in Charleston for 10 years and have absolutely no intention of ever moving away.  Home is where the food is!
 
 

chsfoodie
 
Made an interesting point and probably didn't even realize it.

Eating like a local in Charleston  truly means sushi, italian, steak, banh mi and dim sum.
 
 
 

Most definitely!  I hate to admit it, but seafood is often at the bottom of my list for dinner entrees.  Now appetizers (think raw oysters), oh yeah.

Another vote for....http://hominygrill.com/

Brisketboy,
Looks like you're going to need to extend your stay at least to 2 weeks  in order to hit all these places!
I don't think I've ever seen as many highly touted, "must eat here" places mentioned in one thread on Roadfood in any other city except maybe San Francisco.
Another nice thing about this post is that it brought out some people who are relatively new posters to Roadfood and we thank them for their contributions.
Makes me want to jump on a plane and head to the area! 
Maybe the Powers-That-Be should consider Charleston as a replacement for New Orleans for the next major Get Together. Seems like the novelty of NOLA has worn off!