charleston chew

The last time I was in Charleston my stomach was acting up, and I didn't get the chance to experience some of the great food that the city has to offer. This time I let loose a little (as much as you can when you have IBS) and ate some delicious food. Charleston has so many great restaurants, from French to Korean to Mediterranean and everything in between, but what I was really interested in was the Southern low country cooking. We went to the famous Hominy Grill (as seen on No Reservations & Man vs Food) and I had the hard decision of choosing between shrimp and grits and the Big Nasty biscuit w/ fried chicken breast, cheddar cheese and sausage gravy, but ultimately I chose the Big Nasty, since I saw Anthony Bourdain eat it once. Before they brought out our food, they gave us a little basket of boiled peanuts. I've never heard of boiled peanuts, but this was the 2nd place that I had been in Charleston where they served free boiled peanuts. The first time I ate one, I accidentally squirted water/peanut juice all over one of Ryan's coworkers. Since they were boiled, the nuts were soft instead of crunchy, almost like a bean. They were alright, but I definitely prefer plain ol' crunchy peanuts. 

Along with eating out, we decided we'd try to cook something Charleston-esque. Crab cakes! I love me some crab cakes.  I found a recipe on Foodnetwork.com by one of my other favorite tv chefs, Robert Irvine I'm still praying for the return of Dinner: Impossible. I forgot to take a picture of the outcome, which makes me sad, because they were beautiful and tasty. Here is the recipe, if any of you want to try it at home!