Charleston featured in Architectural Digest!

Architectural Digest recently wrote an article all about Charleston and what to do in the city. The article, which describes Charleston’s great balance between keeping the history while incorporating new energy, mentions some of the best places to eat and sights to see. Archdigest names Charleston Place Hotel as the “grandest of the city’s grande dame hotels,” with Charleston Grill as a “fine-dining standard bearer.” As you all know, I cannot agree more, as that hotel and restaurant are number one on my list. But, the article also brings in some hidden gems of the city that are not mentioned enough. A brand new hotel called “Zero George” opened last month that has had rave reviews.

When it comes to dining, most of the popular names are mentioned, such as Husk and McCrady’s, but I loved that they also threw in some smaller, more known places with the locals. Located in Elliotborough, Two Boroughs Larder and The Grocery are a couple of these, which are both fantastic.

Then there are the sights. The must-sees are named, like  Gibbes Museum of Art and Fort Sumter. A fun activity is also to go through house museums. Two homes from the 18th and 19th centuries, the Joseph Manigault House, a Federal-period dwelling, and the pre-Revolutionary Palladian-style Drayton Hall, are some good picks.

Archdigest names some of the classic Charleston boutiques for shopping ideas in the Lower King Street district. There are countless antique stores in this area along with some local clothing stores with many local followers.

Read the full article here.

The Rarebit and Poogan’s Porch

As I was walking from my house down King St. this weekend with some friends, I  could not believe the amount of stores/restaurants that have closed and the amount of empty space. Some of these are already in process of being converted to new businesses, but quite a few looked to have just closed and were for sale. I’m hopeful that this means we will be getting some exciting new shops and places to eat.

Our journey lead us to the Rarebit, which is a new bar/restaurant that has opened on upper King. Along with the Rarebit, which is among the slew of new places about to open in this particular spot, I am also very eager to try out The Ordinary and what looks to be another upcoming restaurant where Chai’s was located.

Rarebit is a small place that I instantly fell in love with. They serve an amazing breakfast menu all day long, and have lunch and dinner. As I’m a huge fan of specialty-type drinks, their drink menu was fun. The favorite is a drink called the Moscow Mule that had ginger beer, vodka, and lime juice.

 

I also had almost completely forgotten about Poogan’s Porch‘s popular throwback menu. At the beginning of the new year, Poogan’s throws their menu prices back to when they first opened 35 years ago. The menu is still pretty much the same. I think that this restaurant personifies southern cuisine. Among the items are fried alligator, mac n’ cheese, and shrimp and grits. Since they are participating in Restaurant Week this year, these low prices are very limited, and will not be available again until the last week of January. Luckily, I got to take advantage last night, and you should too!

Charleston Voted One of Best Shopping Cities

U.S. News and World Report named Charleston as one of the best shopping cities in the world. Check out the full article here, which describes Charleston as having “quaint streets peppered with antique shops, art galleries, and cutting-edge boutiques.” Charleston is included with other high-end cities such as LA, Tokyo, and Copenhagen, NYC, and London.

Of course, I totally agree. Charleston has pretty much everything to offer when it comes to shopping. The article mentions all of the best spots, such as Market St. and King St. The Market is a popular spot, both for shopping and history. The small boutiques are definitely the most Charleston-like, usually more fun to walk through than purchase any merchandise. Then there are the more affordable places to go that aren’t just specific to Charleston, but are popular nationwide. The point is, you could spend days shopping through the wonderful city and the unique shops that it has to offer!