Charleston

I can't begin to explain how great of a time I had in Charleston visiting one of my best friends from college for New Year's. I was really excited to experience the "South" for the first time and Charleston did not disappoint. Without turning into a full blown tourism ad, let me give you the highlights about why should you go to Charleston:

1. It's cultural. I've always been shocked by how different places are even within the US but was still not mentally prepared by how different the city, the landscape and the people were when I arrived. All the houses are painted distinct pastel colors, with huge outdoor porches and some raised up a story to protect from flooding. There is water everywhere even in the air during the "winter" and the oak trees and spanish moss brought to life all the descriptions I've read from writers like Truman Capote in the "southern gothic" genre. The people are incredibly friendly and the land is incredibly flat. Overall, it's an beautiful small city with a lot of old school grandeur that is a stark contrast to the skyscrapers, big lights, and brisk people of New York.

2. There are lots of things to do. Because of it's proximity to water, there are plenty of outdoor activities to do year around because the weather is generally very temperate. There's a state park close by, historical plantation houses and buildings, distilleries (shoutout to Firefly!) and breweries, as well several shops, restaurants, and bars.

3. The food scene is off the chain. Like I thought I knew what “southern” food was...until I actually went to the south. Here are the things you must consume:

Oysters: we started off with what i wanted to eat the most. Fresh steamed oysters caught just that day at Bowen’s. You can buy them for by the bucket or tray and then you wiggle them open yourself. They are incredibly fresh and can be eaten with a bit of horseradish on a saltine cracker. The fried fish was also popular here and the line started 30 mins before the place even opened!

Soul food: we chose to eat at Martha Lou's but also considered Nana's Seafood and Soul or Dave's Carry Out. This was hands down the best fried chicken I’ve had. It was perfectly balances, not oily, very crunchy without having too thick of a coating, and extremely tender. Also mind blowing were the collard greens which were sweet instead of bitter and had a little smokey-ness to them.

She crab soup: A local delicacy. Think of a sweet chowder filled with stringy bits of crab and colored pink with little eggs. Incredibly decadent and rich but truly a must while in the area.

Pimiento cheese, pork rinds, fried pickled okra: ok, so the bar snack game was strong (especially with all of those clemson fans). Pimiento cheese is a mixture of shredded cheese, mayo, chili peppers, a dash of random condiments, and at Saltwater Cowboy sprinkled with bacon and paired with seasoned pork rinds. Need I say more. The craziest thing though is that i liked the pickled fried okra even better and prefer it over fried pickes because they are even crunchier while remaining flavorful in the middle.

Firefly: although not a food, I highly recommend going to the destillery to try all the flavors. Although the sweet tea version is widely sold throughout the US, many of their other flavors are only sold in certain states and some only locally because of their shelf life. Definitely try the lemon one which would be so good to spike an ice tea. They also sell moonshine, liquers, and have a winery next door which had blueberry wine when we went which was also incredible.

Biscuits: Eat at Callie's Hot Little Biscuits. So flakey, moist, and a little crumbly packed with flavor. Once again, it was like I’d never had a biscuit before.

Barbeque: Nothing in the Northeast can really compare to what they do in the south when it comes to barbeque. I’ve also had incredible barbeque in Texas but the meat at Lewis Barbeque was nothing to sniff at. In particular, the brisket (which we requested on the fatty side) was mind blowingly full of awesome umami.

Shrimp and grits: For NYE we enjoyed a classy dinner at Old Village Post House Inn and for my last meal I had to try the shrimp and grits. The grits were much smoother and sweeter than I’ve ever had before with a strong corn-forward taste. The shrimp were enormous, doused in a ham gravy, and paired for an incredibly hearty but flavorful dish.