Season 1, Episode 8

Charleston

The Hungry Detective hits the streets of Charleston to investigate Low Country cuisine and the best off-the-beaten path BBQ. He begins his investigation by tracking down Jeff Allen, the food writer for the Charleston city paper. With Jeff as his informant, Chris learns about a locals-in-the-know restaurant way off the beaten path called Bowens Island. Here Chris uncovers roasted oysters served on a shovel, and a local concoction of shrimp, crabs, sausage and corn known as Frogmore Stew. Next, Chris shows us how to stake out the suburbs for good breakfast bargains as he heads to the Mount Pleasant suburb and the Charleston Café. Here he finds a family-run restaurant serving up delicious breakfasts with Southern twists like shrimp and grits and Southern Benedict, a variation on eggs Benedict made with fried green tomatoes. While still in Mount Pleasant, Chris discovers the Boulevard Diner, another hidden gem featuring unique appetizers such as fried pickles, crab cake sliders and a sundae made from chili, cheese and sour cream. Next, while sightseeing, Chris gets a hot tip from a local rickshaw driver about Fig, an upscale restaurant that encourages patrons on a budget to come in just for dessert. Fig’s specialty? Carolina Gold Rice Pudding. Finally, Chris shares a hot tip: look for archived articles online that appeared in the city’s weekly paper. Objective articles written by bona fide food writers are a better bet than the paid listings often found in the back of local papers. He refers back to an article about Charleston BBQ entitled "Chucktown ‘Q" written by Jeff Allen. This leads Chris to the One of a Kind Smokehouse, which uses pecan wood to smoke their meat.

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