Having lived in Charleston for 4+ years as a student in the early '90s i'm returning for a long weekend visit in mid-April.

I know lots of things have changed and as a student I wasn't able to afford the finer restaurants that Chas. has to offer. Any suggestions on a good romantic restaurant in a beautiful setting? How about some nice inexpensive places for lunch or light dinner? Does anyone know if the burger place by the water/old Appleby's restaurant on Market is still in business?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Well, again I found Peninsula grill in the Planters Inn to be outstanding. Went their many nights. We loved the bar at 225 wonderful Champagne by the glass.

Do you mean the Applebees on Wentworth by the Renaissance?

Justine's Kitchen and Poogan's Porch are my two standards.

By "on the water" do you mean east of Broad, adjacent to the Customs House? I recall several small restaurants over there, but not a hamburger place.

Jim

There was an Applebees on the corner of Market and East Bay and I remember this burger place being "behind" here. A real hole in the wall - I think it was popular with the biker set. Fantastic burgers.

Thanks for the great suggestions. Poogan's Porch was always a good standby - affordable and consistantly good food when I was there.

Tickie, I'd check out the restaurant in Charleston Place. We had an anniversary dinner there about three years ago and while expensive, it was a perfect spot.

Nice combo was doing jazz, and the wine list was first rate. The chef there, at least at the time, had a very long list of awards (as do many) but the food really was superb.

I, too, lived in Charleston when I could not afford better restaurants. It was a good evening for us.

Heck, you know you can't go wrong in the Holy City. There's still 82 Queen and a bunch of other old standbys.

Were you there in Med School, or C of C? I was in the latter for two years before transferring many, many years ago.

Jim

C of C grad '95.

I asked my college roommate about the burger place and she responded "I do remember (which is a surprise in itself)and it is still there. It is a small blue, wood building down at
the end. The name was something simple like The Grill"

Hope someone is able to see if this is still true.

The name of this hamburger dive wouldn't happen to be Your Place, would it? I just read about this greasy spoon on the website hollyeats.com, and the description sounds exactly like the place you're talking about. It's located on Market Street near the water and is a pretty much a "locals only" place with great burgers. You might check the website and see if Your Place is the place in your memory.

As far as other restaurants, I really enjoyed the Hominy Grill when I was in Charleston in December. It would be a great lunch place. We had excellent dinners at 82 Queen, Poogan's Porch, and Slightly North of Broad.

Penninsula Grill and 82 Queen. Both great.

Hominy Grill?

I can tell you that as of yesterday, Poogin's Porch is still fantastic.

I'm a Charleston native who goes "home" to Kiawah every couple of months.

Don't miss the Hominy Grill. It's off the beaten track, on Ashley Ave. near the Medical complex.

The Hominy Grill and Jestines are the best "real" Charleston cooking in town.

Do you know if Jestine's takes reservations?

Jestine's Kitchen does not take reservations.

It is on the corner of Wentworth and Meeting Street. You'll see the line wrapped around the block of people waiting in line to eat.

If you don't want to wait, get there when they open.