Low Country Cuisine

We have a friend, Shawna, a famous Ottawa food writer, who loves both Southern BBQ and, conversely, everything about Paris, France.

In Charleston, the two come together in ways so natural that the average traveler doesn't even notice. Like pulled pork with mustard sauce, instead of one based on tomato and brown sugar. Or coleslaw with bacon lardons and mayonnaise, a French condiment that we rarely attribute to the source. Pickles, relish, vinegar are on many tables and its not hard to get a flaky croissant for breakfast. These, from the 18th century Hugenot immigration; French Protestants who came to North America to escape persecution.

Of course, low-country cuisine emerged from a number of influences, like the indigenous and adapted recipes of Caribbean and African slaves (many who were forced to cook for wealthy white families. Their recipes were passed onto subsequent generations, right through to emancipation. The proximity to the coast is also a big influence; she-crab soup is a local specialty and sauteed shrimp is often used to top a serving of grits. In the days before refrigeration, fresh seafood could only be eaten along the coast, so the presence of shellfish in the low-country diet helps distinguish it from other versions of Southern cuisine. Charleston also has significant marshlands and the earliest colonialists quickly realized they were perfect for growing rice, both for local consumption and international export.

Charleston's modern food scene is far from a secret (droves of celebrities traveling to the city have driven prices up in the last few years). But it was all new for Adam and I. We've been eating boiled fresh peanuts, lightly fried-green tomatoes with delicate ranch dressing, thick wedges of cornbread with soft butter and South Carolinian honey; cold sherry coleslaw, cucumber and onion salad, cheesy gratin of summer squash and onions; buttermilk fried chicken with ham hock gravy; warm grits; chunky spiced applesauce (tastes like my mama's); lemon ice box pie; hoppin' john; new green beans and potatoes; tender pulled pork; collard greens (laced with bacon); kale salad; French lentils; key lime pie on a stick; local peach lager; Cheerwine soda; and several pints of unsweetened iced tea.

It might sound like we'd be full up, but we're just getting started.