Charleston, SC
St Michael’s Anglican Church
Charleston has long been on our list of southern cities we wanted to see and we were not disappointed. In fact, we loved it! It is similar in many ways to Savannah. It oozes history on almost every street. There are so many beautiful buildings. It is easy to navigate, and it has as many, if not more, outstanding restaurants.
Downtown Charleston
One of many churches in the downtown area
We did the self-guided walking tour (or at least part of it, before stopping for lunch and a cold drink), and saw a lot of the city’s history. Rainbow road is as colorful as advertised…and completely swamped with Instagram stars. Some of the oldest parts of the city like Chalmers Rd and Tradd St. are unbelievably charming with their revolutionary war-era homes and cobblestone streets. Charleston’s history as a major slave market was evident in a couple of ways including the building that housed the last active slave market in the country, and the home of two sisters who, because of their personal experience with slaves, became leading abolitionists in the country. We visited the city market and a quirky little alley called, at differing times, Duelers Alley and Philadelphia Alley both names that derived from questionable historical accounts of things that purportedly happened in that spot.
McLeod Plantation
McLeod Plantation
Outside Charleston proper, we went to the McLeod Plantation which is dedicated to telling plantation history from the perspective of the enslaved people instead of the enslavers. It was fascinating to learn that much of the popular notion of southern plantation life was an artifice created as part of the post—Civil War Lost Cause narrative that sought to recast the war from being about slavery to being about State’s Rights. As misguided and inaccurate as that effort was, it was also somewhat successful as elements of that version of events continue to be repeated to this day.
Shem Creek
We also took a ride over to Shem Creek, a cool little area built around a marina that features an elevated boardwalk that wanders through the marshes and several restaurants/bars overlooking the water. We had lunch at Saltwater Cowboys, which was seemed to be a very popular choice.
The Foodie Scene
Church & Union
All this activity seemed to make us consistently hungry and/or thirsty. So, it was a good thing Charleston is consistently rated one of the top food destinations in the country.
Sorelle
Our first dining experience was at Sorelle (pronounced sor-el-LAY). We can say with great confidence that this was the best dining experience of our two-month Southeastern journey. We started in the bar where Christina discovered her new favorite drink, the Hugo Spritz. We had a butternut squash lasagna as a starter which was amazing. Next, we moved on to the entree for which we chose their best seller, Pillows of Gold (described in their menu as Ricotta Tortelloni, Prosciutto Cotto, Very Good Butter, Balsamico Extravecchio). We couldn’t say for sure but we thought the “very good butter” may have been what put this dish over the top. Words can’t do it justice, but here is a quote from another patron about this dish…..he said, “I would street fight a guy twice my size for just one more bite of Pillows of Gold!” That pretty much captures it. We wrapped things up with a dessert called ZEPPOLE E CAFFÈ which was the restaurant’s version of tiramisu. It was heavenly!!! We would go back just for that!
Poogan’s Porch
Other places we ate were Poogan’s Porch for a nice brunch, Saltwater Cowboys in Shem’s Creek overlooking the water, and Church and Union which is located in an 1850’s Baptist Church. All had good food and good drinks!
We always ask ourselves as we are leaving a new area if we would ever go back. Charleston gets a definite “yes”!
