Four Days in Charleston in the Fall

In October, we took a 1 year anniversary trip to Charleston, SC. I am such a foodie so after Top Chef Charleston, I have been wanting to go this southern city. Off we went...

We stayed at a boutique art hotel in the French Quarter, The Vendue. The hotel has rotating art exhibitions. I love these dogs we were greeted with when checking in- with a glass of bubbly! We were off to a great start. The hotel has a small bar for cocktails (as part of The Drawing Room restaurant) and roof deck bar + restaurant which we went to a couple a nights for the sunset. The service was amazing from before we checked in (earlier the week we left, the concierge called to see if needed anything for our stay, which has never happened before!) to throughout our 3.5 day stay. From the location, the service, and the ambiance, I can't recommend the hotel enough!

One afternoon we used the hotel's free bikes to explore down The Battery and the historic streets. We stopped many times to gaze at the beautiful homes and take pictures.

After I took this doorstep picture and we were heading to continue biking around, a man stopped to help us with our bikes and he ended up being the owner of this house! He said he would've invited us in for a drink but he had somewhere to be. Ahh what could have been!

Around every corner - color and unique architecture... especially the famous Rainbow Row! #instagramhusband, thank you. ;)

We did a few typical tourist activities. We visited the old Angel Oak about 25 minutes outside the city on John's Island. The Oak is 400-500 years old and just amazing to stand under.

We also took a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city one afternoon. While we had biked the area, we learned so much more about the history of the city from our guide. I recommend doing a tour despite it being the most touristy activity, ever, haha.

We then explored the historic area some more, and I couldn't get enough of the beautiful doors, windows, and architecture!

Saturday was our last full day and we spent most of it at Folly Beach. Going to the beach in October when its in the high 70s and sunny? I will take it!  It was easy to take an Uber and rent chairs + umbrella. We explored the pier - from above and below!

 

Then we grabbed a quick bite at Jack of Cups. It was a unique spot where we had lo mein and curry mac + cheese (Yelp reviews were raves for that dish, so had to try it). Center Street is the main drag off the beach and had so many fun bars + restaurants, which I am sure would be a blast to hop around for a more "party" experience.

Speaking of food, we ate WELL. All the meals were absolutely delicious. Let's just say I planned this trip around breakfast, lunch, and dinner then we filled in the activities, lol. Some stand outs:

Sausage, egg, and pimento cheese biscuit breakfast sandwich at Callie's Hot Little Biscuit (Doug has this twice!!). Omg so good.

"Tapas-style" seafood lunch at Leon's Oyster Shop. We shared peel + eat shrimp, local oysters, smoked mahi dip and fried clam lettuce wraps. All washed down with frosé for me. The vibe of this spot is so cool- highly recommend.

Afternoon treat at Jeni's Ice Cream. I had their 2 seasonal flavors: sweet potato with torched marshmallow and sweet cream biscuit with peach jam. YUM. Come to Boston, Jeni's?

Our three dinners were amazing and each very different.
My favorite dish at Husk (and maybe the whole trip) was the grits with pork belly appetizer. I am still thinking about it.

Hominy Grill served up southern classics and I loved my meal of brisket, tomato pudding (who knew so delicious), and fried grits. Actually still thinking about this meal, as well! DC got their shrimp and grits which were also yummy.

Fig was our final dinner and we may have saved the best for last. We got the ricotta gnocchi and lamb bolognese to start. I don't think I've had such melt in your mouth gnocchi, ever. For my meal, I had the fish stew with mussels, shrimp, squid, rice, delicious broth and grilled bread for dipping. Another meal I am thinking about still.

We also had lunch at Pawpaw (fried chicken!), coffee at Black Tap near the college, and brunch at Poogan's Porch (pimento cheese fritters!).

Some restaurants we didn't get to but heard good things were 167 Raw, McGrady's, Xiao Bao Biscuit, Butcher and Bee, and Lewis BBQ. My restaurant list was even longer - so many great spots.

Our last night we took in the city from the roof at the Market Pavilion Hotel. Highly recommend going up there. The views and ambiance are even better than The Rooftop at The Vendue.

From a shopping perspective, I loved the Maris DeHart boutique which was across the street from our hotel - how convenient! - and walking down King Street (below) with many boutiques + stores.

In hindsight, I would recommend renting a car but using Uber/Lyft was very easy too - just what you prefer!

Thanks, Charleston! Check out more photos on Instagram using the hashtag #covalsdothecharleston

All photos by me.

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Four Days in Charleston in the Fall