A Charleston Food Tour: Where to Eat Southern Style

 

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If you’re thinking about a visit to Charleston, South Carolina, don’t forget to plan food into your itinerary. Lots of food. There are no shortages of it in the South and this charming coastal city is no exception. I’m sharing my personal Charleston food tour to help you get a true taste of southern culinary paradise!

My Charleston Food Tour

1. Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit

Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit will give you a taste of southern goodness. Biscuit heaven type of southern goodness. I got to meet Carrie, the owner, while I was there. She is the daughter of Callie and has continued to share her mother’s fabulous biscuits with Charleston as well as making them available all over the United States.

The interior is cute and southern chic as is the ordering counter.

There are many options available, but I highly recommend trying out a few different flavors of biscuits and accompaniments to get the full experience.

I got the Shortbread, Buttermilk and Cheese & Chive biscuits and paired them with the Regular Pimiento Cheese, Carolina Honey and Peach Basil Jam.

No surprise that Carrie and her hot little bites of heaven have been touted by Food and Wine, the NY Times, Southern Living and even Oprah!

Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit is located at 476 1/2 King Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

2. Virginia’s On King

Virginia’s On King wasn’t actually on my list ahead of time. Sometimes I go with recommendations once I arrive in a destination and Virginia’s was a recommendation from our hotel. A good recommendation I might add.

Let me introduce you to their Sawmill Poutine appetizer my mom and I shared. Poutine is a Canadian dish that I love. I was highly surprised to find it in South Carolina since I’ve only found it in a couple of places in the Northern US.

This fabulous goodness consists of fries with Charleston Artisan local cheese curds, sawmill gravy, and scallions. It is definitely a great southern version of the traditional Poutine.

We also each got the Seasonal Salad. Obviously, as its name implies, the features (such as the fruit) will vary depending on when you visit. Our seasonal fruit in December was strawberries (interestingly), paired with local lettuce, toasted pecans, Battery Park Brie, lemon zest and mint vinaigrette. Phenomenal combination!

Virginia’s On King is located at 412 King Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

3. Crave Kitchen & Cocktails

After a day touring some of the plantation houses and walking the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, we headed to Crave Kitchen for dinner. After all, we had worked up a sizeable appetite.

We started with the Spinach Salad with cranberry blue cheese, green apples, red onions, carrots, and pecans tossed in a warm bacon dressing. By now, you can probably tell I love this type of salad and I did enjoy it, but…

This is what we came for. The Famous Mac N Cheese that we topped with our choice of pulled pork.

Just close your eyes and think about the irresistible combination of that yummy cheese and tender pulled pork…talk about hitting the spot when you’re starving and it’s cold outside. Comfort food at its best!

Crave Kitchen is located at 1968 Riviera Drive, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 29464

4. Page’s Okra Grill

After another day of touring plantation houses and the Angel Oak Tree, we found ourselves at Page’s Okra Grill ready for more southern goodness because clearly, we hadn’t had enough this week.

Love the huge Adirondack chair outside!

So we started with the Shrimp & Grits for our appetizer. Lightly battered cheddar cheese grits that are topped with a smoked andouille cream sauce and pan-seared shrimp? Yes, please!

For my entree, I chose to go old-school southern style with the Country Fried Steak with white pepper gravy accompanied with mac n cheese, green beans, and a biscuit. I was very pleased with my choice!

My mom was a little more creative with her choice of Crab Cakes with pan-seared jumbo, lump, and fresh claw meat served with Cajun remoulade sauce and a green tomato-okra relish!

Page’s Okra Grill is located at 302 Coleman Boulevard, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 29464

5. Persimmon Café

Persimmon Café was perhaps one of the most unique places I’ve been to eat. Besides the fact that it’s located in a laundromat, its menu is really original.

Specializing in locally sourced, natural, and organic (when possible) ingredients, they offer gourmet sandwiches that include exotic combinations of grilled cheese, homemade soups, craft local beer, specialty drinks such as signature limeades and lemonades and frozen custards!

No frills, yet cute, creative and convenient!

I got the Pick Two Grilled Cheese Sandwich with cheddar and goat cheese. I paired it with a side of fig jam and the vanilla lemonade.

My mom went with the Adult Grilled Cheese consisting of smoked gouda, green apple, prosciutto, and cheddar. She paired hers with tomato basil soup and the rosemary lemon tea.

For dessert, we had to get their seasonal special frozen custard for December-Peppermint and White Chocolate! Absolutely amazing if you are a chocolate peppermint lover like we are!

I noticed the café is part of Uber Eats…wonder if they will deliver to Birmingham? I mean, it’s only a tad bit out of the way…right? I’d totally be willing to tip extra! 😉

Persimmon Café is located at 226 Calhoun Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401

6. Toast of Charleston

Ready for a Toast of Charleston? You should be!

As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have the Deluxe French Toast.

Question: What part of recommended by the New York Times with hand-cut currant bread stuffed with peaches and topped with peach cider syrup could I resist?

Answer: Zip. Nada. None.

Question: Correct decision?

Answer: Absolutely.

We also tried…wait for it…wait for it…the Shrimp & Grits. Yep, here too! This version had sauteed shrimp, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, onions, sausage deglazed with white wine and was served with a lobster cream sauce over grits.

We wrapped up this feast with biscuits and honey and their hot chocolate!

Entrance all decorated for Christmas!

Toast of Charleston has four locations in the greater Charleston area, but the downtown location we went to is located at 155 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401

7. Hominy Grill

Last but not least, we capped off our amazing foodie adventure in Charleston with the Hominy Grill. Brunch here is something that shouldn’t be missed. Plain and simple.

Hominy Grill’s Courtyard

I had already zeroed in on their signature Charleston Nasty Biscuit. That’s a name that grabs attention, right? A monster of a biscuit, it features a southern fried chicken breast doused in cheddar and sausage gravy. It’s the kind of thing that would make both my southern grandmothers quite proud!

And guess what? Yep. Mom had the Shrimp & Grits (also a signature dish) with bacon, mushrooms, and scallions. Imagine that…I know you’re totally shocked at this point! I feel like I could do a whole separate post on just shrimp and grits in Charleston, but I digress…

This time we actually had room made room for dessert. They had one of my mom’s favorites, Coconut Cake and one of my favorites, Chocolate Pudding.

I’m personally not a fan of coconut so I didn’t try the cake, but Mom said it was definitely a prize worth all the walking we did. I felt the exact same about the chocolate pudding!

Hominy Grill is located at 207 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

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Here are all the locations complete with photos for easy reference!

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Charleston, really. We must have a talk about your lack of unique and delicious places to dine on southern cuisine. I mean it’s not like I dream about driving 8 hours to eat with you or anything…

Okay, fine. You win. I do dream about driving 8 hours just to eat with you so just stop it already, mm-kay?

So, who’s ready to eat???

Have you been to Charleston and want to add anything to my list? You know I always love hearing from you!

‘Til next time…

Trimm Travels,

Heather