Exploring Charleston – Part II

This post is sponsored by Hyatt Place

{Part I here!}

Saturday started out with sunshine, but we knew rain was on the way, so we tried to do most of our walking in the morning. We walked about 2 miles down to the waterfront and back.

After showers and getting dressed for the day, the rain did roll in. We took a cab back downtown to Husk for a late lunch. 

Husk was hoppin’ inside! We ordered few plates to share.

Bread in a tote bag! I think this was topped with bourbon salt or a bourbon glaze. Bourbon was definitely involved! 

Hillary was pumped to try the pig ear lettuce wraps. I had never had pig ear before, but I’m a fairly adventurous eater, so I was down. But guys, my gosh, I couldn’t do it. These were CRUNCHY! The cartilage gets crispy in the deep frier, and although our server told us it’s normally mushy, I felt like I was eating bones. Just couldn’t do it!! They tasted great though.

We also got a skillet of cornbread (yum!) and a mix of smoky veggies.

And for our main dish – we split an order of shrimp and grits (they surprised us with two petite portions split). So good!! Love South Carolina grits.

Our rain plan was to visit one of the historic museums, but thankfully the sun came back out after lunch! We decided to stay outside, so we did more exploring on foot and walked through the historic city market.

After freshening up for dinner, we set out on a Mixology Tour! Hyatt Place booked this for us, and we visited three different bars and got to try three different specialty cocktails at each one.

Our first stop was Burwell’s where we had the best strawberry cocktail. It was called Spring Fever with vodka, elderflower, lemon, muddled strawberries and cucumber. So fresh!

We also shared these delicious deviled eggs topped with candied bacon.

Next up we went to Carmella’s, which was a modern dessert bar.

The bartender there made us this pumpkin martini which was out of this world!! It was equal parts vanilla vodka, pumpkin spice liquor and Bailey’s with a splash of heavy cream and pumpkin pie spice. Graham cracker rim!!!

Our last stop was Kaminsky’s – another famous dessert cafe. We were a little disappointed to go to back to back dessert cafes (especially before dinner) but the drinks were good anyways! Couldn’t quite finish this one – too rich.

After the tour ended, we had some time before dinner, and our tour guide led us to the rooftop bar on top of the Vendue where I found Pumking! Yes, this was a lot of alcohol in one night – I know!!! I didn’t finish everything you’ve seen, FYI. 

In Charlottesville two of my favorite spots are Pippin Hill Vineyards and Red Pump Kitchen, and they have a sister property in Charleston – the Zero George Cafe and Bar. The restaurant has won awards for its culinary creations, and we couldn’t have been more impressed. Flash alert!

The cocktails here were beautiful – here are some I photographed at the bar (I didn’t drink all of these!)

• The one on the left is called Smoke on the Water – Larceny Bourbon | Cocchi di Torino | Lairds Applejack Brandy Black Walnut Bitters | Smoked Ice. One of the best cocktails I’ve ever tasted!
• The middle one was appropriately named The Essence of Basil with Titos Vodka | Elderflower | Basil | Cava.
• And the last one is the American Surrealist – Bulleit Rye Whiskey | Lavender Syrup | Citrus | Cabernet| Egg white.

We struck up a Charlottesville connection with Adrian, who is from Cville and managing the property on behalf of the family company. Small world! He helped us choose our dishes for the evening. Everything was so unique and creative – 

Confit Lamb Belly with frisee and crispy garlic panisse

Ricotta Gnocchi with crispy kale and a pine nut emulsion. LOVE FOAM! 

Yakitori-style Hamachi Collar – lightly smoked, heriloom radish, black truffle miso emulsion and macha tea powder dusting. 

Seared Snapper with Thai broth, spiced carrot, choy and rock shrimp dumplings

And finally – the best part – Tres Leches Cake with coconut powder and caramelized or toasted burnt sugar coconut – I don’t even know what this was but its texture was like melt-in-your-mouth honeycomb! Hillary and I shared everything and were in happy land with every dish. 

After dinner we went to find Triple Dog Dare again and had a great time singing and dancing for the second night in a row!

We walked home late and got a great night’s sleep in our Hyatt Grand Beds : )

In the morning we opted for a quick breakfast before hitting the road for our long drive back. Per you guys’ recommendations, we went over to Glazed for donuts!

Peanut butter // salted caramel // raspberry. Boy were these fresh!

After such a heavy eating and drinking weekend, I’m ready to get back to salads and roasted fall veggies for the next week!! #squigglylineeffect

Thanks so much to Hyatt Place for the trip opportunity. I hope I can get back to Charleston sooner rather than later because I felt we only got to 1% of the culinary options there. What a great place for foodies to visit!

This post and our trip was sponsored by Hyatt Place