First time visitor to Charleston (Folly Beach: restaurants, food, money)

[smalltownusa]

My family of 3 (mom, dad, and 16 yr old son) will be heading to your lovely city for the 1st time in April and would love to get some feedback on the restaurants we have been told are the "must sees": Jestines, Hymans, Hominy Grille, and Josephs. We were looking forward to checking them out yet upon reading some reviews, I find many claiming they mediocre and overhyped (too much Food Network exposure perhaps?).

So if true, I'm in search of the local favs where we can find simple, southern food that says "Charleston".....

Thanks for any info....

A northern neighbor

[OleTomCat]

Hominy Grill is definitely worth the trip for Breakfast, get there early...

Jestines for Lunch, there will be a line...

Hymans isn't the locals first choice since all of the tourist MUST go there....

May want to try RB's over on Shem Creek instead....

[OleTomCat]

Originally Posted by OleTomCat

Hominy Grill is definitely worth the trip for Breakfast, get there early...

Jestines for Lunch, there will be a line...

Hymans isn't the locals first choice since all of the tourist MUST go there....

May want to try RB's over on Shem Creek instead....

I forgot Kaminsky's for Desert and Drinks....

[Chromekitty]

We visited the area in January and Hymans honestly was a waste of money. I can not eat seafood but DH loves it....so I opted for a grilled chicken sandwich. I can say that I had never had a bad one until that night. DH said his salmon was good...he wants to try Shem Creek and Hank's in June.

[Chromekitty]

Originally Posted by OleTomCat

I forgot Kaminsky's for Desert and Drinks....

yes, yes! You sure can get a sweet tooth fix there.

Last night, DH said wanna go to Kaminsky's for cake and coffee? LOL

[Rggr]

Hanks is around the corner from Hyman's and much better in my opinion. Hominy Grill and Joseph's both have good breakfast. I really like High Cotton for breakfast. I really like Fulton Five, Cypress, Grill 225, Peninsula Grill etc. There are many great choices. Kaminsky's is good for dessert as posted previously.

[Chromekitty]

High Cotton is really good. The Henry Bain sauce there is incredible!

[innovator82]

Ditto on Hank's Rggr. Not nearly as touristy as Hyman's and more popular with locals. The two touristy restaurants that every tourist seems to visit are Hyman's and AW Shucks. If you have time to try only one I would go with AW Shucks--the stuffed shrimp and buffalo oysters are awesome. A local fav would be Poogan's Porch, esp. for brunch--it was on Giada once but is still a "local place" and has good lowcountry fare like shrimp, grits & eggs for breakfast. If you really want an off-the-beaten-path local place try Bowen's Island just over the bridge in Folly Beach--famously popular among locals, a real "lowcountry" setting eating buckets of seafood out on a marsh.

[OleTomCat]

Has Bowen's upgraded to buckets?????

Last time I was there they brought them over on an aluminum shovel...

[Rggr]

Originally Posted by innovator82

Ditto on Hank's Rggr. Not nearly as touristy as Hyman's and more popular with locals. The two touristy restaurants that every tourist seems to visit are Hyman's and AW Shucks. If you have time to try only one I would go with AW Shucks--the stuffed shrimp and buffalo oysters are awesome. A local fav would be Poogan's Porch, esp. for brunch--it was on Giada once but is still a "local place" and has good lowcountry fare like shrimp, grits & eggs for breakfast. If you really want an off-the-beaten-path local place try Bowen's Island just over the bridge in Folly Beach--famously popular among locals, a real "lowcountry" setting eating buckets of seafood out on a marsh.

I agree; I would also put AW Shucks above Hyman's. Poogan's Porch is a good call. They have great She Crab Soup. Bowen's Island is an experience. Please don't go looking for a fancy dinner, but if you want a real, local experience, it's a great find.