Waterfront Charleston Harbor Serves As Home Base I

Waterfront
Charleston
Story by Sarah Kramer
Photography courtesy of the
Charleston CVB
The Cottages on Charleston
Harbor serves as home base
for wonderful excursions
into historic and hip
Charleston, South Carolina.
I
In 1670 Charles Towne, now Charleston,
was founded in honor of King Charles ll
of England. By 1690 it was the fifth largest city in North America and remained
among the ten largest cities in the United
States through the 1840 census. Over the
years it has survived war and revolt, earthquake and hurricane. Today it is the fastest growing municipality in South
Carolina, with a population exceeding
700,000.
The view from Tavern & Table
The Cottages on Charleston Harbor
Cottage interior
Charleston’s well-preserved architecture includes historic homes with lush
formal gardens, theatres, museums and
military forts. Known for its rich history,
sub-tropical climate and friendly people
it consistently wins kudos for its hospitality from national lifestyle and travel magazines.
The city’s unique culture blends traditional Southern, English, French and West
African elements. For arts, music, fashion
and local cuisine the downtown peninsula, embraced by the confluence of the
Ashley and Cooper rivers, is the place to
be for visitors new to the area.
Actually, the rivers themselves offer
incredible recreation opportunities that
are often launched along the waterfront
where a number of outfitters rent kayaks,
canoes and paddleboards. Coastal
Expeditions, with on-water locations in
Mount Pleasant, Folly Beach and Isle of
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Palms offers Eco Tour Charters of the barrier islands.
This is a town of diverse fascinations. If you go for sports or the
arts, you’re in luck. Charleston is home to a number of professional,
minor league and amateur sports teams. The Charleston Outlaws RFC
is a rugby union club in the Palmetto Rugby Union, USA Rugby South,
and USA Rugby. It competes in Men’s Division II against the Cape
Fear, Columbia, Greenville, and Charlotte “B” clubs. The club hosts
a rugby sevens tournament during Memorial Day weekend.
There is also a minor league baseball team, the Charleston
Riverdogs, playing in Joseph Riley Park, and The Charleston Battery,
a professional soccer team that plays in Blackbaud Stadium.
In spring, the Spoleto Festival, a 17-day art festival featuring over
100 performances by individual artists in a variety of disciplines, draws
The Cottages on Charleston Harbor
The Cottages on Charleston Harbor near the Charleston Harbor
Marina in Mt. Pleasant would be the base for our activities. The waterfront property includes 10 luxury cottages with private harbor-front
beaches, screened-in porches with hammocks and tech amenities like
flat screen HD satellite TV, Bose Sound Systems and hi-speed wireless
Internet. With designer furnishings throughout, gas fireplaces and a
clubhouse with an outdoor swimming pool, one could hide out here
for a long while. The property offers both a designated pet-friendly
accommodation and allergen-free cottages. The two-bedroom designs
are architecturally appealing and spacious.
Since the property is situated at
the tip of Patriots Point, there is
easy access to nearby attractions
like the Naval & Maritime Museum,
complete with the U.S.S. Yorktown
and a Vietnam exhibit set up like a
Disney-style MASH unit.
The real plus is the water taxi, a
stone’s throw from the cottages,
which will shuttle those on a
mission to downtown Charleston
across the harbor in only a few
minutes.
The focus on restaurant week
proved to be a good one. We
Restaurant week at Tavern & Table drew a crowd.
Small plates like roasted Brussels sprouts were a hit.
thousands. It is internationally recognized as one of America’s best
performing arts festivals.
The city’s musical heritage is strong, too. George Gershwin spent
the summer of 1934 at Folly Beach outside of Charleston composing
Porgy and Bess, rooted in Charleston’s Gullah community. It is
considered the quintessential American opera and still widely
performed today. And speaking of performance, the historic Dock
Street Theatre is home to South Carolina’s largest professional stage
group, the Charleston Stage Company.
There are dozens of cultural reasons to visit, if not for the arts, then
visit for the Lowcountry cuisine. Restaurant week in Charleston was
the perfect excuse for our getaway. Local establishments sponsor two
restaurant weeks per year—one in January and another in late summer.
During this time, pre-fix prices are in place for savings on a broad
selection of chef’s delights, plus small plates paired with excellent
wines and handcraft beers.
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ducked into Tavern & Table on Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant for small
plates out on the veranda. Chef Katie Lorenzen-Smith was on her
game with shrimp beignets and remoulade sauce. The roasted Brussels
sprouts, with bacon of course, were amazing. Tavern & Table serves
retro delights too, like homemade pimiento cheese and Ritz crackers.
The inventive menu, making use of Lowcountry vendors, farmers and
fishermen, blends familiar flavors in a festive way. It was a great way
to start the getaway weekend.
Next morning after a tour of the Charleston Museum on Meeting
Street, nearby Eli’s Table was full of diners for brunch. With the best
selection of Benedicts in the Holy City (not to be confused with
Benedictines), Eli’s was a huge favorite. The Smoked Salmon Benedict
was delicious and Eli’s Bloody Mary was the perfect spicy complement. If the weather is nice, ask for courtyard seating.
Walking a few blocks down to 21 East Battery we toured the historic
Edmondston-Alston House Museum, part of the Middleton Place
Foundation. It overlooks the Cooper River and has recently redeveloped a portion of the property as a bed & breakfast. (See www.
edmondstonalston.org for information.)
Its collection of antiques, books, paintings, telescopes and hunting rifles once belonging to the families who lived in this house on
the Battery presents a rich portrait of their lives. The Exhibition Gallery
contains a changing display of archival material illustrating the history
of the house, its surroundings and visiting historic figures.
The winter sun was pleasantly warm along the harbor as we headed
back to Mt. Pleasant to locate Pickett Park and the Pitt Street Bridge.
Only a footbridge during the American Revolution, it was the only
way across the inlet separating Sullivan’s Island from Mt. Pleasant.
Later it became a Trolley bridge until 1927 when it was replaced by
a vehicle bridge that is no longer in use today. It’s a great place to walk
or bike and see coastal waterfowl. The view of the Charleston skyline
from the bridge across the harbor includes Fort Sumter, the Sullivan’s
Island Lighthouse, the futuristic span of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge
and the Ben Sawyer Bridge.
Hutson Alley
Charleston’s restaurants are the talk of the town. The block between
Meeting Street and King Street includes Hutson Alley, inhabited by
five restaurants run by Holy City Hospitality group. They are Coast
Bar & Grill, 39 Rue de Jean, The Victor Social Club, Michael’s on the
Alley and Vincent Chicco’s.
Since we were looking for a rustic Italian meal, the choice was
Vincent Chicco’s, a beautiful restaurant tucked quietly away at the
end of the alley. If you go, be sure to try the house-made Burrata
Cheese with marinated olives, it’s a great way to start. The veal saltimbocca was the hit of the evening, served with prosciutto di Parma over
fettucini and paired with a red wine from Tuscany. The restaurant is
perfect for special events involving large groups, as its elegant and
especially long circular stair winds up to a huge loft above.
Holy City Hospitality and The Cottages are owned by Bennett
Hospitality Group, one of the largest private developers in Charleston.
The company is a multifaceted full service real estate and development, hospitality and asset management company. Founder and
owner Michael Bennett’s start began in 1977-78 when he opened
“Free Wheelin,” a bicycle and moped rental business when he was a
junior in college. From that start he developed a hospitality company
that owns 16 hotels and eight restaurants in four states—South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Montana.
Bennett Hospitality’s General Manager Marty Wall believes
Restaurant Week is a great way for restaurants to show off their venues
and offer great food and prices to local residents and visitors alike.
“Charleston is fortunate that it continues to be a thriving destination,”
he says. “Our CVB has done a great job in selling the city. Now we
have to manage it, as we continue to improve with public and private
support.”
The next morning in the cheerful clubhouse at The Cottages the
breakfast was delightful and the company was good. Our visit to
Charleston was complete, although if you don’t get down to the
Lowcountry often, you should consider spending the entire week.
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