Charleston South Carolina is a quaint charming place to visit, particularly for a romantic getaway. It is also loaded with lots of great restaurants that can take on the some of the best in America’s urban centers. Below are four top picks we’d recommend giving a try next time if you have Charleston on your “hot” list.
The MacKintosh: The Macintosh serves homegrown cuisine in a comfortable neighborhood space situated on Charleston’s bustling upper King Street. The collective vision of chef Jeremiah Bacon and managing partner Steve Palmer of the Indigo Road Restaurant Group, the Macintosh serves accessible dishes that are rooted in the spirit of the Southern palate. Dinner may also be enjoyed on the back patio, complete with a fire pit, making the experience even better.
Open for dinner and Sunday brunch, the Macintosh brings a taste of homegrown cuisine to Charleston, offering a soulful menu inspired by Charleston-native and executive chef, Jeremiah Bacon. Bacon’s local-first philosophy and long standing relationships with Lowcountry farmers and purveyors creates an original menu of classic and seasonal favorites. Located below its sister lounge, The Cocktail Club, the Macintosh features a comfortable dining room, bar area, and an open-air back patio. A native of John’s Island South Carolina, Jeremiah Bacon was destined to be a chef.
The Fig: The restaurant works with local farmers, growers and purveyors to source products with integrity, flavor and soul, and incorporate these seasonal offerings into our menus nightly. The result is food that is honest, straightforward and pays homage to the bounty of the Lowcountry region where they use ingredients at their peak. It’s all about taking advantage of the local season at hand.
Laid-back, eclectic and unpretentious, Fig is one part retro diner, one part neighborhood café, and one part elegant bistro. Their wine list features 100 bottles under $100. Their wines, like our food, are never static and change with the seasons. Labels range from interesting newcomers to Old-World classics from small-production winemakers.
McCradys: McCrady’s Restaurant, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Landmarks, represents the best of the amalgam that is new Southern fine dining, concomitantly serving as a canvas for postmodern gastronomy. The menu, created by Chef Sean Brock, recipient of the 2010 James Beard Best Chef Southeast award, centers around inventive cuisine fresh from the farm and local purveyors.
The McCrady’s bar specializes in hand-crafted cocktails and features a Wine Spectator Award-winning wine list, as well as a diverse and delicious Bar Snack menu created by Chef Brock. Each day, a chalkboard above the bar will offer several featured snacks. It is located on 2 Unity Alley in Charleston.
The Rare Bit: Located on King Street in Charleston, the restaurant brings early-to-mid-’60s style to the neighborhood — and all-day breakfast. According to a local Charleston City Paper, “the concept originally started out closer to a mid-century Hollywood diner, but it’s since morphed into more of a Hollywood club, especially considering the quality of their cocktail menu. The interior is gorgeous; there is artwork of Steve McQueen, a faux rock wall (and not in the climbing sense) that just screams L.A. diner, mid-century modern furniture, and even an Art-O-Matic machine.”
Fig photo credit: roadfood. com.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
