Markets

It's not only Market Street.  In Charleston shopping and markets are a universal.  My first exploration was the King Street I had heard so much about.  Strolling down King Street, there seems to be an unending row of restaurants and shops of just about every kind.  There's one of my first and favorite finds, Glazed, a gourmet doughnut shop.  It has incredibly inventive flavors.  The apparent favorite is maple bacon and it's not bad.  Needless to say, I am on a mission to assess all the available options.

Then there are the antique shops, the cool shop with fabrics from Southeast Asia, some of which become beautiful pillows that just might end up in Amagansett.  There are, of course, all of the usual upscale brands you find everywhere.  But then you get to Broad Street, which is one antique shop after another.  Plus, of all things, a needlepoint shop.  Do you know hard it is to find a needlepoint shop these days?  Definitely a good omen.  There is, also of course,  a real possibility that I will add at least one more project to my ever growing stash.  If my knees every totally refuse to let me explore, at least I will be well prepared.

Then there is the well known Charleston Market.  It's been around since the beginning of Charleston and is a mostly open air market extending for blocks and blocks.  People are sure to to tell you that it was never a slave market.  The land was donated way back when for the sale of meat, grains and produce.  Now it is basically a craft market.  The sweetgrass baskets are supposed to be the big draw and they are lovely and every seller has or is someone sitting there weaving a basket.  The thing that intrigues me is that the designs of the baskets are the same at every seller.  Is there something about sweetgrass that mandates the way you can shape it or am I just being cynical?

And last but not least there is a charming little cheese shop just off Broad.  Everyone is very knowledgeable and helpful and the shop has not only cheese, but wine and other goodies to go with it.  I had no intention of resisting.  Something tells me this could get to be a regular stop.

And did I mention that Broad manages to fit in some good restaurants?  I had lunch at a pub called the Blind Tiger.  (Blind Tiger was a euphemism for a speakeasy in Prohibition,)  Good local beers and a hamburger that could make my personal 10 best list.