My first taste of Charleston came over a decade ago, when I moved there to write about the local cuisine. I had never even been to the city before, and chronicling the turbulent restaurant scene of such a vibrant, historic place with no prior firsthand knowledge or hands-on tasting experience felt daunting.
My inexperience with the city, however, ultimately proved to be a gift. Simply put, I ate like a tourist. I hit all the award-winners, I took my co-workers’ recommendations, and when I made contacts within the food and restaurant community, I took their suggestions as well. I said “yes” to everything, and that strategy served as a crash course in Lowcountry food culture. In a year, I learned the ins and out, the overrated and the underrated, and the best and the worst of almost everything. I became a Charleston foodie, and I was paid to do it.
Before I moved there, all I knew of Charleston’s food was “seafood,” And for good reason: The seafood scene there is the best. In making these recommendations, though, I tried to offer an eclectic array of styles and cuisines. There’s plenty of seafood (the ocean is literally right there!), but you’ll also find less fishy options, from the refined (Wagyu Beef Tartare at a James Beard Award-winner) to the distinctly and intentionally unrefined (a Basket O’ Corndogs at a Johns Island dive). There are also some of the best barbecue you’ll ever eat and more hangover-worthy cocktails than you can imagine.
Start your day with a Lowcountry breakfast
People flock to Charleston for shrimp and grits. It’s the dish most associated with the city, and nobody does it better than Millers All Day. Millers accompanies its ultra-fresh shrimp and corn grits with Tasso ham, local mushrooms, and toasted bene seeds. It has two locations, one on King Street in the middle of everything and another out on James Island. There’s also a roving food truck, but I recommend pulling up a chair at one of the brick and mortars and enjoying a little AC before heading out to explore the humid city…