As Mainstays Depart, Charleston Asks Where Its Restaurant Scene Is Headed

Savannah is the real food destination of the south.

How did moldy old Charleston get so fancy in the last few years? Maybe because the hugely popular Garden and Gun magazine is head-quartered there? After starting the Civil War (which was a huge mistake, by the way) Charleston now seems like it is trying to be the Nantucket of the South I don't know, but I have total Charleston promotional fatigue. New Orleans is a much more authentic Southern city with honest rough edges.

Ironic that Anthony Bourdain featured Sean Brock prominently in the Charleston episode of Parts Unknown. I'm sure that's sobering for Mr. Brock. Literally & figuratively.

Really interesting article, the Times at its best.

Elegant yuppies I say.

It's interesting 'black restaurants' are called out in the article. I will search them out the next time I'm back because at every one of the ten or so restaurants I visited in Charleston, ALL the front staff were white, every single person. I found this deeply disturbing

Hominy Grill was good, but overrated. Husk was amazing without Brock. Everything we ate there was good...they'll be fine.

Things move on. People have been saying the same thing about New Orleans for years. They are still there. The only scary thing about Charleston? The boat people off the cruise ships. They will ruin just about anything.

This is simple gatekeeping and nothing more – there were good restaurants in Charleston before this crop, and there'll be good restaurants after. Charleston has always had a xenophobic, insular attitude towards outsiders, and this is merely another manifestation of that; twenty years ago you would've heard the same complaints, and twenty years from now you'll hear them again.

We now live in Richmond, VA, but visit Charleston at least annually. There are still at least 10 restaurants in Charleston that are superior to anything in Richmond. Yes, the city may be changing, but in many ways it is getting better. Definitely one of America's great food cities.

Although I'm not a big fan of either shrimp or grits, I ordered the shrimp and grits at Hominy Grill several years ago. It was sublime, unforgettable, and, based on subsequent experience, unattainable elsewhere. We had some truly wonderful meals in Charleston, but that day at Hominy Grill left an indelible imprint.

My family just vacationed in Charleston. I’m a part time foodie, great cook and I was disappointed with the restaurant offerings. Wanted to experience heritage recipes made with locally sourced ingredients, not menus I could find anywhere. Charleston is experiencing gentrification, some good some not so good. Loved my time there, learned so much history.

Is there any way to have a stand-out restaurant or arts scene without having profit-vultures descend and turn it into corporate, crowded sameness? We used to vacation in Charleston and eat at Hominy, but the fancy chain stores and the people who frequent them started wearing on us. Nashville is also a victim of its success. Asheville is headed there. It's sad for us tourists, but even worse for the local people. I'm not sure what is needed, but when schoolteachers and other people can't afford to live reasonably close to where they work (Nashville), you have to ask who the economy is working for. By the way, you can still buy the Hominy cookbook on their website. And some of the best meals we ever had in Charleston were at Ko Cha or Five Loaves.

It is the same old story. The hype eventually ruins everything.

I’m not a huge fan of southern food nor am I vegetarian, but on the one and only occasion that I was fortunate enough to eat at Hominy Grill it was recommended that we order from the Vegetarian Platter and boy was that a singular experience! Never before or after have I tasted food so divine. So long Hominy Grill. Thanks.

Charleston is a beautiful, wonderful place that has been ruined by it's own success. We love you, but please just love us from afar.

I am hoping that one day I will find an affordable place to live, that has its own character and sense of community, and that no one with Instagram will ever, ever come there.

The loss of Hominy was very sad for all Charlestonians. The loss of Sean Brock, not so much. The food scene in Charleston has never been as vibrant as now. Hominy and Brock were once pioneers. Charleston's way beyond the need for pioneering chefs now. Lots more great restaurants than in the early days of Hominy and Brock. Don't cry for Charleston, America.

It's the perils of being "discovered". Whenever a city gets featured I always think to myself, I better wait and visit in 10 years, hopefully the hype dies down, and the elements that made it interesting in the first place will have the chance to either return or outlast the glut.

Aside from shrimp-and-grits, which can be either magnificent or vile, I have failed to find Charleston cuisine a big deal. My colonial SC ancestors wouldn't approve, I know, but I find Savannah far more visit-worthy than the architecture, history, music, or food of Charleston. If all the grease in those dishes doesn't give you cardiovascular disease, all the protein in the fatty meat will fast-track you to cancer. But hey, no one lives forever! I will still indulge my genetic need for shrimp and grits once a year, no matter what.

Very insightful piece. I imagine a number of locations are experiencing changes in their respective culinary scenes because of the influence of similar factors. I will say one thing: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've seen people dislike even the best-reviewed food. And, I've seen excellent reviews of food I've disliked very much. Half the excitement of the experience is "going in blind", i.e. not reading a review prior to eating at an establishment.

“…pretty typical for any growing city where there’s an extreme staffing shortage and seemingly no end of investor money coming in,” "In the beginning, the staff could walk to work, and customers drove; now it’s the other way around. The staff can’t afford to live in the area anymore." I'd say these two quotes sum up the situation.