There’s a new 492 in town. Elegant as ever, the space is a knockout both inside and out. Between the open kitchen, the outdoor patio, and the enviable collection of stylish lighting fixtures, I would like to live in the house version of 492, should that ever be an option. During brunch...

Getting to McCrady’s Tavern requires that one head down an unassuming, narrow alleyway. It’s just the kind of place where you’d expect Harry Potter to stumble upon the entrance to Diagon Alley. And while there were occasional moments of wizardry while at said tavern, this is...

joint noun \joint\ a shabby or disreputable place of entertainment Granted, Merriam Webster may be coming down a bit hard on the genre, but first-time visitors to the new Blues Burger Joint on Folly Road should note the large clue dropped by the name. Upon entry, the joint is dark and a bit...

Take, for example, the Instant Vacation ($12). Tasting exactly like those Gin Gins chewy ginger candies you can get at Trader Joe’s, it’s sweet and spicy with house-made ginger beer and a zippy finish. Imperceptibly alcoholic, plan to have a spotter cut you off as this could prove...

It was like that scene out of When Harry Met Sally. Only louder. And much, much greasier. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh. My. God.” But this was no cheeky reenactment, just the throes of pure, smoked meat ecstasy. If you had asked me a few weeks ago what the best barbecue I ever had was,...

If Le Farfalle were a person, you’d want to be seen with her. Soundtrack by Alabama Shakes, wardrobe by Ralph Lauren: She’s effortlessly cool and unquestionably popular, yet exerts a polished restraint. And then there’s the food. You see it and your heart sinks. Just look...

Billed as a Southern brasserie, Henrietta’s is the flagship restaurant of the new Dewberry Hotel. Housed in the former L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building overlooking Marion Square, the building’s exterior retains much of its bureaucratic severity, while the revamped inside boasts a...

In hindsight, I’m kicking myself after my visits to Butter Tapas. Sure, both times the food was on point — thoughtful, flavorful, and beautifully plated — and both times the service was skillfully handled by a gracious waitress. But how am I supposed to feel after discovering that a...

Unabashedly wry, Harold’s lunch menu is divided into three categories: Kickshaw, On a Roll, and Nectar and Regale. If you’re wondering if the homey decor is hiding a dictionary or two, you’re not alone. The menu is full of one-word terms used to define much more complex...

If your knowledge of Korean food starts and stops at kimchi, then 843 Korean in North Charleston is likely to expand your culinary horizons while providing some wholesome, G-rated, live entertainment. If you know the difference between ssamjang and gochujang and when to use them, then...

Consider the best dish your mama used to make. Now imagine it prepared by a talented chef — familiar tastes elevated by honed technique. If upscale comfort food hasn’t inspired its own grassroots movement yet, the new Poogan’s Smokehouse on East Bay Street should give that...

Although the new all-vegan Gnome Café may call to mind certain mental images, it’s not the hippie enterprise you may be expecting: no burning incense, wall tapestries, nor a single note of Grateful Dead music are to be found. Rather, Gnome Café is surprisingly minimalist and...

In the six months since opening, Screen Door on James Island has been through more transformations than The Wolfman. After initial chef Blake Joyal’s menu was scrapped a month after opening, the restaurant’s fare descended into a worrisome state of evolutionary confusion. What...

Élevé is a study in quirky interior decorating. Inside the Grand Bohemian’s rooftop restaurant, it’s wall-to-wall glammed-up shabby chic, with mismatched chandeliers and old armoires filled with liquor. Flanked by two vibrant yellow bars on either end of the seriously loud room —...

Driving past The Rusty Rudder on N. Highway 17 in Mt. Pleasant, I nearly wrote it off as dive bar. Inside, however, what I found was more what I’d call a “barbecue-joint-meets-family-friendly-sports-bar-meets-seafood-restaurant-meets-outdoor-patio party-spot.” Sound like a...

We hate to say it, but the word Kickstarter often makes us roll our eyes. In today’s crowdfund-happy world, every conceivable idea from manufacturing bespoke toothpaste to starting a line of sweaters for alopecia-suffering pandas seems to get an IndieGoGo campaign. So it was with some...

Smoke BBQ, the former food truck turned chic brick-and-mortar shop, occupies a lofty and modern space on Upper King Street. The former home of the short-lived L.I.F.E. Bar and equally short-lived vegan motorcycle restaurant, Motobar, has come a long way. From industrial tables to exposed...

Act I, Scene I. It’s mid-afternoon at Apartment A. As the sun filters through the windows of the 150-year-old building, the soundtrack to pretty much every John Hughes film plays softly overhead. The former dwelling on Coming Street exists squarely in the netherland between restaurant,...

Well, hello there, sultry summer. It’s the dog days. We’ve reached max oppressive heat, bug bites, sunburns, and summer’s revolving door of visiting friends and family. You know what we’re talking about, whether there’s a bloodline connection or not, family is...

If you’re looking to spend a teary 15 minutes humming Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You,” while being horrified at the behavior of some of your fellow human beings, then by all means google the words “Thai elephants.” If you’re looking to spend a...