Charleston South Carolina- What to do? Where to eat?

[Wishoot]

Hi All,

Traveling to Charleston soon with the family (wife and two kids (17 and 12)). Any suggestions on what to do and where to eat would be appreciated.

 

[SmoovD]

Wow. You have hit the foodie jackpot. Visited a few weeks together and I don't believe I had a less than very good meal the entire trip. That said, restaurants can change rather quickly. Basil's Thai. Hank's Seafood. 39 Rue de Jean. Jestine's Kitchen. 82 Queen. Gaulart's French Cafe, Charleston Grill and Swamp Fox. All good. Didn't get the chance to hit High Cotton, SNOB, McCrady's and a slew of others. Enjoy. What an enjoyable city!

 

[wsteineker]

McCrady's, Husk, and Fig were all spectacular, and Peninsula Grill has the best coconut cake in the known universe.

 

[Wishoot]

I'm drooling already.

 

[SmoovD]

There is also a little shop by the Market that has some shaving supplies as well. Have fun.

 

[Edcculus]

I'm from Charleston (James Island to be exact). Feel free to PM me if you want any info.

First, where are you staying? If downtown, there are a ton of things to do. I often don't do the "toursity" things since I grew up around it all, but there is so much history in Charleston its hard to know where to start. If you want a good tour of the city, and its not too cold, the horse buggy rides are a good way to go. Be sure to visit The Battery, and enjoy walking around the park there and all of the neighborhoods around the area. The Market on Market street is always a good way to kill a few hours. Awesome open air market with people selling all kinds of goods. You will also find ladies there making traditional sweetgrass baskets.

Food - Its going to be hard to go wrong eating in Downtown Charleston. Smoov hit a bunch of the highlights in his post. One warning - DO NOT EAT AT HYMANS SEAFOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its an overpriced tourist trap that sells under par non local previously frozen seafood.

If you are going to be there on a Sunday I can't recommend The Fat Hen enough for brunch! Its a little bit of a trek onto Johns Island if you are staying downtown, but the food is absolutely amazing. If you go for brunch, make a reservation a week in advance, or show up at 10:00. Otherwise you will be faced with a 45min + wait. Their dinner is exceptional also.

 

[Acmemfg]

Charleston....fantastic town-

Food-
Hank's (seafood, arguably the best in the city). Indeed, AVOID HYMAN'S
Hall's (steaks..unquestionably the BEST singular restaurant I have eaten in......PERIOD)

Both the above are spendy but what price glory??

Don't look past-

Poogan's Porch
Tommy Condon's
Kitchen 208 (best breakfast in town)
Dixie Supply Bakery and Cafe (another fantastic breakfast place)

Oh, you're from Milwaukee..you must like beer!!!! If so be sure to stop in at Craftsmen Kitchen and Tap. Great food and one of the best selections of craft beer in the South

The list could go on for pages..............................

Don't miss a chance to see the Hunley exhibit (http://www.hunley.org/)
Gibbes Museum can be fun too.

Charleston reeks of history. You won't have to look too far for points of interest

 

[Wishoot]

Charleston....fantastic town-

Food-
Hank's (seafood, arguably the best in the city). Indeed, AVOID HYMAN'S
Hall's (steaks..unquestionably the BEST singular restaurant I have eaten in......PERIOD)

Both the above are spendy but what price glory??

Don't look past-

Poogan's Porch
Tommy Condon's
Kitchen 208 (best breakfast in town)
Dixie Supply Bakery and Cafe (another fantastic breakfast place)

Oh, you're from Milwaukee..you must like beer!!!! If so be sure to stop in at Craftsmen Kitchen and Tap. Great food and one of the best selections of craft beer in the South

The list could go on for pages..............................

Don't miss a chance to see the Hunley exhibit (http://www.hunley.org/)
Gibbes Museum can be fun too.

Charleston reeks of history. You won't have to look too far for points of interest

Indeed I do love beer!

Thanks for the great recommendations all! Being an ex-chef, I absolutely love food. It's the one thing I'm willing to spend money on during vacation.

My wife informed me that we're staying on Seabrook Island. Not sure how close this is to anything or what there is to do there.
She said there's some historical house tour that we can't miss, but doesn't know the name of it.

 

[Beerman]

There's a restaurant called California Dreaming that I really like. Their Chas location has spectacular view of the water. Food isn't real fancy, but top quality. Think upscale "bar" type food.


Beerman

 

[Acmemfg]

"She said there's some historical house tour that we can't miss, but doesn't know the name of it."

If it's The Calhoun Mansion (popular attraction in Charleston) that puts you right in the middle of most everything being discussed here (Meeting St.). Huge house, great if you are into architecture and that sort of thing......

 

[hudson_macbeth]

If you like barbecue, dukes barbecue was good when I was stationed in charleston. Been a while though

 

[Wishoot]

"She said there's some historical house tour that we can't miss, but doesn't know the name of it."

If it's The Calhoun Mansion (popular attraction in Charleston) that puts you right in the middle of most everything being discussed here (Meeting St.). Huge house, great if you are into architecture and that sort of thing......

That may just be the place. Thanks!

If you like barbecue, dukes barbecue was good when I was stationed in charleston. Been a while though

Love BBQ I'll check this place out. Thanks!

 

[Wishoot]

Any thoughts on the places?

Magnolia Gardens
Middleton Place
Drayton hall
Boone Hall Plantation
Cypress Gardens
Carolina Carriage Company Tours

 

[hudson_macbeth]

Oh, and if you like lighthouses. .. Sullivan's island light is a beautiful view

 

[russhatch]

SWMBO and I love Charleston! I liked the stuff at Patriots Point (Yorktown WW2 carrier). Tons of stuff to see just walking around downtown, carriage tours, walking tours - just awesome place.
It's sad, but I have to agree skip Hymans - 15 years ago it was fantastic, they are now a victim of their own success - overpriced and not as good. Other than that just pick a place and I bet that it's good.

 

[Edcculus]

All of the plantations are great to visit. I'd probably pick one or two, since they are all going to be a bit of a hike from out on Seabrook. Since you are staying out there, you won't want to miss Dinner or Brunch at The Fat Hen. Its on Johns Island, and you will have to pass it if you are making your way into Charleston.

 

[DonN]

Have only one recommendation , Hank's on the corner of Church & Hayne streets , great food and a great experience - others have noted it in their threads - Seabrook is nice & you may also want to think about Kiawah for the future , reasonable Winter rentals .

The last few years we've been going to Fripp Island - it's East of Beaufort, S.C. - we love it !!

Enjoy !!

 

[grumpybear]

USS Yorktown is permanently anchored in Charleston harbor, it's an all day adventure, in addition to the Yorktown there are a lot of historic aircraft, there is also a WWII submarine and destroyer, as well as a Vietnam era naval support base, I highly recommend it. Its possible to spend the night on the ship during the week (weekends require a group of 10 or more) but for the price of a hotel room you get 3 meals, a bunk, a locker, a tour of the ship, as well as an educational program. Men and women do have separate quarters, and unless they have 40 people reserved they will cancel at the last minute so unless you really just want to spend the night on an aircraft carrier, its more hassle than its worth.

You can go see Ft Sumter, its where some of the first shots of the civil war were fired and is a very interesting place to see, personally I enjoy the boat ride across the harbor. There are many tours that cover the history of Charleston from the early British Colonial era, pirates, the revolutionary war, the civil war, historical homes and architecture, ghost tours, all the way up to the 1960s. Some tours are even by horse drawn carriage. There are even some tours at night conducted by candlelight.

As for food my wife and I eat at the place that is most convenient to our location at the time, we have yet to have a bad meal in Charleston.

Personally I always couple a visit to Charleston with a trip to Parris Island (or maybe its the other way around.) but its only an hour or so drive.

 

[Wishoot]

Thanks guys.

 

[Mick]

Brookgreen Gardens. Home of the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington. The art is fantastic. The plantation grounds are amazing. It is worth the visit if you have the time. Anna Hyatt was marred to Archer Huntington (the railroad guy.... as in he owned railroads)

http://www.brookgreen.org/