For most of the trip, we’ve been pretty good at cooking aboard most nights, reserving one or two nights for going out. But since we treated Charleston like a bit of a vacation, we ate out most of the time. There were so many other restaurants we wanted to try, and the longer we were there, the more our list grew. The food really was good enough to warrant a post of its own – these were a few of my favorites.
Lewis Barbecue came highly recommended, and yeah, believe the hype. We got sliced brisket (fatty, of course), pulled pork, green chili corn pudding, collard greens, a pickled jalapeño, and dill pickle slices along with COAST Brewing Company’s Blackbeerd Imperial Stout – a perfect pairing. The rub on the brisket was amazing, and it was melt-in-your-mouth tender. And it would have been criminal to put any sauce on that pulled pork. My only regret? Not having a second stomach so I could eat more.
My favorite meal in Charleston was at FIG. The cocktail menu was creative, they had a great wine list (with some really nice by-the-glass options including the Ciaccarellu, a Corsican red that paired perfectly with my mackerel), and there was nothing on the menu that didn’t sound amazing. We started with the Carolina Gold crab rice with smoked roe, benne, and popped sorghum (which tasted a lot like little tiny bits of popcorn). There was a ton of crab, and the textures and flavors played off of each other so well. I had miso marinated king mackerel with red shrimp, taylor turnip greens and roasted chicken broth, and Chris had the b-liner snapper with blood orange chermoula, cauliflower, celery root puree and walnuts. For dessert, we were going to get the sticky sorghum pudding, but they had run out, so we got the chocolate pudding instead with a layer of caramel on the bottom and coffee crema on the top, drizzled with olive oil, croutons and sea salt. I’m not a chocolate pudding person, but this was no ordinary chocolate pudding, and it paired nicely with a Maderia. Our waitress knew her stuff, and whenever we asked for a recommendation, she knocked it out of the park.
We also had a really good dinner at Poogan’s Porch. We started with fried green tomatoes with a bacon jam and pimento cheese (I could have gotten like six orders of just that and been happy). I ordered the BBQ mahi mahi with pulled pork and pimento cheese grits, and Chris had the fried chicken with collards and mac & cheese, and we finished with key lime pie.
In my travels I discovered Christophe Artisan Chocolatier and picked up a couple pain au chocolates. I also discovered Byrd’s Famous Cookies and got a bag of the Georgia peach cookies – neither of which lasted long once I got home.
The resort restaurants were worth a visit for the views – our first night, we watched sunset from the Reel Bar, overlooking the marina and Castle Pinckney in the distance, and later in the week we stopped in at the rooftop Bridge Bar for a couple dark n’ stormys by the firepit, overlooking the Yorktown and the Ravenel Bridge.
One reply on “Charleston eats”
OMG – you made me remember Coast Brewing Blackbeerd Stout! It was my favorite and always seemed like a dessert to me. In the beginning, it was aged in old Bourbon barrels and was sweet and incredible. I don’t think they do that today but I am so glad you got to try it and that you reminded me of it! Charleston is sort of an addictive city which you can never get enough of. I do hope you get to spend a bit more time on your way back north.