My Top 10 Charleston Restaurants

Happy Humpday, friends!  I'm excited to hit publish on part one of a different type of round-up today with y'all.  You know that I looove to eat and always enjoy sharing my best-loved restaurants around Charleston.  This week, I am rounding up 10 of my absolute favorites.  Because it's so ridiculously difficult to choose, I decided to break it up into 10 categories and share one for each that I've previously written about.  Then, in two weeks, I will be back to share bloggers from all over the country's favorite local spots!

Breakfast: Callie's Hot Little Biscuit - Biscuits with jam, biscuits with pimento cheese, biscuits with bacon, egg, and cheese, biscuits with a crab cake, and biscuits (in the shape of a bowl) with shrimp and grits.  Everything is so good, and now they have two locations in downtown Charleston: King Street and in the City Market.

Lunch: Queen Street Grocery - Crepes, salads, smoothies, and paninis in one of the cutest little residential neighborhoods downtown.  All of the ingredients are fresh, and bonus: they have a grocery in the back with local beer, wine, and produce.

Southern: Tavern & Table - I didn't think mac & cheese could get any better before I went to T&T.  But now, I've learned if you add barbecue brisket and cornbread crumbles, you hit a new high.  Their appetizers and small plates are my favorite: pimento cheese and bacon jam, crab and artichoke dip, peel and eat shrimp, and the cornbread skillet.  They're located on Shem Creek, so it's the perfect happy hour spot to sit outside and watch the boats go by.

Seafood: Cru Cafe - I have never been to a place with fresher seafood than Cru!  They get their local shrimp right off the boat here in Charleston, and they can do anything with it.  I know it's not seafood, but don't forget to order a side of their four cheese macaroni, too.

Mexican: Yo Bo Cantina - It always amazes me how much delicious Mexican food there is in Charleston.  I love Yo Bo for their burritos and tacos - anything with rojo chicken.  The street corn is delicious, too, and they have two locations in West Ashley and Park Circle.

Barbecue: Home Team BBQ - Their dry rub is unlike anything else: savory, salty, sweet, spicy.  They smoke all of their meat on site at either their West Ashley, Sullivan's Island, or downtown location.  The nachos are giant, and the chips are even sprinkled with that delicious dry rub.  When the mac and cheese balls are on special - get those, too!

Burgers: Poe's Tavern - Burgers at the beach - perfect combo!  Our favorite beach in the Charleston area is Sullivan's Island, so whenever we're over there, we make a stop here (or at the restaurant below this one).  Edgar Allan Poe was stationed at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island before the Civil War, and everything on the menu has a "Poe" theme.  My favorite is the Annabel Lee, a burger or grilled chicken breast with a crab cake on top.

Italian: The Obstinate Daughter - If you're going to have an Italian restaurant in Charleston, it makes sense for it to also be a raw bar, right?  Pictured below is the Rigatoncini, but you know our appetizer before this was a delicious half pound of fresh peel-and-eat shrimp!

Sushi: O-Ku - Okay, so I have to be honest there, I don't really do the whole "raw fish" thing.  However, I do have friends who say this is the best and freshest in town.  What I can tell you is that they have my favorite roll ever, the potato roll: tempura shrimp and avocado deep fried inside shoestring potatos.  My favorite thing about O-Ku is their happy hour - half price rolls on Mondays, Wendesdays, and Fridays from 5:00-7:00pm.  If you're going for happy hour, make sure you get a reservation.  They fill up on OpenTable at least a week in advance!

Dessert: Peninsula Grill - Okay, so this is the only restaurant I've never written a full post about.  I'm waiting to go for a whole meal, but for now, you need to know about the cake.  The 11-layer coconut cake at Peninsula is ah-mazing.  Usually once a month, we walk in, grab a slice, and bring it home.  Clearly, people are doing this a lot, because they have them ready to go and all packaged up!