It's tough for me to pass up a chocolate shop.


While walking around Charleston, South Carolina, I stumbled upon Christophe Artisan Chocolatier.


This shop is well-known for their handpainted chocolates - many of which inspire galactic images for me.


But they also have classic truffles - like vanilla bean, star anise and more.


And they have more than chocolate: coffee, croissants, macarons, pastries and more.


So I wanted to try a few different things.


First, I went for a praline macaron! Can never go wrong with a macaron.


Then I tried the salted caramel hand-painted chocolate.


Finally, I tried a canele, which is a small French pastry flavored with rum and vanilla with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust. It takes the shape of a small, striated cylinder up to five centimeters in height with a depression at the top, according to Wikipedia.


Everything was delicious.


But how can you go wrong with chocolate?


Have you been here?


What's your favorite?

Based in Bridgeport, Mountain State Spirits features two drinks:

"We created our Bourbon Ratafias to elevate one of North America’s finest beverages, Bourbon. Bourbon’s unique character is highlighted with the finest quality ingredients and old-world techniques to create a cordial like no other. Drinkable straight or mixed in cocktails, our Bourbon Ratafias are sure to please the most discerning palate."

There's hazelnut honey and walnut maple. I may or may not have gotten one of each to try!

Callie's Hot Little Biscuit - besides having the cutest name - serves up piping hot biscuits in Charleston, South Carolina.


"Small grab & go eateries inspired by Callie’s Charleston Biscuits, our Callie's Hot Little Biscuit locations serve a variety of piping hot Callie’s award winning biscuits, pimento cheese sandwiches, and a range of other delicious and locally inspired breakfast, lunch, and late night treats. Pop in and grab a signature biscuit bowl filled with slow cooked grits and a french press coffee, shop our shelves filled with favorite pantry must-haves, or stock up on our full range of frozen and refrigerated Callie’s Biscuits products."


When I recently visited Charleston, South Carolina, one of my first stops for breakfast was at Callie's Hot Little Biscuit.


This shop, located at the City Market, opened early, and I was one of the first in line.


The menu features tons of delicious little biscuits. I ordered a trio of biscuits: cheese and chive, blackberry and sharp cheddar. I added sides of pimento cheese and blackberry jam to try with them.


This is my dream - bites of a bunch of different things - so I can mix and match.


I gotta say: No one does biscuits like the south. These things are GOOD. I especially loved the pimento cheese with the chive biscuit. Goooodness. Have you been?

Hill's Lexington BBQ spearheads another Carolina-style BBQ: Lexington.


“Started by Joe Allen Hill in 1951, Hill’s Lexington Barbecue in Winston-Salem is the first to have the name “Lexington Barbecue,” thus their claim to being the “original” Lexington barbecue. At the time they opened there were a few small side street barbecues in Lexington operated by Stamey, Beck and Swicegood. But none called their barbecue place “Lexington Barbecue.”

Joe Hill, who came from Lexington, conceived the idea to bring Lexington-style barbecue cooking to Winston-Salem. Joe, along with his wife Edna, started the business on its present site.
The sauce is hot, peppery, spicy, thin (Gene says it penetrates the meat better), light reddish brown and has a strong finish by itself, but not so on the meat. It just fits.

The chopped barbecue consists of generous pieces that are not basted while cooking. It’s very lightly sauced in the kitchen. It’s a good mix of outside brown and has a good smoky taste, a rich flavor and nice texture. It’s perfect with sauce and slaw. (SOURCE)"

I ordered chopped pork BBQ, potato salad and hush puppies.

First, look at these weird lil hush puppies.

And my entree came out with some white onion that was pickled a bit and the potato salad in the middle.

The BBQ was already very seasoned and tasty, but I got some more of the peppery, vinegary sauce to add to it.

And you can't finish a meal without banana pudding.

Husk is one of those dream restaurants for me.


I've been to the location in Nashville, and it was fabulous. I have a food crush on these folks, who have been pioneering southern and Appalachian food for some time now.

So when I knew I was heading to Charleston, Husk was one of the first stops on my schedule. I made reservations for one and sat down to look over the menu.





"Centrally located in historic downtown Charleston, Husk transforms the essence of Southern food. Executive Chef and Lowcountry native, Travis Grimes, reinterprets the bounty of the surrounding area, exploring an ingredient-driven cuisine that begins in the rediscovery of heirloom products and redefines what it means to cook and eat in the South.

Starting with a larder of ingredients indigenous to the region, Grimes responsibly crafts menus, playing to what local purveyors have seasonally available at any given moment. The entrance beckons with a rustic wall of firewood to fuel the wood-fired oven in the open kitchen, and a large chalkboard listing artisanal products currently provisioning the kitchen. Much like the décor that inhabits this historic, late 19th century home, the food is modern in style and interpretation.

At Husk, there are some rules about what can go on the plate. If it doesn’t come from the South, it’s not coming through the door. The resulting cuisine is not about rediscovering Southern cooking but exploring the reality of Southern food. This modern approach from Chef Grimes results in playful dishes such as Carolina Gold Crab Rice, Benton’s Bacon, Tomato Jam and Crab Roe, to new classics such as South Carolina Shrimp and Choppee Okra Stew with Carolina Gold Rice and Flowering Basil, Kentuckyaki Glazed Pig’s Ear Lettuce Wraps with Sweet Vinegar Cucumber and Red Onion and Southern Fried Chicken Skins with Pimento Cheese “Ranch” and Scallions.

Seed-saving, heirloom husbandry, and in-house pickling and charcuterie efforts by the culinary team are the basis of the cuisine at Husk. The restaurant is as casual as it is chic, evoking a way of life centered on seasonality and the grand traditions of Charleston life—one lived at a slower pace, preferably with a cocktail and late afternoon breeze on the piazza. It is a neighborhood gathering place for friends, a destination dining spot for travelers and has a little bite of the South for everyone to savor on their homeward journey."

Something I rarely order is catfish. I just remember catching it from the Ohio River, and it was never something we ate.

But this caught my eye: "Cornmeal Dusted Catfish, Carolina Gold Rice Purloo, Brassica Greens, Preserved Tomato, Shrimp Bisque."

First, some housemade rolls.

Carolina Gold Rice is a regional specialty, and it did not disappoint - and neither did this catfish.