Charleston, South Carolina is known for its Lowcountry cuisine. This type of cooking has influences from the coast and from soul food. Classics like the she-crab soup and the shrimp and grits are some of the offerings I taste as I go from one restaurant to another. Which one is best? As you know that is so personal but so is a blog. My personal experiences!!
Lunch at 82 Queen in Charleston in early March was memorable because of those 2 dishes I mentioned above.
It opened in 1982 and it is considered one of Charleston’s oldest restaurants.
March is a great time of the year in Charleston. Cooler evenings and days are warm, perfect for enjoying an outdoor lunch.
Starting with the French 75. Love this cocktail. I wanted made with Courvoisier because it makes such a difference. Very refreshing.
I was recommended to have the Queen’s Salad which was a mixture of lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, sweet corn, field peas, apple wood bacon, hard boiled egg, with a cheddar, buttermilk herb dressing. Starting with a salad and a cocktail, it is perfect for me.
They have been serving the She Crab Soup probably since the restaurant opened so there is perfection in its taste. Here, in Delaware, I don’t see this soup in restaurants. You use the female crab for this tasty soup.
Best of the several ones tasted I decided to look for their recipe. I think I found it and here it goes.
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons butter divided
1/2 cup of flour
3 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups fish stock or water and fish base
1/4 lb. crab roe
1 lb. white crabmeat
1/4 sherry
1 tablespoon Tabasco or your preferred hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
Lightly saute celery, carrots and onion in 2 tablespoons of butter. In a separate pot, melt remaining 1 stick of butter; stir in the flour to make a roux. Whisk in milk and cream until smooth. Bring to a boil. Add sauteed veggies and remaining ingredients. Simmer 20 minutes. Serve and garnish with sherry.
This soup has the consistency of a bisque. The recipe came from Great American Publishers.
The other dish we had was one that has also been made in this restaurant forever. Their Barbeque Shrimp & Grits. Shrimp, stone ground grits, a bourbon-barbeque sauce, applewood baon, cheddar, and scallions.
On this particular trip the Fried Green Tomatoes were offered as starters but I can tell you that if you like to share this one is a nice big portion. I ate it all. It was my total favorite.
Pimento cheese, a must, stone ground-grits the best partner, and tomato bacon jam. The best.
So if you decide to take a trip to Charleston check these restaurants here on AboutMyBeaches. You can put Charleston on the search and see if some of them catch your interest.
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Erma Bombeck’s quotes were so on point. I love this one. “I am not a glutton-I am an explorer of food.”
I feel that is what I am. Everywhere I go I want to try the local delicacies. At a restaurant, it’s the most ordered dish. Will I like it? You never know. Taste is an individual thing. But trying different foods and later making the decision to see if you like it or not, is the thing to do. It may open doors to a fantastic new food adventure that you never knew. And, starting children at an early age is important.
I have my favorite restaurants here. I will travel to eat good food. There is one restaurant in Fenwick Island, DE that has the best chicken. I get a craving for it. I am not kidding. It is the best. The restaurant is Our Harvest located at 1106 Coastal Hwy. Telephone is 302-581-0377.
The only day it closes is Monday. I am visiting my restaurants because it will be harder once all the summer visitors descend on all these beaches.
This is what we had last night. First we had a great table. We could see the open kitchen and the beautiful food being prepared.
Look at those peppers. Don’t really know what the one on the right was but on top of their serving table it made for a good entry photo and our table was right there.
This Prosciutto Flatbread was going somewhere but not before a photo moment was taken. There are different ways to eat at Our Harvest. If you are coming with a large group they have feasts that can be ordered for the table to share. There are small plates and regular size entrees. And for the Vegan, there are plenty of choices, as well.
A Grilled Baby Caesar Salad was ordered and it was topped with a Boqueron which is a white anchovy. They are from Spain and totally perfect addition to a Caesar. The baby romaine was from Baywater Farms, charred sourdough bread and a Caesar aioli finished the salad.
Also for the tables we ordered the Baywater Blistered Shishitos, with sambal butter and sesame salt. Sambal is a chili sauce made from a variety of chili peppers. Shishitos peppers are slender and wrinkly. They have a bright green color. You can’t just eat one. Give me a full bowl. They are mild but once in a while you get one with a little bit of heat. Charring them is the best.
An order of short ribs topped with Chimichurri sauce. This was considered a small plate. I liked them, I ate them, but I did find them a little dry even though they fell off the bone. I needed more moisture or more Chimichurri.
You may say why order chicken when you can have something else to eat. You don’t understand, this is the best roasted chicken. Whole Amish Air Chilled Chicken is part of their feast. We usually order it and take home whatever we do not eat. It is a whole chicken. It is brined in Arnold Palmer tea and wood fired with lemon and rosemary. I tried it at home and marinated chicken parts for 2 days and then grilled it and it really gives the meat a distinct flavor.
So good I cannot wait to eat the leftovers tonight.
Please make reservations early. Restaurants are getting so busy and cannot imagine how busy they will be a month from now.
Food brings us together. It starts conversations and make new friendships. Enjoy you time with friends and family.
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