died and went to foodie heaven.

I died and went to foodie heaven this weekend. Unfortunately I am back from the dead and hard at blogging, I mean, work. Back to my routine lunchtime avocado sandwiches I fondly think of the delightful cuisine sampled in Charleston, SC. Under the guise of a one year anniversary, my fiancé and I traveled there in search of theater, pubs and gastronomic delights. I used to live in Charleston and I think a little part of me will always live there. I cannot recall how many times I exclaimed “I love Charleston soooo much,” over the past Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but I am sure mark would have strangled me if he had not made such a substantial investment in my engagement ring.

 I first took Mark to Gaulart and Maliclet, Fast and French. This tiny and traditional French café has been feeding melting croque’monsieurs and buttery pate’ to Charlestonians for over 26 years. After a very un-French like over-indulgence we snuck back to our wonderful King’s Courtyard Inn for a short nap before a date with a pub crawl.

Our tour guide from Charles Town Pub Stroll was dressed in period attire and spent 3 hours taking us, and another couple around some of the finest drinking establishments the French Quarter has to offer. We also learned a bit of the scandalous historical past that is not often found in history books. We were both quite impressed with the tour, which was a fun and educational way to start a night of drinking. One stop worth mentioning was Charleston Beer Exchange. While not a pub, the exchange sells an artful variety of micro-brews. We purchased several bottles for later consumption and begged them to open a store in Savannah!

Saturday we shook off our slight hangovers and enjoyed the fruits of Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto Arts Festival. First we saw a Play at the Historic Dock Street Theater called “Present Laughter.” It was a spoof on the many mistresses of a famous playwright/actor, and those in his employ. At 3.5 hours it was funny, but drug on a bit long through acts 2 and 4, leaving us feeling sedated and very late for our dinner Reservation at Fish.

Luckily, Fish sat us anyway and we had one of the most amazing meals I can remember on record. We started off with a dim sum appetizer which included Crab Wonton, Snapper Roll, Duck Confit Steamed Bun and Shrimp Spring Roll. It was just enough for Mark and I to have a bite of each, and each bite was amazing! Mark was a little less thrilled with his Rib Eye Steak (not being a big fan of the mushroom reduction), but conceded that it was still one of the better steaks he had had out. I had one of the fish specials, which I regrettably do not remember the name of. I do know that it was perfectly cooked, light and flaky, with a delicately seasoned butter sauce with wax beans. Yum! The waiter was equally delightful, and recommended a wonderful sauvignon blanc, over the one that I was going to order. He let me try them both and he was indeed correct.

We finished out the evening (even though we were really dragging at this point) with an improve comedy performance by The Have Nots, at Theater 99. It was hysterical. Somehow we dragged ourselves home with our last ounce of strength, to catch some sleep before our drive home the next day.