A Weekend in Charleston, Without the Carriage Tour
What to eat, where to stay, and the one thing the brochures do not tell you.
There is a Charleston you can visit in 48 hours that has very little to do with the one in the brochure. Begin at the produce market on Saturday morning.
Where to stay
The Pinch, in the Ansonborough neighborhood, is the current answer for anyone who has done the King Street hotels and is ready for a smaller property with a better breakfast. The Vendue, more traditional, remains the correct answer for a first visit.
Where to eat
Chubby Fish on the harbor for the raw bar, ideally at 5:30 on a weekday. Sorghum & Salt on Cannon Street for one longer dinner. Renzo, still, for the pizza. Butcher & Bee for breakfast at least once. Skip, for this trip, the two most-Instagrammed rooms downtown; the food is fine and the wait is not.
The neighborhood most guides skip
Cross the Ravenel Bridge and spend a full morning in Mount Pleasant. Post House Inn's coffee. Coastal Coffee Roasters. The Old Village on foot. You are back on the peninsula by lunch, and you have seen the city the way its residents see it.
The one thing the brochures do not tell you
Saturday morning at the produce market on Marion Square is the best two hours you can spend in this town. Bring cash. Do not eat breakfast first. There is a woman at the third stall on the right whose pimento cheese will change how you think about pimento cheese. Her name is Ms. Ruth. Say hello.
