Im not sure that State license plate slogans are always correct. I mean “Beatiful British Columbia” is pretty accurate but I havent the faintest idea what “Yours to Discover” means Ontario. As for ”Live Free or Die” in New Hampshire, thats just not right!
However ”Beautiful places and Smiling faces ” is about as close as you can get for South Carolina. I’ve been in Charleston this week and Oh boy do I love that town, it is such a wonderful place with such awesome (and I mean that in the true sense of the word as opposed to the 16 year old Californian way) restaurants.
Meeting friends the first night we had some apps at Hanks, a great Charleston institution. They have this great social table in the middle of the room, perfect place to eat if you are dining on your own. The tuna tartar was good but the fried shrimp was perfect (it was fried food, how bad can that be?).
Moved to Basil for Dinner. I will admit that by this time I had tee many martunees, not helped by the bottle of wine given to us by the owner, so my memory of the food is not great. We had the catfish special in a spicy garlic sauce and their famous pad thai. It was pad thai, not sure why theirs was famous.
Next evening was a favourite of mine. You know when you go somewhere just for one dish? For me in Charleston thats Anson. They have this deep fried flounder (sorry Mum, fried food again) with an apricot glaze that I just love.
My last night was a dissapointment which is so unusual for Charleston. We went to McCradys which is a great room:
The last time I went they had this butter poached lobster that was off the grid. Unfortunately since then the chef has changed and even though the room is still beautiful and the service excellent, the food was off base. I had sweet breads to start hoping to duplicate the heavenly experience at Babbo in NYC a few months earlier. I was out SOL and I have to tell you, bad sweatbreads are no fun at all. It was all sinuey (?) and undercooked, really unpleasant.
Anyway, Ive eaten in so many restaurants in Charleston I thought I would list a few of the other places Ive enjoyed over the years.
I have never had a bad meal at either SNOB, Blossom, High Cotton or Fulton Five. SNOB has by far the best Shrimp and grits in the city and Fulton Five is so romantic and has an excellent wine menu. High Cotton is just a great place to take a date or a colleague.
For BBQ go to the new Nick and Sams over Sticky Fingers.
For the most incredible southern experience you have to visit The Wreck in Mount Pleasant. A shack on Shem Creek where you help yourself to beer out of a cooler while eating broiled (or of course fried) shrimp.
If you are in the mood for Steak then choose between ambiance and the meat. Grill 225 is amazing food but the room is cold and lacks any kind of atmosphere. High Cotton is fabulous and the food good but the steak is not as good as 225. Think The Palm not Peter Luger…..
As for drinks, start the evening on the rooftop patio at The Market Pavilion and finish it off with an expresso martini at High Cotton. What happens in between is up to you, you cant go far wrong in Charleston.
