Toyota road trip and 5 favorite places in Charleston.

If you missed last Friday’s post – or if you happen to not follow me on Instagram, you may not know that we just spent a week in Charleston thanks, in large part, to Toyota. A few months back I was contacted by an advertising agency on behalf of Southeast Toyota who was offering to sponsor a road trip of my choosing. The catch? Just that I take their 2015 Corolla along for the ride! So, last Thursday afternoon we packed up this little beauty and headed to the east coast.

The Corolla made traveling 6 hours to and from our destination so easy, comfortable and fun! The hubs and I drive cars issued in ’05 and ’07 so I was honestly shocked at how much technology has made its way into vehicles these days. We were treated to indash navigation, hands-free calls, xm radio, reverse cameras, bluetooth music and more. The Corolla was plenty roomy – you should have seen the amount of bags we took with us – all of which fit seamlessly in the trunk (even the ones we acquired while shopping on King Street)! The ride was smooth, quiet and, I must say, pretty luxurious. I loved the large sunroof overhead that we kept open just about all trip long because the weather was absolutely gorgeous!

I wanted to also share some of my favorite parts of the trip – in the form of five (..plus 6… oopsy.. hehe) of my favorite places that we visited in Charleston:

1. Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit. Y’all. I had the best chicken biscuit of my life here. Yes.. even better than Chickfila’s. Their biscuits are to die for – so moist and buttery and the combinations they do with them are unreal. They also serve french press coffee which, if you know me, is an absolute WIN. I’d say a stop in Callie’s is an absolute must for a quick little breakfast before you start exploring.

2. Bay Street Biergarten. Florida State was scheduled to play on Saturday morning at 11:30 – prime time brunch time. Knowing this before we left, I searched for the perfect place to partake in both occasions and, behold, the Biergarten was completely on point. They have a full spread of cocktails, beer and other beverages and carry the most to.die.for brunch menu! My pick? The creme brulee french toast. It was DYNAMITE. I’m not usually a huge sweets person in the morning, but this was the perfect balance of sweet and savory – with the hot crispy toast beneath sauce and berries! This is the perfect place to go watch football (we loved it so much we went to watch games on Saturday AND Sunday!), sip mimosas and make friends as they have several “community tables” (which have actual beer taps built in so that you can pour your own beer right from where you sit)! We met the sweetest couple that we had so much in common with – and we also met some pretty funny characters who seemed as if they’d been “tailgating” since about 8am… if you know what I mean 😉

 3. Butcher and Bee. We had an early lunch here and I think it was probably one of G’s favorite meals. He had the Chilaquiles, which came in a cute little skillet and tasted SO GOOD. I went with a fancied-up grilled cheese and wanted to try their kale slaw (I’d heard good things) and wasn’t disappointed! Their shop is really cute – plenty of seating (indoor and out), natural light and sparkling water – ON TAP… for FREE! I loved this place and I’m pretty sure you would too – they have a little something for everybody!

  4. Taco Boy. A good Mexican fare type spot is always a must for us. G and I love to end the day with some margaritas, chips and salsa and a few good tacos every once in a while and, lucky for us, this cute little place was right near our apartment and so delicious. We loved it so much we went twice! Their tacos are sold individually and feature really interesting flavor combinations and protein options. I tried the shrimp tempura taco, which was divine. They also have killer guacamole that is SO fresh and pineapple infused margaritas that will have your taste buds singing. Their space is really cute, with an indoor area and bar as well as an outdoor patio (under twinkle lights at night) and an outdoor bar area as well! Their signs are also pretty on point 😉

 5. Candlefish. On Monday morning, when we were packing up the apartment to head home, I suddenly realized that I had totally forgotten to visit this place I was dying to go! I had seen pictures of Candlefish online and had read that it was such a cool little shop, so I had put it near the top of the list of things I really wanted to do while in Charleston. Luckily, after brunch, my sweet husband agreed to brave downtown weekday traffic in order to let me browse around for a bit (he ended up dropping me off out front and riding around while I took my time inside because we couldn’t find parking.. *gush*<3). It was definitely worth the trouble, though. Candles are actually made in the shop and stored in the coolest “library” area to the left. One of the guys who worked there was so sweet and walked me through the process – they have samples of each of their featured candle fragrances under glass domes. You pick up the dome and smell the air inside (rather than the actual candle) and, as I went, he told me what fragrances were used in the ones that I liked as well as pulled a few from the library that smelled similar. I wanted to buy about 98743 of them, but ended up bringing home the #46 – it smells like sweet Fall in a jar 😉 It was such a neat experience. They also carry local art and other artisan candles for an even more well-rounded, superbly awesome shop inventory.

 Some other places that I loved were:

FUEL: This was a 5 minute walk from where we were staying, so we went there just about every night for a nightcap and/or a snack! They have a beautiful outdoor patio with TV’s, bar access and plenty of tables and patio seating under twinkle lights. It’s also (VERY) dog friendly, so we brought Gracie along and she loved it! Note: it was also featured on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives if you’re into that 😉

Edmund’s Oast: G and I went here for a light dinner and some drinks one night and I’m so glad we did. We ordered a cured meat plate and the pickled shrimp, which comes on pre-cut pieces of fancied-up toast that ensures you get a bite of shrimp with every piece that you pull away and eat. It was seriously bomb, y’all. Also, their outdoor seating area (called The Bower) was so pretty and relaxing and the service was wonderful!

Leon’s Oyster Shop: We went here for drinks and oysters and I loved the atmosphere. It’s the perfect place to sit out on their porch on a sunny day and drink rose (which they have ON TAP, by the way). Their oysters were delicious and G had one of their specialty cocktails that was also really, really good (I had some, of course)!

The Ordinary: This place is located in an old converted bank vault and is beautiful. G wasn’t impressed with the pricing (fair enough), but I had a champagne cocktail that was absolutely delicious and the restaurant is gorgeous! I’d recommend it if you like seafood (or just drinks) and are willing to splurge a little for a good meal!

Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar: This place is right off Bay Street and is so neat. We had a dozen of their oysters – SUPERB – and a bowl of their she-crab soup which, we were told by our friend Brad, we had to try. It was also tremendous. I also had a peach Bellini there that I could have every day for the rest of my life and not be mad at all. G and I also took part in an oyster shooter each which, if you’ve never had one, is a raw oyster in a shot glass with some sort of liquor. Amen’s put their oysters in a shot of bloody Mary and the result was BOMB (literally, the pepper and Tabasco give it quite the kick). Definitely stop in here if you’re ever in town!

Black Tap Coffee: I’d read about this place, its natural light and its stellar cappuccinos so, easy decision – we totally stopped in for one after shopping on King Street on Friday. My coffee was so good and G got a homemade muffin that he loved. It’s the cutest little shop near the college so there were some grad school- type/aged peeps in there studying and chatting. My kind of scene. Loved it.

 Charleston is probably my new favorite locale. The weather was perfect, the food was on point, shopping was so, so good and the streets were just riddled with the cutest houses and neighborhoods. Like such:

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Southeast Toyota for providing us with this opportunity.
We absolutely loved borrowing the 2015 Toyota Corolla for our road trip and fell in love with the car and its features – really, I was pretty much in denial that I had to give it back by the end of the trip! If any of y’all are in the market for a new car, I would seriously consider this bad boy – at least take it for a test drive, you’ll see what I mean! 🙂

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (“Toyota”) provided me with compensation and use of a COROLLA for a short period of time. The opinions I have shared about this vehicle are my own.