This lovely woman’s wedding in Charleston was a fantastic opportunity to fly down and explore the town. Congratulations again, Martha Frances! We call her MF for short.
MF and her now-husband Franklin hosted a good time at The Barrel on James Island. The venue is a craft beer bar that has a revolving door of food trucks on the property. For the meet-and-greet, we had AMAZING bbq from Smoke. Ermagawd. Get some!
I got really excited about this leg lamp from A Christmas Story. Do you guys remember that? “FRAGILE…’fra-jee-laaay’….It must Italian!” I love that movie.
At the wedding! It was at the Historic Rice Mill Building. My friend Taryn from LA went as my wedding date! She has always wanted to visit the South. I think Charleston was a darn good introduction to the area! Our friend Judy from LA also met up with us. Girls trip!
I could hang around Historic Downtown Charleston forever. The buildings are so beautiful!
This photo of Rainbow Row (it’s a must!) doesn’t do it any justice. It was cloudy and getting dark, but we wanted to squeeze this sight in before the day was over.
We stopped by this bar called The Gin Joint. There was this really neat option where you choose any two words, and the bartender creates a drink based on the adjectives!
I didn’t realize that Charleston was such a foodie town! Most of our meals were pretty impressive. Our first dinner was at Pearlz Oyster Bar. Although I can’t really forgive the name of the restaurant, the food was pretty tasty. The crab cakes, oysters, and oh-my-goodness the blue crab bisque soup get two thumbs up. Unfortunately, we had to send back the steamed mussels. They tasted off. The server was nice about it and changed out the mussels for us. Although the second platter of mussels didn’t taste like they went bad, the flavor was still suspicious.
One of our mandatory to-do’s was to visit Angel Oak on John’s Island. It is one of the oldest living things east of the Mississippi River. It provides 17,000 square feet of shade, and it is magical. Trust me. And if you’re on John’s Island, you MUST eat at Fat Hen. This was my favorite meal on that trip: escargot, fried chicken liver, and fried green tomatoes were to-die-for. We could only do small plates because we were actually heading to dinner right after, but our Uber driver was really adamant about us going there (so glad we did!). I don’t think we even got pictures since we were so excited to eat. I can’t wait to go back and eat some of the entrees.
Judy and Taryn on the streets
Around our temporary neighborhood
The wall right next door to the to-go window for ice cold beer or fresh coffee at Hominy Grill.
Fried green tomatoes! I’m from Georgia, and I ate this dish for the first time on this trip! I have no idea how I managed to do that while living in GA for 21 years.
My favorite part of this meal was the shrimp and grits, which was really surprising because everyone always says that Hominy Grill has the best chicken biscuit. The girls and I didn’t think it was that great. GASP! I know. Oh, but I will tell you…the chocolate pudding here is NO JOKE. Alton Brown said it was the best thing he has ever eaten. Yup.
One of our field trips was to Middleton Plantation. We pretty much hung out in the garden areas and jetted off. I didn’t love it.
Taryn and I also went to Folly Beach. It’s more of the “party beach”. The shore was full of lively people, but it didn’t seem trashy. The water was dark and murky, but warm! Here’s a little parking story (I would call it a tip, but I am not sure if it is valid): I noticed that some people parked between houses along the forest, so I tried to unsuccessfully park between some trees. This homeowner came out of nowhere and gestured for me to park in front of some houses. I rolled down my window to ask if it was ok. He said, laughing, “Well, it sure is better than what you were doing back there! Ignore all these No Parking signs people put up in front of their yards. This property belongs to Folly Beach, not them.” So I trusted him, and I didn’t get a parking ticket. But I don’t know if I just got lucky. Another tip : Sullivan’s Island is supposed to be more picturesque and calm than Folly Beach.
The Park Cafe was my favorite breakfast/brunch spot. It was walking distance from where Taryn and I were staying, and it just made us really happy to eat their wonderful food outside.
I will never forget their avocado toast. I will dream about it forever. And sprinkling chili peppers on it is like the most genius idea.
Chili peppers also on their other AWESOME green stuff: creamy leeks. Mmmmm.
My first time having AEbleskivers. Danish popovers need to keep being in my life because it was a beautiful experience. I always get sad when I eat funnel cake because I can only eat a couple of straws/funnels/whatever they are due to the heaviness. These things though…in Nicolas Cage’s voice: “You know I can eat AEbleskivers for hours.” Nah, that doesn’t work, but it’s what I hear in my head.
Shopping outside of The Park Cafe. Actually, I was only browsing.
Oh, but for some real shopping, antique shop Curiosity was adorable. Judy and Taryn went a little wild there.
Edmunds Oast is a great gastropub for drinks and small plates.
I can’t get over the cute outdoor dining and Southern porches all over the town!
Bye, Charleston! I can’t wait to go back and see you again! Fat Hen, I will schedule my meals better to accommodate you next time.
Have you guys been to Charleston? What did I miss??
