RVA Travels: Charleston

I just got back from an incredible five days in Charleston, South Carolina. I have been to Charleston a handful of times and it is truly a special place. Not only is every turn more beautiful than the last, but the people there are friendly, the weather ideal and the food incredible. My main goals for Charleston were checking off some great food spots (that and seeing my cousin get married).

Day One

We left Richmond around 8am on Wednesday and arrived in Charleston around 2:30pm. Not a short trip, but definitely doable. We checked in to the Church Street Inn. It was an awesome hotel located right next to the City Market. The hotel was set up like a townhouse with a bedroom on the first floor and living space and another bedroom on the second floor. There were two bathrooms and a full kitchen, it was perfect for three girls.

Our first stop was to The Darling Oyster Bar. We wandered down King Street (best shopping) for about a mile until we reached our destination. I had made reservations for 4:30 so we could have happy hour and oysters. The place was incredible. It felt like a little European village cafe, light and airy with vintage flooring and seats.

We started with an order of oysters. We got 10 of the happy hour oysters and a variety of the others. The happy hour oysters were actually from Virginia, but my favorites ended up being from North and South Carolina. They were briny and plump and delicious. We got two more orders (because we are oyster addicts), then decided we’d just stay for dinner, so we ordered more. We got the shrimp appetizer which was also great, but the real surprise came when the waiter told us he could serve the crab leg in a single serving dish. The crab was the best I’ve ever had. It was so sweet. We also ordered the blue crab tagliatelle pasta and it was amazing!

We enjoyed a few of the cocktails while we were there and had the best time just grazing and slowly enjoying happy hour.

Day Two

I was so excited to discover that the Charleston City Market had two of the breakfast places I wanted to try - Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit and Caviar and Bananas. For our first breakfast we decided on Callie’s. I got the bacon, pimento cheese and egg biscuit. It was awesome! They also had great coffee. My sister got the cinnamon biscuits and they were delicious.

After breakfast we walked the market. It’s definitely a must do when you visit Charleston. They have cleaned it up a bit since I was last there, but it is so fun to walk through and explore the different shops. There are great spices, jewelry and other fun things.

After the market, we decided we wanted to walk down King Street in the antique store section (mom loves antiquing). This was perfect because I wanted to walk near the Battery which was in that direction. We wandered in a bunch of stores and found some fun stuff. Charleston has some awesome shopping.

We worked up an appetite and found The Brown Dog Deli, which I had heard was great. We had to wait a few minutes, but it was worth it. They had hot dogs, sandwiches, wraps and salads. I got the pimento cheese dog (just about everything I got in Charleston had pimento cheese). The hot dog was amazing and my mom and sister both got awesome things too - pimento BLT and a turkey wrap. I had a draft PBR to go with my dog. I loved the vibe, it was very eclectic and old school.

After our lunch, my sister and I decided to walk to The Battery. On our way there we stumbled upon an adorable shop on Church Street. Madison Mathews had the cutest clothes and they were having a sample sale. Half the store was on sale for $25 a piece of clothing. My sister and I were in heaven. We found out a blogger we love shops there and the owner was the nicest human. They have a website, but most of their stuff is sold through other stores throughout the U.S.

We bought a few things then continued wandering the streets. That’s one of my favorite things to do in Charleston. All the streets are magical and I feel like everywhere I look is my dream home. We made it to the battery then decided to walk back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.

Dinner...Sigh. We made a reservation for Husk months and months ago. It was my one must do thing while we visited. But first, we stopped by for a drink on the Vendue Inn Rooftop with my cousin and aunt. The rooftop was so amazing, it had an amazing view and delicious drinks.

We ventured down Queen Street to make our reservation at 6:45. Husk is in an old house with an awesome courtyard and looks incredible before you even get inside. We were seated like one seat over from where Anthony Bourdain ate with the chef Sean Brock and Bill Murray. The restaurant itself is so humble. Since it’s in an old house, I’m pretty sure we were in the living room because there were fireplaces along the wall. The kitchen was open and you could see the action from the windows. After taking it all in, we decided to try the different Charleston punches they had on the menu. Both delicious!

For our appetizer we got the oysters. O-M-G they were incredible. Smothered in warm homemade butter with shallots, squash blossoms and wild ramps, they were heaven in a bite. Pretty much indescribable. I will never forget those. We also got the spring vegetable salad which was out of this world.

For my entree I decided on the duck confit. It was melt in your mouth delicious and the cabbage side was incredible. I ate every bite and savored the whole thing. My mom and sister both got the steak which was also wonderful. For dessert we got the funnel cake. That was kind of unbelievable as well. It was like being at the fair but way better.

I was really worried about Husk not living up to my incredibly high expectations, but I was not disappointed and will remember that meal for the rest of my life.

Day Three

It was time to try Caviar and Bananas. I got their salmon bagel with capers. It was awesome! They also made an incredible mocha latte. After our delicious breakfast, we decided to walk to the Battery again. We walked a different way so we could explore new streets. We met up with our cousin and my sisters boyfriend who came down Friday morning.

We all wandered around for a little bit then decided it was lunch time. We went to the Blind Tiger on Broad Street. The Blind Tiger was like fancy bar food. I had a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, which was really good. After lunch it was time to pack up and head over to Daniel Island, where the wedding was, but first we stopped at Two Blokes Brewery.

My sister, her boyfriend and I had a couple beers at the brewery. It was pretty good, although not my favorite beer. I tried two of their IPAs and I’ve definitely had better. After that, we got to our hotel on Daniel Island, which is about 10 miles outside of Charleston.

We got checked in then headed to Shem Creek for the rehearsal dinner. Shem Creek has tons of cool restaurants and people just bring their boats right up to the different places. The dinner was great and the venue was really beautiful.

Day Four

It was the day of the wedding, but we had all day to get ready, so my mom and I decided to drive to Folly Beach. It was raining, so we just drove around the beach for a little while, but decided to stay in the car.

After we drove around, we headed to Leon’s Oyster Shop back in Charleston. This was another place on bucket list. We got there right at 11am and I am glad we did. We were the third party to be seated and by 11:30 the place was full. Known for their oysters and chicken, we went with the chargrilled oysters to start. They were phenomenal. We also got the clam wraps and hush puppies. Both were incredible. Leon’s is also known for their soft serve ice cream, so of course we had to get some of that.

Another awesome meal in Charleston! We decided to drive around a little bit more and stumbled upon a mansion that said come on in. So, we took them up on it and we were in awe. Not only was the mansion incredible but it was on this Koi Pond tour and had koi the size of my dog. The lady was so sweet and made sure we didn’t have any questions before heading inside to finish her lunch. Again, this place is so magical with the best people.

After all of that, I met my cousins and aunt and uncle for a trip to Westbrook Brewery. This brewery was great! I had their IPA and really enjoyed that. I also tried their One Claw and Mexican Cake, both also great.

Saturday night was the wedding at the Daniel Island Golf Club. It was absolutely gorgeous and the rain stopped just as the ceremony was about to being. Such a fun night with dancing and celebrating such great love.

Day Five

It was our last day and Mother’s Day, so of course we needed to do brunch. We headed back into Charleston and went to Stars Restaurant for their brunch buffet. They had some tasty things on the menu and I wish I had been hungrier. They also had $3 mimosas and $4 bloody marys.

This trip was so incredible because I got to share it with my mom and sister. We had such a fun time celebrating at the wedding and exploring a city we all love.

#Travel #Charleston #Food #Seafood #Oysters