I’m not sure about you, but I couldn’t possibly take nearly two weeks off of work without doing something. Yes, during the holidays, there is food to eat, family to entertain and merriment to be had. But for those of us who get stir crazy with too much “free time,” there are also places to go.
And places to go over the holiday, I went. I went to Charleston, SC to be exact. My first time, too.
So what did I think? Here are the deets on my 2 days in Charleston.
Charleston’s food is good
I was a bad food photographer in Charleston, so I unfortunately don’t have any good pictures to show for all of the delicious food that I ate. I wasn’t there for too long, so there wouldn’t be much to show for it, anyways.
The highlights of my food tour of Charleston were definitely HUSK and Tasty Thai & Sushi. We also hit up Crabhouse (wasn’t that great for the price) and the breakfast buffet at the Holiday Inn Riverview (don’t bother if you have to pay, we had coupons and it was free). In true vacation-mode fashion, we also made a point to stop for midday and early evening cocktails at Henry’s House and Blind Tiger (sweet happy hour specials the day we were there).
HUSK
HUSK is, according to its website, a “celebration of southern ingredients.” They have a menu that rotates twice daily, once for lunch and once for dinner. The menu is crafted each day to utilize the freshest local, southern ingredients that are around. If you are the type of person that likes to know the farm that your food came from, this is definitely the place for you.
My boyfriend enjoyed their chicken biscuit sandwich and I enjoyed their pork belly sandwich. Having tasted both (obviously, I’m going to try some of his), I can say that they were both superb. While my boyfriend contends that his chicken biscuit was a bit heavy, he definitely went home with a happy (albeit full) tummy. For those of you who like to imbibe, they also had an interesting selection of southern-style cocktails. I wasn’t brave enough, but again Richard (boyfriend) was and he quite enjoyed his Charleston Light Dragoon’s Punch.
Rating: 5 of 5
Price: $$$
Tasty Thai & Sushi
Although Charleston isn’t exactly the first place you think of to get Thai or other sorts of Asian cuisine, we found a gem in Tasty Thai & Sushi. We stopped there for lunch with friends before leaving town and it was a good, affordable place to stop. Knowing that the restaurant served both Thai and sushi, I wasn’t exactly sure what I would order when I arrived. Do I want Pad Thai? Or do I want sushi? Luckily, the restaurant made that decision easy for me: they offered a lunch combo special! I was able to enjoy six pieces of spicy tuna roll and a solid serving of Pad Thai for a cool $10.
Rating: 4 of 5
Price: $$
Charleston is cute, quaint and bustling
Charleston is a quaint little city. It’s highly walkable and there are brightly colored buildings everywhere! In fact, Charleston is known for its brightly colored buildings, commonly referred to as Rainbow Row. I had fun taking pictures of them and envisioning myself sitting on the second floor porches of the homes drinking a lemonade (or sweet tea, if you prefer).
The College of Charleston, which is neatly nestled into the heart of downtown is also beautiful. It’s technically a “city” campus, but it’s brick lined paths, historic buildings turned academic buildings and intricate iron gates would lead you to believe otherwise.
Charleston is right on the coast, but there are no beaches to be found in the city area. Instead, we walked down to the harbor and were able to get a good view of the port. It was a brisk day, but the view was fantastic.
While Charleston is cute and quaint and filled with beautiful old buildings, it’s quite the bustling place. We arrived a couple of days after Christmas and the day before a Carnival Cruise ship was supposed to leave port, so it was quite busy in the downtown area when we were there. School wasn’t even in session, so I’m afraid to think how packed the sidewalks would have been if the 16,000 College of Charleston students had been thrown into the mix.
My Verdict?
Based on my super scientific rating system, I would give Charleston a 3 out of 5 as a travel destination. This means that I liked it, but probably wouldn’t go there again for the sake of travel.
Charleston was a bit touristy and I’m not sure that I could keep myself busy for much more than the 2 days that I was there already. There were some plantations and museums that we didn’t hit up, but other than that I think I saw all that I wanted to see. This is all with the caveat that I probably will end up there again someday, though that would be more as a visitor than as a tourist. You see, Richard went to college there and he has friends/connections down there and whatnot, so I’m sure we’ll be back.
