1st visit to Charleston: Please critique our plans

[mla19]

Hi All - My husband and I are heading to Charleston Memorial Day weekend to celebrate his 35th. We're very excited, especially for the eats!

We'll be there for 3 nights and so far our plans are as follows:

Saturday: 5pm oysters and beer at Bowens Island
Followed by a late dinner at Husk
Lunch TBD

Sunday: Brunch at High Cotton
Dinner at McCrady's

Monday: Brunch at Hominy Grill
Dinner at FIG

Is that too much Sean Brock? Too much brunch? Would Husk be better for Saturday lunch when we land? Are we missing something unforgettable? We also considered Anson, Tristan, SNOB, Pennisula Grill, etc. And the new spot the Macintosh has piqued my interest. So much good food, so little time. My husband much prefers locavore, simple preparations of fresh food over nuanced fine dining.

Sorry for all the babble. Thanks for your help!

[Just Plain Craig]

I just read an article by Alan Richmond in GQ and he kind of pimp slapped Husk. I only remember because I just left Charleston but didn't have a chance to enjoy the fine dining the city had to offer.....unless you consider Bojangles....nevermind...

[danna]

Interesting ! Although i don't tend to check GQ before dining, I have to agree w/ a lot of what he said. Here's the link to the article: http://www.gq.com/food-travel/restaur...

...and here's what I had to say (cut and pasted from the CH thread) after my first experience there: "Husk: That is a perfectly beautiful space. Very warm and elegant, yet lively at the same time. We started off w/ local oysters in mignonette (sp?) w/ shaved fennel. Fabulous. I did not care for the foie gras "parfait"...it was not what I expected, and not particularly great. Fine...but not great. The smoked clams were nice, the scallops over green gumbo were just so so, and i borderline-hated the gumbo. The cornbread we ordered as a side was disgustly greasy, but the rolls that started the meal were quite nice.

I was not thrilled by the wine list, and I thought the cocktails (highly touted by our server when he put the list down) were a fascinating read. Disgusting, but fascinating. My friend and I enjoyed grossing each other out reading the descriptions. Some of you with more advanced taste in mixology will surely think we're total hillbillies for not being wowed by the combos...but so be it.

So... if I lived in Charleston I'd go back. I still might, one of these days. But Husk is not on my short list.
"

[LaLa]

no such thing as too much Sean Brock!

[carolinadawg]

I would suggest considering Cru Cafe, as I think it fits nicely into the category of "simple preparations of fresh food instead of nuanced fine dining". But I would also defer heavily to Sue in MP and Danna (and others) as their knowledge of C'ton is far greater than mine.

[Sue in Mt P]

dawg, your opinion is always welcome. And Cru is great. If I remember correctly, the OP has a baby, who might enjoy the porch there. And that Gen Tso's chicken is the best.

[mla19]

Thanks, All! Much appreciated!

Sue, great memory! We've actually altered our plans and are leaving our daughter home with her grandparents for the weekend so we'll be flying solo and plan to eat non-stop!

[Sue in Mt P]

Oh bless her little heart! I bet the grandparents are so happy!

Go with your plan, and have fun with your husband!

[UrDaddy]

Great list. Bowen's Island isn't for everyone, and High Cotton isn't as good as FIG, Husk or McCrady's, but still very much worth a visit. You will have a great time!

[danna]

I'm very impressed with someone who plans two dinners ;-) My first instinct was to tell you to go to Bowen's island later at sunset...but now that I think about it, i think you have a good plan there. Bowen's island is quite the experience, but it's strictly about the oysters and beer. I think it would be nice to follow that up with something swank in the late evening and have a little more rounded-out meal.

Sue is exactly right, McCrady's is the "nuanced fine dining". I thought it was better than Husk.

Brunch at High Cotton's greenville sc location is ho hum, but I hear Chas is better.

Sue, what's the word on oysters in late May?

[Sue in Mt P]

Bowen's will have oysters in May but they might or might not be local. Hopefully shrimp season will have begun.

[Sue in Mt P]

I think that looks good. If you don't have reservations for Husk and FIG be sure to make them.

Husk and McCrady's are very different. McCrady's is more "nuanced fine dining" than Husk.

MacIntosh is getting great reviews. I haven't been yet. Hope you have fun.