High Cotton

When you are having a girls weekend of course you need to have a special dress up dinner and this one took place at High Cotton, a sister restaurant to Slightly North of Broad. The restaurant had live music, beautiful light blue striped fabric on the walls lots of candles creating this intimate that drew up in.   Like a lot of restaurants in Charleston, they pride themselves on using as many fresh and local ingredients as they can. The meal started off with some She-crab soup, a soup that is a feature of the Charleston region. It is similar to a bisque and uses the female crab. Though heavy cream is a main ingredient in the soup, it didn't feel like a very heavy soup and there were large chunks of crab meat in the soup. It had paprika notes in the background and a nice balance of flavor.

 Along with that was a grilled peach and watermelon salad. If that doesn't say summer on a plate, I don't what does. I haven't had a ton of grilled fruit but I do know that for some reason it seems to bring out the fruit flavor even more. The peach was still extremely juicy and the watermelon was super fresh and crisp. It was served on a bed of arugula with crumbled feta and a Serrano vinaigrette dressing. The saltiness of the feta and the arugula helped round out the flavors in the salad. The dressing had a hint of heat to it, but it wasn't too overwhelming. The salad had sweet, salty, acidity, and a little bitterness from the arugula. It was one of the most well composed salads I have had. The soup and the salad set the bar pretty high, so I started to get very excited about how the rest of the meal would unfold.

The first selection was a roasted chicken breast on a bed of sauteed spinach with a parsley coulis. Though I was a bit skeptical of the chicken because most of the time it is not usually something that amazes me. However, this one did...but only because of the parsley coulis. It was a mix of parsley, lemon, chives, tarragon, olive oil, salt and pepper. It's amazing how much flavor these simple ingredients have which took the dish to the next level. It was a chicken dish worth ordering again and proved that when prepared properly chicken can stand on it's own.

I can't say that I am wild about ordering exotic meats but I will usually try them if someone else orders it. Maybe it's because I am not a huge meat eater, but this was one of those times where I was willing to try. This was rabbit served on a bed of pimento cheese grits. It had an au jus sauce over it to keep the meat nice and tender. I tried not to think about what I was actually eating too much or else I think I might have psyched myself out. However, I was surprised at how mild and tender it was. The pimento cheese grits were very representative of local favorites and where pretty hearty in texture. I am not sure if I would ever order rabbit on my own, but I am glad that I had the opportunity to try it as it was much better than I expected.

The last entree selection was roasted monkfish with pork shoulder sugo, fried capers, calabrese olives and tomatoes with a touch of lemon. The monkfish is a fairly mild whitefish that some have compared to lobster tail. The fried capers added a textural element to the dish and olives brought some salt to the dish without it being too salty. The pork shoulder sugo (sugo is Italian for sauce) added richness and depth to the fish. The pork was tender and not too fatty and was interesting play on the traditional red sauce. I would have never thought to put together pork and fish, but it was a surprisingly good combination.

We finally arrived at one of my favorite parts of the meal. Why dessert comes last doesn't make sense to me, but maybe it's just because you save the best for last? Of course the dessert selections were just as creative tempting as the meal and the decisions were very difficult. Creme Brulee is a favorite so naturally this Grand Marnier Creme Brulee was selected. It was served with a dollop of whipped cream and a piece of candied orange. The crust was perfect and the custard wasn't overly sweetened. The orange in the background was light and perfect for the summer. The whipped cream tasted like it was made from scratch and didn't leave that coating in your mouth. They do know how to make one delicious Creme Brulee.

Of course you can't have dessert without some kind of chocolate involved. This was a dark chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream, pretzel pieces and a caramel drizzle. I was a bit skeptical at first since pudding wouldn't be the first thing that popped into my head when thinking about upscale desserts. However, this wasn't your typical pudding that can be thin and artificial tasting. It seemed to be on the verge of a chocolate fudge with a decadent chocolate taste. The crunch of the pretzels helped to keep the dish from becoming overly sweet and the whipped cream added a lightness to the pudding. Chocolate and caramel are one of the combinations that you can't go wrong with and definitely proved to me that pudding can be very upscale.

Last but not least was a set of ice cream sandwiches. They may not sound super fancy, but it was a nice flashback to my childhood. One was made with chocolate chip cookies and a scoop of peanut butter hazelnut gelato. The other was sugar cookies with lemongrass lavender gelato. The cookies were able to hold in the ice cream fairly well without getting soggy. The chocolate chip cookies had lots of chocolate chunks throughout and sugar cookies were silky and buttery. You could taste the peanut butter and the hazelnut in the gelato and neither one overwhelmed the other. The lemongrass lavender gelato was heavenly and fresh with both floral and citrus notes. Neither one was too sweet and somehow managed to not immediately melt into a giant puzzle. I wouldn't recommend eating these if you are trying to impress someone as they did get a bit messy, but sometimes it's the messiest things that are the best. The meal at High Cotton was truly memorable and definitely highlighted the wonderful culinary world in Charleston.  

Irvin-House Vineyards and Firefly Distillery

When I decided that I was going to be visiting Charleston, I started thinking about what I wanted to do and what popped into my head but the Firefly Distillery. I'll admit that I am not a die hard Firefly fan, I do know that it is pretty delicious and I have never been to distillery so we were taking the journey to visit. What I found out was that the couple that started Firefly in 2008 also had a vineyard on the property, so that suddenly made an appearance on the list. I can honestly say that when I think of the South, wine is not a product that I immediately think of, but leave to the world to surprise me. After arriving, we got our tasting tickets and headed inside to try the wines of the Irvin House Vineyards. It started off with a highly entertaining video about the history of the vineyards and how they make their wine. These wines are made with the Muscadine grape and are traditionally not overly sweet.

There were five different varieties that we tasted - Tara Gold, Magnolia, Live Oak Reserve, Mullet Hall Red, and Palmetto. It started off with the lightest white and their darkest red. The wines were definitely not impressive and I found it interesting that all of the wines seemed to lack any aromas when you smelled the wine. It was just like smelling grapes. Luckily that just meant that I avoided that complication of trying to figure out how to bring back any wine, but it was fine to go to the tasting. Next up was a short walk over to the Firefly tasting room. I was slightly disappointed that you didn't actually get to tour the distillery, but that didn't mean that there wasn't any tasting going on. They had three different bars set up where you got to select 6 samples. I wasn't aware of this but Firefly also makes two different spiced rums, moonshine and liqueurs in addition to the vodka. I ended up trying the Sweet Tea bourbon, spiced rum (a bit like Captain Morgan), lemonade (only available at the distillery), peach moonshine, blackberry moonshine, and coconut cake liqueur. As much as I was feeling adventurous, I was not at all going to tackle the White Lighting - 101 proof moonshine..talk about not messing around! The sweet tea bourbon was surprisingly good because of the subtle sweetness and the moonshine had very lovely fruit flavors. The coconut cake liqueur tasted exactly like the cake. Though we didn't bring any home, it was a fun experience and something different to do. If you ever get to the Charleston area, be sure to make the drive out to visit Firefly.

Lowcountry Bistro

During our culinary tour, we received tons of restaurant and food suggestions about places and dishes to try and this particular place was recommended because of one of their unique dessert offerings (just wait until you hear what it is!). Of course we needed to refuel after our journey around the city, so we went to Lowcountry Bistro for a late brunch. I am one of those people that could eat brunch food at anytime of the day, so (whether the table liked it or not), we ordered a little bit of sweet and a little bit of savory. The savory started with a roasted turkey sandwich with spinach and a cherry aioli. The turkey was flavorful and with the cherry aioli it reminded me of a leftover Thanksgiving dinner sandwich. The chips were crispy and sprinkled with a touch of seasoning salt. One of the brunch specials were fried pickles. These were not pickle chips, but rather pickle spears that had been brined with herbs. Unlike some fried pickles, the coating was fairly thin and had some herbs mixed into it. The pickles still had a nice crunch to them and the touch of sour cream drizzle helped balance out the acidity.

Some how I feel like my eyes were immediately drawn to the chicken and waffles on the menu. It is a classic Southern dish and this version sounded beyond amazing! It was a bacon sweet potato cornbread waffle topped with half of a fried chicken (yes, it was a full half of a chicken) served with a pecan butter and bourbon maple syrup. Can you say heaven on a plate?! After eating this, I can say that my expectations of chicken and waffles are extraordinarily high. The chicken was fried with the skin on, keeping the chicken juicy and the outside was smoky and had just the right crunch to it. The coating helped enhance the flavor of the chicken instead of masking it like most fried coatings do. The sweet potato waffle was light and fluffy and the bacon pieces mixed in added crunch and depth of flavor. The pecan butter and bourbon maple syrup were just the icing on the cake so to speak. Separately the flavors of each component was delicious, but when you ate it all together it was a food symphony for your taste buds!

Of course since we ended up at Lowcountry Bistro because of this one particular dessert, it was a necessity that we try it - grilled cornbread strawberry shortcake. Now I know you are thinking grilled cornbread that can't possibly work, but I assure you that it most certainly does. The cornbread is sweet and the grill adds a nice crust to the outside while keeping the inside delicate and moist. It was topped with rum soaked strawberries and whipped cream. The strawberries retained enough moisture that there didn't need to be a sauce to the dish, but it was definitely not dry. It is one of the more unique dessert I have had and it was definitely worth the wait. Now I will just have to work on making my own grilled cornbread. I can say that when you listen to the people around you, you can stumble on some amazing culinary finds. I am so glad that we went for dessert but got to try brunch because it was delicious. It's a good thing that I can't visit more often because I might get myself into a lot of trouble.

Culinary Tour - Jim 'N Nick's BBQ

Saving the best for last on the culinary tour was a trip to Jim 'N Nick's BBQ restaurant. If you have ever been anywhere in the South, you know that barbecue is one of the main food groups and it is a must try. It's divided up into different areas and each area is known for specific types of barbecue. In Texas, the focus is on beef (things like beef brisket and ribs) and the sauces is thicker and tends to be molasses based. However in Charleston, I found that pork was the meat of choice for barbecue and the sauce was a tomato and vinegar based, thus making a thinner sauce. Barbecue in the South is a hotly debated topic and every version has their die hard fans. I think that's what adds to the allure of the barbecue scene is how many different variations there are. At Jim 'N Nick's,  we sampled some of the staples of South Carolina barbecue.

Pulled pork was a given, topped with a healthy dose of barbecue sauce. The pork was super tender and you could taste the smokiness in the background, but it didn't overwhelm the meat itself. Pork is a more delicate meat than beef and sometimes it can be overwhelmed with other flavors. It was served with some bacon collard greens and a cheese cornbread muffin. I am not a huge fan of collard greens (mainly because of the texture and that they are more of a bitter green), but it's hard not to like something when you throw bacon in with it. The cheese cornbread muffin had a lovely balance between the sweetness of the corn and the touch of saltiness from the cheese. I tend to stay away from cornbread because it usually has an artificial corn taste to it, but I am going to attribute that to the fact that I have not had cornbread made the right way. In Texas, you eat barbecue with white bread and the sides are typically potato salad, cole slaw, and beans. It was fun to do a barbecue comparison and I have to say that the cornbread wins over plain white bread any day. The collard greens did not win me over, but I am sure glad that I got to sample the Carolina barbecue from Jim 'N Nick's. Though sadly the tour had to come to an end, it was a great way to sample you way through the cuisine of Charleston.

Culinary Tour - Market Street Sweets

The next stop on the tour was to Market Street Sweets, which is famous for their pralines. They originated in Savannah, started by a mother and daughter who wanted to open a gift shop that turned into a candy store. If you aren't from the South, you probably haven't heard of a praline. This is usually pecans that are coated with a sugar syrup. I have never had a praline before and for some reason thought that they were soft, but they are a somewhat hard candy. These are very sweet and the coating seemed to have a touch of maple to it. The nuts were still crunchy and I am glad that I got to try my first praline, but it was honestly a bit too sweet for me and I wanted to the coating to be a bit softer. However, if you never had one before you should definitely try it because you might really enjoy it, but at least you can say that you tried it.

They are also known for their fudge and melt-in-your-mouth caramels. The open kitchen at the back of the store beckons you in with the intoxicating aroma of chocolate and caramel, but more importantly it is where all the magic happens. The copper pot in the photo is very old and is used to make the sugar syrup for the pralines. Here we got to sample, the caramel, chocolate fudge, cheese zingers, sweet and spicy pecans, and bear claws. The cheese zingers were like a spicy Cheez-It, but had a much better cheese flavor.

The sweet and spicy glazed pecans had a touch of smokiness to them, but the powdered sugar coating helped balance out the flavors. The last thing that was on the sampler platter was a bear claw. When I think of bear claws, I think of a pastry, however that's not traditionally what it is. It is a cluster of pecans and caramel topped with chocolate. I am actually quite a fan of this type of bear claw and it's probably good I didn't figure out what the real thing was sooner. In case you want to make a purchase, you can order something online so you don't have to worry about it melting or if you want to try it and aren't near one of their locations. It is a great place to get some really decadent, homemade treats. Next stop on the tour - barbecue!

Slightly North of Broad

When you are walking down the street, sometimes you stopped to look at something because of the name. We walked by a restaurant called Slightly North of Broad, aka SNOB because it was a name that got my attention. But you know a place must be good when you are looking at the menu and a stranger stops to tell you how it is one of their favorite places. So what did that mean... we needed to try it out. Because we were all finally reunited, we needed to celebrate and so I did that with a refreshing cocktail called Cathead Blues. This was made with honeysuckle vodka, lemonade and muddled blueberries. I have never had honeysuckle vodka, but it is definitely delicious. (Now I just need to figure out where I can get some around here) The fresh blueberries and the tartness of the lemonade were refreshing and mixed quite well.

The South is well known for grits, and shrimp and grits is a quintessential Southern dish, so of course that was definitely on the list of things to try. When this dish can out, I was actually quite surprised because it didn't look like what I had seen before. This shrimp and grits dish was more what I would equate to gumbo because of the sauce that was served with it. When I think of gumbo, I think of a dark "gravy" with meat that's served over rice...which was what this was. It was shrimp, ham, sausage, tomatoes, green onions and garlic served over grits. It was a bit spicy and the grits had a hint of cheese mixed in with them. You can definitely taste the difference between boxed grits and the real kind...the later are ten times better! The combination of meat made this a very hearty dish and would be yummy on a cool fall evening.

I don't eat seafood a lot because I am somewhat picky about it, but knowing that this was a great place for seafood I decided to go for it. Next up was the grilled salmon with a lemon dill butter and asparagus. I can say that this is some of the best salmon I have had. It was tender and flavorful. The grill added some smokiness to it. Salmon and lemon are a well-known combination, but the butter added some creaminess to the dish. The asparagus were crunchy, but fork tender and soaked up the lemon dill butter sauce. It was a dish that didn't leave you feeling super stuffed afterwards.

Obviously when you are down South, you should eat crepes, right?... Okay maybe that's not a given, but it was worth a try. This was a mushroom spinach crepe, with tons of spinach and mushrooms. The spinach wasn't super soggy and I was surprised to find that the crepe wasn't soggy either. The restaurant itself is open but has an intimate atmosphere. It is a fun place to dress up and go a fancier dinner. SNOB is a place that you definitely need to try when you are in Charleston, but be sure to make a reservation as it is one of the city's hot dinner spots. 

Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar

There's no better way to kick off the weekend and relax after a busy day of sightseeing than with some yummy cocktails and delicious appetizers. I think that one of the travel lessons that I learned on this trip is to talk to locals about where to go. They know the hidden gems and the new hot spots, so you can be sure that you are getting an authentic experience. Per someone's suggestion, we headed over to Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar. It was somewhat early in the evening, but the place was already fairly full so we grabbed a seat at the bar...which happened to be quite interesting as it was right by the chef shucking oysters. I ordered a "Flying the Coupe" drink, which was made with pear vodka, acai & pomegranate, lemon, Prosecco, and mint. It was a refreshing beverage that had a nice fruit flavor, but wasn't overly sweet. There was a lovely balance between the sweetness and tartness of the fruit.

Since this was a fish and raw bar, I figured that this was an appropriate place to try out the local seafood fare. With many delicious options, I finally settled on baked local oysters which were their version of Oysters Rockefeller. The oysters were topped with spinach, Tasso (a special type of ham), mousseline, and parmesan. Mousseline is a Hollandaise sauce that has whipped cream or beaten egg whites added to it. The cheese had a nice golden brown finish and the oyster seemed to soak up the flavors. It was a delicate dish that didn't overwhelm the palate and the mousseline gave it a fun frothy mouth feel. Though it wasn't apparent what each individual flavor was, everything melded together to create a yummy bite.

I rarely order dessert though I am not sure why because it is one of my favorite things. This time however, we did order a dessert to split - a chocolate terrine. This dense chocolate cake was something that you don't mess around with. It had an intense, but not overwhelmingly sweet chocolate flavor. It was topped with fresh berries and homemade whipped cream. It was served on a lemon sauce and drizzled with a raspberry coulis. I mean what better combination is there than chocolate, raspberry, and lemon. What was great about this dessert was how natural the sweetness was. It didn't taste like you were eating a bowl of sugar. If you are looking for a fun place to relax and enjoy the local cuisine or just grab a drink, Amen Street is a great place to visit.

Too Cute Cru

Sometimes you just need to get out of the city to clear your head and get a fresh perspective on things. A trip to the Deep South is just the thing the doctor recommended, so I packed my bags and headed to Charleston, South Carolina. Though Texas in the South, it's not quite the same. I wasn't quite sure of what to expect from Charleston, but I heard it was a beautiful place so I figured I probably couldn't go wrong with that. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, but Charleston didn't disappoint! So join me as we take a walk through the lovely city of Charleston.

I'm sure it's not hard to imagine that this journey will be filled with food and drinks because those are two of my favorite things, so the trip started to a quaint little place called Cru. Recommended to us by the hotel, this little spot is tucked away in a old house with a tiny porch that was full of charm. It was quite packed even for being after the usual lunch hour, but fortunately we had called ahead for reservations. (Reservations at pretty much anywhere in Charleston is a must!) After we had ordered, a basket of rosemary sourdough bread showed up on the table as well as a Fat Tire ale to help us plan the rest of the day. Whether they like it or not, my travel companions were pretty much required to share (Why not? You get to try so much more on the menu that way!) First up was a portobello mushroom mozzarella wrap with shoe string french fries. The french fries were slightly salted and crunchy with the nice soft inside. The wrap had tons of fresh, local veggies and melted mozzarella.

Though it was a little toasty outside, I couldn't help myself when I heard what the soup of the day was - truffle mushroom bisque. It wasn't a very heavy soup, it fact it was very delicate, but packed with tons of flavor. Though sometimes truffle can be very overwhelming, it complimented the mushrooms extraordinarily well. I ordered this with a grilled shrimp BLT. The bread was extra toasty and there was a very light layer of mayo, which I appreciated since most of the times there is way too much. This is the South and they do know how to properly cook bacon where is it super crunchy but somehow still, slightly chewy. The shredded lettuce was a nice touch so that there wasn't one bite with just bread and lettuce. The shrimp were grilled and juicy, not like some I have had. There really is a difference in that taste of fresh seafood. This little place should definitely be on your food list (which might get pretty long) to visit the next time you are in Charleston. This was a great place for a lite lunch to refuel ourselves for the next stop. Next up...Boone Hall!