Charming Charleston in 3 Days

456 miles, 3 days

I headed out on another road trip this past October - this one isn't nearly as long as my summer drive-about, just 10 days - and I had company on my second stop! Day 1 was basically driving. It's about a 7 hour drive from St. Pete to Charleston, I left in the early afternoon and got to my AirBNB in North Charleston for a late dinner time.This was the plan, to settle in, have dinner in, and get a good night's sleep and be up early the next day and head out. I chose to book a place to stay in North Charleston purely for cost saving reasons. AirBNBs in downtown Charleston are super cost prohibitive when travelling solo. My place in North Charleston was a garage apartment attached to a single family home. It was comfortable and had everything I needed and was an easy 15 - 20 minute drive to downtown. The cost to convenience trade-off was worth it.

I started out my days a little later than I would normally due to having a few interviews booked. I'm not particularly ready to go back to the corporate world just yet, but when an opportunity presents itself it's worth looking into. So after getting interview ready and making my scheduled Zoom meetings, I de-businessed and got on my way.

Day 1

I spent my first day exploring the historical section of Charleston and eating some *really* good food. My first stop was the large open air market right downtown. It's open every day and is filled with vendors selling all sorts of things - mostly geared towards the tourist set. The streets all around the market are filled with other shops, restaurants, and galleries. When you're there stop and try Byrd's famous cookies. They have jars out for you to request flavors to taste test - take advantage of that and then buy some to take home.

I had lunch at 82 Queen - it wasn't a planned stop, but I was hungry and stumbled upon the place and I AM SO GLAD I DID. It may have been my favorite bite in Charleston. I sat at the bar, which had a great atmosphere and enjoyed hanging with some locals for a bit. I ordered the Carolina Crab Cake served with bacon fried sweet corn and a roasted red pepper aioli, and for the rest of my time in Charleston I wanted to cancel my other reservations and go back to 82 Queen and eat this dish. I'm day dreaming about it even right now.

I spent the day walking around and exploring downtown and the riverfront...

...and headed to Church and Union for dinner. C&U is absolutely spectacular from the atmosphere to the food to the service. The building is an old church with dramatic ceilings, woodwork, and stained glass. I had the oysters, Beef Ribs with black truffled polenta, and a crispy leek root vegetable medley, and a strawberry cake dessert. The Beef Ribs were outstanding. If you go here for dinner, stop at the Market Pavilion hotel for a drink on the rooftop with views of Downtown Charleston and the Ravenel Bridge before you do.

Day 2

I headed out to Sullivan's Island and started off my day with a great brunch at Obstinate Daughter followed by a nice long walk on the beach to try and offset some of the many calories I've consumed on this trip so far.

Ricotta Gnocchi - short rib ragu, horseradish and pine nut gremolata (A+)

King's Honey - Hat Trick vodka, lemon, St. Germain Elderflower, Sweatman's Honey Lavender soda, orange blossom, bee pollen (A+)

Not shown, but equally as delicious - Swamp Fox - Bourbon, cherry, maple syrup, fresno, lemon.

Beach at Sullivan's Island

On the way back into Charleston I stopped by Shem Creek to walk around a bit longer in the salty air - I'll always love a marsh.

Dinner on night two was at The Establishment. I was there early (I may have been the first person in for dinner really), and I was kind of disappointed when I was put at the very end of the bar where my only view was the line cooks. I made the best of my location though and watched everyone finish their prep work and then get to cooking.

The Impressionist - bombay london dry, pear puree, rosemary-clove syrup, prosecco

Gnocchi - lump crab, basil pistou, breadcrumbs 25

Brown’s Court Bakery Rolls (not pictured) - house ricotta, olive oil, whipped butter

Scallops - no longer on the menu, but look for them to come back. Delish!

Dessert - sticky toffee pudding

Day 3

In early afternoon I headed back into downtown Charleston and had lunch at Well Hung Vineyard and Restaurant for a cocktail, oysters, and shrimp & grits (stone ground cheddar grits, shrimp sauteed in white wine and lemon juice, grape tomatoes, green onions, red onions, garlic, topped with bacon and Parmesan cheese). If you like shrimp & grits please try these.

After lunch I did a bit of walking around and sightseeing. I was there in the fall and so many of the houses were decorated with fall and Halloween decor and they were just awesome. Lots of people decorate for fall in Florida, but it just hits different when you're in a place that's not 75 degrees and sunny in the fall. I love a crisp fall afternoon and I took full advantage of the weather and just enjoyed walking around sightseeing until heading to King Street in the Historic District for dinner.

I wish I had come across the Historic District earlier and spent more time there. It was a bustling area, definitely younger, and filled with restaurants and nightlife options. I'm a Southern Charm (BravoTV) junkie and wanted to try one of the restaurants that is owned by one of the castmates, so I tried Leva's restaurant Mesu. After ordering a mule, I had the Jerk Wings (sweet & spicy cilantro glaze, sesame seeds, micro cilantro) and the Tsumani Roll (tempura shrimp, salmon, avocado, truffled soy sauce, eel sauce, pickled onions)- both were excellent!

I will definitely go back to Charleston to hang out and obviously for another Tour de Food. It is now on the list of my favorite food cities, but when I go back I'll have to get in some real work outs because all of this Southern food packed on some pounds in a few short days - even with all of the walking I did in between feedings! LOL.

xoxo

iamfunchris