Friday morning, August 5th, we left Savannah, Georgia (click here if you missed our Savannah adventures) and headed up the east coast to Charleston, South Carolina.  It was not until last year that I experienced my first taste of grits, fried pork chops, and boiled peanuts thanks to my Southern Georgia boy.   A food tour seemed like a MUST in Charleston.  I researched and researched food tours and while so many of them sounded appealing, each of them felt limited in one way or another, so I created our own.  I selected all  of the lowcountry classics that Charleston is known for, found several articles, recommendations and reviews that pinpointed me to the restaurant that the critics proclaimed made them the best and our "T + J Charleston Food Tour" was born.  It also allowed us to try additional menu items if our heart desired and work in other stops along the way without any rush or having to share plates with others.  

Cru Cafe was the must eat for Fried Green Tomatoes.  It is located on Pinckney Street in a Single Family Style home with a cute front porch (where we ate) and luscious patio.  We could not decide if these Fried Green Tomatoes were a vegetable or a dessert.  These tomatoes, picked before they were ripe, were drizzled in a smoked tomato caramel, topped with sheep's milk feta and croutons made of pork belly.  Of course no southern meal would be complete without Tea - one sweet and one unsweet for our table please.  I am sure you can guess whose was whose, but if you cannot the unsweet belonged to me.  

I must make a small note that we loved the owner of this place, Le Cordon Bleu graduate Chef John Zucker.  He was a hustler making sure his guests were happy and everything was running smoothly.   He did everything from hostess to busboy.  He sat guests, ran food, checked on tables, and refilled drinks keeping the busy place moving.  We were late for our reservations by about 20 minutes and he made it happen for us.  

Benne Wafers were another first for me.  They are also known as the "Sweet Chip of the South".  There were lots of bakeries that sold them in the City Market, but Southern Living magazine pointed us to Southern Sisters bakery.  After trying a free sample, a box will be coming home with me to share with my kids.  Sweet they were!  These sesame wafers were  much sweeter than we expected.  It was more like a delicious sugar cookie.  

While I wasn't a fan of this Award Winning She Crab Soup, I was a fan of the beauty, the landscape and architecture of this restaurant.  It carried the charm of Charleston.  Located in three houses with a garden in the middle, the restaurant was simply named after its address, 82 Queen Street.  It consists of and combines the cultures of the city, African, French, Caribbean and Anglo-Saxon cuisines, now referred to simply as Lowcountry Cuisine.   

The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon

We decided to give our digestive system a short break while we learned some history about the city at The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.  It was used as a post office, custom house, public market, public meeting place, and jail.  The basement dungeon housed over 120 prisoners of war and was made of OVER 400 MILLION bricks.  It has survived several hurricanes and the 1886 Charleston earthquake that damaged over 2000 other buildings.  

After our tour of the dungeon we walked along the Battery built as an artillery battery during the civil war.  We also drove alongside the battery viewing the many antebellum homes that overlooked the seawall as well as the Cooper and Ashley Rivers. 

Time for another swanky bar and restaurant.  Oyster sliders were the reason we stopped into The Ordinary, but as dinner time was approaching.  It was already after 5PM, and our dinner reservations were not until 9:45PM.  We were getting hungry and a slider would just not be enough for my man.  He couldn't resist the Red Snapper and being at an Oyster bar, I could not just have a fried Oyster, I need to have raw Oysters too!

Fig is said to be the best restaurant in Charleston.  We did not dine there, but The Ordinary is of the same people and we were satisfied with every bite.  

After the Ordinary we headed to our hotel to check in.  Due to the high cost to stay in downtown Charleston, we opted to stay on the other side of the river at the Town and Country Inn and Suites.  Much to our surprise it was a beautiful hotel and only a $15 Uber ride to and from King Street.  We highly recommend it if you're looking and are not willing to pay over $300 a night.

For dinner, we at Husk, the most popular restaurant in Charleston.  As part of our own food tour, Husk was said to have the very best shrimp and grits in the city.  However, because the ingredient-driven menu changes daily there were no shrimp and grits to be had that evening.  They only serve the freshest ingredients and list them on a board in the waiting area along side the wood used to fire up the wood-fired oven.  

Instead of Shrimp and Grits, we enjoyed Wood-fired corn bread, Fried Cat Fish, Red Snapper, and Beignets.  We also enjoyed more Oysters, smoked this time around.  Yes, this is our fourth order of Oysters on this trip.  We had blackened, fried, raw and smoked.  

While I loved the food, my favorite part of the restaurant was the dark Husk Bar and Tavern located in the building adjacent to the restaurant.  

His and Hers

HUSK Old Fashioned:  

Chattanooga 91 Bourbon, Virgil Kaine Rye, Byrrh, Angostura and Cherry Bitters, Orange Twist

Noisy Cricket:  

Wheatley Vodka, Pierre Ferrand Curacao, Contratto Apertif, Sherry, Watermelon, Lime, Celery Bitters, Activated Charcoal

After dinner we were once again spent and quickly fell asleep.  Our taste buds were satisfied, but Charleston still left much to be desired.  

Saturday, August 6th, began with a carriage ride from the Old South Carriage Company.  There were lots of carriage history tour options in this city, but we chose this one in particular because of their extremely generous cancellation policy.  Cancel or reschedule anytime, and if you miss it they will fit you in to the next available one where there is room.  This allowed us a relaxing morning with zero rush or pressure as to what time we wanted to arrive.  Turns out, this is the only thing we scheduled we arrived not just on time, but early.  

This was a great way to see Charleston and gain knowledge about the history of this city filled with the haves and the have mores.  I love unique the antebellum style homes.  There are so many colors between the paint, the flower boxes, Japanese creeper, and river rock.  

Some fun things were learned:

The shutters on the first floor are solid to keep the dust and dirt out from the horses and slated on the stories above to allow for the breeze blow in and help cool it down.  

It is Japanese Creeper that climbs and covers the buildings not ivy because Ivy would rot the brick.

The houses are made of brick not stone, but people often covered the brick with Stucco and carved lines to make it look like stone instead.  Which is why you often see places where the stucco has broken off and the brick shows through.  

We had one last stop for food on our way out of Charleston before continuing our road trip north.  The Vicious Biscuit in Mt. Pleasant, SC.  If you are a health conscious person, this place is worth letting go of all inhibitions.  We had the fried green tomatoes, pulled pork, shrimp and grits, and buffalo fried chicken.  

Northbound along the Coast of South Carolina we go.... to read more about our trip, click here.