Tell me about Charleston

[HeHateMe 883]

The Spectator has been my go to.  No restaurant but there are endless dining options within walking distance.  Love the location and the rooms are superb.  

Edited March 24 by HeHateMe
Derp

[Skipper 6127]

We were big fans of Market Pavillion hotel for our trip last year.

[lemonlime 5503]

Suggestions for a single day in Charleston?  Never been before and going for work.  I'll have a day on my own first, before getting tied up in meetings.

[baboso 6054]

If you like historical stuff, the Aiken-Rhett house is a good way to kill a couple of hours.

[conVINCEd 21469]

Take an hour or two and just walk around the historic district.  Be sure to include Legare Street on that walk.

[South Austin 52442]

Booked a room for four nights at The Vendue Enclave.  Seems walkable to many restaurants, bars, and other attractions.  And set a calendar reminder to get a table at Fig, since they don't accept reservations until 4 weeks out.  

[PW119 167]

On 3/23/2024 at 7:18 PM, South Austin said:

Bumping this mofo. The soon-to-be-wife and I are going to Charleston June 6-10, first time for us both. We’re not taking a single long honeymoon after our wedding, and instead will be taking a few shorter trips spread out over the year. Charleston will be the first.

Skimming though this thread it looks like we need to go to Raw 187 and Fig.

Would appreciate hotel recs in the heart of town, in the high 4-star range. 

Went to Charleston a couple of weeks ago.  Stayed at The Dewberry.  Booked through AmEx and got some nice perks.  Free breakfast which was delicious.  The people there were great - setup a tour of an oyster farm and used one of the hotel's Volvos to get there.  Great rooftop bar as well.

Raw 167 was tremendous.  Pricey but worth it.  They're known for their pastrami-ed swordfish sandwich.  Get it.  After reading this thread your expectations could get very lofty.  Hope they don't ruin your experience.

We ate at HUSK and FIG.  Loved both.  Rabbit potpie at HUSK was fantastic and had schnitzel at FIG - weird choice I know, but very good.

R Kitchen was a very cool dinner.  3 young chefs in an old house.  Two seatings per night. Five courses - no menu.  Would recommend.

Gin Joint was my favorite bar. 

Many hot young ladies walking around - they kinda ignored my old, fat ass.  Same as in Texas.

Have fun.

 

 

 

[4th&Five 41506]

Even if you don't eat at Husk you should have a drink at the Husk Carriage House if you have time.

[closetojumping 62515]

If you're looking for the local high society and a very tightly packed collection of the local hot female scene of every age, get a drink at Hall's Chophouse. It's in the middle of everything and they usually have someone playing something for the room. I think it's a great vibe and great people watching. The food is excellent, but ignore that and go to a non-steakhouse after giving yourself an hour or two there in the bar area. 

The donut place that lost their young female owner to a terrible car crash was really good when we there last summer. It's right in the middle of things too.

People poopoo Lewis, but that place was as good as just about any in Texas and their daily specials looked pretty fucking delicious. Sides were great. Minimal line at lunch. I think it's worth it if you're in the area and missing the meat sweats. 

I didn't read the whole thread, but Fort Sumter is worth a two hour excursion. You don't have to commit much time, you get a nice boat ride of the harbor, and you get to see where the hot war started for the Civil War. 

Everything else in this thread has already been scattered, smothered and covered, so here's hoping you guys have yourself a time.

[Skipper 6127]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

 

People poopoo Lewis, but that place was as good as just about any in Texas and their daily specials looked pretty fucking delicious. Sides were great. Minimal line at lunch. I think it's worth it if you're in the area and missing the meat sweats. 

Agreed. It blew Rodney Scott's out of the water.  Was fantastic.  Maybe not worth it on a 1 or 2 day trip but would make time for it on a longer trip.

[South Austin 52442]

4 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

Even if you don't eat at Husk you should have a drink at the Husk Carriage House if you have time.

Will do both. Just booked dinner at Husk.

[Duane Moore 5237]

SNOB, High Cotton, Magnolia, Anson, and Hank’s Seafood are some backup options near where you are staying. There will be lots of tourists in that area, but all of these places have been around forever and are local institutions. Fleet Landing out on the water is also nearby and has good seafood offerings. I can also vouch for FIG and Husk. Right across the street from your hotel is The Vendue, which has a nice rooftop bar. 
 

If you go to Upper King St., Hall’s Chophouse is Cougar Town Central like CTJ says, and the food isn’t half bad. The Grocery and The Ordinary are also good choices in that part of town. O-Ku is a decent sushi restaurant as well. Proof and Prohibition are good places for craft cocktails and Stars Rooftop has great atmosphere when the weather is nice for a rooftop bar. 
 

It’s really hard to go wrong with food in Charleston. 

[South Austin 52442]

FIG was outstanding. Bouillabaisse and a crusted flounder over a light chowder.

[South Austin 52442]

167 Raw. Buffalo blowfish tails and a local pale ale, amberjack crudo, and crab dip with some killer homemade bread. 

[South Austin 52442]

Husk was whelming. The pimento cheese and biscuit starter was great, but the swordfish was meh, and the braised short rib with a peanut sauce was disappointing.

[South Austin 52442]

Scallops and grits at High Cotton.

[Rip76 4924]

On 3/26/2024 at 1:05 PM, PW119 said:

Stayed at The Dewberry. 

 

 

 

This place looks legit.

[South Austin 52442]

Lowland was our best meal of the trip (with Raw 167 a close second). I don’t get all the food pics, but here’s a wahoo crudo, a simple celery salad that knocked our socks off, fried quail, and a butterscotch pot de creme.

[South Austin 52442]

So here are my thoughts on Charleston, in case anyone ever looks up this thread in the future.

The description of a cleaner New Orleans is a decent generalization.  Both charming old southern towns with a rich history, casual pace, a lot of tourists, and outstanding dining. 

Overall I think New Orleans has a better culinary scene across the board.  There are a lot of outstanding restaurants in Charleston, and so many that we wanted to check out but our time on this visit did not allow.  We visited with a college friend who lives in Charleston, and he said that the city's explosion of fine dining is relatively new, only in the past 10 years or so.  Still, there are several places that rival some of New Orleans' finest.

It felt like Charleston's tourist population was 99% white, with a large contingent of that being groups of 20 or 30-something women wearing tennis skirts.  The larger portion of the Charleston peninsula seemed very, very white.  New Orleans has a much more diverse tourist community.  There are a good number of rednecks visiting Charleston, but it doesn't seem like they flock there like they do to New Orleans. 

The hospitality scene in New Orleans from top to bottom is much friendlier.  Don't get me wrong, Charleston is generally a friendly town.  But there were a good number of restaurant and bar staff who were not as warm and welcoming.

Charleston has some live music, but nowhere near the music scene of New Orleans.

Charleston has beach options.  We didn't go on this trip, and my friend cautioned against going on Saturday and Sunday because traffic can be a shitshow. 

It may not be fair to compare two distinct cities, but folks do view them as two fairly similar vacation destinations.  My wife and I go to New Orleans about once a year, and this was our first time in Charleston.  We love them both, and with direct flights to Charleston, we're going to put that city in our travel rotation.  

[4th&Five 41506]

Pretty much how we feel.  I've spent 100 nights in NOLA and 10 in Charleston, so we're probably going to try to even it out over the next few years.

[royiv 9244]

18 minutes ago, South Austin said:

So here are my thoughts on Charleston, in case anyone ever looks up this thread in the future.

The description of a cleaner New Orleans is a decent generalization.  Both charming old southern towns with a rich history, casual pace, a lot of tourists, and outstanding dining. 

Overall I think New Orleans has a better culinary scene across the board.  There are a lot of outstanding restaurants in Charleston, and so many that we wanted to check out but our time on this visit did not allow.  We visited with a college friend who lives in Charleston, and he said that the city's explosion of fine dining is relatively new, only in the past 10 years or so.  Still, there are several places that rival some of New Orleans' finest.

It felt like Charleston's tourist population was 99% white, with a large contingent of that being groups of 20 or 30-something women wearing tennis skirts.  The larger portion of the Charleston peninsula seemed very, very white.  New Orleans has a much more diverse tourist community.  There are a good number of rednecks visiting Charleston, but it doesn't seem like they flock there like they do to New Orleans. 

The hospitality scene in New Orleans from top to bottom is much friendlier.  Don't get me wrong, Charleston is generally a friendly town.  But there were a good number of restaurant and bar staff who were not as warm and welcoming.

Charleston has some live music, but nowhere near the music scene of New Orleans.

Charleston has beach options.  We didn't go on this trip, and my friend cautioned against going on Saturday and Sunday because traffic can be a shitshow. 

It may not be fair to compare two distinct cities, but folks do view them as two fairly similar vacation destinations.  My wife and I go to New Orleans about once a year, and this was our first time in Charleston.  We love them both, and with direct flights to Charleston, we're going to put that city in our travel rotation.  

Good assessment. I attribute the 20-30 something female in tennis skirt (is this a bad thing) demographic to the Southern Charm and Southern Hospitality effect.

[C-Man 27183]

19 minutes ago, South Austin said:

So here are my thoughts on Charleston, in case anyone ever looks up this thread in the future.

The description of a cleaner New Orleans is a decent generalization.  Both charming old southern towns with a rich history, casual pace, a lot of tourists, and outstanding dining. 

Overall I think New Orleans has a better culinary scene across the board.  There are a lot of outstanding restaurants in Charleston, and so many that we wanted to check out but our time on this visit did not allow.  We visited with a college friend who lives in Charleston, and he said that the city's explosion of fine dining is relatively new, only in the past 10 years or so.  Still, there are several places that rival some of New Orleans' finest.

It felt like Charleston's tourist population was 99% white, with a large contingent of that being groups of 20 or 30-something women wearing tennis skirts.  The larger portion of the Charleston peninsula seemed very, very white.  New Orleans has a much more diverse tourist community.  There are a good number of rednecks visiting Charleston, but it doesn't seem like they flock there like they do to New Orleans. 

The hospitality scene in New Orleans from top to bottom is much friendlier.  Don't get me wrong, Charleston is generally a friendly town.  But there were a good number of restaurant and bar staff who were not as warm and welcoming.

Charleston has some live music, but nowhere near the music scene of New Orleans.

Charleston has beach options.  We didn't go on this trip, and my friend cautioned against going on Saturday and Sunday because traffic can be a shitshow. 

It may not be fair to compare two distinct cities, but folks do view them as two fairly similar vacation destinations.  My wife and I go to New Orleans about once a year, and this was our first time in Charleston.  We love them both, and with direct flights to Charleston, we're going to put that city in our travel rotation.  

All good points. I think Charleston has a more diverse food scene than NOLA but I could be wrong about that. NOLA cuisine is very, um, NOLA-ey.

On the whole, Charleston is a much more expensive tourist destination than NOLA. Don't get me wrong you can spend a shit-ton of money in NOLA but you can also do it on the relative cheap, which appeals to some of our less-fortunate SEC mouth-breathing brethren. Charleston is hard to make work on the cheap.

[TwiceHorn 31436]

I think one of the main distinctions between Charleston and NO is that Charleston's heritage is primarily British, while NO's is French with a healthy dose of cajun and creole in the mix, leading to more interesting cuisine.

If not for the Gullah Geechee influence, Charleston would probably be bangers and mash and fish and chips.

[royiv 9244]

34 minutes ago, C-Man said:

All good points. I think Charleston has a more diverse food scene than NOLA but I could be wrong about that. NOLA cuisine is very, um, NOLA-ey.

On the whole, Charleston is a much more expensive tourist destination than NOLA. Don't get me wrong you can spend a shit-ton of money in NOLA but you can also do it on the relative cheap, which appeals to some of our less-fortunate SEC mouth-breathing brethren. Charleston is hard to make work on the cheap.

There’s a time and a place for NOLA, but on the whole part of what makes Charleston more appealing to me as I enter my get off my lawn years is that it’s more upscale and cleaner. Nightlife to us these days is a nightcap in a nice hotel bar so Charleston is a little more our speed these days. Plus, the Hotel Bennett is one of my favorite hotels in the US.

[closetojumping 62515]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

So here are my thoughts on Charleston, in case anyone ever looks up this thread in the future.

The description of a cleaner New Orleans is a decent generalization.  Both charming old southern towns with a rich history, casual pace, a lot of tourists, and outstanding dining. 

Overall I think New Orleans has a better culinary scene across the board.  There are a lot of outstanding restaurants in Charleston, and so many that we wanted to check out but our time on this visit did not allow.  We visited with a college friend who lives in Charleston, and he said that the city's explosion of fine dining is relatively new, only in the past 10 years or so.  Still, there are several places that rival some of New Orleans' finest.

It felt like Charleston's tourist population was 99% white, with a large contingent of that being groups of 20 or 30-something women wearing tennis skirts.  The larger portion of the Charleston peninsula seemed very, very white.  New Orleans has a much more diverse tourist community.  There are a good number of rednecks visiting Charleston, but it doesn't seem like they flock there like they do to New Orleans. 

The hospitality scene in New Orleans from top to bottom is much friendlier.  Don't get me wrong, Charleston is generally a friendly town.  But there were a good number of restaurant and bar staff who were not as warm and welcoming.

Charleston has some live music, but nowhere near the music scene of New Orleans.

Charleston has beach options.  We didn't go on this trip, and my friend cautioned against going on Saturday and Sunday because traffic can be a shitshow. 

It may not be fair to compare two distinct cities, but folks do view them as two fairly similar vacation destinations.  My wife and I go to New Orleans about once a year, and this was our first time in Charleston.  We love them both, and with direct flights to Charleston, we're going to put that city in our travel rotation.  

Thanks for the write-up. I've been to New Orleans many times and Charleston only twice. The comps are fair, but I do think they each have cool and unique elements unto their own, making both worth regular visits.

As to the implication that the rednecks aren't as voluminous in Charleston as one might expect, I have some thoughts. We road-tripped last summer and it took us through Charleston and then through Savannah along the way. Charleston is more expensive and nicer than Savannah. Savannah is where the rednecks and a generally lower socioeconomic class of traveler is spending their time. It was stark in comparison. We left Savannah after a few days saying that we'd checked that box, we left Charleston after a few days on our way to Savannah saying "man, I wish had scheduled a few extra days there".

[South Austin 52442]

42 minutes ago, C-Man said:

All good points. I think Charleston has a more diverse food scene than NOLA but I could be wrong about that. NOLA cuisine is very, um, NOLA-ey.

It was only my first long weekend in Charleston, but I didn't think the food scene there was more diverse than New Orleans.  Look at NOLA places like Saffron and Shaya, and other places with Asian and other Eastern influence.  It's not necessarily dominated by cajun and creole like it was 20 years ago.

45 minutes ago, C-Man said:

On the whole, Charleston is a much more expensive tourist destination than NOLA. Don't get me wrong you can spend a shit-ton of money in NOLA but you can also do it on the relative cheap, which appeals to some of our less-fortunate SEC mouth-breathing brethren. Charleston is hard to make work on the cheap.

I'm not sure that the meals we had at some of the nicer restaurants were more expensive than NOLA fine dining.  But I think you have a point on hotels.  When I was looking to book spots in Charleston, it felt like hotels in the 4-star range were a lot more than the 4-star grade in NOLA.  That might be a function of supply. 

28 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

I think one of the main distinctions between Charleston and NO is that Charleston's heritage is primarily British, while NO's is French with a healthy dose of cajun and creole in the mix, leading to more interesting cuisine.

Generally true.  Although, we stayed in a neighborhood in Charleston called the French Quarter, and up until a short while ago, I never knew Charleston had a French Quarter.  It definitely has less of a French feel than New Orleans.

And other than general southern fare, the food in Charleston seemed to have less ethnic influence than New Orleans.

[conVINCEd 21469]

2 minutes ago, South Austin said:

It was only my first long weekend in Charleston, but I didn't think the food scene there was more diverse than New Orleans.  Look at NOLA places like Saffron and Shaya, and other places with Asian and other Eastern influence.  It's not necessarily dominated by cajun and creole like it was 20 years ago.

I'm not sure that the meals we had at some of the nicer restaurants were more expensive than NOLA fine dining.  But I think you have a point on hotels.  When I was looking to book spots in Charleston, it felt like hotels in the 4-star range were a lot more than the 4-star grade in NOLA.  That might be a function of supply. 

Generally true.  Although, we stayed in a neighborhood in Charleston called the French Quarter, and up until a short while ago, I never knew Charleston had a French Quarter.  It definitely has less of a French feel than New Orleans.

And other than general southern fare, the food in Charleston seemed to have less ethnic influence than New Orleans.

A bunch of Hugenots ended up in Charleston.

[South Austin 52442]

26 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

We left Savannah after a few days saying that we'd checked that box, we left Charleston after a few days on our way to Savannah saying "man, I wish had scheduled a few extra days there".

Similar for me.  I went to Savannah in 2008 with my ex.  It was small, quaint, and had it's own unique charm.  We had a good time.  When we left, I said to myself, "I'm really glad I went to Savannah, and I don't care to ever go back."

But in the middle of the Charleston trip my wife and I were already talking about return trips, and bringing our best couple friends with us.  I don't think it will be a once-a-year deal like New Orleans.  New Orleans is quicker and overall cheaper, and makes for an enjoyable trip when you want just a few days to get away.  But I'm sure we'll be back to Charleston multiple times.

Edited June 11 by South Austin

[C-Man 27183]

5 minutes ago, South Austin said:

It was only my first long weekend in Charleston, but I didn't think the food scene there was more diverse than New Orleans.  Look at NOLA places like Saffron and Shaya, and other places with Asian and other Eastern influence.  It's not necessarily dominated by cajun and creole like it was 20 years ago.

I'm not sure that the meals we had at some of the nicer restaurants were more expensive than NOLA fine dining.  But I think you have a point on hotels.  When I was looking to book spots in Charleston, it felt like hotels in the 4-star range were a lot more than the 4-star grade in NOLA.  That might be a function of supply. 

Generally true.  Although, we stayed in a neighborhood in Charleston called the French Quarter, and up until a short while ago, I never knew Charleston had a French Quarter.  It definitely has less of a French feel than New Orleans.

And other than general southern fare, the food in Charleston seemed to have less ethnic influence than New Orleans.

I'll admit I haven't been to NOLA since 2016 or so and most of my higher-end culinary pursuits there were limited to Galatoire's or Arnaud's type places. We did get to Corner Grocery or whatever John Besh's place was and also did L'Revolution as well the last time we were there.

[South Austin 52442]

15 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I'll admit I haven't been to NOLA since 2016 or so and most of my higher-end culinary pursuits there were limited to Galatoire's or Arnaud's type places.

Yeah, seems like the more diverse fare has really grown since that time.  Read up on the current New Orleans culinary scene and get back there when you can. 

[Hornbeliever 712]

Leon’s, Magnolia, and Husk were all quality dining experiences for us.  

And agreed on NOLA vibe but if I had one weekend to choose and the two parameters were fun and food, I would go to NOLA.  If your criteria include sophisticated ambiance and cleanliness and I don’t want to smell puke, Charleston would be a better choice.

With that said, we left Charleston wishing we had more time there than the few days we were there.