Charleston SC. The invasion on Duncan and Jane!

Our mission of the day...Charleston, SC. The drive was not a long one,but by the time we arrived in the city I thought Clay and I were going to kill eachother. We were definately lost and really just wanted to get out of the friggin' car. I stopped and asked a man at the Charleston Yacht club for direction to Jane and Duncan house on James Island. Thank God he said we were seven minutes away! We arrived shortly after to welcoming arms. Clay had not seen Duncan and Jane in many years and it was the first time I had ever met them .  For anyone who does not know Duncan and Jane, they are Clay's parents oldest friends from Montserrat. They are also the cutest couple I have ever seen in my life!

After washing up and a glass of wine, they took us to their favorite Italian restaurant, AL DI LA. The restaurant was so dark and cute.

We started our meal with a bottle of wine and a complimentary salumi and fromaggi plate. Proscuitto, Sopressata, shaved Parmesan, and Ubriaco cheese drizzled with truffle honey...what more could you ask for.

 

 For second course we shared mussels in a tomato and fennel broth, which was not the highlight of the meal, but still pretty good.

Jane also oredered oven roasted portobello mushrooms with HOUSE MADE mozzarella...amazing!

Our entrees were all very good. Duncan ordered duck breast with veggies and apple cider reduction, which was cooked perfectly.

 

Jane ordered a personal pizza, which doesn't sound like much at first. But when you find out the entire pie, from dough to cheese, is homemade you tend to reconsider.

 Clay got Charleston clams over tonnarelli pasta(house made of course) with roasted tomatoes in white wine sauce. The clams were the sweetest we have ever tasted.

 I chose the duck confit over tagliatelle with truffle oil and mushroom...enough said.

 We chose to have coffee at home, in pajamas..we were all way to full to stay at the restaurant.


The following day Duncan and Jane took us on a drive through tour of Charleston. Clay and I both agree,it is the most beautiful and charming city we have seen in the US! The streets are lined with Palmetto's and the homes are colorful and beautiful. The properties look really narrow, but they seem to go back a hundred feet. Apparenlty this was done because property taxes were based on the amount of sidewalk that was outside your front door. We saw rainbow row, King Street (the shopping district), different colleges and universities, and so many parks and waterfronts that I will not list them here.

We continued our tour onto Folly Beach, which is a ten minute drive from downtown Charleston. It was beautiful! They have a large fishing pier, which is also the home to the yearly Shag-off, which is a dance off you perverts!
We got into some antics at the gift shop and bought a new bathroom decoration.

 We finished our tour at Daves BBQ. All I'm gonna say is BBQ buffet! It was BANGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We dropped our tour guides off and went back in to the city and visited the daily Market.
It is really cool because they only showcase local vendors and artists. Here we learned about Gullah culture, which began way back in the day when Charleston was the port for slave trade from Barbados. Everything from sweetgrass baskets, art, dance and food has a touch of Gullah culture ,which is still passed though todays generation.

We finished our night by making dinner for Jane and Duncan, a nice home cooked meal with family was well needed and missed, especially since it was Canadian Thanksgiving. Tuna tartare with a citrus, fennel and ginger vinegarette was our starter. Sushi grade tuna was only $10.00/lb at Harris Teeter...what?! Our entree was South Carolina scallops with a mussel rissoto, crispy panchetta bacon, and a parsley cream lux. 

On our last day, Clay and I toughed it out and explored Charleston in the rain. After wondering the streets for hours we found ourselves back at the daily market. We saw some older ladies weaving sweetgrass baskets and asked her about the tradition, she was very funny. I also found the restauant Bubba Gump Shrimp company, but we figured it was a tourist trap and didn't lunch there.

We did manage to find a new burger joint called Burger Babies...they only sell sliders. Tiny, tasty sliders. They pride themselves on using only meat ground in house and from local, naturally raised animals. The only menu item not made in house was their steamed bun, which they ordered from China.
Clay ordered the classic hamburger on brioche, which is a combo of chuck, brisket, and short rib meat. He also got the pork belly on a steamed bun with hoisin, spicy cucumbers and peanuts....AMAZING!
I ordered the daily special-buffalo turkey burger and the chorizo on brioche with cilantro aioli, pickled red onion, and micro greens...OMG. These little burgers packed big flavor. To boot they cut their fries in house. We were so happy we stopped there for a snack.

We got home and Duncan had started making us dinner, shrimp and fish gumbo....it hit the spot, especially after being out in the rain all day. For desert, we had cannolis- I had been going on about Columbus Day and cannoli's the whole weekend. 

We both want to thank Duncan and Jane for their Hospitality and great times...and for just being amazing. We cannot wait to go one double dates with them, whenever we decide to spend a year or so cooking in Charleston (seriously, we are coming back). Lucky for you, Charleston, we just bought a home on wheels and are in the mood for some traveling. But until next time....