Boiled Peanuts! Fried Peanuts! The South is Nuts for Peanuts.

By Paul | May 9, 2012
Posted in: Florida, Food, South Carolina |

Roasted, that’s the “normal” preparation. And salted. Get them at any baseball game. Great bars in the north serve them and tell patrons to discard the shells on the floor. I like those bars because I like peanuts. But boiled? Gross. So I tried them. I think they have a branding problem. They’re not peanuts … call them “Southern Edamame“ and us Northerners would gobble them up. They’re salty and good but squishier than [...]

Beers of our Fathers above the bar at Crystal Beer Parlor.

Savannah v. Charleston Showdown: Brew Pub Edition

By Paul | May 7, 2012
Posted in: Georgia, South Carolina |

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In this corner, Southend Brewery and Smokehouse, Charleston’s best downtown brewery! In the other corner, Crystal Beer Parlor, Savannah’s second-oldest bar and restaurant! It’s going to be a close one, folks! Service At Southend, things happen slowly, but the waitress makes up for it by pouring tortilla chips in Lisa’s lap. -100 points, Charleston. At CBP, things are equally slow-as-shit. No food ends up in either of our laps though, [...]

America’s Only Tea Plantation Is In Charleston, SC

By Lisa | May 7, 2012
Posted in: South Carolina |

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That’s right, America’s only tea plantation can be found just outside Charleston, SC. I love tea, so I was really excited to check this out, to see some real, live tea bushes. The Charleston Tea Plantation is now owned by Bigelow (the maker of my favorite tea, the old standby Constant Comment), and it has an interesting history, which I am going to paraphrase here from Wikipedia (bolding is mine): People [...]

Why We Love Charleston, SC

By Lisa | May 4, 2012
Posted in: South Carolina |

2 Comments

We’ve driven across the country a few times now, as far east as NY, as far west as possible, as far south as the FL panhandle. Most of the time, it feels like we’re driving down the same street lined with the same mini-malls selling the same things. You see the same restaurants and the same stores. Sure, there are some regional variations: you won’t find a Dunkin’ Donuts in [...]

Low-Country Classics at SeeWee Restaurant, Charleston, SC

By Paul | May 3, 2012
Posted in: Bars, Booze, Beer, Etc., Food, South Carolina |

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First, is it lowcountry, low-country, or low country? I’m not sure. And this place isn’t technically in Charleston, it’s to the east, in Awendaw, SC. Close enough. And we were camping out there and this place was down the street. We had hoped to go to The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene, but they’re only open a few hours every night and we were in the mood for an afternoon snack. [...]

Lunch at Fast & French/Gaulart et Maliclet Cafe in Charleston, SC

By Lisa | May 3, 2012
Posted in: Food, South Carolina |

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When we heard about this place, we couldn’t believe our luck. Cheap, delicious French food in Charleston, SC? Fast & French (also known as Gaulart & Maliclet Cafe Restaurant) delivers affordable and tasty French and North African food from a tiny storefront on Broad Street near the shopping district of downtown Charleston. Every day, there’s a lunch special for $8.95; every night there’s a dinner special for $15-$16. Thursday nights are [...]

Delicious outcome. We opted for plates instead of the pour-out-on-newspaper method.

Charleston Shrimp Boil

By Paul | May 3, 2012
Posted in: Food, South Carolina |

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Local shrimp, that’s what we wanted. They have them for sale in Charleston at the grocery stores. (Note: This area has the weirdest grocery store names in the country, Piggly Wiggly is one, Harris Teeter is another.) We prepared a “classic” Charleston shrimp boil — take the New England clam bake and substitute local, South Carolina shrimp. Or do the same with the Door County fish boil. The South Carolina [...]

Charleston harbor view. Love the tall ship.

Charleston and its Islands

By Paul | May 2, 2012
Posted in: South Carolina |

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Charleston feels a bit like New York City. (In geography, at least, Charleston resembles NYC, but in architecture, it feels like a small, Southern version of Boston.) The main city is on a narrow peninsula (it’s like a low-country Manhattan) and is surrounded by borough-like islands. Across the bay is Mt. Pleasant, a more affordable and slightly newer suburb to the east. It’s like Long Island (note: Mt. Pleasant isn’t an island). Then [...]

1: The ultimate. It's just $800K! No problem!

Our Top Ten Favorite Charleston Houses

By Lisa | May 2, 2012
Posted in: South Carolina |

2 Comments

Living in a minivan, we’ve gotten used to living with less, and we both like it a lot. When we eventually settle down, we want a tiny house, something small and simple that’s easy to take care of and doesn’t tempt us to fill it up with tons of stuff. It’s just gotta be a little bigger than a minivan…preferably something we can actually stand up in. Wandering around Charleston, [...]

Bojangles' fried chicken, biscuit, cole slaw.

Bojangles’ Fried Chicken, the Best Fast Food in the South

By Paul | May 1, 2012
Posted in: Food, South Carolina |

4 Comments

The West has In-N-Out. The Midwest has Culver’s. The East has Five Guys. And the South has Bojangles’. Burgers? No. Spicy fried chicken? Hell yes. I was introduced to Bojangles’ in Charlotte, North Carolina during a business trip. I started with a biscuit. Yum. Then the sweet tea. Ok. Then the chicken. Spicy and delicious! That’s what makes Bojangles’ different than KFC and the others – it’s spicy, it has [...]