Charleston, you stole my heart.

I don’t know if it’s because the weather was heavenly, because it was the first big city stop of our road trip, or because it truly is magical, but I fell completely in love with Charleston. If there was a meter for how many times I said “Oh my God, this is so beautiful” while we were out exploring, I’m sure the final tally would be somewhere in the thirties.

I mean, come on…

One of the most striking elements about Charleston is its architecture. The pastel-colored historic homes that make up most of downtown, juxtaposed with the gorgeous palm trees that line the streets, are one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever experienced in person. I hope these photos do it at least a bit of justice.

Aside from its historic beauty, Charleston is also filled with amazing restaurants and bars. We spent about a day and a half there so we could only sample so much, but what we did try sure made an impression.

On our way into town, we stopped at The Glass Onion - a locally-sourced Southern comfort food restaurant. They serve classics like deviled eggs, gumbo, pimento cheese and meatloaf. At $9 each, Rene and I both went for the fried chicken po’ boy - side of grits for him and braised collards for me. Everything tasted super fresh and homemade. It was a great Southern-style meal to start our Charleston adventure with.

What bagels, pizza and pastrami are to New York, shrimp and grits are to Charleston. On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early ready to hit up Hominy Grill - a restaurant known to serve the best shrimp and grits breakfast in town. Breakfast at Hominy Grill starts at nine and I was sure a nine-ish arrival time would guarantee us one of the first tables. By the time we got there at 9:15, the entire dining room was full and there was an army of people waiting outside for the next round of seating. Feeling dejected yet not defeated, a Google search suggested Poogan’s Porch would be a great second choice.

Located in an original Victorian townhouse - fireplaces, porches and all - Poogan’s Porch a traditional Southern restaurant. Having breakfast in their gorgeous dining room felt upscale yet cozy, and the servers were polite and charming - in true Southern fashion, of course.

The meal started with the butteriest, most pillowy warm biscuits we’ve ever had, served with whipped honey butter. The server warned us these were the best biscuits in town and I’m fully confident in his assessment.

I went for the shrimp and grits with poached eggs, while Rene had the pulled pork benedict. Both were stellar. This meal will forever define Southern hospitality for me.

The Gin Joint is a cozy cocktail bar downtown. Their drink menu features a few dozen house cocktails, but you can also order “bartender’s choice”. Most of their concoctions are $10, which was a nice respite from the $15 kind here in NYC. They have a great array of bar snacks as well. I really liked this place, and we even got to sit out on their patio since the weather was nearly spring-like.

Charleston also boasts some beautiful beaches. We didn’t get to visit them on this trip, but I sure hope to this summer. Either way, it’ll be long before I forget our time in that beautiful place.