25REASONS WE

LOVE

1 Modell cityThe first Charles Towne was established in 1670 across the riverfrom the city’s current location, which was designed accordingto an elaborate, somewhat utopian plan referred to as theGrand Modell. It called for 70-foot-wide main streets and a towncenter at the intersection of Meeting and Broad.The OriginalCharlestonWalks leads daily tours through the historic area.45 Broad St., 800/729-3420, charlestonwalks.com, from $18.50.

2 Greenery worth envyingGrassy public spaces abound in Charleston:White Point

Garden overlooks the harbor and the city’s Battery Park homes(2 Murray Blvd.);Marion Squarehosts Thursday night moviesin the spring (Calhoun St. and King St.);Waterfront Park

has views of the Cooper River and a pier (1 Vendue Range).Ted’s Butcherblock sells everything you need for a picnic:potato salads, paninis, and macaroni and cheese with gouda(334 E. Bay St., 843/577-0094, tedsbutcherblock.com).

3 Not your grandma’s fried chickenIn a tiny yellow 18th-century house on Pinckney Street, thetwo-roomCru Café is the perfect retreat from the bustle ofdowntown. Diners can sit at small banquettes or at a bar-cum-chef’s table facing the open kitchen where chef John Zuckercooks his upscale comfort food. The poblano-and-mozzarellafried chicken with a honey-chipotle salsa is a definite must.18 Pinckney St., 843/534-2434, crucafe.com, entrées from $14.

4 Southern hospitalityCharleston has plenty of grand hotels, but the rooms at theMarket Pavilion Hotel come with a gentler price tag; some evenhave views of the Old City Market, where women have beenweaving sweetgrass baskets since 1841 (225 E. Bay St., 877/440-2250, marketpavilion.com, from $229). The vistas from the RoofTop Bar & Restaurant at theVendue Inn are also spectacular—and the beers are $3. The interior queen rooms, a mix of Frenchprovincial and American colonial decor, are a good deal at $139per night (19 Vendue Range, 843/577-7970, vendueinn.com).

5 A spot of teaBigelow Tea got its start in 1945 because Ruth Bigelow waslooking for a little more zest in her morning cup. At thecompany’sCharleston Tea Plantation, the only commercial teafarm in the continental U.S., visitors can follow the productionprocess from raw leaf to finished tea bag. 6617MaybankHwy.,843/559-0383, charlestonteaplantation.com, free.

6Where there’s Smoak...Stephen Smoak, known as Smoak to regulars, is one of thecity’s best bartenders. AtRed Drum Gastropub, he mixesspecial-recipe ginger mojitos and espresso martinis thatmake for a nice pairing with chef Ben Berryhill’s Southwest-influenced cuisine: crab tostaditas with red voodoo sauce, tunatacos served with cowboy beans, and clams in a chili broth.803 Coleman Blvd., 843/849-0313, reddrumpub.com, entrées from $12.

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Top hatsWhen it comes to feathered fedoras and cloches, Leigh Magar is yourmilliner (as well as Michael Stipe’s and Christina Aguilera’s). “I’m currently obsessedwith incorporating Greek gilded-wreath designs intomy hats,” says the SouthCarolina native, who gets her inspiration from travel. Her shop,Magar Hatworks, isinside a former beauty parlor. 557 1⁄2 King St., 843/577-7740, magarhatworks.com.

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Leigh Magarhand-blocks and

hand-stitcheseach creation

CharlestonGracious! America’smost genteel city is behaving like a frisky debutante.

By Geraldine Campbell Photographs byMorgan &Owens

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9 Hominy sweet HominyThe place for sophisticated-but-homey Southern fare, such asokra-and-shrimp beignets with salsa and cilantro-lime sourcream, isHominy Grill. Chef Robert Stehling uses only regionalingredients, right down to the grits, which come from a millnear his North Carolina hometown. 207 Rutledge Ave., 843/937-0930, hominygrill.com, entrées from $10.

10 Preserving the pastThe Old Slave Mart Museumhas the last intact slave-auctiongallery in South Carolina. The museum has been closed to thepublic for the last 20 years, but it has plans to reopen this fall.It will acknowledge the city’s disturbing history: Roughly40 percent of all slaves who were shipped to this countrybetween 1700 and 1775 disembarked in Charleston Harbor.6 Chalmers St., 843/958-6467, oldslavemart.com, $7.

11 South beachFolly Beach, just 12 miles south of downtown, has a laid-backvibe, authentic crab shacks, trinket shops, and a surfer-friendlystretch known as the Washout. follybeach.com.

12 And the food is goodMustard- and olive-colored walls, rustic hutches, and dreamylandscapes by local photographer John Duckworth set thestage for the elegant fare served atFIG, short for Food Is Good.Popular dishes include a garlicky frisée salad garnished withlardons, and South Carolina lamb with a goat cheese and potatopuree. 232Meeting St., 843/805-5900, eatatfig.com, entrées from $20.

13 Bridging the gapIn 2005, the 2.5-mile, eight-lane Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge wascompleted, connecting downtown Charleston to the suburbof Mount Pleasant. (It’s named after a former state senatorwhom many South Carolinians affectionately know as CousinArthur.)Bike the Bridge Rentals offers three-hour, self-guidedtours. 360 Concord St., 843/853-2453, bikethebridgerentals.com, $15.

14 Better homes and gardensEach fall, the heavy wooden doors and garden gates of the city’sprivate historic houses swing open to the public. Throughoutlate September and October, around 180 residences participatein the Preservation Society of Charleston’sFall Tours of Homes& Gardens, some of which are evening walks (147 King St.,843/722-4630, preservationsociety.org, $45). Certain homes,such as the Edmondston-Alston House—where Robert E. Leetook refuge during the Civil War—offer tours all year long(21 E. Battery St., 843/722-7171, middletonplace.org, $10).

15 The telltale tavernSullivan’s Island is a sleepy town (population 1,873) with wide,sandy beaches. It’s also the site ofFort Moultrie, a significantbattleground during the American Revolution and the CivilWar (1214 Middle St., nps.gov/fosu, $3). Edgar Allan Poe wasstationed as a soldier on the island from 1827 to 1828, andPoe’s Tavern pays the author tribute—of a sort—with suchdishes as Edgar’s Drunken Chili and a Pit & Pendulum burgermade with applewood-smoked bacon and sharp cheddar (2210Middle St., 843/883-0083, poestavern.com, sandwiches from $8).

16 Have a Pleasant dayLittle has changed in Mount Pleasant’s old town over the last70 years: Thick malted-milk shakes and mortar-and-pestle-ground prescriptions (called compounds) are still sold atPitt Street Pharmacy (111 Pitt St., 843/884-4051, pittstreetpharmacy.com), and theOld Village Post House remains thebest inn in town. The B&B’s six rooms have original hardwoodfloors, 10-foot ceilings, and soothing whirlpool tubs (101 PittSt., 800/549-7678, oldvillageposthouse.com, from $145).

Long live the King This spring, one of America’s oldest cities refurbished one ofits oldest districts, Upper King, adding bluestonewalkways and a string of newboutiques. A local favorite isB’zar, a shop owned by Brooklyn transplants GustavoandAndrea Serrano that stocks affordable clothing and accessories, including totesnamed after the couple’s dog, Roxy. 541 King St., 843/579-2889, shopbzar.com.

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Shrimp and gritsat Hominy Grill.Far right: Legare

Street, included inthe Fall Tours of

Homes & Gardens

B’zar sells aneclectic mix oftrendy clothing,reggae CDs, andcollectible toys 9

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17 Here’s the beefCharleston’s revered downtown burger shack,Your Place,recently relocated to Mount Pleasant. Die-hards may bemoanthe new nautical-themed decor—life preservers and photos oflighthouses cover the walls—but the monstrous cheeseburgerstopped with bacon and jalapeños are still drawing them acrossthe bridge. 217 Lucas St., 843/388-8002, burger $6.50.

18 This little piggy went to market...The stalls at theCharleston Farmers Market, held Saturdaysfrom 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., aren’t limited to fresh produce. Vendorssell everything from pulled pork sandwiches at the OmeletteStation to sweetgrass scrubs at The Charleston Soap Chef.Marion Square, 843/724-7309, closed late December to early April.

19 On the sauceBarbecue in Charleston is all about the right base, but CiaránDuffy, the chef atTristan, has added an unexpected ingredientto the mix: cocoa. His sauce comes in three flavors—chocolate,chocolate chili, and chocolate pomegranate. 55 S.Market St.,843/534-2155, tristandining.com, entrées from $17.

20 Just call them Social drinkersThere are more than 50 wines sold by the glass atSocialRestaurant &Wine Bar, a new spot in East Bay with industrialtrack-lighting and bartenders who wear wine stud T-shirts.The Kiona, an inky cabernet with hints of chocolate, isexcellent. 188 E.Bay St., 843/577-5665, socialwinebar.com, from $3.

21 Sugar and spice and everything niceEx-Manhattanite Kristin Kuhlke has made a name for herself onKing Street withCupcake, a bakery that sells over 30 varietiesof cupcakes, including red velvet (433 King St., 843/853-8181,freshcupcakes.com). Before opening the bakery, Kuhlke workedfor a cell phone company, fielding complaints. “When I movedback to Charleston, I just wanted to make people happy,” shesays. “And who doesn’t love cupcakes?” Another good spot fora sugar fix isThree Smart Cookies, where iced cookies come indozens of shapes, from polar bears to pink polka dot bikinis(334 E. Bay St., 843/937-9229, 3smartcookies.net).

22Water, water everywhereThe best way to explore the city’s network of salt marshes isvia kayak. Mount Pleasant’sCoastal Expeditions leads half-day tours through estuaries inhabited by manatees andospreys. 514-BMill St., 843/884-7684, coastalexpeditions.com, $58.

23 Thursday night feverTheHotWheels Skating Centeron James Island, a 10-minutedrive from downtown Charleston, has a Rolling Back in Timenight every Thursday. It’s a bargain at $3, including skaterental. 1523 Folly Rd., 843/795-7982, hotwheelsskating.net.

24 From rice to richesThe plantations that made Charleston into a wealthy city werebuilt along the banks of the Ashley River. The most iconicisDrayton Hall, the oldest preserved plantation house in theSouth. 3380Ashley River Rd., 843/769-2600, draytonhall.org, $14.

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Going to the chapel The oldest church in town, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, hasa 186-foot tiered steeple (71 Broad St., 843/723-0603). St. Philip’s Episcopal Church,meanwhile, is known for its graveyard, the resting place of Edward Rutledge, asigner of the Declaration of Independence (142 Church St., 843/722-7734). Sundaymornings, look for the procession of boys in seersucker and girls in Mary Janes.

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At BudgetTravel.com, there’sa Google Map pinpointingevery location in this article.

Drayton Hall,one of threeplantation housesin Charleston tosurvive the CivilWar. Far left:Three SmartCookies

A churchgoershows off hisSunday bestat St. Michael’s