Dining in Charleston

I'm back from Charleston!

The trip was awesome. Got to catch up with friends, try out lots of new restaurants, and the weather was just perfect:

I say that in the most sarcastic tone possible. At least the weather part. Our friends from NH came down hoping to escape the cold but all they got was rain. Heavy, non-stop, pouring down rain.
Every. Single. Day.

"You can plan a pretty picnic but you can't predict the weather"
So what's there to do in the South when it's raining outside?
Eat.

Hush puppies for the win!
Which brings me to the point of this post. If you ever plan on visiting Charleston in the future, bookmark this page. I'm going to let you in on the best food & drinks downtown Charleston has to offer!

So you're in Charleston. You wake up to the sun shining (use your imagination) and you're ready to start the day with some delicious iced coffee.
First stop:

The Pinterest-famous Sugar Bakeshop!

This small business is awesome. When you walk in you will be greeted by the most beautiful mint green decorations, staff all wearing big smiles, and sweets on sweets on sweets!

Real talk, we may or may not have gotten one of everything.
Gotta love using vacation as an excuse to eat whatever you want :)

But let's talk caffeine. Their iced coffee is super strong and they use frozen coffee cubes for ice...

I mean, it's no coconut coffee but it definitely hit the spot ;-)

This little sweet-shop is located in a packed residential area, so snagging a spot in front of the store is not likely to happen. So to ensure you don't drive around the block 15 times like we did, park at the Charleston Visitors Center garage a few blocks up the road. It's a short walk and parking is only $2 an hour!

 Lunch time.
If you're looking to grab a light, organic snack paired with a classic Southern iced tea, my favorite place is East Bay Meeting House.  A small restaurant in the heart of downtown with a relaxed environment.
Never had food or a drink I didn't like here! Their tomato bisque is delicious.

To access this place on busy East Bay St., park just a block up the road in the East Bay parking garage. It's only $2/hour as well.

Now for dinner.
My friend Shane recommended we check out a great restaurant that he's seen on TV called Husk. This place requires reservations and is usually booked months in advance. So while we didn't make it for dinner, we had a delicious lunch our last day in Charleston.
PS. we made our reservations last month and just barely got in for lunch. That's how good this place is.
Plan ahead!

Husk is classic, old-time Southern both inside and out. You can swing on the front porch while you wait for your table and the inside is like you're walking into someone's home.
I will definitely be returning next time I'm in town.

FYI: There is a parking garage right across the street from Husk, so parking is a breeze.

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I'm not big on nightlife, but we did go out Friday night and found a really great bar. It's called the Gin Joint and the drinks were the best! They take pride in the quality of their drinks and put real effort into them. No pre-made sour mix here. For people like me who don't have a go-to drink, they have a section on their menu that just lists descriptive words like 'Fruity, Fizzy, Sour, Strong' etc, and they have you pick 2 words from the list then they make a surprise drink for you --How clever!
I can't wait to bring more friends and family here!

And of course what's a trip to the lowcountry without exploring new areas...

On Saturday evening Mitch and I set out to do what we do best - explore wild places. We found the coolest 'Secret beach' and I can't wait to share. It's truly like nothing we've ever seen.

More on that later this week - Stay tuned!