Brunch in Charleston: 82 Queen

My heart and prayers go out to those suffering from floods in South Carolina. If you are interested in donating money or supplies, here’s a link to how you can help.

Short and sweet, our time last weekend in Charleston was. It was far too short for my liking; I love that town so much! When planning our trip to a wedding in Myrtle Beach, we discovered that our best bet for flights was using JetBlue points to fly to Charleston and drive. The times of the flights were better, and it was direct, and I wanted to eat in Charleston. And eat we did! Despite having very little time, we managed to squeeze in lunch and a drive after landing and made our way back for a quick brunch before our flight back to Boston.

We were overwhelmed with choices, but 82 Queen was on my list of places to try, and on a busy, beautiful Sunday, they had their bar open for brunch which meant no waiting 25-30 minutes like the other restaurants nearby. I wish we had more time to linger; the courtyard at 82 Queen was beautiful and looked relaxing. Next time!

We sat at the bar and the lovely ladies behind it got right to work making recommendations and bourbon drinks. They convinced us we had to have cocktails (It wasn’t hard) and had us try their favorites, the shrimp and grits and the crab cake Benedict.

Their recommendations were spot-on, and the food and drinks were heavenly. I loved that 82 Queen had a bourbon cocktail menu, separate from the rest of the cocktails. I had the Muddled Creek: Knob Creek Bourbon, Muddled Orange Slice, Triple Sec, Ginger Ale, and it was delicious.

The grits were seriously one of the best things I have ever eaten, creamy and the perfect pillow for a tangy BBQ sauce with shrimp and bacon. The crab cake was all meat with a perfect poached egg and more of those grits. We chatted about Boston and Charleston, cleared our plates, and promised to come back before we were leaving on a jet plane again.

Flying to Charleston from Boston on JetBlue couldn’t have been easier. The flight is a quick two hours, and the Charleston Airport is quiet and easy. We dropped the car off and were through security in less than 10 minutes. We’re already planning our next trip.

What’s your favorite meal when traveling?