A Culinary Adventure: 72 Hours in Charleston

Planning a culinary adventure in Charleston?  Here’s an itinerary from Charleston Culinary Tours to chew on!

Thursday:

IMG_6797Morning — Chefs’ Kitchen Tour – Start your trip off by visiting the kitchens and meeting the chefs in some of Charleston’s top restaurants.  On this five stop tour your guide, Hoon Calhoun, will educate you on Charleston’s culinary history and orient you with regard to Charleston’s best restaurants today.  The tour starts with coffee and doughnuts at Glazed, Charleston’s gourmet, homemade, delicious, I-can’t-believe-this-is-in-a-doughnut shop, and proceeds to visit two restaurant kitchens, 1 amazing biscuit shop in the form of Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit, and finishes at Southern stalwart, Virginia’s on King for some southern staples and storytelling!

Lunch — Dine at Two Boroughs Larder — Josh and Heather Keeler’s Two Boroughs Larder is where Charleston chefs go to eat.  Charleston’s celebrity Chef Sean Brock has called Two Boroughs Larder the best restaurant in Charleston.  Go judge for yourself and order everything on the menu to be sure.  This is the place to take chances as you probably won’t recognize half of the ingredients on the menu but trust in Josh’s capable hands and discriminating taste.  Everything will be delicious and some dishes will be transcendent. In between courses, take a moment to explore the selection of hard goods and specialty products available for purchase.

Afternoon — Pastries and coffee — After lunch, exiting Two Boroughs, you’ll find yourself smack dab in the middle of what is emerging as Charleston’s pastry epicenter.  Stroll to Sugar Bakeshop and have the first of many delicious pastries, choosing one or two of a variety of cupcakes or cookies.  The selection varies daily, but on Thursdays the options include the Lady Baltimore Cupcake, which should not be missed!  Sugar Bakeshop’s owners Bill and Dave are architects from New York City who relocated to Charleston where their visual aesthetic is apparent as everything in the display cases is as beautiful as it is delicious.  Enjoy your treat in Sugar’s quaint courtyard.  From Sugar, consider visiting Wildflour Pastry or Brown’s Court Bakery for another delicious treat and a cup of coffee.  All are within a block or so of Sugar and along the way you can explore the rapidly gentrifying Cannonborough/Elliotborough neighborhood.

Dinner – Burwell’s – After a nap, try out Burwell’s.  Billed as a “modern steakhouse”, Burwell’s strikes a delicate balance between old and new in downtown Charleston.  The restaurant is a beautiful combination of two beautifully restored and repurposed buildings.  The ambiance is warm and sophisticated, with a cosmopolitan tilt that is more commonly found on Upper King Street.  The food is just as sophisticated and Chef Jordan Moore does a terrific job of expressing his creativity within the confines of his restaurant’s steakhouse paradigm, not to mention Pastry Chef Mark Heywood-Washington whimsical and delicious desserts.

After Dinner — Head on over to The Gin Joint for an after dinner drink.  You’ll be stunned by their attention to detail and the inventive drinks they concoct.  If cocktails not your thing, no problem. Try the Craftsman Kitchen and Tap House, a beer emporium featuring 48 beers on Tap!  Still not satisfied?  Give Social Wine Bar a try as it features up to 60 wines by the glass and a 4,000 bottle display cellar.

Friday:

Callie's Hot Little BiscuitMorning – Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit – You’re in Charleston on a culinary vacation, so why not?  This adorable 8 foot wide (yes, really, it’s 8 feet wide) makes fresh, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits that, combined with their French-press coffee, are a perfect way to start your day.  The Ham Biscuit is a classic (featured on the Today Show and QVC), but several sweet varieties are available as well.  There are a few seats near the front of the shop, which is a good place to enjoy your biscuits and watch the crowds flock in to get these little bites of heaven.

Lunch – After exploring Upper King Street’s shops, have an early lunch at Artisan Meat Share (AMS) whish is Craig Deihl’s love letter to meat.  The concept for AMS grew out of cured meat CSA that Chef Deihl launched at Cypress, his other restaurant, in 2009.  Now, instead of meats being available only on a limited, seasonal, basis, the smorgasbord of award winning meats is now available daily (as well as gourmet sandwiches, fresh butcher shop products and house made condiments).  Think juicy Porchetta with pork cracklins, Pastrami piled high, house made Braunschweiger! To satisfy your meat cravings later, feel free to take one of the dozens of meats which are cooked, cured, smoked or otherwise prepared in house home for later consumption.

Afternoon – It’s time to take an Upper King Street Culinary Tour with Charleston Culinary Tours.  This 2.5 hour tour explores Charleston’s Upper King Street district, which is quickly becoming the city’s gastronomic hub.  Stopping at three restaurants for food samples and one restaurant for dessert, the Upper King Street Culinary tour will introduce you to some of Charleston’s best restaurants and educate you with regard to the lowcountry’s rich culinary history and current cooking trends.  There is plenty of food on this tour, so pace yourself as you eat your way around this rapidly evolving foodie destination.

Dinner – In The Kitchen with Bob Waggoner.  Join Chef Bob in his downtown Charleston showcase kitchen, where you will cook and laugh alongside him to prepare and enjoy a seasonal tasting menu inspired by the many farmers, fisherman, and artisans of the Lowcountry.  Whatever your experience level, in these cooking classes Chef Bob will teach you the tips and techniques to help you build your confidence in the kitchen.  There will be no pressure, no recipes, or even dishes to wash at the end of the night!  Just a fun and truly unique dinner party experience with every detail carefully crafted by Chef Bob himself.

Saturday:

Mercury_BOW5906Brunch – Prohibition – Chef Stephen Thompson’s weekend brunches might be the most popular in Charleston, and with good reason!  Chef Thompson has distinguished himself as being a genius in simply making food taste good.  His menus are both inventive and delicious, and the friendly bartenders at Prohibition have no problem recreating the hair-of-the-dog-that-bit-you in order to aid in your speedy next day recovery.  Chef Thompson’s duck hash has essentially achieved legendary status among the College of Charleston crowd as he will make you consider rabbit in an entirely new and favorable light while his Blueberry Baskets are irresistibly delicious.  Insider tip – to heighten your post-meal sense of awe, stroll back to see Prohibition’s tiny kitchen, which is probably smaller than your home kitchen, and consider how so many meals are prepared so efficiently in such a small space!

Afternoon – Charleston Distillery Tour –Long stymied by antiquated state laws, local distilleries are now starting to produce spirits in the Holy City and are doing so with the same energy, enthusiasm and passion that has already established Charleston as a internationally recognized culinary destination.  Experience a taste of Charleston’s flourishing micro-distillery scene with an exclusive tour of the local distilleries.  This 3.5 hour tour will introduce you to three distilleries and includes a cocktail at a local bar using one of Charleston’s locally produced spirits.

Pre-Dinner – Continuing your exploration of alcohol in the Holy City, Charleston Culinary Tours’ Mixology Tour will help you better understand the state of Charleston’s cocktail culture today.  This 1.5 hour tour stops at three local watering holes where guests meet a mixologist who will explain his or her specialty cocktail and then mix one for everyone to enjoy!  Think of it as a mobile pre-dinner cocktail party.

Dinner – FIG –All things considered, FIG is probably the best restaurant in Charleston, and has been for some time.  FIG sets the standard to which all other Charleston restaurants aspire.  It’s where chefs come to eat to marvel at the elegance, the precision, the creativity and the simplicity of the dishes.  Mike Lata is a chef’s chef, cerebral and precise, but his food is delicious, in keeping with the restaurant’s name and overarching theme, Food Is Good (FIG).  Chef Lata doesn’t compromise on ingredients, insisting on the best the lowcountry has to offer, and the quality of ingredients is allowed to shine through in each dish.  Likewise, FIG doesn’t compromise on service, and its corps of bright and highly trained wait staff consistently provides impeccable service, again setting the standard in Charleston.  FIG consistently strikes a balance so well considered, so perfect and subtle that many details aren’t noticed by guests, but none are forgotten. While FIG is sophisticated, it isn’t flashy. While it is delicious, it isn’t indulgent. While it is attentive, it isn’t overbearing.  FIG isn’t many things, but it is the best.

After Dinner –Kaminsky’s — Finish off your night with a dessert at Kaminsky’s, a bustling dessert shop on Market Street.  With a display case overflowing with almost impossibly delicious looking cakes and pies, it may be tough to make a decision.  Hedge your bets and choose more than one item as it’ll be the most delicious insurance policy you ever bought.

Charleston Culinary Tours’ Wine and Food Festival Survival Guide

 

CCT

2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the BB&T Wine and Food Festival, and how it has grown! The Festival has helped to establish Charleston as a culinary destination and injects new energy into the city each year we emerge from doldrums of winter.

The 2015 Festival promises to be bigger than even, yet is aiming to be more accessible to the casual foodie. That having been said, with the wide array of events, it’s difficult to pick which ones to try. Charleston Culinary Tours is here to help! Read on to see our picks for the events for which tickets remain. For a complete list of events, click here.

March 4th, 7:30 p.m.
Opening Night Gala
 $150/person, Marion Square
This event has all the big Charleston names paying homage to the seminal Lowcountry cookbook, Charleston Receipts, what could be better?

March 5th, 7 p.m.
Wild Olive Signature Dinner
$175/person, 2867 Maybank Highway, Johns Island, SC.
If it wasn’t for the 25 minute drive from Charleston to the Wild Olive, this dinner would be sold out! Chef Jacques Larson made a name for himself locally at the Wild Olive and then rose to national prominence when he opened The Obstinate Daughter. If you do attend this dinner, you owe it to yourself to stop into the Fat Hen beforehand for a look around as it’s another outstanding restaurant just down the street!

Xiao Bao Biscuit Signature Dinner
$175/person, 224 Rutledge Ave.
Infusing the Lowcountry into their Asian comfort food, XBB has become a local favorite. Chef Joshua Walker is another of the young chefs who are working to move Charleston’s cuisine forward, filtering Charleston through another cultural lens.

March 6th, 10:30 a.m.
Distiller for a Day Workshop
High Wire Distillery, $125/person, 652 King Street
High Wire Distilling Company’s Scott Blackwell is a captivating storyteller and engaging personality, so this should be an enjoyable event. Scott’s background is in food, so his approach to spirits is driven by his culinary sensibilities, resulting in an array of remarkable
alcohols. Plus, lunch from Butcher and Bee (right across the parking lot) is a nice touch.

March 7th
12:00 p.m.

The Park Café: Windy City meets Holy City
$100/person, 730 Rutledge Ave., Charleston
The Park Café is excellent, but very low key, so their willingness to host an event with chefs from two big-name Chicago restaurants,Blackbird and The Girl and the Goat, is laudable. Park Café’s Chef Jon Amato honed his skills at FIG, and now brings that aesthetic to a neighborhood-oriented restaurant with a very affordable menu. Chef Amato attempts to balance cost considerations with the preparation of extraordinary food. No doubt this event will under promise and over deliver!

2:00 p.m.
Clammer Dave’s Oyster Roast
$65/person, Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina’s waterfront Lookout Pavilion, 20 Patriots Point Road, Mt. Pleasant, SC
This might be the most value oriented event on the Festival’s schedule! Oyster Roasts are quintessentially Charleston and Clammer Dave is one of the signature providers of clams and oysters to Charleston restaurants. The event also includes Jon Zucker from Cru Café, a much loved Charleston restaurant that doesn’t seek out much media exposure.

7:00 p.m.
Lana Signature Dinner
$175/person, 210 Rutledge Ave.
Chef John Ondo’s Lana Restaurant has been a favorite of ours for years and is a little under the radar. Chef Ondo is in the first tier of Charleston chefs, so take advantage of this market inefficiency and grab tickets to this dinner while you can!

Twenty-Six Divine Dinner
$100/person, 682 King Street
We got to know husband and wife chef team Enan and Jenn Parezo a little better via our podcast, but we are embarrassed to say Twenty-Six Divine was under our radar too until recently! Enan and Jenn’s restaurant is truly a labor of love and that shows in the warm atmosphere, intimate setting and delicious food.

While the mission of the Wine and Food Festival is laudable, you’re helping to support a nonprofit that has been instrumental in making Charleston what it is today. $175/person dinners can get expensive fast! Consider working the following alternatives into your Festival experience to stretch your budget a little further and ease your budgetary heartburn:

Make a dinner reservation at any of the big name Charleston restaurants for a night they are not hosting a signature dinner before these places fill up fast. While dinner at any high end Charleston restaurant can be expensive, you’ll be able to see what Charleston’s culinary luminaries are up to spending quite so much money.Visit some other, non-Festival restaurants. Participating in the Wine and Food Festival is a huge commitment and, despite the ticket costs, the events are not profitable for restaurants as they are a quasi-in-kind donation to raise money for the Festival. Accordingly, many outstanding restaurants have only limited participation or do not participate at all, but are still outstanding. Some of our favorites include Prohibition, HoM, R. Kitchen, Burwell’s, Chez Nous, Butcher & Bee and Eli’s Table, but there are many, many more!

Check out some local bakeries. Charleston has several world-class independent bakeries that are adored by local foodies, but not given much recognition by the Festival. Take an afternoon and visit a few. Sugar Bakeshop, Wildflour Pastry, Sweet Radish Bakeshop and Brown’s Court Bakery are all within a few blocks of each other, making for a convenient and delicious afternoon.

Schedule your own brewery or distillery tour. If you’re interested in Charleston’s breweries and want  inside access, the Charleston Brews Cruise has been offering motorized tours of several of Charleston’s breweries for the last 3+ years and has great relationships. If spirits are your thing, Charleston’s three distilleries all offer tours of their facilities while the Charleston Distillery Tour will offer motorized distillery tours of all three breweries in one comprehensive tour.

Lastly, take one of our Charleston Culinary Tours! We’ve been guiding culinary tours in Charleston for 3+ years and, in addition to showing you what our city has to offer, we can help point you in the right direction to get the most out of your Wine and Food Festival experience! Call 843-259-2966 today. 

www.charlestonculinarytours.com

72 Hours: A Culinary Adventure in Charleston

Do you want to pack as much as possible into a 72 hour visit to Charleston, SC?  Here’s one foodie itinerary to try!

72 Hours Collage Photos.jpg

Thursday:

Morning — Chefs’ Kitchen Tour – Start your trip off by visiting the kitchens and meeting the chefs in 3 of Charleston’s top restaurants.  Your guide, Hoon Calhoun, will educate you on Charleston’s culinary history and orient you with regard to Charleston’s best restaurants today.  The tour starts with coffee and doughnuts at Glazed, Charleston’s gourmet, homemade, delicious, I-can’t-believe-this-is-in-a-doughnut shop, and proceeds to visit 3 restaurants, meeting chefs and tasting all along the way.

Heather and Chef Josh Keller of 2 Boroughs Larder

Heather and Chef Josh Keller of 2 Boroughs Larder

Lunch — Two Boroughs Larder — Josh and Heather Keeler’s Two Boroughs Larder is where Charleston chefs go to eat.  Charleston’s Celebrity Chef Sean Brock calls Two Boroughs Larder the best restaurant in Charleston.  Go judge for yourself — and order everything on the menu to be sure.  This is the place to take chances — you probably won’t recognize half of the ingredients on the menu — but trust in Josh’s capable hands and discriminating taste.  Everything will be delicious, and some dishes will be transcendent.  In between courses, take a moment to explore the selection of hard goods and specialty products available for purchase.

Afternoon — Pastries and coffee — After lunch, exiting Two Boroughs, you’ll find yourself smack dab in the middle of what is emerging as Charleston’s pastry epicenter.  Stroll to Sugar Bakeshop and have the first of (perhaps) many delicious pastries, choosing one — or two — of a variety of cupcakes or cookies.  The selection varies daily, but on Thursdays the options include the Lady Baltimore Cupcake, which should not be missed!  Bill and Dave, Sugar Bakeshop’s owners, are architects from New York City who relocated to Charleston, and their visual aesthetic is apparent as everything in the display cases is as beautiful as it is delicious.  Enjoy your treat in Sugar’s quaint courtyard.  From Sugar, consider visiting Wildflour PastryBrown’s Court Bakery or Sweet Radish for another delicious treat and a cup of coffee.  All are within a block or so of Sugar and along the way you can explore the rapidly gentrifying Cannonborough/Elliotborough neighborhood.

Dinner — Taste Of The Market — When you have finished exploring the Upper King Street area, head downtown to the City Market District and the Taste of the Market, held the 3rd Thursday of Each month.  This event features the best that the City Market area has to offer, with (substantial) food samples available from a variety of Market area restaurants, chef demonstrations and live music.  The ample samples will be more than enough to make a meal and after the event you’ll be well positioned to explore the heart of Charleston’s historic downtown.

After Dinner — Head on over to Burwell’s for an after dinner drink and, if the weather is nice, make your way to the back patio to have a craft cocktail made by John or JoJo, Burwell’s expert mixologists.  Cocktails not your thing?  No problem — try the Craftsman Kitchen And Tap House, a beer emporium featuring 48 beers on Tap!  Still not satisfied?  Give Social Wine Bar a try, which features up to 60 wines by the glass and a 4,000 bottle display cellar.

Friday:

Chefs KitchenMorning — Bakehouse — Get your day started with a cup of coffee and a fresh baked pastry at the Bakehouse.  Although everything is good, the cinnamon rolls are especially delicious.  The WiFi is free and the airy cafe is in a perfect spot for people watching.
Lunch — Bull Street Gourmet — Grab a light bite at this adorable market/cafe on lower King Street.  Split the daily sandwich special or share a bowl of the soup of the day — both are likely to be simple and delicious.  Also Bull Street has an excellent selection of bottled wines, for now or later.

Afternoon — Take a Downtown Culinary Tour with Charleston Culinary Tours.  This 2.5 hour tour explores the City Market area and Charleston’s French Quarter.  Stopping at 3 restaurants for food samples and 1 restaurant for dessert, the Downtown Culinary tour will introduce you to some of Charleston’s best restaurants and educate you with regard to Charleston’s rich culinary history and current culinary trends.  There is plenty of food on this tour, so pace yourself as you eat your way around Charleston’s historic downtown.

Dinner — 82 Queen — Make you dinner reservations a little later to give yourself an opportunity to recover from your culinary tour.  If the weather is suitable, ask for a table in 82 Queen’s beautiful and romantic courtyard, which is dominated by a mammoth Magnolia tree.  82 Queen is a Charleston classic, graceful and refined, specializing in Lowcountry classics and Southern hospitality.  Be sure to order the She-Crab Soup, the best in the city.

Saturday:

Brunch — Lowcountry Bistro — Chicken and Waffles anyone?  At Lowcountry Bistro the answer is an enthusiastic YES!  This casual cafe offers a wide variety of other southern specialties (the Shrimp and Grits are especially good here as well), but ordering the Chicken and Waffles is a no-brainer.  Overlooking the City Market, a table on the piazza is a prime position to take in Charleston’s charms and prepare for your day.

Afternoon — The Heirloom Collection (formerly the Heirloom Book Company) — Tucked away down an alley off Broad Street, this adorable book shop sells cookbooks, specializing in rare and out-of-print editions.  The collection is eclectic, but an excellent selection of Charleston and Southern cookbooks are available.  The shop is clearly a labor of love and their passion for cookbooks is equal parts contagious and inspiring! Cocktails

Pre Dinner — The Holy City is well known for its affinity for alcohol and Charleston Culinary Tours’ Mixology Tour will help show you the state of Charleston’s cocktail culture today.  This 1.5 hour tour stops at 3 local watering holes where guests meet a mixologist who will explain his/her specialty cocktail and then mix one for everyone to enjoy!  Think of it as a mobile pre-dinner cocktail party.

Dinner — Husk — Come pay homage to Chef Sean Brock’s celebration of all things Southern.  With a menu that changes twice daily and an almost maniacal devotion to sourcing ingredients locally, Husk has totally reshaped Charleston’s culinary landscape and has inspired a wave of innovation and culinary excellence that has engulfed the city.  While it’s impossible to predict what might be on the menu, the Crispy Pig’s Ears are the stuff of legend and pork dishes generally have a place near and dear to Chef Brock’s heart.  Make your reservations early — ever since it was named Best New Restaurant by Bon Appetit in 2011, a Husk reservation became one of the toughest in town.

After Dinner — Kaminsky’s — Finish off your night with a dessert at Kaminsky’s, a bustling dessert shop on Market Street.  With a display case overflowing with almost impossibly delicious looking cakes and pies, it may be tough to make a decision.  Hedge your bets and choose more than one item — it’ll be the most delicious insurance policy you ever bought.