Hominy Grill, Charleston, SC

For our spring break vacation, we went to visit Brian's dad and his wife in Summerville, SC, which is a suburb of Charleston.  It had been so cold and wet here for so long, we had to go somewhere warm just for our own self-preservation.  I had never considered going to South Carolina before, but family was there and the time was right.  We bought the tickets and THEN I started researching where we were going.  It usually works the other way around.  The more I read up on the area, the more excited I got.  THEN I realized we would be near Hominy Grill...

For those of you who don't know me, I am the person who decided to drag my daughter to Savannah, GA a few summers ago, just to eat at a couple particular restaurants.  Yes, I'm one of THOSE people... the ones who plan an entire trip around certain places to eat (or things to eat, as the case may be).

I'm not going to talk a lot about the food or the restaurant itself, because it is nearly legendary.





  Yes the food is awesome.  Yes the dining room is open and friendly.  Yes the ceiling is beautiful and historic.



You can find out that much from any Travel Channel show or tourist website.  I'm just going to post the photos of our food with a brief description.  Try not to short out your keyboards with drool.

Since we had already decided this was going to be one of our splurge meals, we ordered an appetizer even though it was just lunch.  We got the shrimp and okra beignets, because I had read about them on another food blog.  I'd never had okra before, and of course I'd heard tell of it's notorious slimy potential, but I figured Hominy Grill would not do me wrong.



Beignets are described as doughnut-like, but I would consider these more of a fritter.  They were served with a cilantro lime sour cream and topped with a pico de gallo.  They were very delicious, but they could have used a little more shrimp.



For main course, Brian ordered the low country purloo...



It's a little bit of everything... rice, shrimp, chicken wings, sausage... he said it was awesome.  We also had to order the cornbread...



Miko wanted a turkey sandwich.  They did not have a turkey sandwich.  She ordered a turkey club sandwich, hold the tomatoes and bacon...



Viola.  Turkey sandwich.  This photo also reminds me about the pickled okra.  Remember my trepidation about the okra in general.  I had to try this.

I am now hopelessly addicted to pickled okra and seriously jonesin' for some good stuff here in the Puget Sound area.

Of course, I had to get the shrimp and grits.  It's their signature dish, and I hadn't had a chance to order it when we were in Savannah.  I HAD to get it at least once when I was actually in the south, just to make sure I was doing it right at home.



It was fantastic, but I do have to admit I replicated it almost exactly as soon as I got home.

This was one of those cases where you go to a place for the experience, if nothing else.  The food was great... being able to say I used the same bathroom as Adam Richmond and Tony Bourdain was great (I think... that still kinda disturbs me)... spending $70 on lunch was a bit of a shocker, but what the heck.  We DID say it was a splurge meal!