by on July 28, 2015

Search for America’s Best Food Cities

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There is apparently a series currently being run in the Washington post (it may have recently ended, the article I found is from April 2015) called “The Search for America’s Best Food Cities,” and, not so surprisingly, Charleston was one of the stops on the tour.

The first thing that this article accurately mentions is that Charleston has long been known for its culinary achievements. What people might not realize is, that while this has historically been the case, the big restaurant boom going on in Charleston now is a relatively recent phenomenon. From the article: “A modern milestone in the city’s evolution into a dining haven was its first Food and Wine Festival in 2006.” And to illustrate how quickly this evolution has taken place, “The festival’s first year, 5,000 attendees showed up for a two-day program; last month, BB&T Charleston Wine + Food drew nearly 24,000 participants for a party spread over five days.”

While a lot of these restaurants they mention have been local favorites for a long time, it’s nice for them that they are getting written up not only in the local press, but nationally – even though it does make it harder to get a table or reservation. One of the things that the top restaurants do well is stay true to classic, traditional dishes and recipes while serving them creatively, and maybe with a touch of original flare. The vibrant atmosphere of the city certainly doesn’t hurt the atmosphere in the restaurants either.

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by on May 18, 2015

New Shark Exhibit

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It may seem counterintuitive to let your children touch sharks and stingrays, but not to the South Carolina Aquarium. Fifteen years after opening its doors, the aquarium will be opening up  its largest exhibit to date that will allow visitors of all ages to freely touch sharks and stingrays.

Shark Shallows, as the exhibit is called, will consist of a figure-eight shaped 20,000 gallon outdoor tank on the aquarium’s terrace. Visitors will encounter sharks, stingrays, and an great view of Cooper River at a distance. The water will be kept at a nice 80 degrees to combat bacterial and fungal diseases and keep the sea creatures healthy.

The aquarium has chosen bonnethead sharks, members of the hammerhead family, and crownose stingrays as well as southern stingrays. There will be 4 sharks, 24 crownose stingrays and 3 southern stingrays, which are all local to the ocean waters off South Carolina.

Jen Skoy, the aquarist in charge of the exhibit, says that the species were chosen for being non-aggressive and the stingrays venomous barbs will be clipped to avoid any potential attacks. The stingrays attack only when protecting themselves and the mouth of the bonnethead sharks are located on their underside, where people are unlikely to touch them as they approach the tank.

Ultimately, the South Carolina Aquarium hopes to dispel much of the myths about sharks made popular by the media and educate visitors on how important and threatened these species are in the wild. Another upcoming venture by the aquarium will be opening up its sea turtle hospital to the public, so that they can learn about how the aquarium rescues and rehabilitates sea turtles. The aquarium hopes to do this within the next two years, and if Shark Shallows turns into a success, we have to wonder what else will South Carolina Aquarium deliver for visitors.

Read the whole article here.

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by on April 9, 2015

Music in Charleston

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Charleston music has been influenced by many and in turn has impacted music everywhere.  The Gulluh community, descended from enslaved Africans, has had a huge influence on the Charleston music scene. The geechee dances are the name of the dances that the dock workers in Charleston would perform. These dances inspired Eubie Blake’s “Charelston Rag” which later became James P. Johnson’s “The Charleston.”  Dances to these songs defined the whole country in the 1920s.

Charleston is one of the early starters of jazz, along with New Orleans.  According to historian Jack McCray, “The beginnings of jazz music on the southeastern coast of the United States were centered in Charleston, South Carolina, one of only a handful of places in the Western Hemisphere where Africa interacted with Europe in a seminal way to produce New World culture.”

In 1891 Reverend Daniel J. Jenkins created The Jenkins Orphanage, a place to house all the children that lived in the streets. The orphanage accepted donations in the form of musical instruments and Jenkins hired local musicians and Avery Institute Graduates to teach the boys how to play music. It became one of the first organized black instrumental groups in South Carolina. The Orphanage eventually generated such respect for its music that parents started sending their children to the Orphanage for music lessons. Eventually the kids could read music at an expert level and were proficient on many different instruments. Some of the Jenkins boys got positions with the bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. The children were not taught jazz, but performed ragtime versions of songs, which resulted in swing music.  The Jenkins Orphanage started a trend and eventually orphanages around the country were developing brass bands too.  Louis Armstrong was involved with such an orphanage in New Orleans.

Notable musicians from Charleston include Charles Theodore Pachelbel and Darius Rucker.  Charles Pachelbel, son of Johann Pachelbel, composed Canon in D.  Pachelbel became the organist of St. Philip’s Church in 1740 and after moving to Charleston, lived there until he died.  He was one of the first European composers to move to America.  Darius Rucker is most known as the lead singer of Hootie & The Blowfish, a popular country/rock band.

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by on March 2, 2015

High Hopes For South Carolina Tourism

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For the past four years in a row, Charleston, SC has has been voted the top domestic tourist destination by Conde Naste Traveler Magazine (and the number 2 destination world wide), and according to this article fro seattlepi.com, people in the area are planning on, and hoping to, see another top notch year of tourism.

The first couple of months each year in Charleston are typically slow in terms of the number of visitors – hence the reason why restaurants in town offer special deals to get the local population in the door during restaurant week. But this is the time of year when tourism picks up. The spring is an amazing time to be in Charleston, when all of the plantations and wonderful gardens are in bloom, and Charleston becomes even more colorful than usual. Moving into the summer, Charleston and South Carolina have excellent beaches, golf courses, and other types of activities perfect for a summer weekend or week long getaway.

The influx of tourists does not only benefit the restaurants and hotels of the area, but just about every other type of store and service in the city, like the museums, aquarium, even the street vendors. in fact, the wide variety of things to do is what makes Charleston such an attractive place to visit in the first place, and all of them reap the rewards.

The above mentioned article ends with a few highlights of South Carolina tourism that people visiting might want to be aware of:

Hilton Head is being heavily refurbished, with almost $300 million being put into an already attractive tourist destination.

The new $12 million Myrtle Beach Sports Center plans to hold various types of amateur tournaments.

The first Carolina Country Music Festival will be held this year in June on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk. Major country bands and performers are expected to play.

See the entire article through the link above.

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by on February 5, 2015

Architecture: Building Old and New

walter hiott Charleston-HomeArchitecture in Charleston is one of the primary things that give this city its character. You get a sense of two key things about the city from its buildings – its taste for beauty and esthetic pleasure, and its respect for the past. There is currently a debate in Charleston over how to proceed with current and future building projects, (an article was written about it recently in the New York Times).

There are two dominant perspectives in the debate – there are those who want the city to maintain its old world feel, and those who are in favor of modernization in new building projects. As always seems to be the case, it seems that there is a happy medium that could be reached. But this happy medium doesn’t necessarily mean that every new building should walk the line between being modern and classical at the same time. A building designed and built by implementing such a plan turns into a mish-mash with no personality of its own.

Old buildings are essential to Charleston, and must be preserved, but that does not mean that every new building must be built in the same vein. That would just be imitative. New buildings however, should not be eye sores. New styles can fit in the existing context and make it even richer if done properly. Then, in 100 years, Charlestonians can look upon buildings built today with the fondness that we currently look upon buildings from the turn of the 19th century.

The architecture of Charleston already represents so many eras and fashions, and should be able to incorporate more. It is just important to make sure to not sell taste and respect for history down the river.

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by on January 7, 2015

Charleston Restaurant Week

Walter Hiott northToday marks the beginning of restaurant week in Charleston, an exciting few days for anyone who appreciates Lowcountry cuisine as much as most people in Charleston. They do this as a promotional event during weak tourist seasons, like the time right after New Years, but it turns out to be a major benefit for Charleston locals, even if as many people aren’t traveling in from out of town to enjoy it with us.

140 restaurants in the city will be participating, which means there will be a huge variety of places to choose from. The best plan is probably to make a reservation at a different restaurant each night. I bet you will not be disappointed.

One thing that makes this year’s Restaurant Week a little bit different from that of previous years is the pricing flexibility that has been allowed for restaurants. Usually, there are very predetermined prix-fixe menus, offering a narrowed down choice from each restaurant’s usual menu at reduced prices. This year, however, restaurants were given some leeway to come up with their own deals, so they will be better able to feature their best dishes which often are left off of prix fixe menus for pricing reasons, rather than the usual one-size-fits-all discount. So, you might see a better variety of menus being offered.

Restaurant Week is one of those win-win situations. Restaurants in the area get to fill their tables during traditionally slow times of the year, and diners get to enjoy a little bit of a discount at their favorite restaurants, or at restaurants they have been dying to try.

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by on September 5, 2014

Seabrook Island

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Seabrook Island is a lovely little area in Charleston County.  It is just a few miles from the City of Charleston, and is a really nice, natural, leisurely complement to the great city.  Many great cities have a beach town for the urban dwellers to escape to once in a while – New York has the Hamptons, Boston has Cape Cod – and Charleston has Seabrook Island.

As with many of these complementary beach towns, Seabrook Island is an excellent place to spend the Fourth of July.  They have a great parade and fireworks display.  Fireworks in a city can certainly be spectacular, but something about watching fireworks from the beach can just immerse you in the feeling and sentiment of Fourth of July Weekend.  Fourth of July is a great weekend to spend in a leisurely manner, and you will be hard pressed to find a better place to do just that.

If you go to Seabrook Island, it would be a great idea to procure some bicycles and explore.  The geography is just so beautiful.  I read a blurb on the Town of Seabrook Island website that said, “There are few places where the world rarely intrudes.  You have just found one of them.”  You may find you agree with this sentiment while riding around and experiencing the natural splendor of the island.  While doing this, it’s fun to look around at the houses and pick your favorite one.    There are also excellent golf courses, if that is something you are interested in.  It would also be a good idea, of course, to spend some time on the terrific beaches.  One really charming activity you can do here that you won’t find on many other beaches is riding horses.  It does not get much better than doing this at sunset.

While on the island, you might want to visit The Pelican’s Nest, which is a casual place for food and drinks, a good breeze, and a spectacular, panoramic view.

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by on August 12, 2014

Welcome

Walter HiottThis blog by Walter Hiott will give information about Charleston, South Carolina.  This city has an incredible amount to offer, including but certainly not limited to great restaurants, beautiful architecture, gorgeous plantations, and incredible history.  These aspects of Charleston and many more will be discussed here.

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