http://www.huskrestaurant.com/bonapetit

Dinner: Mon-Thu 5-10:30 pm, Fri-Sat 5-11:00, Sun 11:30-9 pm

Starting After August 8, 2011

Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30-2:30 Not open for lunch on Sat

* For Homebuyers who have not had any ownership interest in a home in the last 3 years

* Closing date of January 1 – November 30, 2009

* Owner occupied primary Residence

* Tax credit of $8,000 or 10% of purchase price, which ever is less

* Tax credit on 2008, 2008 amended, or 2009 return.

* IRS will issue a refund check if the tax credit exceeds tax liability

* Income restrictions- $75,000 adjusted gross income for a single tax payer and $150,000 adjusted gross income for married couples filing a joint return (and partial credit for those with incomes up to $95,000/ single and $170,000/couple)

* For single family detached homes, condos, townhouses

* May not be sold within three years or tax credit must be repaid

Financing Options

There are many times of financing options available to homebuyers. Here are some of the most common:

Fixed Rate Mortgage
The interest rate on a fixed rate mortgage stays the same throughout the term of the loan, usually 15 or 30 years. This means the principal interest portion of your payment remains the same. Payments are stable but initial rates tend to be higher than adjustable rate loans and often cannot be assumed by a subsequent buyer.

Balloon Mortgage
A balloon mortgage is a loan that must be paid off after a certain period. The advantage they offer is an interest rate that is lower than a mortgage that is made for 30 years.

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM)

This interest rate is linked to a financial index, such as a Treasury security or a cost of funds, so your monthly payments can vary up or down over the life of the loan, usually 25 to 30 years. Interest rates can change monthly, annually, or every 3 or 5 years. Some ARM’s have a cap on the interest rate increase, to protect the borrower.

Other terms relating to adjustable-rate mortgages:

Adjustment period: The length of time between interest rate changes. An example would be one year ARM-interest changes annually.

Cap: The limit on how much an interest rate or monthly payment can change at each adjustment or over the life of the loan.

Conversion clause: A provision in some loans that enables you to change an ARM to a fixed rate loan, usually after the first adjustment period. This may require additional fees.

Index: A measure of interest rate changes used to determine changes in the loan’s interest rate over the term of the loan.

Margin: The number of percentage points a lender adds to the index rate to calculate the ARM’s interest rate at each adjustment.

VA Loan
The VA does not lend money; it guarantees a portion of the loan so that lenders who originate the loan feel comfortable with their risk. Qualified veterans can obtain loans up to $417,000 with no down payment. VA-guaranteed loans can be combined with second mortgages and are assumable upon qualifying by any future buyer. Currently this is the only true 100% financing option available.

FHA Loan
FHA does not lend money or make a loan; rather, it insures loans. The down payment can be as low as 2.25%. Either buyer or seller may pay discount points. FHA charges an up front Mortgage Insurance Premium that can be financed in the mortgage amount or paid in cash. The borrower must also pay an annual Mortgage Insurance Premium which is collected monthly.

Nehemiah Grant
The Nehemiah Program is the nation’s largest privately funded downpayment assistance program, helping thousands of people achieve their dream of homeownership. Nehemiah Corporation of America “Nehemiah” one of America’s largest and most respected community developed corporations, administers The Nehemiah Program. The Nehemiah Program provides gift funds to qualified homebuyers who purchase participating homes using an eligible loan program, such as a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan.  The max grant is 6% of the sales price and there is a fee of $499 for the service. These grants can be used in conjunction with FHA loans to help the buyer with down payment and closing costs.

Seller Assisted Second Mortgage
The seller of the house lends the buyer enough to make up the difference between the purchase price and the down payment plus first-mortgage balance (a commercial lender may also make this kind of loan). The terms including the interest rate are based on buyer/seller agreement. It is often a short-term (5 to 15 year) loan; sometimes “interest only” payments until the term date when the balance is due in full. A buyer can then refinance the home.

Assumable Mortgage
Buyer “takes over” or assumes the mortgage obligation of the seller (with concurrence of the lender). The interest rate doesn’t change and is sometimes lower than current rates. Often the loan fees are less as well.

* All information contained herein is subject to change at anytime without notice.
Please let me know if I can be of any assistance as you look for your new home and consider financing options.

When you obtain any kind of credit or loan, the lender reports your repayment history to the major credit bureaus.  This information forms the core of an individual’s credit report and credit score, and is what lenders analyze when deciding whether or not to extend new credit.

Your credit score is a variable number that can fluctuate as the items on your credit report change.  Different factors have a positive or negative affect on a score.  For example, your total debt, the number and types of credit accounts, number and severity of late payments-if any- and how long the accounts have been open all impact a credit score.

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows positive information to be listed in your credit history indefinitely, although it is generally removed after ten years.  Accurate negative information such as late payments (also known as “derogs” or “dings”) may remain on your credit report for up to ten years, and unpaid tax liens remain for fifteen years.  Any change to your credit report could change your score.

If you would like to purchase a home, but believe your credit scores may be too “low”, please give me a call.  Home Mortgage Choices has many programs for borrowers with low credit scores, including the 12 Weeks to Homeownership program where we can help you set up a budget, get educated about the home buying process, and remove any items on your credit report that are incorrect.

Katie Mahoney

Senior Loan Officer

Home Mortgage Choices,

A division of Guaranty Bank

(843) 345-7009 direct

Posted by Paige Pollock

Thirst No More!

The formerly bland culinary land of I’On has suddenly become home to of one of Charleston’s best new restaurants with the welcome arrival of the impeccable Soif Wine, Cheese & Tapas Bar. Soif, which is the French word for “thirst”, simultaneously sates epicurean and oenophile appetites for excellent fare matched with excellent wine.

Sure, we have plenty of that around town (thank goodness!), but Soif delivers the goods with a light, expertly informed service staff, each without an ounce of boorish pretense, and Soif’s fair prices don’t require taking out a second mortgage. Though Soif is billed as a “bar”, its easy, sit-down dining pace and quiet, sophisticated ambiance make it feel more like a restaurant; a heralded one at that.

Soif veritably sparkles with a palpable, edible and drinkable energy of love and happiness which, the clarity of the fabulous food and wine not withstanding, is a big part of what makes dining here pure pleasure, from start to finish. Credit has to go to owner Gail Summars, who picked up and left her Napa vineyard, Haru Ranch, after falling in love with I’On and Charleston. “I just love Charleston. It reminds me of a small San Francisco,” exudes Summars. At first, she opened the wine shop, but when the space next door become available, she snapped it up to create the restaurant, thereby fulfilling a “lifelong dream to create a little cafe”.

Her matriarchal warmth infuses the dining room and seems to fill her small staff to the brim with ease as they go about their impressive work. She picked them carefully. Grozis had to prepare lunch for Summars in her home using just a microwave and a toaster before he got the Soif chef gig. The general manager was formerly at Cru Cafe and is considering going to school for her sommelier credentials and Soif’s head server created the wine list at Meritage before coming on board. Aside from the staff’s wealth of experience, “They understand my vision, that’s why it works so well,” says Summars.

Whatever the behind-the-scene reasons, Soif works. Coral and red hued walls and neat white trim on the tall windows grace Soif with a combination of Californian and international charm. Great attention is shown to details in the crisp, geometrically shaped white plates and delicate glassware. At center stage of the intimate,50-seat restaurant is the closet-sized kitchen where chef Bradley Grozis, formerly at The Osprey Grill at The Sanctuary, works his palatial-sized magic. The classically-charged menu of small and large plates ($5-$12) changes weekly and includes a 5-course chef’s selection menu ($35 or $60 with paired wines).

We opted for the versatility and relative frugality of the chef’s menu (which we shared at no extra cost), but not before diving into a bowl of Grozis’ chunky/smooth duck pate special ($8) infused with confetti-like shreds of roasted onion. Served with briny Lebanese olives and salty, crisp French cornichons, it was unforgettable. The server paired it with a snappy, light Pinot Noir that, like all the pairings we sampled, brought out the best in both the food and wine; waltzing inextricably between the two elements as effortlessly and beguilingly as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

The hot soup of the day, a “roasted vegetable puree”, arrived shortly thereafter in white demi-tasse cups presented at the center of a chive “X” imposed on square white plates. Steamy and soothing deliciousness, the soup was a frothy blend of mild root vegetables with asparagus and potato overtones. It whet our appetites for the next course, a duo of Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crostini and Poached Pear with Gorgonzola with Mint Crostini. Thin slices of shitake and pear that tasted like they’d been sauteed and poached, respectively, in a light, white wine were arranged on the diagonal atop crispy toasts and garnished with the acid-smooth bite of fresh goat cheese and a mild Gorgonzola. The bites of fresh mint served with the pears was an unusual, refreshing and ultimately winning addition to the plate.

Another unusual combination, parsnip with asparagus and smoked salmon, was a head-turner; mine practically spun off my neck with joy. Grozis roasted a square-shaped spear of sweet parsnip, lining it up with a spear of smoky, grilled asparagus and wrapped it all up with fresh, salmon smoked with the sweetness of Applewood bacon. The kicker was the lightly mounted mustard and red wine cream sauce served with it which brought this dish together like a marriage made in epicurean heaven.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get better, o  ur server brought out the seared duck breast fanned across a rectangular plate atop a raspberry gastrique sauce and alongside a golden mound of Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. Paired with a pert Newton Chardonnay, this was the brightest star of the evening in a dining sky that was already exploding with them and goes down as the best thing I’ve eaten in 2007 – bar none. The subtly of the sauce, a reduction of raspberry vinegar, perhaps infused with more fresh fruit, and caramelized sugar was majestically subdued; the perfect foil for the meaty, pink and exquisite duck. What else could be better with such carnivorous ambrosia than a cloud of mashed potatoes harboring a wispy fragrance of roasted garlic and creamery butter? Nothing!

Soif’s take on a cannoli, this one more of a crepe filled with pistachio imbued cream, mounted and folded with crispy chunks of roasted pistachios, came close. Grozis dressed the plate with a milk chocolate ganache and our server expertly paired it with a Port-Cabernet blend and a rich, sweet Muscat, which the server selected for me since I don’t like Port.

Summars has more than met her expectations to create a great little neighborhood cafe serving great food, aritisanal cheeses with a great selection of California and international wines. In just three months, she and her stellar staff have surpassed all of them and entered the realm of excellence on all fronts. One can only forecast a very bright future for Charleston’s latest restaurant star.

Soif Wine, Cheese & Tapas Bar
357 North Shelmore, Mount Pleasant
(843) 884-2707
Tues.-Sat., 5:30 p.m. – until
(Note: Wine shop next door is open during the restaurant’s hours of operation. Patrons can select bottles at the shop to be opened in the restaurant for a $10 corkage fee.)

Have you ever thought what does my dog do all day while I’m at work? Well, I use to until I discovered My Three Dogs (Doggie Day Care). Being a Realtor I often work long hours and don’t have the ability to get home to let my dog Eliza outside. These days when I know I’m going to have a long day I take her to see Kris, Ed, Sarah and the rest of the gang at My Three Dogs. It’s a one stop shop doggie day care and has full grooming services, so my little princess is tired and smelling good when she come home! You know that your dog loves it when they can’t wait to get there and jumps up and down until the door opens. If you’re looking for a special place for your best friend stop by and have Kris and the gang show you their state of the art facility. They are located at 1518 N. HWY 17 in Mount Pleasant just down from the new Ravenel/Cooper River Bridge and right before HWY 526.

My Three Dogs

1518 N HWY 17

Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

843-884-8818

www.mythreedogs.com

Published by Paige Pollock, Realtor

When we arrived we had a choice of sitting inside or outside in the courtyard and since it was such a nice night we chose the courtyard. The overhead string of soft lights and candles reflecting off the garden walls reminded me of the time I spent in Italy. Great wine, great food and great friends what else would someone want for their Birthday? This is a very special place and I would suggest you try it before this great little secret gets out.

Published by Paige Pollock, Realtor

To: Prudential Carolina

From: Jill Belconis

President of Shelter Mortgage, a division of Guaranty Bank since 1923

Re: Home Mortgage Choices and a Mortgage Update

We are experiencing an unprecedented time in the mortgage business.

WHAT HAPPENED?

It began with the sub-prime lending crisis in the spring. New Century Mortgage, one of the largest sub-prime lenders, was one of the first companies to collapse. New Century, like others, was not owned by a bank, but was an independent mortgage company. After borrowers closed on these sub-prime loans, the mortgage companies packaged the loans into mortgage backed securities, and the securities were sold by Wall Street. These securities did not come with any guarantees other than the loans themselves. When borrowers became delinquent in their payments on these sub-prime loans, these mortgage companies were being forced to buy back the loans. When they didn’t have the money to do this, their funding sources for future lending was shut off and these companies were forced to close their doors overnight. More recently, this has occurred with many other independent, non-bank affiliated mortgage companies….American Home Mortgage, First Magnus, Homebanc, Greenpoint and hundreds more. These companies were also unable to come up with the money to buy back their delinquent loans. And thus, their warehouse funding sources shut down their lines of credit, and they could no longer fund any new loans.

In addition, the mortgage backed securities market, other than the FNMA/FHLMC agency securities market, also was forced to shut down. This includes mortgage backed securities composed of jumbo loans and Alt-A loans (stated income or no verification loans). The FNMA/FHLMC securities are backed by a guarantee from the US Government, so these loans have not been affected. Therefore, we’ve seen major changes in the jumbo loan market and Alt-A products. Underwriting guidelines have dramatically been tightened, especially in the documentation required to verify income/assets, higher credit FICO scores required, the amount of downpayment required and the availability of second mortgages.

WHAT’S NEXT?

We will most likely see more mortgage companies close or file bankruptcy. We should see the mortgage backed securities market start buying jumbo loans again because these are quality loans. We will see a substantial increase in FHA/VA financing. Congress is reviewing a proposal to allow the maximum FHA loan to be $500,000 and the LTV increase to 100%. We will see increased usage of mortgage insurance for high LTV loans, and this is attractive because of the deductibility feature. There is growing support for a temporary increase in the FNMA/FHLMC maximum loan amount, so jumbo loans could be sold to FNMA/FHLMC. The Fed just lowered the Fed Funds rate to 4 ¾%, and this has improved the emotional mood of buyers. The Fed stands ready to do more if this is not enough. Long-term….independent, non-bank owned mortgage companies may be gone and independent mortgage brokers will be under great scrutiny and the government will impose increased regulation on them.

WHAT ABOUT HOME MORTGAGE CHOICES?

Home Mortgage Choices is a partnership between Prudential Carolina and Shelter Mortgage. Shelter Mortgage is NOT an independent mortgage company. Shelter Mortgage IS OWNED BY A BANK, Guaranty Bank. Guaranty Bank is a federally chartered bank headquartered in Milwaukee, WI and has been in business since 1923. Guaranty has 185 retail bank branches. The customers of the Bank have deposited funds into checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposits. This money is used to fund our mortgage loans. Over 90% of our loan fundings come from these deposits. Plus, we have $800 million available to borrow from the Federal Home Loan Bank. We have COMPLETE CONTROL over the money needed to fund the loans at closing. YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON YOUR BUYER’S LOANS CLOSING AND FUNDING ON TIME. Home Mortgage Choices has the strength and longevity needed to sustain the mortgage fluctuations in the years to come. Our mortgage partnership began 12 years ago, and throughout the years, we have been aligned in our values, cultures and our ability to make sound business decisions. Our goal as your partner is to help you list and sell more properties and prosper in your business.

Jason M. Watkins
Senior Loan Officer/Underwriter
Home Mortgage Choices
a division of Guaranty Bank
843-849-0095 office
843-697-8050 cell
843-849-0097 fax

www.jmwatkins.com

I’ll always remember the first time I traveled to Charleston.

I sailed to the city on a cruise ship, as part of America’s inland waterway system. And, as the boat glided into the city, I was instantly reminded of one of the great movie lines about Charleston – a sentence that has been shortened over the years.

In “Gone with the Wind,” Rhett Butler’s most famous line came at the end of the movie, when he turns and faces Scarlett O’Hara and says, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn….” Everyone remembers that line. But it didn’t end there. The complete quote is: “I’m going back to Charleston, where there is still a little grace and civility left in the world.”

Well, if you DO give a damn about grace and civility, you can still find it in abundance in Charleston, a remarkably well preserved peninsular city between the Ashey and Cooper Rivers and the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a city with a skyline of steeples – 180 of them, to be exact, and where most of the doorknobs in town are brass – and always seem polished.

Charleston is all about history, and the intersection of culture in America. What do Edgar Allen Poe and Flavor Flav have in common? They both lived in Charleston. So did John F. Kennedy and Blackbeard the Pirate, Samuel Morse and Stephen Colbert. And that’s just for starters.

Want some real starters? Consider that America’s first free library was established in Charleston, in 1698. In 1735, opera was first performed in America – in Charleston. Built around 1741, Middleton Place is the oldest formally landscaped garden in the United States. America’s first public museum opened in January 1773 – in Charleston. Want some other firsts? America’s first prescription drugstore (1780), first golf course (1786), even America’s first scheduled train service (1830) – all started in Charleston.

And here’s another first, which helps to explain why Charleston retains so much of its history: The first zoning ordinance in America was established here in 1931, including the creation of a Board of Architectural Review.

Charleston remains a city of history and myth, of legend and storytelling, of visions and yes, of ghosts.

If you visit in April, May or October, the weather is at its best, when it’s not too hot or humid. At the same time, there’s not much of a “slow” season in Charleston – January is your best bet. The city doesn’t see the same dip in downtown hotel occupancy and rates that you’ll see elsewhere. People are shopping in the King Street area up until Christmas time. Christmas has the Holiday Festival of Lights (more than a million lights in James Island County Park) and the restored plantations are all decked out.

Before New Year’s is the large multinational Renaissance “think tank,” hosted by the Clintons; February marks the Distinctively Charleston Food and Wine Festival, followed by the Southeast Wildlife Exposition.

Still, no matter what time of year you travel to Charleston, be prepared to be colorfully entertained. Again, this is a city that thrives on myths, legends and miracles.
Some might even call Charleston the hors d’oeuvre capital of America. Why? It started in 1865.

After the Civil War, Charlestonians did not have the means to afford the luscious and ostentatious meals they served prior to the war. However, they still wanted to entertain. Hence, they started serving cocktails with “dine and dash” hors d’oeuvres, never using plates, so as to offer less food and make for a chic evening. Guests could help themselves to stationary appetizers – no need for staff to serve at tableside. Plates were never used. And to this day the tradition remains. Only napkins, of course, which are always linen and often monogrammed.

Then there are the legends.

Visit the old county jail, where Charleston’s most notorious serial killers, John and Lavinia Fisher, were sentenced to death in 1819. Lavinia, a beautiful 27-year-old, requested that she be hanged in her wedding dress. She was hoping to use her charms to persuade the judges to spare her, but the public wouldn’t have any of it. They packed the courthouse and the streets shouting for her death, so she was sentenced to die. She shouted, “If ye have a message ye want to send to Hell, give it to me – I’ll carry it!” Legend has it that she grabbed the noose herself and jumped off the block.

And don’t forget ghosts. You don’t need Halloween to visit Charleston.

Learn about Charleston’s legends and ghosts firsthand on a walking tour that takes you through dungeons, jails and a graveyard … at night! Adults: $18.50; children (8-14): $10.50 (843) 722-8687, www.bulldogtours.com
Drayton Hall
Drayton Hall is one of the “finest surviving colonial houses in America.” It’s considered to be one of the best examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the country. Guided tours are available, as well as a 45-minute program called “Connections: From Africa to America” that uses maps, documents and artifacts to trace the story of Africans from Africa to the 20th century. You can also walk along the river and marsh, and visit an African-American cemetery. Thematic stations and demonstrations include “A Day in the Life of a Plantation,” “The American Revolution: War Comes to Drayton Hall” and “The Civil War: Soldiers & Civilians.” Admission $14 adults; $6 children, www.draytonhall.org

North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum and Educational Center
Just opened in April, this is where you’ll find the oldest fire trucks in America (between 1857-1969). The 27,000-square-foot space contains an old fire station with 18 antique fire trucks that include a hand-operated fire pump and two horse-drawn steam engines. Not surprisingly, the Great Escape exhibit is popular with kids. Why? This is the place where they can slide down a fire pole! Admission $6. www.legacyofheroes.org

Magnolia Cemetery
Located on the banks of the Cooper River (about three miles north of downtown), the cemetery is the final resting place for more than 33,000 people. It’s a common area for picnicking under the magnolia trees. Two large cannons stand in the middle of 800 Confederate soldiers’ graves. It’s also the final resting place of five Confederate generals and more than 1,700 other men who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Civil War.

Cooper River Bridge
Opened in July 2005, it’s the longest cable stay bridge in North America. The 500-foot-tall structure is excellent for walking and biking to get one of the best views of the city and the harbor.

Bigelow Tea Plantation
The Bigelow Tea’s plantation on Wadmalaw Island is the only operational tea plantation in the country. The 127-acre plantation holds hundreds of thousands of tea bushes, plus a new factory that has a 125-foot long window gallery so you can see how tea is made. Bus tours into the fields are $10; Tours are available Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday noon-4 p.m. www.bigelowtea.com/act

Gullah Tours
Okay, it’s a bus tour, but it’s one with a twist (and you’ll be grateful for the air conditioning in Charleston’s summertime heat). This tour is a less politically correct city tour that explores the history of the Gullah, slaves from the Low Country region of South Carolina, where the language and culture still exist today. Guide Alphonso Brown provides anecdotes and historical details that are unique to Charleston, and he even speaks a little Gullah along the way. The two-hour tour will take you to locations like the Whipping House, the Underground Railroad sites, Old Slave Mart, Slave Quarters and one of the last remaining black cemeteries in the city (most are now paved over and used as parking lots). $18 per person. (843) 763-7551, www.gullahtours.com

Barrier Island Eco-Tours
If the kids are along for the ride, check out the Barrier Island Eco-Tours, which set out from Isle of Palms, located about 20 minutes from downtown. There are several naturalist-guided tours of the tidewater ecosystem. A three-hour kayak tour traverses Charleston’s famous salt marshes (the guides do all the work, so no experience is necessary). Traveling along some of the most undeveloped regions in Charleston, you’ll be eye level with bottlenose dolphins, crabs and native birds that live in the fertile ecosystem. On a family-friendly “crabbing clinic,” you actually catch the tasty little critters and eat them on the spot at a beachside crab boil. Tours range from $38-$85 adults, and $24-$75 for kids. (843) 886-5000, http://www.nature-tours.com

Charleston Farmers Market
This area is often falsely referred to as a “slave market,” but slaves were never sold in this area (it usually happened by the waterfront). The Charleston Farmers Market in Marion Square is a cornucopia of fresh seafood, produce and flowers. You can also pick up your souvenirs, like hand-woven textiles, custom ironworks and handmade glass jewelry, knowing that you’re giving directly to the community. Families also love it here, with face painting and pony rides for the kids, plus arts and crafts shows and live music. Every Saturday from April 7-December 16, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (843) 724-7309

Turtles on the Town
You’ve seen the whimsical cows dotting street corners in a number of major American cities. But in Charleston, it’s turtles. Fiberglass loggerhead sea turtles have been transformed by local artists and displayed throughout Charleston. The project will help raise funds and awareness for the conservation programs of the South Carolina Aquarium … another cool place to visit.

Food
Charleston cuisine is rapidly gaining worldwide attention, boasting the only restaurants in the state with five diamonds and five stars. Many of its local restaurants follow sustainable practices, using only locally caught seafood. The Distinctively Charleston Food + Wine Festival was established last year, and is scheduled again for February 28-March 2, 2008.

“Low country” food is Charleston’s soul food – lots of seafood and rice. Try something called “seafood muddle,” she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, Gullah rice (rice, shrimp, sausage and chicken) and collard greens.

Hominy Grill
Once a 19th-century shotgun dwelling with the ground floor as a barbershop, the building now houses Hominy Grill. The restaurant still features vintage barber poles, hardwood floors and the original pounded-tin ceiling. This restaurant serves traditional Low country cuisine at old-world prices, but more importantly, each dish is made from fresh, local ingredients and from scratch – no cooking from cans here. If it’s not too hot, eat outside and make sure you chow down on plenty of seafood – sautéed shad roe and shrimp creole are two local favorites. (843) 937-0930, www.hominygrill.com

The Boathouse on East Bay
A little more upscale, this is where you’ll find some of the best and freshest seafood in S.C. (there are other locations on Isle of Palms and in Asheville, N.C.). The multi-award-winning restaurant overlooks the water. Littleneck and topneck clams, smoked applewood salmon, fried green tomato salad and outstanding sushi make up just a portion of the menu. (843) 577-7171, www.boathouserestaurants.com

Transportation
Charleston International Airport is about a $25-$30 cab ride to downtown Charleston. It currently has 63 flights daily going to 17 destinations

AirTran began the only low-cost service to Charleston in May.