I’d like to start this post with four words: whipped feta with honey.

How did I make it 24 years and never 1. eat it 2. make it 3. hear of the combination.

I’d like to formally apologize to myself and honestly raise the next question: why didn’t anyone tell me about it?!

We walked into Butcher & Bee in Charleston on July 4th expecting breakfast and found that they had already moved onto lunch. Whenever we go anywhere new to eat, I always order whatever is most popular on the menu, according to the opinion of the waiter or waitress. This (which now makes complete sense) was the whipped feta with fermented honey, chives, black pepper and warm pita. Heaven. On. Earth.

According to Frank I audibly gasped after the first bite, which I’m unsure of, but it makes a good story so here I am telling you all.

I ordered the shawarma chicken and hummus bowl and that also did not disappoint. But it did not hold a candle to the whipped feta.

Our Charleston itinerary was fairly simple:

1. Eat everything

2. Bike around between meals

3. Sit by the beach

We drove into town on July 3rd after a event packed week prior in Idaho with our wedding and all the festivities surrounding that, our friends and family who flew over 2,000 miles to be there, and then a joint 4 person birthday party on July 1st, when I turned 24!

A lot of emotional and physical energy was given. We were ready to reset and recharge and eat.

For the first few days we stayed at the Planters Inn in downtown Charleston, which is located right next to the City Market, an open air vendor market with handmade goods and trinkets. Before dinner, we had oysters at Amen Street Raw Bar which were phenomenal. The first night we ate at the hotel’s famed restaurant, Peninsula Grill, and to my chagrin, we did not order the coconut cake (THE famous coconut cake!). We were too full and honestly forgot about it after the fabulous meal we had.

The next morning we woke up and had the aforementioned best meal of my life (*so far). Insert whipped feta here.

After we ate, we walked around the Battery, the famed Rainbow Row, and the took a peek at the pineapple fountain. A quick rest and a caffeine boost were essential for the best part of the afternoon, biking around the South of Broad neighborhood. Biking is my favorite and honestly was on cloud nine the entire time.

That night we ate at Melfi’s, a vintage inspired Italian restaurant that won my heart as soon as we walked in.

50’s diner plates. Green booths and accents. A list of 7 different versions of aperol spritz.

I ordered a pizza to go along with my 4 cocktails (we were celebrating!) and Frank ordered the seafood pasta. We made friends with our table neighbors, and happily sat there for 3 hours.We could hear the 4th of July fireworks going off in the background and it was very lovely to sit there and enjoy the food and company.

We didn’t bring our camera that night, but take a look at the interior here and go to town. The sweetest spot. (Including a photo from their website below, too cute not to share.)

Friday morning we woke up and made our way up King Street towards Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit which led us to hearing there was a 3 hour wait. After a quick donut break at Glazed (I got the raspberry! Fortunately the man I married hates donuts, so no need to share) we stumbled into a restaurant called The Rarebit. I ordered the huevos rancheros and it was perfect fuel for the day. If it was later in the day I would have taken the hostess up on her offer for their famous Moscow Mules.

We left downtown Charleston on Friday around noon, but had to stop at Sugar Bakeshop on the way out. We drove to Kiawah which is about a 35 minute drive and spent the rest of the weekend by the pool, walking on the beach, and eating at their beautiful restaurants! We left town Monday morning and stopped by Leon’s Oyster Shop for lunch on the way back to Athens.

Much needed relaxation and a few more photos below from the rest of our weekend!

xoxo,

Marina