A Day In Charleston

I drove south to Charleston on Wednesday afternoon. I’ve needed a Charleston *fix* for a while, it’s been ages since I last visited. Certainly I prefer to visit Charleston with my honey-puss Gary, because it’s such a LOVER-ly city, but he’s in Charlotte right now and I just wanted to go for the day - so there you have it. I was only there for about 4 hours, but in that time I managed to do everything I set out to do.

First I stopped into a shop called Indigo. Funny story there, but I’ll save that for a separate post. I bought some nifty giftable items which I will save for some girly birthday presents or stocking stuffers for Christmas. I also bought a moleskin notepad. I wanted to have something other than - gasp! - a newspaper - since I’d be dining solo later. That way they'd (maybe) think I was a food critic! Ha!

After leaving Indigo I went across the street to the Vendue Inn, a venerable hotel and landmark in downtown Charlie-town, for a pre-dinner warm-up. A warm-up? Yeah, before heading into a restaurant for dinner by myself, I thought it’d be better to ease into it with a drink at a nice bar first. I suppose I felt like I needed some practice because I haven’t done that in so long - I mean, I have a real live boyfriend to go places with normally. But I’m pleased to report that I actually had a conversation with a couple of people at the Roof Top Bar. It was funny to step back and observe that I still have the ability to speak coherently and with reasonable ease and intelligence - basically - to hold my own - when speaking to complete strangers, by myself. Now that I'm living in such isolation sometimes I don't recognize myself as myself. Does that make sense? Once upon a time I used to do that sort of thing for sport dontcha know.

Anyhow, the breeze up there was as delightful as the view - and I enjoyed a single Mint Julep. Most of the old buildings along the battery were intentionally positioned to maximize the breeze coming off the harbor, back in the days before air conditioning. It was a very enjoyable experience, but the main event was still going to be dinner at my favorite restaurant in the world.



Slightly North Of Broad has been my favorite place to eat in Charleston since the mid-90’s when I first moved there after college. The owner, Chef Frank Lee, was one of the first in Charleston to use strictly local and regional ingredients to create their incredible menus. I have looked to S.N.O.B. for many special occasions in Charleston, and I like to think of it as the place for a true Southern fine dining experience.

I started with an Arugula Salad with blue cheese and pecans, dressed in balsamic and what I believed to be duck fat vinaigrette. I would have licked the plate clean had I thought I could get away with it. SO GOOD.

Then I had the Tenderloin topped with a deviled crab cake, which is one of their signatures, with a house made béarnaise. The beef was so tender it was like they had already cut it into bites and stacked it together - it practically fell apart - but still cooked exactly to medium rare. This is the BEST place for beef tenderloin - and they are so consistent in their exceptional high quality ingredients.

I must add here that the service at S.N.O.B is also consistently professional and outstanding. Tonight I ate at the bar and had the undivided attention of Becky, the bartender, who did an excellent job. Their trainers should be applauded. All the way around, from the food, service, décor and general ambiance - Slightly North Of Broad is without a peer in Charleston, in my (moleskin) notebook.

I rounded out my whirlwind day-trip with one last stop at Kaminsky’s for a slice of pie and an iced coffee for the road. They are pretty legendary for their huge selection of “by the slice” cakes and pies and I don’t think I’ve ever been in there when a table was open. I got a slice of German chocolate (I think?) pie to go, and it s now sitting in my fridge here at the boat because I was so full after my wonderful dinner I couldn't eat a bite. No doubt it’ll make a great breakfast in the morning!