Charleston, SC Suggestions

I'm going to Charleston, SC for a week early next month. I've definitely found several upscale restaurants to eat at. My choice is to eat at all of them or buy a new camera. I'm choosing a camera. I'm looking for some of the less expensive places to eat at now. Particularly for breakfast and lunch.

I'm also interested in menu suggestions from the area. I've seen a couple of shrimp and grits type dishes. Any others?

Bruce:

There are a couple of chowish places that I would recommend. First is Bowen's island Oyster Roast which is in a really simple cement block shack over on James Isalnd. You pay for your oysters, they dump them in some burning coals to roast and then deliver them on a shovel to your table for you to devour. www.hollyeats.com has pictures. Other locals swear by a place in Mt. Pleasant that serves simple fried seafood called "The Wreck". I think that its overrated. I highly recommend the Seawee Restaurant in Awendaw (about 20 miles out of Charleston). They serve old lowcountry recipes with a focus on seafood.

Folks in your hotel should be able to give you good directions.

Charleston is a great place to visit. While there are some great pricey restaurants, you can also get by with some cheaper chow. One great way to save some bucks is to stop by any of the tourist locations and pick up coupons. You would be amazed what they give away - free appetizers, 1/2 off entree, etc. Hyman's is a good seafood restaurant that is relatively inexpensive. It has the traditional fried seafood platters. The quality is good, but the wait is horrendous. If you're getting sick of seafood, Sticky Fingers also has good BBQ. It's on the same street as Hyman's. Compared to the pricier restaurants, the average dinner/lunch at these two restaurants is definitely less than $20.

My favorite cheap eats is a place outside of downtown Charleston. It's a little shack on the way to the plantations. I just remember it being on the right side near a fork in the road closer to the plantations and further away from Charleston. It was phenomenal and dirt cheap. It had some of the best BBQ and hush puppies I think I ever had. If I can remember the name of the place (or if my husband can), I will post the name of it.

If you're looking for souvenirs, the Sugar Plantation has great taffy. You can also find some good buys at the market. There is one photographer that takes some great pictures of Charleston and mats them for a decent price.

In terms of things to do, pick up a coupon and take one of the carriage tours. There are coupons just about everywhere for a few dollars off. It's a great way to discover the area and find out a little history. I would also recommend kayaking in one of the nearby towns and taking the sunset tour in Charleston.

Have a great time!

We had a great visit to Charleston last year during Thanksgiving week. Recommendations include:

Peninsula Grill (http://www.peninsulagrill.com/)
* Probably the best of the high-end restaurants in the City. Superb service, creative menu, strong wine list, and desserts to die for (e.g., coconut cake)

Hominy Grill (http://www.hominygrill.com/)
* Good for breakfast but probably better for lunch or dinner, when they offer their shrimp and grits. Very popular and attracts quite the crowd of locals and tourists.

Jestine's Kitchen
* Nice destination for lunch. Be sure to order an order the cornbread as a starter and/or the deep-fried green tomatoes. The fried seafood selections were also quite tasty.

Slightly North of Broad [SNOB] (http://www.slightlynorthofbroad.net/)
* Highly recommended for lunch or dinner. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the back counter, which overlooks the kitchen. The shrimp and grits were worth the wait.

My wife and I were in Charleston in Jan '03, great food.

Jestine's Kitchen is a chowish place, supposed to be the best fried chicken in town. It was closed when we were there, but we walked by and it looked like the kind of place where they knew how to fry up a chicken if you know what I mean. It's in the main part of town so no complex logistics involved in getting there.

We had lunch at Magnolia Restaurant and S.N.O.B., both were outstanding. Low country food in a white tablecloth setting, prices at lunch were really reasonable considering the high quality - think both came to less than $50 for two with drinks, apps & entree. Not exactly cheap & chowish, but I though it was a great value.

At Magnolia I had a nice healthy salad of fresh local greens with deep-fried cornmeal crusted oysters sprinkled with bacon. Followed by pulled pork in a mustardy SC bbq sauce, with a side of collard greens and cole slaw. Damn, UM UM My wife had some excellent fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, which was also outstanding.

If you're going to eat shrimp & grits you gotta try S.N.O.B. I'd never been a fan of grits, but figured when in Rome etc. I was converted after this meal - stone ground coarse grits, artisan cheddar, super-fresh shrimps and a sprinkle of fresh green onions. First bite was a revelation, better than any polenta dish I've ever had. Had grits at a couple other supposedly down home breakfast places, no comparison. Everything else was really good here too, excellent produce and fresh fish.

Enjoy, you're gonna love the food in this city. Kind of like New Orleans, it's pretty hard to go wrong - although we were a little disappointed with Peninsula Grill, good but overpriced.

Thanks for the tips.

I've got a spreadsheet set up with links and addresses ready to download into my PDA before I leave. The only bad thing is my new job's meal reimbursement policy sucks. So I will have to have some meals on the cheap. I am looking forward to the trip.

I've found a fresh seafood market to pick up a case of oysters, shrimp, and crabs to take to a Q-Fest in GA for snacks while I am down there.

Bruce wrote:I'm also interested in menu suggestions from the area. I've seen a couple of shrimp and grits type dishes. Any others?

I'm from the wrong Carolina to give advice here, but if I were headed to Charleston I'd be interested in trying she-crab soup (which includes the crab roe) and one of the rice dishes called pilau or perloo, along with those shrimp and grits. Will and others, any experience with these?

There are also supposed to be some local sweets worth sampling -- look for the Huguenot torte and benne seed wafers.

You can experience she crab soup in many of the fine dining rooms in the tourist area of the Charleston Peninsula. It's the signature dish of the region. Pilau (pronounced per-low by the locals) can be found in a place like the SeeWee in Awendaw, a place which along with Bowen's Island, I recommend as being well worth the drive. They will also serve another unusual local dish called red rice where rice is sauteed with bacon and onion, then cooked with water and tomato paste to the point that the rice grains have a tomatoey flavor cooked in and a fine tomato sheen on their exterior.

There are very few restaurants in the area that serve the old lowcountry recipes that I grew up eating. Seewee, along with Jestine's is one of the last remaining.

Seewee's specialty is fried seafood. They do it very well

I had a great meal at Jestine's a few years ago when there for the Bride's birthday. I also found visiting the old houses to be fun. Call me a snot, but I found it particularly entertaining to watch them go through contortions to down play the importance of the slave trade to Charleston's affluence.

The history of the place is generally fascinating though. It was started by a group of wealthy plantation owners from the Barbados who were looking to cut a better deal with the king. Later, they were fairly active in splitting off from England (a better deal again) and then in splitting from the US during the Civil War, looking for a better deal again. Unfortunately, that last move seemed to lead to a real financial crash which dogged the city for a long time. Like all cities with beautiful, untouched, old housing, it then went through a long decline when no one even thought the place had enough possibilities to tear down the old buildings and build something new.

We can all benefit from that, and it is a truly great food destination, IMO.

Mr trip has been postponed until November 1. I was hoping to be going sooner. I do have a spread sheet of most of the suggested restaurants and web addresses.

Jestines, Bowen's, Island, Boathouse, and SNOB are definites. I did learn today the hotel and conference provides breakfast and a lunch. I doubt if the quality will be outstanding but some of the local flavors should be represented.

Thanks for the tips. If anyone would like a copy of the spread sheet email me and I will send it to you.

While not exactly "cheap", you can go to Meritage, a tapas bar, and have just a few small plates and have a lovely lunch (that is, if it's open lunch ---- checking now; ok, looks like you'll have to do a dinner if you want to try it @ 235 East Bay Street).

I loved my visit to Charleston a few 4th of July's ago. Sadly, I can't remember the names of the other places, but all were delicious.

My best friend & I shared a wonderful evening at Meritage; can't wait to get back.

Also, enjoy the market if you can. Right there smack in the middle of the city for all to enjoy!

miss ellen

I arrived later in the afternoon than I intended too yesterday. I ended up at Trawler's for dinner http://www.trawlerrestaurant.com last night. I ordered blue crab claws for an appetizer and they were okay. The shrimp and grits were outstanding. Large succulent fresh shrimp, a mild andouille sausage, with peppers and onions served with a whiskey gravy with grits. A fine meal. I didn't even feel the need to add any salt or pepper. No dessert. I also had a Cadillac Margarita, which adds Grand Mariner to a regular margarita on the rocks. Very good.

I have pictures but can't post them until I return.

I was lucky to hook up with two young ladies tonight who are attending the same training session I am at. Fortunately they spent part of yesterday wandering around and had at least a working knowledge of how to get where. Since I had a car we went to downtown Charleston tonight to eat at Poogan's Porch for dinner tonight. With several "I remember that place", a phone call to the restaurant, and asking a fireman for directions we arrived.

What a beautiful place. We were seated on the outside back porch in a corner. A beautiful SC fall evening.

Kristy, who happens to be from Chicago, ordered a cup of She-Crab soup and a crab cake entree. Kristy said the soup was excellent with a strong hint of sherry which reminded her of her grandmother. Upon biting into her first crabcake which described as "wow, there's more crab than bread crumbs". I assume this was a good sign of her satisfaction with the meal.

Iris, who is from L.A chose a chicken fettucine with roma tomatoes, black olives, onions, and bleu cheese which she said was very good.

I had the Chef's Fried Seafood platter with 3 large shrimp, 3 scallops, 3 oysters, and 1 catfish fillet rolled in panko and fried to the most tender, delectable state of fried seafood delight I have ever tasted. I have never seen such bright, white, tender fish in my life. The scallops were so tender your fork would cut them in half with the slightest bit of downward pressure.

So far I am batting 1000 on my list of restaurants to eat while here.

72 Queen Street
Charleston, SC
843-577-2337

http://www.poogansporch.com/

My friend, if you are happy with the Trawler, you'll be thrilled to death with other options in that chow worthy town.

YourPalWill wrote:My friend, if you are happy with the Trawler, you'll be thrilled to death with other options in that chow worthy town.

As noted above Poogan's Porch was a winner. I went to Gullah Gourmet today for lunch and found the food to be a good value. The buffet was $8 including drink, and consisted of fried chicken, 2 types of baked chicken, succotash, cabbage, turnip greens, sweet potatoes, macaroni & cheese, dirty rice, beans and rice. Nothing outstanding but great value.

I'm a little tired tonight and may stay in. However, one of the hotel managers suggested a See Wee's which is about 20 minutes away. I may drive down there to check it out. I'm going to trust his suggestion because I gave him the LTH Forum site and he thought it was interesting and liked it.

SeeWee is very good Bruce. I had mentioned it above as a great lowcountry place. It's not terribly expensive and the ride in the country is nice.

YourPalWill wrote:SeeWee is very good Bruce. I had mentioned it above as a great lowcountry place. It's not terribly expensive and the ride in the country is nice.

I did go to See Wee last night. The food was very good. I had a cup of She- crab soup and a combo fried seafood platter with shrimp, scallops, oysters, and flounder. Sides included turnip greens, cole slaw, and butter beans all homemade. I even had the glorious experience of a Cheerwine to wash every thing down.

I would say Poogan's seafood platter was a little better, but See Wee's in up there. I may run back there for lunch today and have some soft shell crab. The waitress said they were fresh last night.

See Wee
4808 Hwy. 17 N.
Awendaw, SC
843-928-3609

I went back to See Wee for lunch today and had a soft shell crab dinner. The crab was as big as my hand and delicious. The sides I chose were fried green tomatoes and green beans which were excellent. The best fried green tomatoes I've ever had. Great friendly, casual, service full of locals with lots of honeys and sweeties tossed into the conversations.

I also had a Sundrop cola which was good. I may go back again tomorrow.

I still need to hit Jestines.

Bruce wrote:
I still need to hit Jestines.

I visited Jestine's last night. My companion ordered a pecan-coated fried chicken breast sandwich and fries. She said they were both excellent.

I ordered the fried chicken dinner (white meat only), with sides of black-eyed peas and turnip greens. While the chicken was good, the breasts were not near as stellar as I was hoping. The meat was dry, but the skin had a good flavor. I am guessing they are frying in advance and since the place was packed the breasts may have been under a heat lamp for a little while, which may have contributed to the dryness. I would definitely return, but when ordering specifically request chicken cooked a to a few degrees less doneness if possible. Sides of black-eye peas, turnip greens, and corn bread were great.

I visited Piggly Wiggly for to purchase souveniors to take home. 2 bags of grits, a couple of cans of She Crab soup, shrimp and grits mix, a mustard bbq sauce and some stone ground mustard.

Tomorrow I plan to buy my wife a sweetwater basket, return to See Wee's for lunch and spend the afternoon at Coco Joes' on the beach eating appetizers and having drinks until flight time.

Follow ups later.

I returned last night to Gullah cafe. I had ate lunch there a few days ago and chose the buffet. The food was good but the buffet was not particularly outstanding and I would not make that choice again.

However, last night I returned to Gullah and chose Gullah rice, which turned out to be a great dish of rice, a mildly, spicy sausage, chicken, and shrimp with celery, carrots, etc. The corn muffins were excellent as were the turnip greens.

With any luck and time when I return home, I will probably condense this daily diary into one longer post with pictures. Some of which will be excellent.

Traveling just north from Charleston, SC today, I had the delightful pleasure of stopping for lunch at the SeeWee Restaurant. Set in the sparsely populated lowland country, this place captured the ever-elusive road trip hope: finding true home-cookin' with the distinct flavor of local personality.





Greeted by a warm, sincere staff, I was immediately welcomed into the ambiance of the rural South, graced by culinary sophistication. At the owner’s suggestion, I started with the she-crab soup served with a shot of Sherry on the side. Although overly thick, the soup overcame that fault with loads of crab and great flavor.

Next I moved on to the day’s special: the grilled seafood platter containing flounder, oysters, and shrimp. It was fabulous. Grilled with garlic and a bit of Old Bay Seasoning, its simple execution was clearly one of the restaurant’s fortes. On the side, I chose collard greens with a wonderful version of Mac and cheese.




My friend also had the seafood platter and opted for the fried version. It was executed to perfection. The breading was crisp without any oily residue. It was no doubt cooked in clean oil at an adequately high temperature. Our sides were okra and potato salad. The potato salad was several cuts above ordinary and the okra was unusually fresh.

I write about the SeeWee Restaurant because I find its sincerity and genuineness to be a true roadhouse rarity. The chef’s passion for creating a quality, home-style restaurant, served with hospitality, is something worth noting if you happen to be looking for a great homey meal within easy reach of Charleston.

Thanks for this wonderful lead, Will.

After the fact, but just N of Awendaw in McClellanville is the Crab Pot on US 17. Very good she-crab etc. And Poogan's Porch...i remember their Pawleys Island location, then it became Tyler's Cove, and now Louis' "Osteen". Tyler's Cove has moved N up the highway but continues to be one of my favorite restaurants ever! Stuffed Lowcountry Flounder with lobster hollandaise and cheese grits- good lord! www.tylerscove.com

grant wrote:After the fact, but just N of Awendaw in McClellanville is the Crab Pot on US 17. Very good she-crab etc. And Poogan's Porch...i remember their Pawleys Island location, then it became Tyler's Cove, and now Louis' "Osteen". Tyler's Cove has moved N up the highway but continues to be one of my favorite restaurants ever! Stuffed Lowcountry Flounder with lobster hollandaise and cheese grits- good lord! www.tylerscove.com

After the fact, yes, but just in the nick of time! It just so happens that we're staying on Pawley's Island and will have a chance to try Tyler's Cove for lunch before I shoot my usual 150 round of golf (I still ache from all that swinging from yesterday). I'm a scratch eater but obviously a lousy golfer. Thanks

Pigmon, if you're still online and still in the lowcountry, I highly recommend taking in dinner at the Old Post Office Restaurant on Edisto. Now, nearly 20 years old, the OPO was the first of the local restaurants to take the Alice Waters appraoch of planning dinner around what's available in the bountiful vegetable shacks running up and down Highways 17 and 174.

Edisto is about a 45 minute drive southeast of Charleston halfway between Charleston and Savannah. They are the originators of the slow cooked grits in milk, cream and stock that so many rave about at places like SNOB (which is a great restaurant IMO, too).

Old Post Office is is the older more refined cousin of a place like SNOB serving great seafood and local duck with a fresh berry compote. The local tomatoes and corn supplant the menu along with other seasonal items. It is the artistocratic cousin of the down home salt of the earth See Wee.

Some have protested over my use of the terms "white southern cooking" and "black southern cooking" to delineate the difference in style as to how white and black South Carolinians cook and eat. OPO is a fine example of low country white southern cooking at its best.

I haven't eaten at OPO in a few years. FWIW, the building was once the Old Post Office that served Edisto Island and the Beach when I was a kid. At one time, they close seasonally. So, you might want to call to make sure they are open.

Old Post Office Restaurant
1442 Highway 174, Edisto Island
Highway 174 at Store Creek. Tuesday-Saturday, 6:00-10:00. Reservations recommended. (843) 869-2339.

I am going to be in Charleston, SC over the 4th of July and I am looking for some not-to-miss recommendations. Anyone?

stevez wrote:I am going to be in Charleston, SC over the 4th of July and I am looking for some not-to-miss recommendations. Anyone?

Check out this LTH Thread. I visited a little over a year ago and got some great suggestions.

Particularly the SeeWee.

Photo courtesy of Pigmon

Steve, MsRev and I were in Charleston in April. Magnificent is all I can say. I don't know if you've been there before but it's so beautiful. I don't know what you're looking to spend for food, but our dinners were moderately priced. Entrees in the 20's. You can be the judge. We were there for 2 nights and ate lowcountry cuisine.

Our best dinner was at Magnolia's. Beautiful restaurant. The Parmesan crusted Flounder is to die for. Great potato chips. I also enjoyed Blossom very much. Both restaurants are in the same group but have different menues.
http://www.magnolias-blossom-cypress.com/magnolias/
http://www.magnolias-blossom-cypress.com/blossom/

Poogan's Porch is a small downhome place in an old house. Great atmoshpere. I recommend the shrimp and grits-southern staple food.
We also enjoyed SNOB(Slightly North of Broad) for a little more upscale experience. http://www.mavericksouthernkitchens.com/snob/index.html
I highly recommend the crispy fried chicken livers with grits and caramelized country gravy.

I read in several places how the Peninsula Grill, which is about the priciest restaurant in town, was famous for their Coconut Cake. I'm cuckoo for coconut so we wandered over after dinner one night and tried a slice. Oh my god, it was fabulous! http://www.peninsulagrill.com/coconut.cfm

Magnolia's and Anson's downtown. Do NOT miss the seafood shack across the bridge in My Pleasant called 'The Wreck'.

Also, stop at Hoppin' John's on Pinkney St. It is a cookbook book store!
Have fun!

Kit

There are some very good recommendations here. I second, particularly, Magnolia's, SNOB and SeeWee.

If you have a car and some time to take a little 30 minute or so drive, The Old Post Office on Edisto Island is a really nice upscale restaurant serving a menu based upon the abundance of fresh vegetables and local game available in the area. It was the first restaurant i know of in the deep south to serve creamy grits (with whole milk and veal stock as a base) with sauteed shrimp

It is literally located in what was, for many years, the Island's clapboard post office. It's very charming and has good local food.

IMO, the Wreck is overrated. It is good. But, it is expensive for what it is and how it is served.

Bowens Island, however, is quite choworthy.

We're flying down to Charleston to visit friends who rented a house on the ocean for the winter. Seafood, barbeque and beer undoubtedly will be the mantra. Does anybody have any LTH-worthy recs for the area?
(Edit) Uh, besides this thread?
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=8958&highlight=charleston