Charleston Restaurant Review

If you've been reading our blog regularly, you know that Jack and I have spent a lot of time trying out different restaurants in Charleston.  I can honestly say that I did not have a bad meal during our visit.  While it is all fresh in my mind, I'd like to share our recommendations with you. 

About two years ago, I saw the movie Food, Inc. about America's corporate controlled food industry and it changed my life and the way I think about food.  Not that my body is a temple or anything but, after learning about the way animals are treated on corporate farms, I just don't have a taste for meat any longer.  With that being said, before coming to Charleston, I was worrried about finding a lot of restaurant options because low-country cooking is so meat-centric.  What the heck is pork belly anyway?  Luckily for me, Charleston chefs are also very much a part of the farm to table movement and there are lots of delicious vegetables and grains to choose from at most restaurants although you might have to ask the server for some help with that.  I do eat fish which gives me some more options.  While Jack eats mostly vegetables and fish for his main course, he still eats meat on occasion and enjoyed sampling some traditional Southern foods during our visit. 



Jack and I agree that the best meal that we had in Charleston was lunch at a restaurant called Husk.  We were able to sit outside (in February) on the second story balcony which added to the experience.  The coffee they serve at Husk is specially produced for the restaurant in Haiti where the soil is similar to South Carolina soil in the 1800's.  It was strong and delicious.  We loved the shrimp and grits and that the cornbread came to the table in a little cast iron skillet.  We could see why Husk was named, "Best New Restaurant of the Year" by Bon Appetite magazine.  The service was great, too.

The executive chef at Husk is also the chef at another local restaurant, McCrady's.  Jack and I enjoyed the 4 course tasting menu at McCrady's thanks to a gift certificate from our daughter Emily and her boyfriend Grant.  The restaurant features southern cooking with a modern flair and the sauces and food accents to each dish were what made them stand out.  Simple dishes prepared in a new way. (At least to me.) We had a rutabaga soup as a starter that was out of this world! The service at McCrady's was attentive but not pushy and we loved the ambiance of the rooms with lots of dark wood and local art work on the brick walls.

The restaurant is down an alley and has large windows that were the doors to a stable in the building during George Washington's time.  Legend has it that he would eat in the meeting room upstairs and that a cannon would be fired each time a toast was made in his honor so that all of the Charleston citizens could drink with him.  Hard to believe that a building that old is still standing.  If you plan on visiting Charleston and would like to visit either of these restaurants try and make reservations prior to your arrival.  Due to a recent write up in the New Yorker and other national publications, Husk and McCrady's are a hot ticket in town!

In addition to eating at some of Charleston's "must see" restaurants like Poogan's Porch and SNOB, Jack and I tried to search out some great places off the beaten path where the locals go to eat (like Merichka's in Joliet).  We found several spots just by talking to people that we came across while we were walking Coco, who is a terrific Good Will Ambassador for us since everyone wants to stop and talk about her. 

Trattoria Lucca was suggested to us by a number of different people who each mentioned the restaurant's take on Italian food.  It is definitely not Olive Garden; while pasta, handmade fresh daily, is served with each dish, it seems to be a component of the meal rather than the centerpiece.  We liked the fact that the restaurant is hidden away in a residential neighborhood in a tiny, old store front.  It's so small that there is no waiting area and you need to walk down the block to their bar, Enoteca which is also in an old store front.  The hostess calls Enoteca when your table is ready and you can bring your drink back down to the restaurant with you.  It's quirky and fun.



Our favorite restaurants seemed to be the casual, relatively inexpensive ones with a great, fun vibe that just so happened to be located within walking distance of our rental house.  It goes without saying that their food was good too!

Five Loaves restaurant started out as a soup and sandwich lunch place that later expanded to serving dinner.  It's another small space in a residential area within walking distance of downtown but not on the tourist strip.  It's close to the College of Charleston and can get crowded.  They don't take reservations so the earlier you get there the better.  I will say that we never waited more than 15 minutes and they let you order your drink and take it outside while you wait for a table.  On Wednesday and Saturday nights they offer 1/2 price bottles of wine which is a nice thing if you're a wine drinker like me. 



Fuel is a cross between a diner and a Caribbean bar that is located in an old gas station. It has a great outdoor bar that allows dogs.  Jack liked the Jerked Chicken sandwich and I loved the Shrimp Tacos.  They had good music on the sound system the two times we were there and when the weather is nice they open the garage bay doors in front and back.  Recently featured on Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins, Fuel is a lot of fun.



There are so many more wonderful Charleston restaurants that I could go on and on. Check out Barsa for if you like tapas and visit Grocery for great local food served in three different portion sizes; Tastes, Small Plates, and Entrees.  This offered a great way for the two of us to try lots of different things and everything we sampled was first rate.  Make sure to leave room for the Churros which is their signature dessert.  The crispy, donut-like sticks are served with a trio of sauces; Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate with a hint of Orange, and White Chocolate.  Heavenly.  I don't eat meat but I do love dessert!

While we are on the subject of dessert I do want to make sure to mention two bakeries that we really enjoyed visiting during our stay.  Sugar is located on Cannon Street down the block from Five Loaves restaurant.  They supply the desserts for both Five Loaves and Fuel along with other local restaurants.  We enjoyed our cupcakes sitting outside in their tiny courtyard with a glass of sun tea.  Jack had peanut butter cupcakes with a strawberry jam filling and I had a caramel cupcake.  Coco enjoyed bits of a gingerbread bone.  









Wild Flour Bakery is located on Spring Street and on Sunday mornings they sell giant sticky buns with pecans and equally giant cinnamon rolls. Yum! Well worth the walk or drive over, they sell out of those items quickly so either get there early or plan on waiting until the next batch comes out of the oven. 

Charleston has so much to offer; history, shopping, quick access to the beach, great restaurants, beautiful homes.  It is very walkable.  Both Jack and I could really see living there.  At least in the Winter when the weather is good.  I'm not sure how I'd like the heat and humidity of August.  We both wholeheartedly recommend Charleston as a wonderful place to spend a few days, a few weeks or longer.  

Life is a Practice, Not a Perfect

Recently, one of my friends asked me what I do all day, now that I'm not working, and it really got me thinking.  What do I do?  What should I be doing?  In America, perhaps more than anyplace else on Earth, our identities are wrapped up in our job descriptions and our bank accounts.  As a young, stay-at-home Mom I often found myself dismissed as having nothing of interest to contribute to a conversation and having limited power when it came to financial decisions.  When I re-entered the workforce after a divorce, I took a lot of pride in being able to define myself by a title, "Caseworker, Executive Director, etc."   

It has been unsettling, to say the least, to let go of that piece of my identity by quitting my job and hitching my wagon to someone else's star.  I tried that when I was young and it didn't work out too well for me.  Much as I wanted an adventure, it's a pretty big proposition.  It seems as if I'm supposed to learn something from the whole thing.  But what, exactly?  Am I supposed to  let go of my Catholic guilt and relax and enjoy life?  Love myself more?

Am I being called to a higher purpose?  If so, please turn up the volume. 

Right now, I think that maybe it's all about conquering my fear.  I have a pretty dark outlook on life that I struggle to manage.  Fear of failing, fear of something awful happening to someone I love, fear of - you get the idea.  Luckily, Jack is a great balance for me.  While I tend to think that the worst will happen, Jack always expects the best to happen and we balance each other out.  Jack talks me off the ledge and I keep him from bobbing along like a helium filled balloon. 

While I work to figure it all out on this road trip I'm trying to challenge myself to do things that are out of my comfort zone.  (Aside from selling our house, quitting my job, and going on a cross-country adventure that is!)  Before I left Illinois, I had started taking yoga classes with the terrific ladies at Just Breathe and it was a very positive experience.  So, when we got to New York City, I thought that maybe a good way to push the envelope a bit would be by taking Bikram Yoga classes. 

Bikram classes are 90 minutes long and practiced in a room that is heated to 105 degrees with something like 80% humidity.  I should mention that I hate humidity.  In addition, this being New York, the majority of my fellow students seemed to be actresses and dancers - both young and FLEXIBLE.  And comfortable with nudity.  I've never seen so many women of all ages walking around a locker room completely unclothed in my life.  No towels, even!  Definitely out of the box for a former Catholic school girl from the Midwest but a good challenge for me.  I still hate humidity.

When we came to Charleston, I stuck with Bikram classes several times a week and added running to my list of things to try.  I've run on and off for years but have rarely entered races. That whole fear thing makes it just too stressful for me.  But, racing is one of my goals and I plan to enter a race wherever we go until it's no big deal. 

With that goal in mind Jack and I entered a 5K race a few weeks ago. The Race and Roast featured an oyster roast and live music after the race and we were excited about trying something new.  The course was on the property of an old plantation and runners started off by running through an avenue of live oak trees and then out onto a trail through the woods.  After the race, runners could stay for the oyster roast and listen to the live band on the shore of a small lake. 

Despite my pre-race anxiety, I had a good time, didn't fall, wasn't last and finished in a respectable time for me.  Jack had not done any running at all since his back surgery in September (I mean, not even around the block) but finished the race and enjoyed a celebratory Palmetto beer with me post race.

After the race, we really, really wanted to eat oysters with the rest of the participants but they smelled like river mud and we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it!  Jack and I were definitely in the minority.  People crowded around the tables and couldn't seem to get enough of those oysters.  Maybe it's an acquired taste?  How do you get past the smell?  Some people even brought their own oyster shucking glove and shell opening tool from home.  Maybe next time.



All in all, I'm having a good time trying to figure it all out.  My goal is to NOT do a lot of thinking about what comes next.  I'm trying to take each day as it comes and let go of my feelings of "should".  It's harder than it sounds (for me) but as they say in yoga, "It's a practice, not a perfect."  For now, I'll just appreciate the great weather in Charleston, the terrific restaurants, and the chance to have some time to enjoy life.  I'm grateful for the gift. 











Touring Charleston

Last week some friends came to Charleston for the Presidents' Day week-end and we had a great visit with them.  Jack and I are enjoying our road trip but we sure miss spending time with our family and friends!  It was a real treat for us.  Of course, we took lots of pictures of where we went and what we did.      

Whenever we visit a new city, Jack and I like to get an overview of that city by taking a double-decker red bus trip at the beginning of our visit.  In Charleston, things move at a slower pace and carriage tours take the place of giant busses.  Our friends were up for a carriage ride too, so we headed over to Market Street where the carriage companies begin their tours.  If you take a carriage ride make sure to call ahead and reserve a time - we got a $2 discount on each ticket just by calling ahead a few minutes.  The routes are randomly assigned by the City of Charleston each time a carriage goes out  in order to limit congestion and we were lucky to get a tour that took us through the South of Broad neighborhood and along the Battery, which is a street with gorgeous mansions facing the harbor.  Price tags on the homes in this area are in the millions of dollars and there are quite a few for sale.  Our tour guide said that many were purchased as second homes and with the downturn in the economy, people are now trying to offload these properties.  Imagine what the mortgage payments and taxes must be!

Later we walked and walked and walked some more around the city.  Many of the homes have beautiful gardens and it's fun to peek into them as you stroll around.  We noticed that large numbers of homes have wrought iron fences around them and that some homes still have the scary looking spikes that were put in place hundreds of years ago to protect the wealthy white homeowners' in the event of a slave uprising.

On another day, we toured two historic Charleston homes which was fascinating, even if you're not a history buff like Jack and me.  Similar to the New York City Tenement Museum, the Aiken-Rhett house has been left in it's natural state with peeling wall paper dating from the 17th century on the walls of some rooms along with layers of paper and paint from subsequent years. Visitors get a chance to walk through the sparsely furnished antebellum home and learn how the homeowners and their slaves lived by viewing the main house, the stables and the slave quarters. Photos are not allowed inside of the home but visitors can take pictures of the stables and the exterior of the home. 

While it looks like a giant home from the street, the rooms seemed surprisingly small to me.  Of course, this was the owners' city home, the family also had a plantation in North Carolina.  After visiting the Aiken-Rhett home we headed over to the Nathanial Russell House which was completed in 1808 for a wealthy merchant and his family.  The home has been almost completely restored and is just gorgeous with beautiful rooms and furniture. 

We especially loved the elliptical floating staircase that extends three stories.

When we needed a break from all of the history we decided to take a boat trip around the harbor to look at the City from the water and cruise by Fort Sumter.  It was a relaxing way to spend a few hours.  If only those annoying sorority girls behind us would have stopped talking for just a FEW minutes it would have been perfect!   

On the last night of our friends' visit we crossed over the Cooper River to Mt. Pleasant which seems to be a sort of suburb of Charleston.  Yards are bigger, homes are more typically suburban and they have a Whole Food and a Trader Joe's.  A friend had recommended that we head over to the Shem's Creek area for some fresh seafood and a front row seat to watch the sun set over the water.  It was a great way to end their visit and we all enjoyed relaxing at the outdoor bar watching the sun set over the water.  Aaah!



Our Place in Charleston

Jack and I have been here in Charleston, South Carolina for almost two weeks and it's about time that I post some pictures of the place we're staying in.  We are renting a small frame house which is located behind a larger, three-story home which is also used as short term rental property. When we first saw the house I was not impressed.  I thought that the set-up was pretty odd.  Later, when we walked around the area I realized that lots of homes are set up in the same way.  Probably because space in Charleston is so limited (it's on a peninsula) most homes do not have yard space and many properties have homes in what would be their back yards.    

We have a small living room which is also where Jack works. 

 

When I need a little space, I sit in a chair in front of the window in our bedroom and read or surf the web. 

 

Our kitchen is compact but, unlike our rental unit in New York City, it has an oven and a dishwasher.  

 

I love the granite countertops and the white cabinets. 

Jack and I really like Charleston and the area where we're staying.  I could see living here.  (Of course it's February and 60 degrees outside.  The real test of liveability is in August when it's 90 degrees and 80 percent humidity! ) There are five restaurants within four blocks of our rental, one of which is Fuel, 



which will be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives tonight.  There is also a yoga studio, a barbershop and a hair salon within the same four blocks. We are within walking distance of the downtown area and two blocks from the free trolley shuttle.  There is a hospital so close that I could walk to the emergency room and the harbor is a fifteen minute walk away. 

Just walking around town we see things like the French Huguenot Church which was built in 1844    



and the Curiosity Shop, which is a cute little antique and collectible shop down the side of a building that is set in sideways to the street and nearby.

This week-end we plan on getting out and doing some more exploring.  I'm excited to try some new restaurants and maybe take a haunted graveyard tour.  

History Is All Around in Charleston

Geek Alert!  I love history and I love reading about it.  I'm not talking about the rote memorization of dates or the chronology of royalty.  That's way too dry for me.  I'm fascinated by the stories of people and how they went about their daily lives.  What did they eat?  What did they wear?  Why did they do the things they did?  How did they do the things they did?  Maybe that's why I chose social service as a career?  My favorite type of book is historical fiction.  Not the bodice ripper type of historical fiction, although I've read my share of those throughout the years, but books that take you to a time or place like March by Geraldine Brooks or Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

So, it makes sense that I would like Charleston.  History is all around you here and I can't wait to take one of the guided tours to learn about Charleston's past!  The only problem is deciding which tour to take.  There are so many options:  garden walks, night time ghost tours (hopefully with graveyards included), pirate tours (Arrrgh!) which could be dorky but fun, 

plus boat trips and plantation tours.  I need to do a little more research on Trip Advisor and Yelp and then just pick one.  The pirate tour where the guide brings his parrot seems like a good time to me (I can feel my kids rolling their eyes when they read this, "Of course it does").  The prices here seem pretty inexpensive after New York City so we will probably take more than one tour. Jack and I definitely intend on taking a trip to one of the plantations in the area later on in our stay but we plan to wait until it is a little warmer so that maybe we can catch the gardens in bloom. 

For now, the two of us are walking around on our own and snapping pictures along the way.  The black and white marble walkway of this home caught our eye

  

along with the manicured backyard complete with statue of another home along the way.  

 

There are many large houses here in Charleston that have outdoor porches running along the side on three stories and Jack and I love the look of them.  Due to the heat and humidity in the South I would imagine that people spent a lot of time outside on those shaded porches trying to catch the hint of a breeze before air conditioning was invented.  I can just see myself sitting on a porch swing sipping a mint julep (actually lemonade for me, I hate mint juleps) and watching the world go by.  Of course, I'm conveniently forgetting about how I much I hate to sweat and how uncomfortable it must have been for women sweltering in layers and layers of clothes. Wearing stockings.  In August.  As my sister often says, "There's the fantasy, here's the reality."  Jack and I haven't been able to get a good unobstructed picture of a home with porches yet but we'll keep trying.

 

Heading South of the Mason-Dixon Line

We left New York City last week and headed down to Charleston, S.C. We knew that we were getting close to our destination when we stopped seeing road signs for places like Nathan's Diner and Jimmy's Sub Shop and started seeing the black and yellow signs for Waffle House.  Restaurants offerings were no longer ribbon pasta with a mushroom marsala sauce. 

Instead, restaurants were now boasting "Breakfast All Day Long" and offering dishes like homemade meatloaf with mashed potatoes and omlettes with crispy hash browns and of course,meat, meat and more meat.



I stopped eating meat a few years ago but I'm always able to find something I want to eat at a restaurant and occasionally, it's even healthy.  I have a feeling that it's going to be a little more challenging for me here in the South.  It seems that almost everything has meat in the recipe, is fried, and is served in super-sized portions. Look at the heaping amount of those hash browns!  The picture just doesn't convey the crispy, greasy deliciousness of them and despite my best intentions I ate every bite!  

Jack and I have have been in Charleston for several days and on our exploration hikes through town we've seen at least 10 restaurants we'd like to try out. (If we can only find them again!) I'm happy that there are so many non-chain restaurants to choose from but, since Jack and I hope to be able to extend our road trip for 6 -12 months we are really trying to stick to a strict budget and not let ourselves get crazy going out for dinner like we're on an extended vacation.  Well o.k., I'm on a vacation since I'm on a work hiatus but we're really trying to live like a local wherever we end up on our road trip.  Our goal is to stick to eating out once a week but we'll see how that goes. 

Yesterday, we decided to enjoy the terrific weather here in Charleston by going out to breakfast at Hominy Grill which is two blocks away from the place we're staying and has outdoor seating.  The hostess was very apologetic about a 35 minute wait which, for a Sunday morning, seemed short to us.  We stood outside in the courtyard at a high-boy table and shared a celebratory cocktail from the walk-up outdoor bar. 

We were lucky to be seated at a table next to the french doors that opened onto the patio so we could enjoy the breeze and the excellent people watching.  The family at the table next to us placed an order for several of the Big Nasty Biscuits which featured a crispy fried chicken breast on a giant biscuit with cheddar cheese and gravy.  It looked really decadent and tasty even to a non-meat eater like me.  Kind of like a KFC mashed potato bowl (oh, how I miss them).  I stuck with the granola, fruit and yogurt and Jack ordered cinnamon french toast with apple-maple syrup and a side order of grits. We topped it off with a shared order of pumpkin-ginger bread and lots of coffee.

After breakfast we picked up our dog Coco and hopped in the car to explore a little bit further afield.  The town of Charleston is located at the end of a peninsula bordered on one side by the Ashley River and on the other side by the Cooper River with the Charleston Harbor at the tip.  We hadn't ventured off the peninsula since we arrived.  We crossed over the Ashley River which was marshy and fairly narrow and found ourselves on James Island heading to Folly Beach.  Folly Beach is one of the barrier islands near Charleston and has a public beach unlike Kiawah Island which is a private island which doesn't allow visitors unless you are visiting a specific person.  (A fact we learned after a 14 mile drive on a two-lane road)  Dogs are not allowed on Folly Beach from May - September but since it was February we were able to walk Coco on a leash.  It was Coco's first time on a beach and she struggled a little walking on the dry sand since her legs are so short.  She wanted NOTHING to do with the water when we walked on the hard packed sand.  The three of us enjoyed a long walk before we headed home to watch the Super Bowl.  

Before going out to the beach yesterday I wondered if we had made the right decision by choosing to stay in town rather than renting a place on or near the water but I think that we've done the right thing.  Now that we've left New York City, Jack and I are really alone without having our kids or friends around.  With Jack working all day I will need to find things to do and have easily accessible places to go to get out of the house or we'll drive each other crazy.  By renting in town I'll have lots of options.  Luckily, people are friendly here so who knows?  Maybe I'll make a new friend.