Girls’ Trip to Charleston 1) EATING Feb/Mar 2021

Dinner at Bistronomy by Nico. Our good friends, including a “boy”, joined us for dinner. Sooo much fun!

Brunch at Bay Street Beirgarten.

I think the majority of us enjoy a get away. Don’t you agree? Family vacation, reunions, spring break, skiing, boating, just to name a few. But there is something special about going away with the girls. What girl doesn’t love a Girls’ Trip? This is the time that we can worry only about ourselves. Whether we want to spoil ourselves with a spa day, a shopping day, visit galleries, or eat ice cream without guilt we can do it without worrying about anyone else. Don’t get me wrong. We love and appreciate our lives and loved ones but to get away is a must mentally, emotionally and physically. This rule goes for everyone..men too!

This leads me to my last girls’ trip. A trip to Charleston, SC. Have you been there? It’s a girly girl town! I’ve never seen as many bachelorette parties as I have seen there. I have heard Nashville entertains many as well. Anyway, it’s a perfect place to have a girls’ trip. Charleston offers many options for all.

My trip included 4 girlfriends and me. 5 days 6 nights. I have a routine when hosting in Charleston. First “my place” is a boat in a marina. It sleeps 6 very comfortably. My routine: I fly in a day early, walk to the supermarket, shop then hire a car back to stock and set everything up. The rest of the girls typically arrive the next day. Then the fun begins!

What can I say? We slept, walked, biked, exercised, ate, drank, explored, painted, and spent time with friends and family. We were so happy that the weather was so much better then predicted. Sun, sun and more sun and it was warm. 80 degrees one day. Coming from Maryland warm weather was needed. It was the end of February…...

Lets start by talking food: I recommend making reservations for anywhere anytime!

The night before everyone arrived I had dinner at Le Farfalle Osteria with some other close friends. This place has become one of my favorite places to eat. It has a great ambiance, lively but not too noisy, and you can eat inside and outdoors. I recommend starting with the Whipped Ricotta and the warm Rosemary Foccacia followed by anything on the menu. The FUSILLI LUNGHI is one of my favorite pastas on the menu. Finish with any of the wonderful desserts like the Chocolate Cake or the Whipped Cheesecake. Pair your dinner with a delicious wine from their selective wine list. We followed dinner by taking a short walk to Bistro A Vin for an after dinner drink (more wine). This bistro is family owned and from the Loire Valley in France. They are experts in wines. The menu offers duck foil gras, black truffle raclette, charcuterie and more. A must stop. It was a perfect end to the night. The girls arrived. The fun continues. We had one lunch at Basic Kitchen. Another of my top picks. It’s casual, light feeling, friendly cliental, and also has indoor and outdoor seating. It has wonderful healthy choices of small plates, salads, bowls and sandwiches. This place is unique and has healthy tasty foods. Try the Cauli Wings and the Corn Ribs. Both are amazing but the Corn Ribs you will never forget. They are unique, tasty and fun to eat just like ribs but not as messy. They offer a Rose’ on draft which is quite nice. Friday night we had dinner at Bistronomy by Nico. Ooh lala!!! Are you ready for some french food? Fabuleux! This restaurant is like eating is a bistro in Paris! We started with the Baguette, the Goat Cheese Spring Rolls and the Tomato & Mozzarella. The Baguette was like eating escargot (you know what I mean) with that yummy butter, garlic and parsley but without the snails! The spring rolls were thin and light. The Mozzarella came as panko-fried balls…delicious. They offer typical french entrees like Bouillabaisse, Steak au Boucher, Duck a l’Orange, Croque Madame, etc. You won’t be disappointed. They offer a wonderful wine list. Dessert is a must! Go as a group and share them all. Or spoil yourself if you are solo…I won’t tell!! Chocolate Mousse, Creme Brûlée’, and Profiteroles. With a young and talented chef de cuisine, Matt Ward, this restaurant is becoming one of the places to go in Charleston. One of the owners, Dominique Chantepie, also owns Bistro A Vin with his wife Florence. Prohibition is also one of my favs in Charleston. Incredible mixologists! Good muddlers! Although I have not eaten there I have heard wonderful things about there menu. I usually go after dinner for a late something or other. But earlier this year I discovered there warm doughnuts.. Oh my! Doughnuts with rum caramel with coconut sugar. I know what you are thinking, doughnuts after dinner? Stop it and just do it!!! They are amazing! Have them with an espresso or with a Bailey’s on the rocks. Just skip the dessert at dinner and go there for the doughnuts or the Chocolate Hazelnut Budino. You won’t regret it. Rooftop restaurants and bars. The girls and I explored more regular restaurants but I have to let you discover some places for your selves. Although, I thought I would share a couple of rooftop places I love. The Citrus Club, Vendue and Eleve’ are some of the ones I have been to. The Citrus Club is in the Dewberry Hotel. It’s a beautiful rooftop area overlooking the Cooper River, Marion Square and most of Charleston. The cocktails and food are wonderful. And it may have the best sunset view in town. Eleve’ Lounge is in the Grand Bohemian Hotel. It has plenty of room inside and a cool bohemian vibe outside including faux grass. They have specialty cocktails and wonderful small and large plates. It has a view of the town. Vendue Rooftop is in the Vendue Hotel. The rooftop offers a wonderful bar menu and a casual food menu. It has a lively young vibe. Has an inside covered area as well as an open space to view the town. The hotel is a bit of a gallery. If you like art, taking a quick tour of the lobby to catch new and funky art. Cheers!

I almost forgot to mention our brunch at Bay Street Biergarten. That was a fun adventure. The brunch was great. German bar food. Great place to watch sports. Inside and outside seating. Live bands. How could you not have fun? The adventure, though, was getting there. The restaurant is 2 miles away from the marina. We could have all walked but we wanted to get there quicker. Not sure whose bright idea it was (probably me) but we decided to rent the local bicycles and ride over there. Great idea! We can ride, drop the bikes there and after brunch walk around town. Have you ever tried to rent these kinds of bikes? No! Let me fill you in. The pay machines on the bikes are solar operated. You can rent them by the hour and also download an app which should save you money and/or make it easier to unlock the bike to ride. Well, after about 25 mins or more we finally got three bikes unlocked and ready to go. Make sure you don’t stand between the sun and the machine!!! Renting the bikes did not end up quite as quick and easy as we had hoped. “Soitenly” not! We were like the three stooges. Each one of us trying to get on the site, create and account, put in there credit card information then put in all of our account information on the bike in order to unlock each bike. Had we walked we would have had our food delivered and into our second drink by the time we arrive via bicycle. Too funny. Aside from that we had a wonderful ride through Charleston. Over all is was worth it. “Woo-woo-woo!”

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