As it so happens, our anniversary has fallen on the boys’ Spring Break the past few years. That means we’re at the Isle of Palms to celebrate, with access to some amazing dining just over the bridge in Charleston. Jeff and I love finding great places to eat, and we spent a lot of time looking up restaurants owned by famous chefs, Michelin-starred restaurants, and those with great reviews. We narrowed it down to a few contenders and, in the end, decided to eat at 82 Queen in the French Quarter. It has a classic Low Country menu we were both excited about, and great reviews. It also ended up being in a great location: just around the block from the Gibbes Museum and a small independent bookstore. We left a few hours before our reservations so we could walk around and visit both of those spots.
That horse was parked against the prettiest pink building! I’m glad I spotted it and took some pictures. It will definitely become a painting.
Charleston is a great city to walk around in. Admiring the architecture will definitely keep your eyes busy! We stopped in Buxton Books, which is a lovely little bookstore. They had a nice art and design section, which is always exciting. I ended up purchasing one book – An Artist’s Life by Mary Whyte. She is a local watercolor artist and had signed the book and included a little feather inside. How could I resist?
We then went to the Gibbes Museum, but I’ll share about that in another post.
We sat in a semi-enclosed patio at 82 Queen, and it was a delightful evening for doing so. I contemplated the menu for a while and decided in the end to order a couple of appetizers instead of a main course. I ordered tomato pie and Jeff got bar-b-que shrimp and grits.
For my main entrée, I got an appetizer crab cake with a side of cheese grits.
And Jeff got a steak and grits served with fried mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.
My only regret was not ordering a vegetable! I really miss it when I don’t have something green on my plate.
Everything was excellent, but my only critique is that the cheese was overboard. I love cheese, but I like it in moderation, just a sprinkle. I ended up scraping most of it off, but that was a small thing. Otherwise, we were thoroughly satisfied!
We shared a lemon mascarpone cake for dessert, and it might’ve been my favorite part of the meal. (I forgot to take a picture.) One of my favorite desserts used to be the lemon cream cake at Olive Garden, and I was so bummed when they discontinued it. I’ve made something similar a few times, but it was nice to be able to get just one slice. This dessert was very similar, and I relished it.
On our way out, I spotted an amazing antique painting of a dog in another section of the restaurant, so I stopped in to snap a picture of it.
A few ladies at a table were watching me as I admired that and the other paintings in the room. One was right over their heads. I could feel them looking at me, silently wondering what I was doing. I told them I paint dogs frequently and couldn’t help but take a closer look at these. They graciously ducked out of the way so I could photograph the one that was behind their table.
I will definitely have to play around with some studies and sketches of these!
Well, I have a bunch of museum photos to share with you, from the Gibbes in Charleston, the Uffizi, and the Pitti Palace during our visit to Florence.
In fact, a conversation about these museum visits led to an amazing gift from one of my aunts that I will post about soon!
You can find more about our previous visits to Charleston here…
13 Responses
We ate at 82 Queen many years ago on a trip to Charleston and I remember it being very good. Our last visit to IOP two years ago we ate at Hymans in Charleston and the seafood was amazing! We enjoyed seeing all the famous celebrities who had eaten there with their pictures scattered around the restaurant. We mostly ate in the Mt. Pleasant area which also had some great restaurants with one of them being Nicks German. It wasn’t the best German food I had ever eaten but it was still very good. You never mention going to any of the vintage/antique shops in the Mt. Pleasant area and I know it’s hard sometimes to schedule a shopping excursion on vacation when time is limited but you and your mom really should take a few hours next visit because there are some great shops in the area.
We were going to hit a couple of antique stores this year, but then my aunt gave me a couple of pieces from her house (which I’ll share about), and decided we didn’t have room!
I see that grits were prominent on that menu, along with the cheese. I’m with you on the cheese; it’s not something I really want added to my entree, even though I like cheese. Happy anniversary!
I have 2 of Mary Whyte’s books. She is an amazing artist. I love the way she captures people. I have no doubt you will enjoy her book. Happy Anniversary to you and Jeff!
Sorry to be a bummer but I think it’s worth mentioning the horse photo was so sad to me. It always make me sad to see animals used for human entertainment.
Why??? They are working animals. They feel a sense of pride to be able to “help” their owners. They can feel they have accomplished what they were put on this earth to do. I am sure they are VERY well cared and loved for by their owners. In the case of this horse I think it is all pleasure ….I am NOT talking about circus animals or whale shows…that is wrong!!!
As someone who used to ride horses, I assume that people take great care of their animals and use these workhorses humanely, but I suppose that doesn’t always happen.
Happy Anniversary. It sounds like you had a lovely dinner. The food looks scrumptious. I have never been to Charleston, however I hear it is a really beautiful town. Thank you for taking us on all these great adventures through your blog posts. Can’t wait to see what you paint from your vacation.
Scott took Ali to 82 Queen before surprising her with wedding proposal!!!! They go back when visiting here.
Oh, what a cool connection!!
We’re heading to Charleston for our 25th anniversary next month! We’ll have to check out 82 Queen
Happy anniversary and thank you for sharing this post. I so want to go to Charleston. I need to see it myself.
I am so inspired now.
Addie, Yes, we’ve all been raised and taught to look at animals a certain wasome as companions, others as resources for our use. But I’m sorry to disagree with you. With some simple research you’ll find the evidence that many unfortunate horses have died being harnessed into this line of work, not just heat exhaustion, but also traffic accidents and health issues from being worked in urban environments that are often ignored.
I have been in Charleston myself, in the heat of summer, and seen these poor animals slogging along dragging a handful of humans for their entertainment, not a “sense of accomplishment.” I think that’s what’s we’d all would like to think they feel.
You don’t have to believe me. You can see the evidence yourself on websites such as Humane Decisions. In the search bar at the bottom of their page simply type in Horse Carriages for more details.
No one, not two-legged or four-legged animals are put on this earth to be enslaved for others use and abuse.