A trip down South | A long weekend in Charleston

We recently got back from Charleston where we spent a four day weekend taking in sights and eating (everything in sight!) .  Charleston kept popping up in various Travel Guides as an ‘It’ destination and since we were looking for a quick and easy trip from New York to go for our wedding anniversary we decided that the time to go down there was now.  And it did not disappoint – other than the weather (I guess I don’t take that well to the heat!) it was lovely – quaint and charming, very walkable and with great food everywhere.  We spent four days there and that was plenty of time to see what this city has to offer.  We took a horse carriage ride through the old town, visited a plantation, checked out an aircraft carrier, went on a house tour, had a gospel brunch and logged in thousands and thousands and thousands of steps!  Scroll down if you want to see pictures from the trip.

And if you are planning your own trip to Charleston here is some info you might find useful:

Hotel

I did not know anything about Charleston when I was looking at hotels so I just went with one that had great TripAdvisor reviews, had cool pictures on their website and seemed to be in a good location.  We stayed at the Dewberry Hotel.  The location was good – it was definitely walkable everywhere but I think next time I would want to stay in French Quarter.  It is very well maintained, everybody is super friendly and professional and they have a private choufered car that can take you anywhere downtown, which was a nice perk!   The hotel is located right across Marion Square where they have farmers markets every Saturday so that was lovely as well!

Things To Do

We had an action packed weekend and saw a lot of things Charleston has to offer including:

Palmeto Carriage Ride – there are lots of carriage rides companies in Charleston but our concierge recommended this one and it was great – about an hour in a carriage with a very informative driver – definitely worth checking out!

Boone Hall Plantation  – we were actually thinking about going to another plantation but on the way there our Uber driver mentioned that Boone Hall had a very cool alley full of old oaks so we changed our destination and went to Boone Hall.  I am glad we did – it was awesome – oaks covered with Spanish moss were amazing and the whole plantation was stunning.  There are lots of tours you can take – we did not take them all but the ones we did were great.

USS Yorktown – if I never need to prove to anyone what I great wife I am i’ve got physical proof – photos of me on USS Yorktown – an aircraft carrier – in the middle of a very bright and hot day!  I think once you’ve seen one aircraft carrier you’ve seen them all but my husband tends to disagree so I, being as wonderful as I am, agreed to go and check out Yorktown.  If you are in that type of things – go check it out… but honestly I would be Ok if I never go to another airplane carrier again…

Nathaniel Russel House  – it was recommended to us by our concierge and if I am being honest, we went there because she said it was air-conditioned!:)  But I am glad we did – I generally don’t love house tours but this one was very interesting – the house is in a great condition and I was seriously blown away by all the architectural details in it!

Restaurants

Restaurants it the part of the trip I spent the most time researching.   I’ve asked my friends, read lists by Conde Naste Travel, Southern Living, Travel and Leisure and crossed checked their ratings on TripAdvisor; I’ve made reservations weeks in advance and then feedback from the concierge to make sure what we got to taste a variety of cuisines Charleston has to offer… I won’t even mention how much time I spent restaurant researching – I am too embarrassed to say (or write it!) out laud!   But you can reap the fruit of my labor and check out all these awesome places we went to:

xiao bao biscuit – this place was literally on ALL the lists and many people (who don’t know each other ) recommended it – so of course we had to check it out.   This place was AWESOME – easily one of our absolute favorites in Charleston.  It is super casual (we went there for lunch) and I think it is set up in an old gas station… it is fusion cuisine and we’ve had the best food there – Victor and I both agreed that it was better than authentic thai, Chinese or Indian food we’ve had in Thailand, China or India!  So do yourself an favor and GO THERE!  Their menu changes often but from what I know their cabbage pancake is a staple – you have to get it.

Husk –  this is another place that everyone recommends and that is  on every list… It tried to make a reservation over 3 weeks in advance and the only table I was able to get (and that was due to a cancellation) was a 8:30 table for a THURSDAY night!  It is a modern southern/farm-to-table place and it was good.  I can’t say that it was the most amazing meal I’ve ever had (although their corn bread is SO GOOD!) but it was a solid dinner… If you want to go there you need to reserve weeks in advance!

Tu – another fusion restaurant – brainchild of the people behind Xiao Bao… I almost cancelled our reservation here because I did not want us to have the same type of fusion food two nights in a row but our concierge convinced me to keep it and I am glad it did.  This place was interesting – really funky and cool – and I had no idea what any of the ingredients listed on the menu were!  But it all tasted really good!

167 Raw – we had to try this place because literally EvERYBODY told us to go there… We went for lunch and there was a 30 minute wait(they don’t take reservations)…. but you can order a drink while waiting so it was not too bad…The place is TINY but so worth the wait – the food is AMAZING!!!  They serve the freshest seafood I’ve had in a long long time… We got #allthethings- shrimp, clams, oysters, tuna burgers; but my absolute favorite was their scallops po’boy – I kid you not when I say I still think about it – and it’s been over a week since I’ve had it…. imagine the freshest scallops in a brown butter beets sauce on a super fresh roll soaked in more brown butter… did I say BROWN BUTTER??!!  it is SO GOOD!

Chez Nous – another restaurants where it is impossible to get a table… what’s interesting about this place is that they change their menu daily and only offer two choices for appetisers, mains and desserts.. so if you want to have control over what you get to eat, this may not be the place for you.. They do post their menu for the day on instagram but they also require a 24 hour cancellation and charge your credit card (which they take to hold a reservation) if you cancel it within 24 hours… It is located in charming little house with a patio so if you like the menu for that day you are in for a great evening!

Hominy Grill – a great place for everything breakfast and lunch so naturally we went there for brunch… I had a biscuit and grits with eggs – it was surprisingly light and really good!

Halls Chophouse – this place is one of the top restaurants in Charleston, has been featured on several travel and food shows and has been written up in a bunch of places so naturally I thought I would be disappointed because EVERYONE is talking about it and seems liked a tourist trap.  The only reason why I went there is because they have a gospel brunch and I thought I would enjoy the music a lot more than the food… Boy was I wrong – music was great but the food and service were SPECTACULAR!!!  I guess all those reviewers know what they are talking about!  This is another one of the places where you need to make reservations waaayyyy in advance so do yourself a favor and book a table there!