From Dallas to Charleston

It’s been a busy past couple weeks. First I was in Lake Tahoe then home then Dallas then Charleston then back home. And man does it feel good to be home! As much as I love trying new restaurants and seeing new places, I love dog snuggles more. And my husband, of course. But more so dog snuggles.

Since I was in so many places and eating out at so many restaurants, I wanted to do a quick recap of those spots that you MUST hit up if you’re ever in Dallas or Charleston! PLUS I have amazing readers who gave me a ton of recommendations for Charleston, so I’ll be sharing those at the bottom of this post, as well. Just forewarning though – the photos in this post are pretty crappy. Mostly because I was enjoying time with friends and family, so food photos wasn’t my top priority. Instead, stuffing my face was. And it was lovely. Eating is my sport of choice and I crushed it while traveling.

So let’s kick this post off in Dallas. My husband and I flew into Dallas, checked into Hotel Indigo then I took my husband straight to my FAVORITE Dallas restaurant, HG Supply Co. Any time I’m ever in Dallas, I always go to HG Supply Co. Not only do they have the best beet margarita ever, but their food is phenomenal and the ambiance is awesome! Since it was Friday night, they had a sunset toast for the entire restaurant where they offered a small free glass of wine and everyone toasted together. It was adorable. I really should try other things there, but the beet margaritas with the beef curry never disappoints. Don’t fix what ain’t broke, am I right?! I’m not into the poor grammar I thought would be cool in the last sentence. Apologies.

While we were in Dallas, we also hit up a couple other spots that I love. First we stopped by Lockhart Smokehouse so my husband could get some Texas BBQ then had drinks at CBD Provisions AND the Midnight Rambler, both in the Joule Hotel. Finding good drinks in Dallas is quite easy. And every cocktail we had was delicious!

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And on our last day in Dallas, we hung out in the Bishops Art District (which has changed so much even since I was there a year ago!) and stopped by Serve House for smoothies! This cafe is adorable with the cutest outdoor area and healthy options for snacks!

Once our family time was up in Dallas, my husband made his way back home to Denver and I made my way to Charleston to meet up with my of my favorite girlfriends that I don’t often get to see. I’ve know Lexi, Cassy, Vanessa and Stacy for probably 5-6 years now and we use to see each other every year at PaleoFX. But since we no longer go to that event, we’ve begun planning our own trips to get together and catch up. And since none of us had been to Charleston, we decided it was the perfect spot to meet up. Not only is the weather beautiful there (other than being soaked in sweat and the good chance of being in a hurricane), but Charleston is known for its delicious food. And we are all about that!

When we got to Charleston, we checked into The Inns. I’m so glad Cassy found this spot because it was AMAZING! The Inns are made up of three different properties. We were in probably 71 on Sprint Street in both 71A and 71B that are attached by a door. In one of the properties, we had a small kitchen and living room to hang out in and that property had 2 rooms and 2 bathrooms. The other property had 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. The best part about this property is that you get the Southern Charm feel with updated amenities. The inside is stunning and so well decorated. It made me want to redecorate our entire home. Sure, I’d have to kick my husband out if I want to put up pink walls with animal print wallpaper, but it might be worth it. I could not get enough of this place. AND the beds were outrageously comfortable. At one point, Vanessa peeled back the sheets to find out what kind of bed it was and even contacted the property manager to check that she had the right bed information. I may end up purchasing that same bed. It was that amazing.

photo via

photo via

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Now let’s get into the food situation in Charleston. On our first night, we ended up going to 5Church for a late dinner. This restaurant was FANTASTIC. I pretty much licked my plate. We had all been traveling all day and were starving so we ordered the truffled polenta, french fries, I had the catch of the day, then we order HANDS DOWN the best gluten free red velvet cake EVER!! It was life changing. And the restaurant is inside an old church with artwork writing all over the ceiling. It’s such a cool space with the most delicious food. I could have gone back every night.

Next meal was a late lunch at The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan’s Island. We ordered a bunch of plates to share including the roasted beets with ricotta, pistachio, horseradish, and pomegranate molasses. It was OUTRAGEOUS. And luckily most of the people at the table weren’t a fan of beets so I ate almost all of it. How do people not like beets?! Because they taste like the earth? Fair.

Another meal that I don’t have photos of because we ordered to go so Cassy’s little bebe could get to bed was Butcher & Bee. I really wish we could have eaten at this restaurant because it was absolutely adorable inside and they staff was so friendly and kind. While we waited for our to-go food, they gave us cookies. Any restaurant who just GIVES you cookies is just the best kind of restaurant around. This restaurant had amazing dishes and flavors. Their whipped feta – TO.DIE.FOR. I’m not joking, I would die for this whipped feta. Take a bullet for it. It’s that good. My face broke out immediately but it was totally worth it. Everything else was delicious and amazing, but the whipped feta has clouded my brain. I want to swim and drown in it.

Jeez. Calm down.

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While we were in Charleston, Vanessa was my partner in crime. Not only did she take all my outfit photos (if you are in San Diego, she’s taking new clients – click here for her info!), but she was my workout partner the entire time. And since it was a little challenging to get around with a baby in tow and no stroller, we decided to see more of Charleston by running to one of our meals. Not only did we get to work off some of our delicious food and feel good the rest of the day, but we got to see areas that we never would if we were just in an uber. One more we ended up running to breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe. Whenever any of us travel, we are always looking for gluten-free friendly spots, which is definitely a little more challenging to find in the South. But Another Broken Egg Cafe had gluten free pancakes and a ton of healthier options to choose from. I, however, did not go for the healthy options. I ordered the lobster benedict with no bagel and then we all shared their loaded grits. So bomb. So filling. It made for the 2.5 mile run home very challenging. But so worth it. And remember how I said any place that gives free cookies is the best…well this restaurant gave us free biscuit beignets. 100% not gluten free, 100% delicious.

Another breakfast spot we ate at but didn’t make the photo cut was Eli’s Table. And it didn’t make the photo cut because all I ended up having was bacon, sausage and potatoes. Not really photo worthy. But this spot was really delicious and in a super cute part of town next to Husk and Poogan’s Porch, both highly recommended restaurants!

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The last restaurant we ate at was FIG and I’m SO GLAD WE WENT!! So so many people recommended this restaurant and I now see why. It was truly phenomenal. They work so hard at their food and drink and they truly care about everything on the menu. If you’re ever in Charleston, this restaurant is a must. We honestly ordered almost everything on the menu. Some of my favorites included the figs & prosciutto in brown butter, the chicken liver pâté, the ricotta gnocchi (they use very little flour in theirs and I had no reaction to them) and their tomato tatin. Everything was outstanding. I know I love saying outstanding and phenomenal a lot when it comes to food, but this place knocked it out of the park. Oh yeah…dessert. We ordered the butterscotch pot de crème and immediately ordered a second. It was fantastic. We also ordered the chocolate almond semifreddo and the roasted strawberry ice cream…yeahhhh, we all had stomach aches that night.

Since we were all only in Charleston together for a real full day, we weren’t able to do a whole lot…especially since the hurricane was coming and rain was starting up. BUT we had a ton of recommendations for both restaurants, drinks and things to do that I wanted to share here. And feel free to share your own recommendations in the comments in case I miss something!

Restaurants and Cocktails –

• Husk
• Zero George
• Husk
• The Ordinary
• 167 Raw
• The Grocery
• The Darling Oyster Bar
• Cru Cafe
• Prohibition for cocktails and live swing music
• Fleet Landing Restaurant & Bar
• The Lowcountry bistro
• Quelogy
• Tabbuli

Things to do other than eat (is that a thing?) –

• Grab the water taxi at that same marina located outside of the hotel and head to Waterfront Park for a leisurely stroll around Charleston’s Historic District
• Live Jazz at Bar Mash
• Historic Charleston City Market

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I hope this gives you a few options of where to eat while in Charleston! It’s definitely a little harder to eat gluten free in the South, but it is possible! Can’t wait to hear about some of your favorite spots in Charleston so I can stop by those next time I head there. Which I hope is soon! I didn’t get enough time there!

Quick Summary of Charleston:

• Where to Stay
  • The Inns
• Where to Eat & Drink
  • 5Church
  • The Obstinate Daughter
  • Butcher & Bee
  • Another Broken Egg Cafe
  • Eli’s Table
  • FIG

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