Charleston came as a bit of a surprise to both of us. I had lived just outside the city for a significant amount of my early childhood and thus really only knew that the city existed. What can I say - we moved away when I was eight, my memories revolved around the swimming pool and forts we built in the woods. Mary had never visited either the city or our forts. We were each pleasantly surprised by how much we liked Charleston. Oh, it still has weather, mainly heat and humidity, that would have deterred its settlement by anyone not fleeing religious and economic persecution or British cooking. And there is that whole starting the Civil War thing, but that could have happened to anyone. But, it really is quite an attractive place with a surprisingly vibrant cultural scene.
When we first started kicking around the concept of a road trip through the Southeast we decided on dates purely at random. Thus, we didn't actually plan our trip to Charleston to take advantage of the Spoleto Festival, and it was only while making reservations for hotels that we discovered our trip and the aforementioned Festival would coincide. Of course, I took all the credit. We reserved tickets for a play that sounded interesting, imported all the way from Jolly Old England, an updated retelling of Don Giovanni, set in England of the Seventies called Don John. The selection of this particular era is a puzzler unless it was to allow for the inclusion of Dallas and Grease jokes and the use of certain rock songs that should be better left off moldering in their disco era graves. In any event we liked it a lot. More so than some of the other audience apparently. During intermission we eavesdropped shamelessly on a conversation between several probably prominent female members of Charlestonian society. It was obvious that one of them really disliked the play, which I admit was a bit raw with fairly graphic depictions of sex. However, her companions all confessed that they were enjoying the play, sex and profanity notwithstanding, which left the first woman in the position of having to walk back her comments a little, conceding that the play, while a bit shocking, was worth sitting through the second act. The Spoleto Festival is much more than racy stage plays and if you're a lover of classical music it appears to be the place to be in May.
From our wanderings hither and yon throughout just a small portion of the city we were able to determine that there appeared to be a fair number of restaurants that looked like they might deliver a profoundly moving culinary experience. We dined in two of the more outstanding examples - Jestine's Kitchen and Hominy Grill. While we enjoyed Hominy Grill a lot, we thought it might actually be a better breakfast establishment though, dinner was nothing to sneeze at either. We'll confirm that sometime in the future after another thirteen or fourteen visits. On the other hand, Jestine's Kitchen isn't open for breakfast and this is really a shame. Actually it's almost criminal. From what we were able to sample at dinner there should be a law that this place is open 24 hours a day. Jestine's doesn't take reservations so you have to line up. We waited for a full hour to sample the fried chicken, fried trout, and the plethora of veggies.
In the South, and probably no where more so than in Charleston, the definition of vegetable is rather elastic. In Charleston they stretch the term so much that when it finally snaps the Earth is liable to wobble on its axis. For instance, at Jestine's and Hominy Grill, the offerings under the heading of vegetables included, greens, grits, potatoes - mashed, roasted, baked, fried and a la salad, macaroni and cheese, baked cheese grits, fried okra, black eyed peas, and probably another dozen or so side dishes that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face and substantial blockages in your arteries.
It was in Charleston however, that Mary formulated the First Law of Dining. This states that restaurants that have laminated menus are to be avoided unless it is breakfast or a club sandwich is desired. We researched this thoroughly and can state pretty conclusively that anything with a plastic coating and pictures of the culinary offerings were usually, though not always, mediocre. Of course there is a corollary to this law and that is any place that is offering down-home style food is exempt from the First Law, because it's well known that a rib joint has to have laminated menus because of the sauce.
We really enjoyed Charleston and will be sure to pay it a repeat visit again. It really is one of the most charming cities we've visited in the US in quite a while. And if you're a culture lover, the Spoleto Festival is the ice cream on top of your pie.
