13 classic Charleston dishes
Charleston City Paper cuisine writer Eric Doksa in 2011 laid out “the ultimate taste of Charleston,” listing “Classics to Get Schooled In.” From she-crab soup to pimento cheese, he gave readers a taste, if you will, of all the Southern classics you’ve got to try around town.
Now, 13 years later, we’ve taken a look at 13 classic dishes around town. While times have changed — a cup of soup is gonna set you back more than $7 — these classic dishes have not. We asked local chefs and restaurants what makes their version of a Southern staple so special. We revisited some spots that Doksa mentioned years ago, and we looked at some people and places that have cropped up since that initial list.
Some of these places are simply best-reviewed on Yelp and some just have clever twists on classics. By no means is this list exhaustive, and if we mention a version of fried chicken that isn’t your favorite, don’t take offense. This list is just an introduction: We encourage you to try every iteration of these dishes around town.
She-crab soup at 82 Queen
A Lowcountry favorite, she-crab soup is a bisque made with cream and crab. According to Discover South Carolina, the soup originated with Scotch-Irish settlers and was later influenced by the French and Creole who gave it a thicker consistency. Chef and butler William Deas is credited with adding crab roe to the dish in the early 1900s, which gives it its orange hue. Roe (fish eggs) can only be collected from female crabs, giving the soup its name. 82 Queen’s sous chef Lamont Ferrebee said the 42-year-old restaurant’s soup, made with a pound of white crab meat, is a longtime favorite for a reason: “Experience and consistency are the keys to any great product, and our she-crab soup is no different.”
Fried Chicken at Rudy Royale
Rudy Royale opened on East Bay Street in 2021; longtime Charlestonians may remember 209 East Bay St. as the former location of Wet Willies. In the spirit of that fun spot, Rudy Royale focuses on cocktails (bless) as well as their signature fried chicken. Chef Macready Downer had this to say about his popular dish: “Rudy Royale’s signature fried chicken is a dish that we take immense pride in as we work diligently to ensure that each bite strikes the perfect balance between fresh, juicy and crispy. Our commitment is to prepare fried chicken that is well-seasoned and finished with a crispy crust, similar to a classic American version.”
Fried green tomatoes at Magnolias
Both a popular 1991 comedy and a Lowcountry staple, fried green tomatoes are as ubiquitous as good manners in Charleston dining establishments. Head to Magnolias for the appetizer made with white cheddar and caramelized onion grits, country ham, tomato chutney and tomato butter. Magnolias chef Don Drake said: “I like to say that our fried green tomatoes are a taste of Charleston in one bite.”
Fleet Landing’s stuffed hush puppies
Nothing says comfort food like fried balls of cornbread, and you can find just that — hush puppies, of course — on many menus across the Lowcountry. Fleet Landing’s stuffed hush puppies stand out for adding a little extra umph. Fleet Landing chef Andy McLeod said: “Fleet’s stuffed hush puppies call on traditional techniques and flavors to evoke a sense of comfort and familiarity unique to the Lowcountry. From proudly featuring ingredients born locally, I feel that this dish embodies all the best of Charleston’s culinary roots. I think the SHP are so iconic because even if people have seen hush puppies before (which I think is just a Southern thing), they’ve certainly never seen tennis ball-sized hush puppies loaded with lobster and shrimp!”
Bert & T’s desserts
You’ll find benne wafers at food stands and markets around the area. The quintessentially Charleston dessert snack has been, according to the Historic Charleston Foundation, popular since colonial times when slaves from East Africa brought benne (the Bantu word for sesame) and planted it in the South. Beyond benne, though, are additional, traditional Gullah candies that aren’t as well-known; local baker and Bert & T’s food truck owner Christina Miller sells these Gullah candies.
“I sell a variety of traditional Gullah candy on my food truck and online (local pickup and nationwide shipping),” Miller said. “The candies that I offer include groundnut cakes (crushed peanut candy) monkey meat (coconut candy), benne brittle and black walnut brittle. It’s hard to find the candy now (it used to be sold on the streets of downtown Charleston), but many people of my parents’ generation remember eating and making the candy at home as children.”
Fried fish at Bintü
In 2011, writer Eric Doksa sang the praises of fried fish. Thirteen years later, we’re still celebrating the Southern staple, but with a little added knowledge from West African chef Bintou N’Daw, owner of new downtown restaurant, Bintü’s Atelier. The restaurant serves up a whole fried snapper paired with your choice of sides.
N’Daw talked us through the “crucial event” that is eating a whole fish, called dieun and translated as “the fish” in the Wolof language, on the West African coast: “Every country lives heavily from the seafood caught the same day. The men fish early in the morning and the women sell their fish directly on the beach. Nothing is going to a freezer or a fridge. It’s for the same day. Small fishermen would bring sardines, dorades, croakers and also, at times, tilapia from the rivers. If they get lucky, a big grouper or a tuna comes along, and it gets cut up or bought by the wealthy. It’s always served with a lot of fixings, rice or couscous but always eaten with respect for the sea and the fishermen that caught it. The dieun from Bintü’s is just that. Charleston is a port, and we should be able to eat a local seasonal fish fresh from the boat.”
Fried shrimp at Hank’s Seafood
Look no further than Hank’s Seafood — voted City Paper’s Best Seafood in Charleston just last year — for a satisfying platter of fried shrimp. Served with French fries and coleslaw, the classic Lowcountry dish is fresh, simple and, when possible, local. Like many area restaurants, Hank’s is a partner of the South Carolina Aquarium’s Good Catch Program, which works to serve guests a higher percentage of local and sustainable seafood.
Lima beans at Bertha’s Kitchen
You can find lima beans (also known as butter beans) at most soul food restaurants around town. They’re the perfect accompaniment to soul food staples like fried pork chops and chicken wings. Former City Paper contributor Allston McCrady sang the praises of the meat and three platters served up daily at Bertha’s, which frequently makes it on Dish’s Top 50 list: “Businessmen, laborers and far-flung tourists alike shuffle through the quick cafeteria-style service counter loaded with a smorgasbord of meat and threes, such as fried pork chops, fish specials, yams, stewed greens, home-style mac-and-cheese, limas nestled with smoked turkey necks, dark roux okra soup, moist cornbread and fried chicken better than anyone’s Grandma ever made.”
Collards at Hannibal’s Kitchen
Speaking of soul food, you can get your fix at Hannibal’s Kitchen, established in 1985 by the Huger Family and named after the family patriarch, Robert Lawrence Huger, who went by the nickname “Hannibal.” The restaurant is now owned by L. J. Huger and run by his daughters, Sani and Felicity, who serve up fresh Southern classics, including collard greens. According to NPR, the dense green dish “originated in the South during slavery. African slaves brought to America had to feed their families from precious few foods. Because greens such as collards grew abundantly, they often used them as the basis for one-pot meals.” At Hannibal’s, the collards can be ordered on their own or as a side to entrees like turkey wings and crab rice.
Chargrilled oysters at Bowens Island Restaurant
Oysters — served up raw, roasted and steamed, can be found in many restaurants and raw bars across the Lowcountry. We recommend checking them out at as many places as possible to get a true taste of the usually salty, sometimes sweet, varieties of bivalves available in the Lowcountry and farther afield. You really can’t go wrong ordering a plate of chargrilled oysters at Bowens Island, though, where the views are almost as good as the food.
Cornbread at Rodney Scott’s BBQ
You may head to Rodney Scott’s BBQ for a taste of his whole hog barbecue, but you’re going to want to sit down and stay a while to enjoy all his delectable sides, including his cornbread served with honey butter, inspired by Scott’s grandmother’s recipe. “Saturdays were spent at her house watching Soul Train, and she always made me a little plate of cornbread with some Cane Patch syrup on the side as a treat. We unapologetically make our cornbread sweet with honey butter as an homage to my grandmother, Saturdays and Soul Train, and it takes me back every time I take a bite,” said Scott.
Crab cake at The James
While crab cakes are often thought of as a mid-Atlantic delicacy — fear not, Maryland, we’ll let y’all officially claim this dish — they are still plenty Southern and found on many local menus. Chris Meiklejohn, general manager of The James, which opened last year on James Island, acknowledged Maryland’s influence on his restaurant’s crab cake dish: “The tradition behind our crab cakes originates in Maryland, where ‘cakes made from the body meat of the Blue Crab have been made in one form or another for hundreds of years. It is said that native peoples would cook and pick the crabs by hand and form their meat into ‘cakes’ using cornmeal before frying them in bear fat.” At The James, you can enjoy your crab cakes served with remoulade, asparagus and coleslaw.
The Glass Onion’s shrimp and grits
Head to the Glass Onion for a taste of one of the Lowcountry’s most popular classic dishes, shrimp and grits. Opened in 2008 by chef Chris Stewart, the West Ashley restaurant is neighborhood-based and locally focused, with an emphasis on supporting local farmers and purveyors. In that vein, the menu changes often, based on what’s in season. Still, you’re more than likely to see shrimp and grits on there; a recent iteration was served with a New Orleans influence (we’re talking aligator sausage and creole tomatoes) and local shrimp from James Island-based Captain Harry’s. Pair the dish with a local beer from Munkle or Edmund’s Oast, and you’ve got yourself a real Charleston-based winner of a dinner.
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