Charleston, South Carolina! July 2016! I'm in Charleston again! Palmetto trees, crepe myrtles in full bloom under the sunshine and humidity, seagulls, pelicans, boiled peanuts, shrimp and grits, beautiful tanned Southern women in flowy summer dresses and sandals, children in bright pastel tee-shirts and shorts. It's beach and city at its Southern best, and this city has some of the best Southern food I have ever tasted. One of my closest friends moved to Charleston in early 2016 after wishing and praying for it a long time. As soon as a polite amount of time had passed I asked if I could book a flight for a five-day visit. She was a perfect hostess and we spent the entire trip racing from one delicious meal to the next. This trip was one of the best city foodie tours yet.
Wednesday I got up at 3:00 AM and went to the airport in Wichita to catch a very early flight to Charleston. As soon as I got in Stephanie's car we drove to Hominy Grill for a delicious lunch of shrimp and Southern vegetables. The food is yummy and the restaurant with its pretty tables, brown paper tablecloths, and white walls is an inviting air conditioned oasis on a hot summer morning. After lunch we drove around and I took pictures of sailboats and palmetto trees. We went to Coastal Cupboard for local souvenirs for the kitchen and then to Vickery's at Shem Creek for the view of the water and the sautéed seafood. I loved watching the pelicans gliding through the air and landing on shrimp boats.
Thursday we drove to downtown Summerville and walked in and out of all the cute shops. Summerville claims the title The Birthplace of Sweet Tea and this is a cute theme on all the souvenirs. For lunch we found the Greek restaurant Continental Corner Greek and the stuffed grape leaves were beyond delicious. We stopped in McAlisters for unsweetened tea and it was free because it was free tea day! In the birthplace of sweet tea! Afterwards we drove to Wadmalaw Island to visit the American Classic Tea Plantation. The gift shop was stocked with every tea accessory imaginable and there were so many free hot and cold tea flavors to try. Then we drove to Firefly Distillery, the home of sweet tea vodka, where we tried tiny sips of a few vodkas. There were chickens, rabbits and a cow around the distillery. For dinner we ate at 39 Rue de Jean and the French food was delicious! The soups were amazing, truffle potato, French onion, a cheese plate, and steak frites. The frites were probably my second favorite ever and they win local foodie awards every year. We walked up and down King Street and found Cupcake Downsouth. This cupcakerie was pretty and the GF chocolate chip cupcake with chocolate icing was heavenly. When we returned to the apartment I swam for a while in the pool, worked out at the gym and then we watched Straight Outta Compton on HBO.
Friday we drove 2 hours to Savannah, a city we'd both been enchanted with four years before. The part of the drive from Charleston to Savannah on US 17 is so beautiful with charming houses and small communities along the way. Downtown Savannah was hopping when we arrived. As soon as we found a parking lot we started looking for our favorite stores from our Southern Foodie Tour four years ago. We ate lunch at Your Pie, a made-to-order pizza place that had GF pizza crust. At first glance the pizza I created didn't look exciting but the taste was delicious. It was just the right size for lunch. We went to the cutest kitchen store in Savannah: Kitchens on the Square and Magnolia's a very cute gift shop with Lori Mitchell figurines. We stopped for a break in The Coffee Fox where I ate a delicious peanut butter cookie. We also returned to the prettiest gift and home decor store in Savannah: Paris Market and Brocante. This store is a dream. It's stocked with beautiful objets d'art and every corner of the store is a different scenario to imitate in your own home. The owners travel the world looking for inspiration for this store. After walking around a little more we headed back to Charleston with two stops before we got back to Stephanie's apartment in Summerville. We stopped in the Le Creuset outlet at exit 38 I-95 at Yemassee, South Carolina and then in Boochie's Seafood in Walterboro to pick up two pounds of Edisto shrimp to put in a low country boil. Once we were back I started making crepes and chopping strawberries while Stephanie put potatoes, turkey sausage, whole corn cobs, and shrimp in a perfect cooking order in a boiling pot of water and Old Bay. This was one of my favorite meals of the trip because it's so much fun to cook and we made so much that it was easy to keep going back for more, eating my favorite pieces until I was stuffed. The crepes for dessert were yummy too!
Saturday we started the morning early at the Downtown Charleston Farmer's Market where we had Cannonborough Sodas (refreshing and flavorful, especially the grapefruit elderflower one) and I picked up a few pounds of large local peaches. We hopped on the free trolley and road all around downtown Charleston getting out at A Southern Season. (I fell in love with the Chapel Hill flagship store 9 years ago while visiting my future brother-in-law. A Southern Season is a food nerd's paradise of kitchen gadgets and gourmet foods.) For lunch we ate at Butcher and Bee and I tried my first shakshuka, a delicious hot plate of tomatoes and poached eggs. I also ordered a side of falafel and spicy melon slices. Stephanie ordered the grits and they were blue grits with pimento cheese served on top. This is such a great idea I want to make at home! Butcher and Bee was so photogenic and every bite of food had layers of delicious flavors. Stephanie and I went swimming afterwards and tried to get a tan without burning. For dinner we went to Perfectly Frank's Hotdogs and I tried three hot dogs: the Chicago dog, the Reuben dog and the Elvis dog that had melted peanut butter, bacon and slices of banana. I had to try it because I'm an Elvis fan and peanut butter on a grilled hot dog sounded delicious to me. It was. Stephanie and I shared the extremely delicious "Franch" fries loaded with ranch seasonings and sauce. After a quick trip to World Market we returned for the evening to watch the Food Network and then it was early to bed.
Sunday morning Stephanie suggested a harbor tour of Charleston and this was a great idea. It was a beautiful sunny day to be on the water. We saw dolphins playing in the water and learned the history of Charleston as we floated along. I love being on a boat. After the cruise we ate lunch at Hyman's Seafood which was my favorite meal of the whole trip. Even if this place is always crowded with tourists we got there early and had a great seat by the window. I love seafood so much. My first memories of seafood are from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and when I dipped the first hot crunchy hush puppy into the spicy cocktail sauce I felt like a happy child again. Every bite of this meal was perfect. The shrimp and grit cake appetizer, the coleslaw, the deviled crab, the Caribbean jerk cod, the scallops. All perfection, I tell you! The gift shop is full of plenty of souvenirs too. Afterwards we walked next door for dessert in Peace Pie an ice cream sandwich shop. Each sandwich has a layer of pie in it. I chose banana cream and Stephanie chose pecan pie. Both were amazing and I was happy to find a place that makes Southern desserts so easy to try in a new and fun way. We walked down to Callie's Hot Little Biscuits to pick up a snack to eat later. We ended up eating it the next morning and it was very, very good. I went to the swimming pool but 15 minutes later a thunderstorm rolled in so it was Food Network time until dinner time. In Summerville there are so many restaurants and Stephanie lives near a Triangle Char and Bar. She suggested we try it and this was a great idea. I ordered the Southern poutine and it knocked me out! Normally Canadian poutine is French fries, cheese curds and gravy. This poutine was very crunchy potato logs, crunchy slices of bacon, jalapeño cheese sauce, and mustard barbeque come-back sauce. I was beyond impressed and would have eaten all of it if I could have. The mahi-mahi tacos were served with a delicious relish that I'm going to try to create at home. It tasted like pico de gallo in Captain Rodney's sauce.
Monday my last morning in Charleston I woke up and went to the apartment gym again. I certainly could not burn off the thousands of calories I consumed over the previous 5 days but I tried to burn off a few. Stephanie drove me around two islands and then we ate lunch at Page's Okra Grill. We had eaten so many delicious meals that I doubted I could be further impressed by Charleston's offerings but no. This place was AMAZING! My sandwich was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. It was a pimento cheese, bacon and fried green tomato sandwich topped with a pickled okra! The sweet potato casserole I got as a side was just as delicious with crushed pineapple in it! For dessert we had hummingbird cake and coconut cake and then it was off to the Tanger Outlet before I boarded my plane for home.
This trip made me see Charleston in a new light. I saw the traffic but I also saw all the cute islands that surround it with their own unique restaurants and tourist attractions. I got to walk the different neighborhoods and suburbs. Charleston offers city living, island living and suburb living. All three choices are teeming with delicious restaurants. I love this city and I know Stephanie and her family will live their happily ever after there.
Wednesday I got up at 3:00 AM and went to the airport in Wichita to catch a very early flight to Charleston. As soon as I got in Stephanie's car we drove to Hominy Grill for a delicious lunch of shrimp and Southern vegetables. The food is yummy and the restaurant with its pretty tables, brown paper tablecloths, and white walls is an inviting air conditioned oasis on a hot summer morning. After lunch we drove around and I took pictures of sailboats and palmetto trees. We went to Coastal Cupboard for local souvenirs for the kitchen and then to Vickery's at Shem Creek for the view of the water and the sautéed seafood. I loved watching the pelicans gliding through the air and landing on shrimp boats.
Thursday we drove to downtown Summerville and walked in and out of all the cute shops. Summerville claims the title The Birthplace of Sweet Tea and this is a cute theme on all the souvenirs. For lunch we found the Greek restaurant Continental Corner Greek and the stuffed grape leaves were beyond delicious. We stopped in McAlisters for unsweetened tea and it was free because it was free tea day! In the birthplace of sweet tea! Afterwards we drove to Wadmalaw Island to visit the American Classic Tea Plantation. The gift shop was stocked with every tea accessory imaginable and there were so many free hot and cold tea flavors to try. Then we drove to Firefly Distillery, the home of sweet tea vodka, where we tried tiny sips of a few vodkas. There were chickens, rabbits and a cow around the distillery. For dinner we ate at 39 Rue de Jean and the French food was delicious! The soups were amazing, truffle potato, French onion, a cheese plate, and steak frites. The frites were probably my second favorite ever and they win local foodie awards every year. We walked up and down King Street and found Cupcake Downsouth. This cupcakerie was pretty and the GF chocolate chip cupcake with chocolate icing was heavenly. When we returned to the apartment I swam for a while in the pool, worked out at the gym and then we watched Straight Outta Compton on HBO.
Friday we drove 2 hours to Savannah, a city we'd both been enchanted with four years before. The part of the drive from Charleston to Savannah on US 17 is so beautiful with charming houses and small communities along the way. Downtown Savannah was hopping when we arrived. As soon as we found a parking lot we started looking for our favorite stores from our Southern Foodie Tour four years ago. We ate lunch at Your Pie, a made-to-order pizza place that had GF pizza crust. At first glance the pizza I created didn't look exciting but the taste was delicious. It was just the right size for lunch. We went to the cutest kitchen store in Savannah: Kitchens on the Square and Magnolia's a very cute gift shop with Lori Mitchell figurines. We stopped for a break in The Coffee Fox where I ate a delicious peanut butter cookie. We also returned to the prettiest gift and home decor store in Savannah: Paris Market and Brocante. This store is a dream. It's stocked with beautiful objets d'art and every corner of the store is a different scenario to imitate in your own home. The owners travel the world looking for inspiration for this store. After walking around a little more we headed back to Charleston with two stops before we got back to Stephanie's apartment in Summerville. We stopped in the Le Creuset outlet at exit 38 I-95 at Yemassee, South Carolina and then in Boochie's Seafood in Walterboro to pick up two pounds of Edisto shrimp to put in a low country boil. Once we were back I started making crepes and chopping strawberries while Stephanie put potatoes, turkey sausage, whole corn cobs, and shrimp in a perfect cooking order in a boiling pot of water and Old Bay. This was one of my favorite meals of the trip because it's so much fun to cook and we made so much that it was easy to keep going back for more, eating my favorite pieces until I was stuffed. The crepes for dessert were yummy too!
Saturday we started the morning early at the Downtown Charleston Farmer's Market where we had Cannonborough Sodas (refreshing and flavorful, especially the grapefruit elderflower one) and I picked up a few pounds of large local peaches. We hopped on the free trolley and road all around downtown Charleston getting out at A Southern Season. (I fell in love with the Chapel Hill flagship store 9 years ago while visiting my future brother-in-law. A Southern Season is a food nerd's paradise of kitchen gadgets and gourmet foods.) For lunch we ate at Butcher and Bee and I tried my first shakshuka, a delicious hot plate of tomatoes and poached eggs. I also ordered a side of falafel and spicy melon slices. Stephanie ordered the grits and they were blue grits with pimento cheese served on top. This is such a great idea I want to make at home! Butcher and Bee was so photogenic and every bite of food had layers of delicious flavors. Stephanie and I went swimming afterwards and tried to get a tan without burning. For dinner we went to Perfectly Frank's Hotdogs and I tried three hot dogs: the Chicago dog, the Reuben dog and the Elvis dog that had melted peanut butter, bacon and slices of banana. I had to try it because I'm an Elvis fan and peanut butter on a grilled hot dog sounded delicious to me. It was. Stephanie and I shared the extremely delicious "Franch" fries loaded with ranch seasonings and sauce. After a quick trip to World Market we returned for the evening to watch the Food Network and then it was early to bed.
Sunday morning Stephanie suggested a harbor tour of Charleston and this was a great idea. It was a beautiful sunny day to be on the water. We saw dolphins playing in the water and learned the history of Charleston as we floated along. I love being on a boat. After the cruise we ate lunch at Hyman's Seafood which was my favorite meal of the whole trip. Even if this place is always crowded with tourists we got there early and had a great seat by the window. I love seafood so much. My first memories of seafood are from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and when I dipped the first hot crunchy hush puppy into the spicy cocktail sauce I felt like a happy child again. Every bite of this meal was perfect. The shrimp and grit cake appetizer, the coleslaw, the deviled crab, the Caribbean jerk cod, the scallops. All perfection, I tell you! The gift shop is full of plenty of souvenirs too. Afterwards we walked next door for dessert in Peace Pie an ice cream sandwich shop. Each sandwich has a layer of pie in it. I chose banana cream and Stephanie chose pecan pie. Both were amazing and I was happy to find a place that makes Southern desserts so easy to try in a new and fun way. We walked down to Callie's Hot Little Biscuits to pick up a snack to eat later. We ended up eating it the next morning and it was very, very good. I went to the swimming pool but 15 minutes later a thunderstorm rolled in so it was Food Network time until dinner time. In Summerville there are so many restaurants and Stephanie lives near a Triangle Char and Bar. She suggested we try it and this was a great idea. I ordered the Southern poutine and it knocked me out! Normally Canadian poutine is French fries, cheese curds and gravy. This poutine was very crunchy potato logs, crunchy slices of bacon, jalapeño cheese sauce, and mustard barbeque come-back sauce. I was beyond impressed and would have eaten all of it if I could have. The mahi-mahi tacos were served with a delicious relish that I'm going to try to create at home. It tasted like pico de gallo in Captain Rodney's sauce.
Monday my last morning in Charleston I woke up and went to the apartment gym again. I certainly could not burn off the thousands of calories I consumed over the previous 5 days but I tried to burn off a few. Stephanie drove me around two islands and then we ate lunch at Page's Okra Grill. We had eaten so many delicious meals that I doubted I could be further impressed by Charleston's offerings but no. This place was AMAZING! My sandwich was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. It was a pimento cheese, bacon and fried green tomato sandwich topped with a pickled okra! The sweet potato casserole I got as a side was just as delicious with crushed pineapple in it! For dessert we had hummingbird cake and coconut cake and then it was off to the Tanger Outlet before I boarded my plane for home.
This trip made me see Charleston in a new light. I saw the traffic but I also saw all the cute islands that surround it with their own unique restaurants and tourist attractions. I got to walk the different neighborhoods and suburbs. Charleston offers city living, island living and suburb living. All three choices are teeming with delicious restaurants. I love this city and I know Stephanie and her family will live their happily ever after there.
Boochie's Seafood and our low country boil we made at Stephanie's place
Charleston Farmer's Market and Cannonborough Sodas
Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge
Souvenirs of Charleston and Savannah