by Doug and I have loved doing food tours in new places ever since the first fabulous one we did together in Hawaii. Not only do you get to try a nice variety of local food and learn a little about the city, the people who are drawn to such tours are also usually fun and interesting (you know, like us!). So before setting off on our big adventure, I searched which cities in the US had the best food tours, and Charleston made the list.
So it was we found ourselves on the Downtown Charleston Culinary Tour with a guide, another couple, and a solo traveler. We came hungry and ready to eat – I mean, ready to learn about the cultural traditions of the city!
Our tour started with Benne (pronouced “ben-ny”) Wafers, before we’d even left the meeting spot. We’d never heard of them, and our guide asked us to try to guess what they’re made of.
The thin cookies were very sweet with a bit of a buttery taste, so we were surprised to learn they are made from sesame. To be fair, sesame was the fourth ingredient on the label. The first was my all-time favorite ingredient, sugar.
The cookie is unique to the Lowcountry (a coastal region in South Carolina) in the United States, but Benne was brought over from Africa by enslaved people. Benne is the Bantu word for sesame, and Bantu is spoken in central and southern Africa.
Our first restaurant was Poogan’s Smokehouse, where we were served with a piping-hot cast-iron cornbread with honey butter as soon as we sat down, which was pretty yummy.
Doug was served a pulled pork slider, which he topped with Poogan’s Carolina-style mustard barbecue sauce. Doug is a big fan of this golden style of barbecue sauce and really enjoyed it.
He was also served a side of collard greens, which had bacon in them, so were a no-go for me. Our guide assured us that these were some of the best she’d ever tried, Doug didn’t disagree though he has only had them a few times. I’m not gonna lie, there’s something about collard greens that just looks disgusting to me, so I was not sorry to not be served them.
I was not impressed with my vegetarian serving, which was a bland potato salad and bland broccoli. I’ve done many food tours as a vegetarian (I can eat dairy, eggs, fish, so it’s not hopeless), so I know I can be well-accommodated. This was just the first stop, though, so I wasn’t too worried.
Next up was the Oyster Seafood House Restaurant, where I definitely fared better, as I was served nearly the same as everyone else. I had hoped we’d get to try she-crab soup while in Charleston, and it was served to us here, with a bonus Presidential connection for Doug! She-crab soup was created in Charleston in the early 1900s when it was served to President William Howard Taft at a dinner in a local home. He was known to be a fan of turtle soup, so the chef made him a localized version. It was rich and creamy and very good.
There was also a serving of pimento cheese to eat on crackers; this is another regional item, which we had had previously, but which we liked enough to eat again. It’s extra-sharp shredded cheddar cheese mixed with mayonnaise and diced pimentos. Doug thought this homemade version was better than the commercially-packaged pimento cheese we had tried earlier in our travels in North Carolina.
We also received shrimp and grits, which we had also tried on our recent travels. Since one of the previous versions I had had was made with I think about three pounds of butter, this paled a bit in comparison (though was still delicious).
This was rounded off with hush puppies and a side of praline butter, which – did someone say butter? – were also quite tasty. Instead of being savory, these hush puppies were sweet, which was quite different, and we both cleaned out the serving of praline butter that was served with the hush puppies.
Our third food stop was the Well Hung Winery Restaurant.
This local winery has a fun sense of humor, and wines are given witty double-entendre names such as Pop Your Cork and Wishful Thinking.
Doug had a wine flight, and greatly enjoyed the Happy Ending port-style dessert wine.
He also had a serving of slow-braised boneless beef short rib, with redskin mashed potatoes. The short rib was tender and juicy.
I was served glazed eggplant and mashed potatoes which was fine if not exactly something I’d call a local delicacy.
Our final stop was Benne’s by Peninsula Grill, where we were served The Ultimate Coconut Cake, a 12-layer “towering triumph of fresh coconut and vanilla.”
This cake was made famous by Oprah and Tom Cruise, who has been known to order hundreds of the cakes to be shipped as holiday gifts.
You can buy one slice for $15, or the entire cake can be shipped to you for $270! (I checked, that included free shipping to New Jersey, at least.)
It was definitely delicious, since I love coconut and cream cheese icing, but I’m not sure it was as delicious as the price indicated.
