Poe's Tavern

2210 Middle Street
Sullivan's Island, SC 29482
(843) 883-0083
Website


Among the many places I love in Charleston, Poe's on Sullivan's Island is high on the list. A beer, cocktail, and burger bar it sits near the beach, and is completely filled with Edgar Allen Poe ephemera. He was stationed on the island and wrote "The Gold Bug" while there. So it makes sense there is a tavern dedicated to him.

The fireplace is particularly haunting.

I had already eaten lunch, and had dinner arrangements, but had to try the "Black Cat" burger anyway. Grilled onions, Edgar’s Drunken Chili, applewood bacon & pimiento cheese burger with a healthy serving of fries and some marinated bacon blue cheese slaw. I decided to go light and also get a side of roasted garlic blue cheese spread. I am making myself blush just writing this.

The burger was probably well seasoned (it was perfectly cooked), I wouldn't know because there was so much flavor in the chili topped with pimento cheese. It was a fantastic "fancy burger". Certainly not diet friendly, so we were fast friends.

Look at this thing. Unreal.

The slaw was a bit of a letdown, as it was lacking in flavor, and had no discernible notes of blue cheese nor bacon. It was fine, but not the over the top explosion of flavor I was hoping for. It looked pretty great though. Poe's is certainly a great place to visit on your way to or from Fort Moultrie. Though you may not be hungry for a while.

Lowcountry Produce Market & Cafe

302 Carteret Strewet
Beaufort, SC 29902
(843) 322-1900
Website

In Beaufort, South Carolina it's much like you imagine sleepy southern towns. Everyone is friendly, the pace of life is SLOW, and the food is simple yet produced with the care of a family member trying to comfort their kin.

Lowcountry Produce Market is a beautiful setting for a Southern market and lunch spot. Housed in an old post office, the subway tile interior is accented by large pillars, and huge floor to ceiling shelves.

The food was straight out of Southern Living. I started with the pickles and pimento cheese plate. The green beans were bright, snappy, and had the balance that so many restaurants get wrong. The pickles were just as good, though had a sweet bite to them that contrasted perfectly. However the hands down star of the show was the pimento cheese. My god, this was the best I have eaten. And I have eaten quite a bit of pimento cheese.

The loosely shredded cheese was accented by the sweetness of pimentos, had a perfect temperature and consistency, but there was an X factor, I just couldn't put my finger on. It turns out, there are some spicy banana peppers mixed in (and what I imagine was a bit of their brine), which creates a flavor explosion – the likes of which I have not tasted in this form. Form being cheese ball, obviously.

Everything about this dish was perfect.

My sandwich was a mixed shrimp and oyster po' boy, served with tarter sauce and house made chips.

The cornmeal batter on this was divine. Heavily seasoned, the crunchy shell stuck perfectly to the tender fried seafood. I could have eaten this all day. My only gripe was the tarter sauce had no place near this ocean bounty in hotdog form. A smokey chili aioli or something more appropriate would have sent this over the top.

The chips were fried to perfection as well, and had a skillful amount of sea salt sprinkled on top. A coastal Southern lunch if I have ever had one. I wish I was able to eat this way on a weekly basis.

Bowens Island Restaurant

1870 Bowens Island Rd.
Charleston, SC 29412
(843) 795-2757
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My low country journey would not have been complete without a trip to Bowens Island. What is Bowens Island? If I was given the (very remote) opportunity to go to heaven, and Bowens Island was one of the choices, I would be there. At the restaurant (seen on the left below), they get clusters of oysters dropped off at the dock, where they are hosed down before being sent to the basement of the building to be roasted and steamed and slapped on a tray. Unbelievable.

As you can see, there is already a line of folks waiting to order, but checking out the process was an integral part of the trip for me.

If you get someone in line, another member of the party can sneak around the back and grab drinks from the bar to hold you over until it's your shot. Unfortunately, you will have to watch THIS sunset while you sip a cold beer and wait your turn.

Inside is a bit more chaotic, with the food line wrapping towards the heron, and the bar line on the right. I typically would not wait in line for an hour, but chatting with the people waiting with you and having some drinks makes everything all right in the world. Plus, this is the South. No one is EVER in a rush, and it takes a couple of days for a neurotic Northerner to settle down and relax. I did not want to head back North at the end of my trip.

After you order, you pick up your tray of oysters from the oyster man himself in the cinder block and graffiti-adorned basement. The clusters are roasted over this fire with a burlap sack, then shoveled into a steamer.

At that point, they serve you with a snow shovel. Just amazing.

You are handed an oyster knife rolled up in towel, are left to find a table (with a convenient hole in the middle to discard shells as you eat) and get to work.

These oysters clump together in the marshes, and they are served just so. As you almost cut through your hand with the knife, get small cuts on your fingers from the shells, and quaff beers, you wonder why you don't live here.

After breaking apart a cluster, find the open shells, and pry them farther with your trusty knife. It's unbelievably fun, and makes for quite an experience.

All of this danger and effort results in a plump little briny reward. Slurp and repeat. Curse yourself for only ordering a tray and a half. Get back in line and repeat.

I also tried some of their other offerings. Boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, hush puppies, fries and slaw. Simple and perfect.

The fried shrimp had a beautiful flaky batter, and were just addictive. The sweet crustaceans were devoured like popcorn, and helped to soak up some of the beer.

The boiled u-peel shrimp were heavily seasoned, and quickly disappeared.

The surprisingly delicate hush puppies had a golden crust, and a slightly sweet interior. Everything about this place was just phenomenal. It was the best meal I have eaten this year, and one of my favorites of all time. I can't wait to go back to the low country, and next time I will probably order twice as much. If you are in the Charleston area, drive the dirt road back Bowens Island road, and you won't be disappointed.

AC's Bar & Grill

467 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 577-6742
Website

When visiting other cities, I often like to check out the places who try and present their take on an authentic cheesesteak. If that coincides with a great divey bar, then all the better. I was into AC's, in particular, because I'd heard that the owner is from PA.

It's is located downtown in Charleston, right between all the hot clubs and expensive shopping spots. But it had all the trappings of a dark, fantastic, late-night bar. Great dim lighting, booths, perfectly greasy bar food, and fantastic drink prices. I'd spoken with the owner, Jim Curley, for the better part of my meal & drink experience and I must say, he adds to the appeal here. Born in the Pittsburgh area, he's been living in The South for all of his life; worked at AC's for about 21 years and has owned it for about the last 15 and although he's technically not 'working' there now, he definitely spends a lot of his time there, delivering food and drinks to customers.

They are famous for their chili cheeseburger and their cheesesteak. Although I had literally just come from a dinner party, I threw caution to the wind and had to try both.

The chili cheeseburger did not slouch on the quantity of chili. Beans, green peppers, and onions strewn about the loose beef, this chili would make a Texan cry. On top of a burger, it made me smile. At $5.50, it made my wallet smile as well.

A nice medium cook on the patty, and much more manageable to eat than the initial picture conveyed. This was spot on bar food. Well seasoned, enough fat to cut the whiskey you just shot, and some carbs to soak up those ten beers.

The cheesesteak was the surprise of the night. Amoroso roll aside, it was a great replica. The meat was heavily salt and peppered, and had some mighty caramelized onions.

Look at the amount of melted American cheese intermingled with meat grease. Perfect.

I hate a dry steak, and this was quite the opposite. The roll did marginally well, and though I am a Liscio's lover, I was okay with this low brow replacement. I think that Jim's attention to quality control in the kitchen is key. He knows what a great cheesesteak can be and he doesn't let his own standards suffer, much to my appreciation.

There was no lack of meat or flavor on this cheesesteak. Never did I think that a place in the Lowcountry could compete with some of the Philadelphia area middle of the steak joints. Now I know.

Boxcar Betty's

1922 Savannah Highway
Charleston, SC 29407
(843) 225-7470
Website

With fried chicken sandwiches all the rage in Philly, I sought out a worthy competitor on a recent trip to the low country. As could be expected, the results were spectacular. The design on the exterior of this place took it from a boring, non-nonchalant standalone building, to a funky, hip chicken spot. All it took was some pallets, reclaimed wood, and cool neon lights.

They specialize in fried chicken here, and it is basically a couple of sandwich options, a couple of salad options and some sides. Short and sweet; simplicity at its best.

I decided to take a trip around the menu with a "Boxcar" and a "Chicken & 'not so waffle'". Also, an order of pickled fried green tomatoes was obviously not to be missed. Man, do I love the low country.

They must have one heck of a designer on board because all of the packaging, along with the interior decor, was clean-lines and reminiscent of a timeless fast-food joint that I've always dreamed about. Like Chick-fil-A but really classy in all-around execution, with a casual side note of extra pep.

Up first, their classic namesake: the Boxcar.

Pimiento Cheese, Peach Slaw, House Pickles, Spicy Mayo. Everything was in perfect proportion, the flavors were incredible, and the light and crispy breading was heavily seasoned, something a lot of fried crusts lack. This was probably the best chicken sandwich I have ever eaten.

The balance of ingredients was on point, and why the hell doesn't every place in the country use pimento cheese on everything? I just don't understand. It is the pinnacle of processed cheese & mayo innovation. Tangy, creamy, a hint of spice, it goes well with everything.

The fried, pickled green tomatoes were such a brilliant retort to the fried pickle trend. They benefited from the same well seasoned batter, and the acidity punched through the heaviness typically associated with fried food (that I may or may not have been dipping in ranch dressing). The pickled tomatoes were still very crisp, a texture that's usually lost in the fryer.

The "not so waffle" (obviously because it is served on bread) came with: Bacon Jam, Maple Syrup, Pimiento Cheese, Tomato. Even though there wasn't any waffle, all of the necessary flavors were creatively applied, and then some.

Again, you can see the quality of the ingredients and the execution of the sandwich are both about perfect.

The version was sweeter than the Boxcar, and had a totally different flavor profile. Probably because it was made with mostly different ingredients. The bacon jam and maple syrup combined to form a sweet and salty one-two combo. Pimento cheese added all the richness you could handle, and the tomato helped to freshen up this potential gut bomb.

Like everything else, the fries were incredible. Perfectly cooked, hand cut fries just sealed the deal on this place. Coupled with some spicy mayo to dip, you were certainly not losing any weight here. But if you come to a fried chicken joint with the intention of dieting, you should just turn yourself right back around and beat it. God I wish they had one of these in Philly.