Charleston, SC Food (The Early Bird Diner and Southend Brewery & Smokehouse)

I made a stop in Charleston, SC while on a drive up the east coast. I visited Charleston previously so long ago that everything was pretty much new again. One of the foods that Charleston is known for is shrimp and grits. I found a list somewhere on the internet of the Best Shrimp & Grits in Charleston, and one of the restaurants listed was The Early Bird Diner.

The Early Bird Diner:

I liked the vibe of the diner. It had some of the standard diner features, but the walls were covered with all sorts of cool sci-fi art for sale.

The restaurant was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Guy Fieri ate chicken and waffles here.

The shrimp and grits came in a large bowl piled high with grits. This grit mountain was then topped with a very thick shrimp stew. Of all the times I've had shrimp and grits, this was the thickest sauce I've seen with the shrimp. Because it was so thick, I found that the flavor from the shrimp sauce didn't permeate into the grits very well. It was slightly spicy with lots of medium sized shrimp swimming around. The shrimp and grits were served with a biscuit on the side. I had trouble finishing all the food...

Southend Brewery & Smokehouse:

I also had a much needed meal at Southend Brewery & Smokehouse while in Charleston. This large restaurant was in a lovely old building, complete with a fun, rickety elevator to take you upstairs if you needed the restroom. As the name implies, they were brewing beer in the center of the restaurant.

I had the pulled pork for my meal. The shredded pork was served on a plate piled high with all sorts of sides. There were French fries, pinto beans, coleslaw, and mustard barbecue sauce. I'm a big fan of the mustard style of barbecue sauce. I also enjoyed that they didn't serve the barbecue restaurant standard of baked beans. I'd take pinto beans like served here over baked beans any day!