Taste of Charleston
The 28th annual Taste of Charleston was held at historic Boone Hall Plantation on Sunday—rain or shine. And yes, we got rain. But before the torrential downpour, attendees did get a chance to enjoy this year’s festivities. More than 40 local restaurants offered guests a sample of their favorite dishes. My strategy wasn’t to hit every single booth, but to seek out those with the longest lines, after all people will normally queue up for great food. Social Restaurant + Wine Bar was one such hotspot offering their signature sliders with coconut onion rings, fried quail eggs, and Tillamook cheddar. Giuseppi’s Pizza and Pasta had what I thought was the best bang for your buck, offering cheese and pepperoni slices for only 1 ticket ($1 per ticket) versus other restaurants that were asking three tickets or more per sampling. This year, organizers added cooking demonstrations, offering festival-goers more culinary education, and kept the ever-popular Waiter’s Wine Race. The cooking demonstrations were a homerun because every seat was filled during every session.The Waiter’s Wine Race drew a huge crowd with three-time race winner Mark Drabik of Oak Steakhouse taking first place.
Although food was the main attraction, the main stage came alive with the East Coast Party Band, who played favorites from the ‘70s and ‘80s. One little girl positioned herself right in front of the stage and twirled her little heart out. As the clouds rolled in, everyone was hopeful that the rain would just blow over. As soon as that thought came and went, the rain took over the entire festival. The crew from Social was kind enough to allow my husband and me a safe haven until the rain was over or at least lightened up. Alas, it did not and we just made a dash for the car. Needless to say, I was covered in mud and totally drenched. Still all in all, a good time. Money raised will go the Ronald McDonald House, Hollings Cancer Center, and local educators.
