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As if this South Carolina series couldn’t get any better, here’s part three of our Charleston chronicles!  (Part 1 and Part 2 here).  We woke up on our first day as fiance and fiancee, and we were on cloud nine.  What better way to celebrate than a brunch fit for a king and queen?  So, after doing some online sleuthing, we found that there were many rave reviews about the Granary.

It was Saturday late morning, and we were blessed with another lovely sunny day.  However, we noticed that the roads were conspicuously empty for such a splendid morning.  All was made clear when we entered the Granary.  It was located in a moderately sized strip mall, and the interior was tastefully decorated in a modern rustic style.  It also continued in a trend I noticed of the restaurant drawing upon the Carolinian bounty of locally sourced and produced products on their menu such as the plethora of cured meats hanging in freezers right at the entrance of the establishment.  We also quickly realized the lack of cars and giant trucks on the streets that were typical for the previous days of our visit.  Like many parts of the South, football (not futbol or footy as it’s called across the pond or south of the border) is king, and it was no different in the Granary as all of their slick flatscreens had on various college games.  Contrary to the majority of diners, we were instead there to experience the show this Southern charcuterie powerhouse could put on.  Once we were seated in this charming setting, we got down to business.  We started our meal with the butcher plate ($16) which consisted of all house made cured meats, pickled vegetables, and salubrious spreads.  The bounty was spread before us, and I didn’t know where to start.  I immediately tried some of the pickles and mustard on the side since they are two elements of any savory meal I couldn’t pass up.  Unfortunately, they were of the sweeter variety, but the whole grain mustard would prove to pair ideally with most of the meats on the board.  The pickled cauliflower was also sour and crunchy which satisfied my palate much more than the pickles surprisingly.  I’ll start with my least favorite item, and that was the goose pate.  It was like a warm scoop of chocolate ice cream that was both rich and devoid of any sweetness compared to its dessert doppelganger.  However, I’m not a huge proponent of spreadable meats, so it started off with a disadvantage.  Not for me, but perhaps you might enjoy it more than I did.  Then there was the slices of pork rillette which reminded me of bologna with each bite on the accompanying pieces of olive oil kissed bread.  The two other items, the bresaola and soppressata, were the true stars in my eyes and taste buds.  The small disks of soppressata, a specialty sausage of southern Italy, consisted of spicy pork and reminded me of its mouth watering Catalan equivalent, fuet, that I gnawed on during my siesta period during the day.  If you like your fatty meats, this is the one for you.  The bresaola, on the other hand, was thinly sliced but had tons of flavor packed into every fiber.  Bresaola comes from Lombardy in northern Italy and is typically made of aged beef rubbed with salt and spices.  It is then sliced thinly as we had it that day in Charlotte, and it made a great topping for the aforementioned pieces of crusty pane italiano.  This multi-ringed circus was a prelude to the greatness that was to follow.  For our main brunch plates, we were taken aback by how well made and reasonably priced our meals were.  First, there was Janice’s Benedict Hash ($15).  Before I begin describing these delectable creations, I have to add if you’re eating at the Granary, come hungry because the portions are not for the faint of stomach.  In her plate, one could find crunchy yet tender duck confit pieces, sweet pickled peppers, roasted mushrooms, English muffin croutons, poached eggs, and hollandaise in addition to the traditional roasted potatoes.  It was everything Janice could have asked in a meal.  From the fluffy, delicately poached eggs to the plentiful duck confit scattered amongst the semi-crunchy potatoes and croutons, it was like a breakfast trail mix we would have brought along with us on all of the walking we would do for the rest of the day and night.  It was jazzed up with a dash of local Floking red jalapeno hot sauce that was like a sweeter Tabasco type of hot sauce. However, my sweet tooth conquers all which segues to my French toast.  I’m going to make a bold claim, but this was the best French toast I’ve ever had.  It started with fried pieces of cinnamon-orange brioche that were then covered with candied pecans, bananas, and lying on a criss-cross of fresh blackberry preserves.  As if that wasn’t enough, there was a moderate layer of blueberry cream cheese stuffed throughout the middle of each slice.  This astounding version of a breakfast classic was topped with a generous soupcon of bourbon maple syrup which went well with the fresh banana slices.  It was a true form of Southern comfort in the morning.  Once we were finished, we made our way to the Charleston Aquarium.  As mentioned in a previous post, we had bought tickets to the main aquarium as well as the sea turtle hospital.  It is very worth it as you are able to get up close and personal with these mighty beasts of the deep who were cut down due to disease or human interference, unfortunately.  Moving around the rest of the main facility, it wasn’t as great as Shedd in Chicago, but there were plenty of interactive exhibits for the kids that we also enjoyed.  Definitely a fun diversion in Charleston if you have young children or are looking for something to do with inclement weather.  After hanging out with Dory, Nemo, and the totally righteous sea turtles, we had to go and see the Charles Town Landing.  Many people don’t seem to know about it, but it is actually the actual site English explorers landed in 1670.  It is also where the current name of the city comes from:  Charles Town -> Charleston.  If you love history like me, you’d be in heaven because it looks similar to how they recreated the settlement feel to the embankments, forts, and even cannon.  However, if you’re like my fiancee, Janice, and aren’t the most interested in history, they have animals on the northern side of the nature preserve.  So we got there close to closing time, so we had roughly an hour to see both sections that were on opposite sides of the Landing.  We rushed by the animals to not see any of the animals aside from the trusty bison who were just busy being majestic.  I then proceeded to powerwalk/jog my way to the English galleon on the Ashley River.  On the way, I found out that I accidentally jogged across a piece of a Native American burial ground, so that could have been slightly better labelled.  Eventually, I made it with time to spare, and it was a lot smaller than I thought.  I don’t know how the original sailors survived in such cramped quarters, but I can see why they went crazy colonizing America after getting off the boat.  Thankfully when Janice eventually met up with me, we were able to walk back and enjoy the sights of the park minus the need to sprint my heart out.  By the time we got to our car, we were ready to fill our rumbling stomachs with some sustenance.  So, what better time to check out the Vendue Hotel rooftop?  This hotel is in the heart of downtown Charleston, and we had to find the elevator to get to the bar at the top of the building.  Once there, we were greeted with a tastefully decorated bar that also has one of the best views of the city.  It was a bit too chilly to sit outside and take in the sunset over the Holy City, named for its numerous church steeples and other houses of worship, unfortunately.  Once we were done admiring this breathtaking city,  we got down to business at the bar.  Ordered some cava or Spanish champagne with a side of their pulled pork nachos.  We were celebrating our engagement like a pair of classy tourists.  The nachos were unique and satisfying because it combines a Southern cuisine staple with a tex-mex mainstay.  Plus, instead of having typical neon-yellow nacho cheese, they had an almost cheese gravy spread over all of the tortilla chips.  I’d highly recommend this bar food mainstay with a distinct Charlestonian character.  During our meal, we managed to crush the cava bottle, but I did manage to get an East Coast favorite:  Yuengling beer.  It is from the oldest operating brewery in America established in 1829, and the unique name comes from the German founders last name “Jungling” or “Young man” in German which was Anglicized to “Yuengling” (youngling in English).   As for the taste, I wasn’t a big fan of the thin and kind of hoppy red ale.  Janice got the Temple of the Dog ($11) which was a very strongly made mix of rye, chinato, bitters, and a brandied cherry for garnish.  It was like a lighter Manhattan that was potent yet refreshing.

Very refreshed right now

By the time we finished that shared drink, we made our way down the street to the Griffon, a famous dive bar that has dollar bills coating the walls like wallpaper.  It has reached new popularity after appearing on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown.  It wasn’t too happening when we went in and got a nightcap, but I’d imagine it would be better later at night on the weekend.  Still we had a lot of fun!

Or at least Janice did

We left the dark pub to walk the streets and take in the coastal charm of Charleston walking along a dock under the light of the moon.  An almost perfect penultimate day with plenty of excitement to come during our last day in the Dirty South.