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A very Charleston Christmas

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A very Charleston Christmas

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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 03:56 AM
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A very Charleston Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas in Charleston. Thanks to suewoo (who made me a hero with the butcher and breakfast at Sea Biscuit) and everyone for their input.

Our SIL found us a great house on Isle of Palms. It was a block from the beach and the main level (up) had a large master bedroom and bath, a bedroom and hall bath, large kitchen, dining room and living room. The house also had a very large front screen porch. From the main level, you stepped out onto a deck with a grill, a few steps down to a pool and the guest house, which consisted of a studio type apartment with king bed, kitchen, and bath. The downstairs of the main house consisted of a media room with a very large projection TV, a small bedroom with bunk beds, laundry room, bar and a queen bedroom with full bath. It was the perfect house for us, our dog, SD, SIL, our granddaughter, their dog and another guest. I recommend this area highly as it is pretty, private and has easy access to other parts of the Charleston area.

Our first night, we had dinner at Home Team BBQ on Sullivan's Island http://hometeambbq.com/. It had a great atmosphere and was a good place for the baby and to meet up with friends from home. The service and food were great. Their smoked wings are a must-have. After dinner, we went across the street and had a drink at Poe's Tavern http://poestavern.com/sullivans-island/. A great place for a cocktail and by all accounts they have fabulous burgers as well. We then headed home, with friends from Richmond in tow, and spent the evening catching up, drinking wine, listening to music and next thing we knew it was 2 am.

Tuesday morning, we went by SD's dental office and then had a great lunch at Hominy Grill. http://hominygrill.com/ It is a great spot for Southern food and once again the service and food were both terrific. This is another place that is good for taking kids.

We then spent the afternoon on Christmas errands and picked up our Christmas beef from the good guys at NY Butcher (thanks again suewoo). They had the tenderloin, trimmed, roped and gave us a bag of their seasonings. http://www.nybutcher.com/ They also had a good selection (and good pricing) on wine.

Christmas Eve we had a good dinner at the house and Christmas morning SD made us all brunch.

Christmas night, DH & I were on our own, so we headed downtown and was able to get a bar table at Magnolia's. http://www.magnolias-blossom-cypress...sp?catID=20426. We were concerned it would not live up to the hype, but it did. We also had never been out for Christmas dinner and found it to be a very festive evening. While not overly crowded, it was definitely hustling and bustling. After dinner we stopped at the rooftop bar at the Market Pavilion http://www.marketpavilion.com/ for a cocktail and then headed home.

Thursday we stayed in and walked the beach, hung out with the baby and took it easy until that night which was our "baby-free" evening with the kids. We started with cocktails at The Rarebit http://therarebit.com/...a true cocktail bar where they make their own tonic and ginger beer. We had Moscow Mules served in copper mugs before heading across the street to Macintosh for dinner. http://www.themacintoshcharleston.com/. This was one of the best meals I've had in Charleston or anywhere in a while.

Friday, we took our granddaughter out to breakfast at Sea Biscuit Cafe on Isle of Palms. (Thanks again suewoo) http://www.seabiscuitcafeiop.com/. It is a perfect breakfast place and great for kids and families. It is tiny, so I am sure it is packed during the summer.

We headed back home, played on the beach, snuck in a nap and then when SD & SIL got off work, we headed to the House of Brews for a beer http://houseofbrewsmtp.com/ and then met friends back at Sullivan's Island for a very good dinner at Salt, including some fabulous oysters and oyster shooters http://www.saltstation22.com/. We all headed back to the house and then the 30 and under crowd headed back out around midnight or so.

We headed home yesterday and agreed this could easily become a Christmas tradition.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 04:31 AM
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Thank you for the report. We are headed to Sullivan's in a couple of weeks and this will come in handy.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 04:41 AM
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How do you get 'em back to Richmond after the Isle of Palms?

Sounds great!

I am downloading this for our next trip.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 05:25 AM
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Great info. Glad it was fun.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 06:21 AM
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The Macintosh sounds familiar. A relative might have worked there. Chef Bacon is a CIA grad and so is this one. It sounded wonderful and so did your house. So happy you had a great holiday and it was stress free.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 07:32 AM
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Fun trip report, Janet! Sounds like a a great time. I would seek out any place that makes its own tonic and ginger beer.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 09:15 AM
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How great! I'm so glad you had a good time.

The Mac is so wonderful. They let me see their rooftop herb garden once. And Chef "Bacon" (lol, flpab, so true) changed QUeen Street forever when he opened Husk. The entire area smelled like the pigs they were roasting in the parking lot behind it.

Magnolia has managed to say excellent and still traditional while all kinds of noveau places opened up all around it. I've been there dozens of times and never been disappointed.

Sea Biscuit is NUTS during the summer. Heck there's often a wait on weekends in the winter.

Happy New Year, everybody.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 09:29 AM
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That sounds delightful! I think I gained 5 pounds just reading about all those delicious meals...
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 09:39 AM
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We have not had an average or mediocre meal in Charleston, nor have we had less than stellar service anywhere. And if you love Southern food and flavors, it's even better.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 09:59 AM
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I have never been there--definitely need to plan a visit at some point! Glad it was a nice holiday for all of you!
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 10:47 AM
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Heading to Sullivan's Island this week--bookmarking for dining possibilities.
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Old Dec 29th, 2013, 11:00 AM
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cmfong, make reservations!

http://www.charlestonrestaurantassoc...staurant-week/
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Old Dec 30th, 2013, 04:03 AM
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Can't imagine how it could have been any more perfect! Really nice to hear how good fodorite recommendations were.
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Old Dec 30th, 2013, 09:37 AM
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Sounds like you ate your way through Charleston....

Makes me want to go back and spend more time there!!!
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Old Dec 30th, 2013, 10:17 AM
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We ate, we drank, we were merry....lol
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Old Dec 30th, 2013, 04:16 PM
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Fun report, Janet. Magnolia was the culinary highlight of our trip. Aren't the people friendly and hospitable?
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Old Dec 31st, 2013, 04:07 AM
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They definitely are!
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Old Jan 1st, 2014, 07:13 AM
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Sounds like a wonderful trip!! The year before we moved to Europe, we did a December road trip from Phila down to Charleston and then Savannah before heading to my parents' place for Christmas. We had a terrific time and you brought back some great memories -- an perhaps inspiring us to do the same some year.
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Old Jan 1st, 2014, 12:11 PM
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Sounds like a wonderful week. The house, and everything else, sound perfect.
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Old Jan 6th, 2014, 09:02 AM
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JanetKMR: Do you have a link for your great rental house? TIA
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